# Twtxt is an open, distributed microblogging platform that # uses human-readable text files, common transport protocols, # and free software. # # Learn more about twtxt at https://github.com/buckket/twtxt # # This is an automated Yarn.social feed running feeds v0.1.0@72e53a9 # Learn more about Yarn.social at https://yarn.social # # nick = osnews # url = https://feeds.twtxt.net/osnews/twtxt.txt # type = rss # source = https://www.osnews.com/feed/ # avatar = https://feeds.twtxt.net/osnews/avatar.png#3p5yfurwkedxleuxxmsg42t4rymmahtgcy5prxx34eu4w2o6vwva # description = # updated_at = 2023-02-04T21:33:55Z # 2021-02-26T02:11:11Z Windows 10 update to hide 3D Objects folder in File Explorer ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133096/windows-10-update-to-hide-3d-objects-folder-in-file-explorer/) 2021-02-26T01:54:10Z The Framework Laptop: repairable, upgradeable, sustainable ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133094/the-framework-laptop-repairable-upgradeable-sustainable/) 2021-02-25T01:11:39Z A retrospective look at Mac OS X Snow Leopard ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133091/a-retrospective-look-at-mac-os-x-snow-leopard/) 2021-02-24T02:02:44Z Booting the IBM 1401: how a 1959 punch-card computer loads a program ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133088/booting-the-ibm-1401-how-a-1959-punch-card-computer-loads-a-program/) 2021-02-24T01:59:45Z Playstation 2 architecture: a practical analysis ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133086/playstation-2-architecture-a-practical-analysis/) 2021-02-24T01:58:13Z Firefox 86 introduces total cookie protection ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133084/firefox-86-introduces-total-cookie-protection/) 2021-02-22T22:07:56Z Re-review: System76’s Lemur Pro, now with 11th Gen Intel processors and Xe graphics ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133070/re-review-system76s-lemur-pro-now-with-11th-gen-intel-processors-and-xe-graphics/) 2021-02-22T22:07:28Z Oracle Solaris 11.4 SRU30 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133076/oracle-solaris-11-4-sru30-released/) 2021-02-22T12:40:23Z Understanding KDE Plasma theming system ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133068/understanding-kde-plasma-theming-system/) 2021-02-22T11:19:28Z The modern packager’s security nightmare ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133066/the-modern-packagers-security-nightmare/) 2021-02-22T11:10:25Z What’s new in the first Android 12 Developer Preview ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133064/whats-new-in-the-first-android-12-developer-preview/) 2021-02-19T22:15:37Z OSNews Patreon update: the SunFire V245 and other planned projects ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133057/osnews-patreon-update-the-sunfire-v245-and-other-planned-projects/) 2021-02-19T22:13:47Z Wayland on Wine: an exciting first update ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133062/wayland-on-wine-an-exciting-first-update/) 2021-02-19T22:09:55Z Apple subpoenas Valve as part of its legal battle with Epic: Valve fights back ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133060/apple-subpoenas-valve-as-part-of-its-legal-battle-with-epic-valve-fights-back/) 2021-02-19T01:00:04Z First Android 12 Developer Preview released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133055/first-android-12-developer-preview-released/) 2021-03-01T22:57:36Z Users are losing out against Big Sur’s sealed System ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133109/users-are-losing-out-against-big-surs-sealed-system/) 2021-03-01T22:53:40Z Weird architectures weren’t supported to begin with ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133099/weird-architectures-werent-supported-to-begin-with/) 2021-03-01T23:04:24Z Review: Blackbird Secure Desktop – a fully open source modern POWER9 workstation without any proprietary code ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133093/review-blackbird-secure-desktop-a-fully-open-source-modern-power9-workstation-without-any-proprietary-code/) 2021-03-04T00:18:50Z Arizona advances bill forcing Apple and Google to allow alternative payment options ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133116/arizona-advances-bill-forcing-apple-and-google-to-allow-alternative-payment-options/) 2021-03-04T00:26:50Z Google to stop using your web browsing behaviour for targeted ads ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133118/google-to-stop-using-your-web-browsing-behaviour-for-targeted-ads/) 2021-03-05T01:00:36Z Genode OS Framework 21.02 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133120/genode-os-framework-21-02-released/) 2021-03-05T01:13:17Z Flutter 2 is coming with support for Windows and macOS, foldables, and a ton more ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133122/flutter-2-is-coming-with-support-for-windows-and-macos-foldables-and-a-ton-more/) 2021-03-06T00:56:58Z An update on Android’s audio latency ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133128/an-update-on-androids-audio-latency/) 2021-03-06T00:54:08Z Google’s FLoC is a terrible idea ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133124/googles-floc-is-a-terrible-idea/) 2021-03-06T01:22:36Z Proton has enabled 7000 Windows games to run on Linux ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133130/proton-has-enabled-7000-windows-games-to-run-on-linux/) 2021-03-07T01:23:09Z The Macintosh Application Environment ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133134/the-macintosh-application-environment/) 2021-03-07T01:20:14Z Intel Core i7-11700K review: blasting off with Rocket Lake ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133132/intel-core-i7-11700k-review-blasting-off-with-rocket-lake/) 2021-03-09T02:16:53Z Wait, what? MIPS becomes RISC-V ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133136/wait-what-mips-becomes-risc-v/) 2021-03-09T23:19:47Z Apple M1 microarchitecture research ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133140/apple-m1-microarchitecture-research/) 2021-03-10T00:40:21Z Debian running on Rust coreutils ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133142/debian-running-on-rust-coreutils/) 2021-03-10T02:21:57Z Chromebooks and Chrome OS turn ten ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133144/chromebooks-and-chrome-os-turn-ten/) 2021-03-10T22:09:23Z Full Wayland setup on Arch Linux ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133149/full-wayland-setup-on-arch-linux/) 2021-03-10T22:05:58Z LG is crammings ads everywhere it can on its TVs ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133147/lg-is-crammings-ads-everywhere-it-can-on-its-tvs/) 2021-03-10T23:20:04Z Four more KaiStore improvements for KaiOS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133151/four-more-kaistore-improvements-for-kaios/) 2021-03-12T23:15:48Z Chrome 89 increases desktop memory efficiency with PartitionAlloc ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133154/chrome-89-increases-desktop-memory-efficiency-with-partitionalloc/) 2021-03-12T23:23:01Z Haiku activity report – February 2021 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133156/haiku-activity-report-february-2021/) 2021-03-13T00:52:50Z ARMs race: Ampere Altra takes on the AWS Graviton2 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133158/arms-race-ampere-altra-takes-on-the-aws-graviton2/) 2021-03-14T22:16:54Z The Nokia N900: the future that wasn’t ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133160/the-nokia-n900-the-future-that-wasnt/) 2021-03-16T00:01:45Z AMD 3rd Gen EPYC Milan review: a peak vs per core performance balance ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133177/amd-3rd-gen-epyc-milan-review-a-peak-vs-per-core-performance-balance/) 2021-03-16T00:04:36Z Mozilla plans to remove the Compact Density option from Firefox’s Customize menu ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133179/mozilla-plans-to-remove-the-compact-density-option-from-firefoxs-customize-menu/) 2021-03-16T22:37:24Z Nvidia hacks its own GeForce RTX 3060 anti-mining lock ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133182/nvidia-hacks-its-own-geforce-rtx-3060-anti-mining-lock/) 2021-03-16T22:35:58Z Google cuts Play Store fees to 15% on first million dollar of sales ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133186/google-cuts-play-store-fees-to-15-on-first-million-dollar-of-sales/) 2021-03-16T22:34:32Z Apple agrees to offer government-approved pre-installed apps for devices in Russia ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133184/apple-agrees-to-offer-government-approved-pre-installed-apps-for-devices-in-russia/) 2021-03-16T22:39:33Z In-kernel WireGuard is on its way to FreeBSD and the pfSense router ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133191/in-kernel-wireguard-is-on-its-way-to-freebsd-and-the-pfsense-router/) 2021-03-18T15:50:02Z FreeBSD 13.0: full desktop experience ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133195/freebsd-13-0-full-desktop-experience/) 2021-03-18T15:57:16Z Android 12 DP2 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133197/android-12-dp2-released/) 2021-03-20T02:47:57Z World’s first video game in a font ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133199/worlds-first-video-game-in-a-font/) 2021-03-20T02:50:05Z Google is preparing for Fuchsia’s first developer releases ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133201/google-is-preparing-for-fuchsias-first-developer-releases/) 2021-03-23T00:40:11Z Firefox 87 trims HTTP referrers by default to protect user privacy ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133209/firefox-87-trims-http-referrers-by-default-to-protect-user-privacy/) 2021-03-23T00:38:05Z Nobody designs for small iPhone devices anymore ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133207/nobody-designs-for-small-iphone-devices-anymore/) 2021-03-23T00:34:53Z The HP-UX Porting and Archive Centre ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133205/the-hp-ux-porting-and-archive-centre/) 2021-03-23T00:42:55Z When you have too much memory for SheepShaver ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133211/when-you-have-too-much-memory-for-sheepshaver/) 2021-03-23T00:47:58Z Why use old computers and operating systems? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133213/why-use-old-computers-and-operating-systems/) 2021-03-24T00:38:12Z Plan 9 transferred to the Plan 9 Foundation ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133215/plan-9-transferred-to-the-plan-9-foundation/) 2021-03-25T00:30:47Z Arizona Senate skips vote on controversial bill that would regulate Apple and Google app stores ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133221/arizona-senate-skips-vote-on-controversial-bill-that-would-regulate-apple-and-google-app-stores/) 2021-03-26T23:59:07Z Do you really want Linux phones? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133224/do-you-really-want-linux-phones/) 2021-03-27T00:04:34Z Linus Torvalds weighs in on Rust language in the Linux kernel ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133226/linus-torvalds-weighs-in-on-rust-language-in-the-linux-kernel/) 2021-03-27T00:28:45Z Fairphone suggests Qualcomm is the biggest barrier to long-term Android support ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133228/fairphone-suggests-qualcomm-is-the-biggest-barrier-to-long-term-android-support/) 2021-03-27T23:25:15Z GNOME 40 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133233/gnome-40-released/) 2021-03-27T23:22:19Z Using 8-inch diskette drives with a PC ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133231/using-8-inch-diskette-drives-with-a-pc/) 2021-03-30T04:08:53Z Preview: IBM z/OS V2.5 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133235/preview-ibm-z-os-v2-5/) 2021-03-30T04:19:24Z TenFourFox, Classilla wind down development ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133237/tenfourfox-classilla-wind-down-development/) 2021-03-31T23:33:26Z Armv9 introduced at Arm Vision Day 2021 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133240/armv9-introduced-at-arm-vision-day-2021/) 2021-03-31T23:39:48Z Apple’s cooperation with authoritarian governments ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133249/apples-cooperation-with-authoritarian-governments/) 2021-03-31T23:36:30Z Fixing the oldest and nastiest bug in Commodore BASIC ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133247/fixing-the-oldest-and-nastiest-bug-in-commodore-basic/) 2021-04-02T19:34:22Z Pixel 6 will be powered by new Google-made ‘Whitechapel’ chip ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133254/pixel-6-will-be-powered-by-new-google-made-whitechapel-chip/) 2021-04-03T00:53:45Z Windows 95: how does it look today? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133256/windows-95-how-does-it-look-today/) 2021-04-03T00:56:05Z Google is restricting which apps can see the other installed apps on your device ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133258/google-is-restricting-which-apps-can-see-the-other-installed-apps-on-your-device/) 2021-04-04T00:28:15Z AmiSSL 4.9 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133260/amissl-4-9-released/) 2021-04-04T00:31:25Z Most loved programming language Rust sparks privacy concerns ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133262/most-loved-programming-language-rust-sparks-privacy-concerns/) 2021-04-05T15:36:11Z webOS OSE 2.10.0 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133265/webos-ose-2-10-0-released/) 2021-04-05T15:46:31Z Supreme Court sides with Google in Oracle’s API copyright case ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133268/supreme-court-sides-with-google-in-oracles-api-copyright-case/) 2021-04-07T22:16:47Z Steam on FreeBSD ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133273/steam-on-freebsd/) 2021-04-07T22:28:52Z Rust in the Android platform ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133277/rust-in-the-android-platform/) 2021-04-07T22:27:14Z Signal embeds shady cryptocurrency in its service ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133275/signal-embeds-shady-cryptocurrency-in-its-service/) 2021-04-07T22:32:06Z A bit of XENIX history ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133279/a-bit-of-xenix-history/) 2021-04-07T23:00:28Z IBM COBOL for Linux on x86 1.1 brings COBOL capabilities to Linux ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133281/ibm-cobol-for-linux-on-x86-1-1-brings-cobol-capabilities-to-linux/) 2021-04-09T23:52:43Z Was the NE2000 really that bad? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133287/was-the-ne2000-really-that-bad/) 2021-04-09T23:49:53Z FreeBSD/arm64 becoming Tier 1 in FreeBSD 13 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133285/freebsd-arm64-becoming-tier-1-in-freebsd-13/) 2021-04-09T23:47:30Z X.Org Server Git lands support for hardware-accelerated XWayland with NVIDIA ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133283/x-org-server-git-lands-support-for-hardware-accelerated-xwayland-with-nvidia/) 2021-04-13T23:54:34Z The simplicity of making Librem 5 apps ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133292/the-simplicity-of-making-librem-5-apps/) 2021-04-13T23:57:26Z FreeBSD 13.0 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133294/freebsd-13-0-released/) 2021-04-14T00:02:19Z System76 and Pop!_OS to build GNOME-based desktop environment ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133296/system76-and-pop_os-to-build-gnome-based-desktop-environment/) 2021-04-16T22:59:58Z FrogFind: the search engine for vintage computers ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133302/frogfind-the-search-engine-for-vintage-computers/) 2021-04-16T23:43:02Z US House committee approves blueprint for big tech crackdown ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133304/us-house-committee-approves-blueprint-for-big-tech-crackdown/) 2021-04-17T01:03:31Z Discord will block NSFW servers on iOS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133306/discord-will-block-nsfw-servers-on-ios/) 2021-04-20T20:33:08Z Power consumption of Game Boy flash cartridges ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133313/power-consumption-of-game-boy-flash-cartridges/) 2021-04-20T21:03:14Z Apple announces new iMac with M1 chip and seven color options ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133315/apple-announces-new-imac-with-m1-chip-and-seven-color-options/) 2021-04-20T21:23:06Z WinGet is terrible. I want AppGet back. ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133317/winget-is-terrible-i-want-appget-back/) 2021-04-22T00:49:19Z GUI app support is now available for the Windows Subsystem for Linux ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133325/gui-app-support-is-now-available-for-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/) 2021-04-22T00:58:55Z University banned from contributing to Linux kernel after intentionally submitting vulnerable code ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133327/university-banned-from-contributing-to-linux-kernel-after-intentionally-submitting-vulnerable-code/) 2021-04-23T22:47:56Z Why does trying to break into the NT 3.1 kernel reboot my 486DX4 machine? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133332/why-does-trying-to-break-into-the-nt-3-1-kernel-reboot-my-486dx4-machine/) 2021-04-23T22:45:37Z Here’s everything new in Android 12 Developer Preview 3 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133330/heres-everything-new-in-android-12-developer-preview-3/) 2021-04-23T23:01:56Z Ubuntu 21.04 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133338/ubuntu-21-04-released/) 2021-04-26T23:23:40Z Using a PowerBook in 2021 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133342/using-a-powerbook-in-2021/) 2021-04-26T23:28:42Z Microsoft is building a new app store for Windows 10 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133344/microsoft-is-building-a-new-app-store-for-windows-10/) 2021-04-27T09:48:13Z iOS 14.5, macOS 11.3 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133346/ios-14-5-macos-11-3-released/) 2021-04-27T10:00:14Z Apple will reportedly face EU antitrust charges this week ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133348/apple-will-reportedly-face-eu-antitrust-charges-this-week/) 2021-04-29T22:48:43Z Linux 5.12 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133356/linux-5-12-released/) 2021-04-29T22:47:34Z Arm announces Neoverse V1, N2 platforms and CPUs, CMN-700 Mesh ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133354/arm-announces-neoverse-v1-n2-platforms-and-cpus-cmn-700-mesh/) 2021-04-29T22:56:37Z Microsoft announces Windows 10 May 2021 Update (version 21H1) ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133358/microsoft-announces-windows-10-may-2021-update-version-21h1/) 2021-04-30T10:34:27Z EU accuses Apple of App Store antitrust violations ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133360/eu-accuses-apple-of-app-store-antitrust-violations/) 2021-05-01T14:28:59Z OpenBSD 6.9 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133362/openbsd-6-9-released/) 2021-05-01T19:38:07Z Parallels Desktop 16.5 review: Windows comes to Apple Silicon (sort of) ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133350/__trashed-16/) 2021-05-01T21:48:03Z OpenIndiana Hipster 2021.04 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133369/openindiana-hipster-2021-04-released/) 2021-05-12T19:33:04Z About our current dearth of content ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133392/about-our-current-dearth-of-content/) 2021-05-17T23:32:17Z Sailfish OS Kvarken 4.1.0 released to early access users ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133394/sailfish-os-kvarken-4-1-0-released-to-early-access-users/) 2021-05-17T23:31:28Z Microsoft shelves Windows 10X, it is not shipping in 2021 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133382/microsoft-shelves-windows-10x-it-is-not-shipping-in-2021/) 2021-05-17T23:53:32Z Following up an experiment in forced nostalgia and questionable parenting ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133395/following-up-an-experiment-in-forced-nostalgia-and-questionable-parenting/) 2021-05-17T23:53:01Z NetBSD 9.2 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133411/netbsd-9-2-released/) 2021-05-17T23:50:29Z Censorship, surveillance and profits: a hard bargain for Apple in China ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133408/censorship-surveillance-and-profits-a-hard-bargain-for-apple-in-china/) 2021-05-18T23:29:40Z Window decorations revisited (or: using the right tool for the job) ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133418/window-decorations-revisited-or-using-the-right-tool-for-the-job/) 2021-05-18T23:33:22Z Google and Samsung merge Wear OS and Tizen ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133420/google-and-samsung-merge-wear-os-and-tizen/) 2021-05-18T23:44:00Z Google unveils Material You, a massive overhaul of Android’s user interface ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133422/google-unveils-material-you-a-massive-overhaul-of-androids-user-interface/) 2021-05-19T23:01:53Z Microsoft to kill Internet Explorer in 2022 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133429/microsoft-to-kill-internet-explorer-in-2022/) 2021-05-19T22:59:48Z Developers flee Freenode after ‘takeover’ by Korean crown prince ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133424/developers-flee-freenode-after-takeover-by-korean-crown-prince/) 2021-05-19T23:05:42Z Improving Firefox stability on Linux ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133431/improving-firefox-stability-on-linux/) 2021-05-20T23:10:28Z Nyxt browser 2.0 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133434/nyxt-browser-2-0-released/) 2021-05-20T23:16:44Z Microsoft and Apple wage war on gadget fight-to-repair laws ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133436/microsoft-and-apple-wage-war-on-gadget-rfight-to-repair-laws/) 2021-05-20T23:25:54Z Haiku developer ports Haiku to RISC-V ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133440/haiku-developer-ports-haiku-to-risc-v/) 2021-05-24T22:30:13Z Strong ARMing with MacOS: adventures in cross-platform emulation ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133443/strong-arming-with-macos-adventures-in-cross-platform-emulation/) 2021-05-24T22:27:04Z The software behind Eurovision ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133444/the-software-behind-eurovision/) 2021-05-24T22:25:21Z The state of toolchains in OpenBSD ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133442/the-state-of-toolchains-in-openbsd/) 2021-05-25T09:20:36Z Google is officially releasing its Fuchsia OS, starting with first-gen Nest Hub ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133459/google-is-officially-releasing-its-fuchsia-os-starting-with-first-gen-nest-hub/) 2021-05-25T23:11:51Z Framework Laptop review (hands on): the anti-MacBook is here ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133461/framework-laptop-review-hands-on-the-anti-macbook-is-here/) 2021-05-25T23:20:40Z Microsoft teases a ‘next generation of Windows’ announcement ‘very soon’ ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133465/microsoft-teases-a-next-generation-of-windows-announcement-very-soon/) 2021-05-27T18:03:47Z Google to use patient data to develop healthcare algorithms for hospital chain ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133477/google-to-use-patient-data-to-develop-healthcare-algorithms-for-hospital-chain/) 2021-05-27T18:05:31Z Arm announces mobile Armv9 CPU microarchitectures: Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and Cortex-A510 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133479/arm-announces-mobile-armv9-cpu-microarchitectures-cortex-x2-cortex-a710-and-cortex-a510/) 2021-05-27T18:08:55Z Review: the Cosmo Communicator ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133445/review-the-cosmo-communicator/) 2021-05-30T00:09:33Z Kvarken 4.1.0 brings full Sailfish 64-bit support to Sony Xperia 10 II ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133488/kvarken-4-1-0-brings-full-sailfish-64-bit-support-to-sony-xperia-10-ii/) 2021-05-30T01:15:35Z SerenityOS’ founder and main developer goes full-time for SerenityOS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133492/serenityos-founder-and-main-developer-goes-full-time-for-serenityos/) 2021-05-31T22:38:46Z Genode OS Framework 21.05 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133496/genode-os-framework-21-05-released/) 2021-05-31T22:37:07Z How the Commodore Amiga powered your cable system in the ’90s ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133494/how-the-commodore-amiga-powered-your-cable-system-in-the-90s/) 2021-05-31T22:47:25Z Windows 10 is now nagging users with Microsoft Bing alerts ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133498/windows-10-is-now-nagging-users-with-microsoft-bing-alerts/) 2021-05-31T22:54:52Z Google employees admit in lawsuit that the company made it nearly impossible for users to keep their location private ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133500/google-employees-admit-in-lawsuit-that-the-company-made-it-nearly-impossible-for-users-to-keep-their-location-private/) 2021-06-02T23:37:01Z Firefox 89 released with new UI ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133503/firefox-89-released-with-new-ui/) 2021-06-02T23:40:16Z Huawei officially replaces Android with HarmonyOS, which is also Android ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133505/huawei-officially-replaces-android-with-harmonyos-which-is-also-android/) 2021-06-04T22:38:55Z Google joins Apple to opt-out of mobile advertising IDs ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133508/google-joins-apple-to-opt-out-of-mobile-advertising-ids/) 2021-06-04T23:39:03Z What is NitrOS-9? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133510/what-is-nitros-9/) 2021-06-07T16:54:19Z iPhone 12 dropped in canal, retrieved with magnet ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133516/iphone-12-dropped-in-canal-retrieved-with-magnet/) 2021-06-07T23:04:43Z FreeBSD from a NetBSD user’s perspective ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133524/freebsd-from-a-netbsd-users-perspective/) 2021-06-07T23:03:11Z Progress on the OpenPOWER SpiderMonkey JIT ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133522/progress-on-the-openpower-spidermonkey-jit/) 2021-06-07T23:00:48Z Apple’s tightly controlled App Store is teeming with scams ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133520/apples-tightly-controlled-app-store-is-teeming-with-scams/) 2021-06-08T14:03:43Z Apple unveils macOS 12, iOS 15, iPadOS 15 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133526/apple-unveils-macos-12-ios-15-ipados-15/) 2021-06-08T14:11:46Z Apple will not roll out new privacy features in China and several other countries ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133528/apple-will-not-roll-out-new-privacy-features-in-china-and-several-other-countries/) 2021-06-09T03:55:03Z KDE Plasma 5.22 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133531/kde-plasma-5-22-released/) 2021-06-10T00:27:56Z What is Lua RTOS? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133539/what-is-lua-rtos/) 2021-06-10T00:31:32Z How Universal Control on macOS Monterey works ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133541/how-universal-control-on-macos-monterey-works/) 2021-06-10T00:57:28Z Android 12 Beta 2 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133543/android-12-beta-2-released/) 2021-06-12T00:44:21Z Google ends its attack on the URL bar, resumes showing full address in Chrome ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133550/google-ends-its-attack-on-the-url-bar-resumes-showing-full-address-in-chrome/) 2021-06-12T00:42:57Z Public key cryptography: OpenSSH private keys ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133547/public-key-cryptography-openssh-private-keys/) 2021-06-14T23:27:43Z CuteFish is a new Linux desktop environment ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133553/cutefish-is-a-new-linux-desktop-environment/) 2021-06-14T23:33:53Z A few thoughts on Fuchsia security ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133557/a-few-thoughts-on-fuchsia-security/) 2021-06-14T23:31:22Z PsychDOS: a desktop environment plus extra software for DOS users ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133555/psychdos-a-desktop-environment-plus-extra-software-for-dos-users/) 2021-06-15T23:22:20Z Is Sony’s 140MB MiniDisc drive the next Betamax? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133562/is-sonys-140mb-minidisc-drive-the-next-betamax/) 2021-06-15T23:31:56Z Windows 11 with new UX confirmed in a leak ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133564/windows-11-with-new-ux-confirmed-in-a-leak/) 2021-06-17T22:20:47Z Ohio Republicans close to imposing near-total ban on municipal broadband ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133569/ohio-republicans-close-to-imposing-near-total-ban-on-municipal-broadband/) 2021-06-17T22:22:23Z Airline and bank websites go down in another major internet failure ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133567/airline-and-bank-websites-go-down-in-another-major-internet-failure/) 2021-06-17T22:29:22Z Google wants to see Rust code in the Linux kernel, contracts the main developer ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133573/google-wants-to-see-rust-code-in-the-linux-kernel-contracts-the-main-developer/) 2021-06-20T01:08:09Z Safari 15 on Mac OS, a user interface mess ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133577/safari-15-on-mac-os-a-user-interface-mess/) 2021-06-20T23:12:53Z State of the Windows: how many layers of UI inconsistencies are in Windows 10? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133581/state-of-the-windows-how-many-layers-of-ui-inconsistencies-are-in-windows-10/) 2021-06-21T23:06:47Z State of the Windows, part 2: did Windows 10 slow down with each feature update? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133584/state-of-the-windows-part-2-did-windows-10-slow-down-with-each-feature-update/) 2021-06-21T23:19:54Z Haiku sets R1/Beta3 timeline and release date ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133586/haiku-sets-r1-beta3-timeline-and-release-date/) 2021-06-22T01:30:53Z Don’t piss off Bradley, the parts seller keeping Atari machines alive ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133588/dont-piss-off-bradley-the-parts-seller-keeping-atari-machines-alive/) 2021-06-22T23:09:54Z SiFive’s brand-new P550 is one of the world’s fastest RISC-V CPUs ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133593/sifives-brand-new-p550-is-one-of-the-worlds-fastest-risc-v-cpus/) 2021-06-23T13:34:49Z Tech giants, fearful of proposals to curb them, blitz Washington with lobbying ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133599/tech-giants-fearful-of-proposals-to-curb-them-blitz-washington-with-lobbying/) 2021-06-23T23:48:02Z PipeWire under the hood ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133602/pipewire-under-the-hood/) 2021-06-24T01:58:01Z Rocky Linux 8.4 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133595/rocky-linux-8-4-released/) 2021-06-24T02:04:11Z Brave Search beta now available ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133607/brave-search-beta-now-available/) 2021-06-24T23:40:35Z Microsoft unveils Windows 11 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133611/microsoft-unveils-windows-11/) 2021-06-25T02:15:56Z Google delays ending support for third-party cookies in Chrome to 2023 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133613/google-delays-ending-support-for-third-party-cookies-in-chrome-to-2023/) 2021-06-26T15:00:30Z Windows 11 is deleting Internet Explorer ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133615/windows-11-is-deleting-internet-explorer/) 2021-06-26T15:06:25Z DragonFlyBSD to see better low-level lock performance when heavily contested ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133619/dragonflybsd-to-see-better-low-level-lock-performance-when-heavily-contested/) 2021-06-26T15:04:09Z Microsoft will allow you to install any Android APK file in Windows 11 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133617/microsoft-will-allow-you-to-install-any-android-apk-file-in-windows-11/) 2021-06-26T19:43:53Z The death of Alpha on NT ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133621/the-death-of-alpha-on-nt/) 2021-06-26T19:55:21Z Microsoft remains vague and unclear about Windows 11’s minimum requirements ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133623/microsoft-remains-vague-and-unclear-about-windows-11s-minimum-requirements/) 2021-06-29T00:49:03Z Judge dismisses FTC and state antitrust complaints against Facebook ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133629/judge-dismisses-ftc-and-state-antitrust-complaints-against-facebook/) 2021-06-29T00:46:07Z The parallel universe of FireWire hubs ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133627/the-parallel-universe-of-firewire-hubs/) 2021-06-29T00:58:52Z Microsoft confirms TPM 2.0 is a hard floor for Windows 11 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133631/microsoft-confirms-tpm-2-0-is-a-hard-floor-for-windows-11/) 2021-06-29T23:52:57Z Announcing ARM64EC: building native and interoperable apps for Windows 11 on ARM ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133635/announcing-arm64ec-building-native-and-interoperable-apps-for-windows-11-on-arm/) 2021-06-29T23:55:18Z Canonical enables Ubuntu on SiFive’s HiFive RISC-V boards ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133637/canonical-enables-ubuntu-on-sifives-hifive-risc-v-boards/) 2021-06-30T00:01:54Z Microsoft digitally signs malicious rootkit driver ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133639/microsoft-digitally-signs-malicious-rootkit-driver/) 2021-07-01T03:13:46Z GitHub’s new Copilot code suggestion tool raises GPL concerns ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133642/githubs-new-copilot-code-suggestion-tool-raises-gpl-concerns/) 2021-07-01T03:23:55Z Google sunsets the APK format for new Android apps ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133647/google-sunsets-the-apk-format-for-new-android-apps/) 2021-07-03T00:34:25Z OnePlus commits to 3 years of Android updates by merging OxygenOS with Oppo’s ColorOS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133651/oneplus-commits-to-3-years-of-android-updates-by-merging-oxygenos-with-oppos-coloros/) 2021-07-03T00:31:30Z Qualcomm’s new CEO eyes dominance in the laptop markets ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133649/qualcomms-new-ceo-eyes-dominance-in-the-laptop-markets/) 2021-07-03T01:23:55Z Only Windows 11 Pro will let you install Windows 11 with a local account ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133653/only-windows-11-pro-will-let-you-install-windows-11-with-a-local-account/) 2021-07-05T22:12:15Z What should the CPU usage be of a fully-loaded CPU that has been throttled? ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133658/what-should-the-cpu-usage-be-of-a-fully-loaded-cpu-that-has-been-throttled/) 2021-07-05T22:28:35Z First ‘new VAX’ in 30 years, 64-bit extensions proposed ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133656/first-new-vax-in-30-years-64-bit-extensions-proposed/) 2021-07-05T22:55:54Z Audacity’s new owners turn it into spyware ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133663/audacitys-new-owners-turn-it-into-spyware/) 2021-07-07T01:22:03Z Moving from Windows 7 to Windows 11 will require a clean install ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133668/moving-from-windows-7-to-windows-11-will-require-a-clean-install/) 2021-07-07T01:37:44Z Ubuntu switches to zstd-compressed .debs ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133670/ubuntu-switches-to-zstd-compressed-debs/) 2021-07-08T03:01:11Z Google sued by 36 states over alleged Play Store abuses ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133672/google-sued-by-36-states-over-alleged-play-store-abuses/) 2021-07-08T03:07:59Z Extensions are moving away from the macOS kernel ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133675/extensions-are-moving-away-from-the-macos-kernel/) 2021-07-09T00:50:07Z The historical significance of DEC and the PDP-7, 8, 11 and VAX ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133678/the-historical-significance-of-dec-and-the-pdp-7-8-11-and-vax/) 2021-07-09T01:04:01Z Devs start bringing Windows 11 to Android phones from OnePlus, Xiaomi ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133686/devs-start-bringing-windows-11-to-android-phones-from-oneplus-xiaomi/) 2021-07-13T02:09:41Z Biden signs executive order targeting right to repair, ISPs, net neutrality, and more ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133688/biden-signs-executive-order-targeting-right-to-repair-isps-net-neutrality-and-more/) 2021-07-13T02:13:41Z A look into CBL-Mariner, Microsoft’s internal Linux distribution ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133690/a-look-into-cbl-mariner-microsofts-internal-linux-distribution/) 2021-07-14T00:36:59Z Porting QEMU to Redox OS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133698/porting-qemu-to-redox-os/) 2021-07-14T00:35:03Z Libre-SOC releases first non-IBM OpenPOWER chip in decade ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133696/libre-soc-releases-first-non-ibm-openpower-chip-in-decade/) 2021-07-15T18:25:44Z Valve unveils handheld console running Linux and Steam ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133706/valve-unveils-handheld-console-running-linux-and-steam/) 2021-07-15T23:57:47Z Microsoft launches Windows 365, a Windows desktop in the cloud ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133710/microsoft-launches-windows-365-a-windows-desktop-in-the-cloud/) 2021-07-17T01:26:40Z Amazon just got Fakespot booted off Apple’s iOS App Store ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133714/amazon-just-got-fakespot-booted-off-apples-ios-app-store/) 2021-07-17T01:41:19Z Haiku’s latest activity report, more RISC-V news, and a small delay for beta 3 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133716/haikus-latest-activity-report-more-risc-v-news-and-a-small-delay-for-beta-3/) 2021-07-17T20:47:08Z IBM, dominance, and big tech ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133713/ibm-dominance-and-big-tech/) 2021-07-17T20:46:16Z Haiku boots to desktop on real RISC-v hardware ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133720/haiku-boots-to-desktop-on-real-risc-v-hardware/) 2021-07-21T00:59:33Z The perils of M1 ownership ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133725/the-perils-of-m1-ownership/) 2021-07-21T01:05:12Z Revealed: leak uncovers global abuse of cyber-surveillance weapon ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133727/revealed-leak-uncovers-global-abuse-of-cyber-surveillance-weapon/) 2021-07-22T00:36:38Z From idea to icon: 50 years of the floppy disk ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133729/from-idea-to-icon-50-years-of-the-floppy-disk/) 2021-07-22T00:39:54Z Windows 11 is getting an LTSC version, but not yet ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133731/windows-11-is-getting-an-ltsc-version-but-not-yet/) 2021-07-23T01:06:37Z Plasma Mobile 21.07 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133736/plasma-mobile-21-07-released/) 2021-07-23T01:04:20Z Reverse-engineering the Mali G78 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133734/reverse-engineering-the-mali-g78/) 2021-07-23T01:16:57Z California sues Activision Blizzard over a culture of ‘constant sexual harassment’ ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133738/california-sues-activision-blizzard-over-a-culture-of-constant-sexual-harassment/) 2021-07-23T01:24:12Z Google messed up all those Chromebooks yesterday because of a single typo ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133740/google-messed-up-all-those-chromebooks-yesterday-because-of-a-single-typo/) 2021-07-24T23:37:06Z Loongson 3A5000 benchmarks for these new Chinese CPUs built on the LoongArch ISA ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133748/loongson-3a5000-benchmarks-for-these-new-chinese-cpus-built-on-the-loongarch-isa/) 2021-07-24T23:33:38Z Google will update very few devices to Wear OS 3 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133746/google-will-update-very-few-devices-to-wear-os-3/) 2021-07-26T22:45:04Z Intel’s process roadmap to 2025: with 4nm, 3nm, 20A and 18A?! ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133752/intels-process-roadmap-to-2025-with-4nm-3nm-20a-and-18a/) 2021-07-26T22:52:30Z Haiku R1/Beta3 released ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133754/haiku-r1-beta3-released/) 2021-07-27T00:58:36Z Framework’s modular, repairable laptop out in the wild ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133757/frameworks-modular-repairable-laptop-out-in-the-wild/) 2021-07-29T01:54:04Z Two Googlers offer a tour and coding demo of Fuchsia OS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133763/two-googlers-offer-a-tour-and-coding-demo-of-fuchsia-os/) 2021-07-29T01:50:47Z Emulating the IBM PC on an ESP32 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133761/emulating-the-ibm-pc-on-an-esp32/) 2021-07-30T01:17:19Z Android and Play Store get privacy labels for apps ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133765/android-and-play-store-get-privacy-labels-for-apps/) 2021-07-30T01:21:00Z Microsoft release first Windows 11 Preview build to the Beta channel ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133767/microsoft-release-first-windows-11-preview-build-to-the-beta-channel/) 2021-08-02T21:41:49Z Linux 5.14 drops old DEC Alpha-specific binary loader used for x86 binary emulation ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133772/linux-5-14-drops-old-dec-alpha-specific-binary-loader-used-for-x86-binary-emulation/) 2021-08-02T21:47:02Z IBM announces z/OS V2.5 ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133774/ibm-announces-z-os-v2-5/) 2021-08-02T21:51:11Z WireGuardNT: a high-performance WireGuard implementation for the Windows kernel ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133776/wireguardnt-a-high-performance-wireguard-implementation-for-the-windows-kernel/) 2021-08-02T21:56:01Z Remembering Radio Shack’s Windows competitor: Tandy DeskMate ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133778/remembering-radio-shacks-windows-competitor-tandy-deskmate/) 2021-08-02T22:00:54Z AMD and Valve working on new Linux CPU performance scaling design ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133780/amd-and-valve-working-on-new-linux-cpu-performance-scaling-design/) 2021-08-02T22:13:11Z Google unveils Pixel 6, with Google’s own SoC ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133782/google-unveils-pixel-6-with-googles-own-soc/) 2021-08-04T01:09:44Z Google drops supports for Google services for Android 2.3.7 and lower ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133785/google-drops-supports-for-google-services-for-android-2-3-7-and-lower/) 2021-08-04T01:12:32Z ReactOS improves amd64 support ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133787/reactos-improves-amd64-support/) 2021-08-06T00:16:38Z Apple’s plan to “Think Different” about encryption opens a backdoor to your private life ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133789/apples-plan-to-think-different-about-encryption-opens-a-backdoor-to-your-private-life/) 2021-08-06T00:22:38Z Airyx aims to bring some macOS to BSD ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133793/airyx-aims-to-bring-some-macos-to-bsd/) 2021-08-07T01:03:15Z The problem with perceptual hashes ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133795/the-problem-with-perceptual-hashes/) 2021-08-07T01:06:49Z An open letter against Apple’s privacy-invasive content scanning technology ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133797/an-open-letter-against-apples-privacy-invasive-content-scanning-technology/) 2021-08-07T01:26:35Z Apple: critics of continuous iPhone photo scanning are “screeching voices of the minority” ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133799/apple-critics-of-continuous-iphone-photo-scanning-are-screeching-voices-of-the-minority/) 2021-08-07T01:32:28Z Google working to bring the full Chrome browser to Fuchsia OS ⌘ [Read more...](https://www.osnews.com/story/133801/google-working-to-bring-the-full-chrome-browser-to-fuchsia-os/) 2021-08-09T01:24:35Z **One bad Apple**
Dr. Neal Krawetz, one of the leading experts in the area of computer forensics research, digital photo analysis, and related topics, has penned a blog post in which he takes apart Apple’s recent announcement and the technology behind it. He actually has a lot of experience with the very problem Apple is trying to deal with, since he is the creator of FotoForensics, and files CSAM reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) every day. In fact, he files more reports than ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133803/one-bad-apple/) 2021-08-10T23:30:47Z **Build your own NeXT with a virtual machine**
In 1985 Steve Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. in order to build the NeXT Computer. It was ahead of its time and had amazing features thanks to the NeXTSTEP operating system, most famously used at CERN by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to create the World Wide Web. NeXTSTEP later became OPENSTEP and when Apple acquired NeXT in 1997, they used it as the basis for Mac OS X and iOS. If you’ve done any Mac or iOS programming, you’ve seen the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133808/build-your-own-next-with-a-virtual-machine/) 2021-08-10T23:29:17Z **Why does the Steam Deck run Linux? Blame Windows**
Valve’s “Steam Deck” handheld PC has caused quite a stir among PC gaming geeks, but the biggest shakeup might not be its Nintendo Switch-like form factor. The software running inside of it is the real surprise. Why does the Steam Deck run Linux? Blame Windows. The Steam Deck and the software inside of it are the culmination of a nearly decade-long “hedging strategy” embarked upon by Valve chief Gabe Newell and company many ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133806/why-does-the-steam-deck-run-linux-blame-windows/) 2021-08-10T23:35:43Z **MorphOS 3.15 gets ram-handler bugfix**
MorphOS 3.15 ram-handler contains a bug that when unlucky may results in the RAM: root directory to appear to contain many duplicate entries. Multiple users had reported this over the years, but until recently the root cause of this issue had eluded us. Due to recent developments, the bug has finally been located and fixed (thanks to AngryTom for help!). Fixed ram-handler will be released as the part of the future MorphOS 3.16 release. Meanwhile you can in ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133810/morphos-3-15-gets-ram-handler-bugfix/) 2021-08-11T21:11:05Z **Essence: an new desktop operating system**
An operating system I’ve been writing since ~June 2017. Although it’s a long shot (and very optimistic), I ultimately intend it to replace Linux and Windows as a desktop operating system. Very optimistic, but there’s quite a few things here already. The code is on gitlab, where you can find more information, too. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133812/essence-an-new-desktop-operating-system/) 2021-08-11T21:15:15Z **Code written for Windows 3.1 still works well today**
So imagine my surprise when I dug around in a quarter-century-old archive to find a .zip file containing something that purported to be the original executable of Labyrinth. Surely such an ancient piece of code – written for Windows 3.1 – wouldn’t launch? Well, after a bit of fiddling with the Windows compatibility settings, I was shocked – and extremely pleased – to see that, yes, it most certainly did. It shouldn ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133814/code-written-for-windows-3-1-still-works-well-today/) 2021-08-11T21:38:32Z **App store competition targeted by bipartisan senate bill**
Their legislation would bar the companies from certain conduct that would tend to force developers to use their app stores or payment systems. It also would obligate the companies to protect app developers’ rights to tell consumers about lower prices and offer competitive pricing. It would effectively allow apps to be loaded onto Apple users’ devices outside of the company’s official app store. There’s so muc ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133816/app-store-competition-targeted-by-bipartisan-senate-bill/) 2021-08-13T02:00:44Z **First set of Windows app updates rolling out to Windows Insiders for Windows 11**
Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are rolling out the first set of updates for several apps that come included as part of Windows 11. The following app updates are rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel at first. Microsoft has updated some of the default Windows applications – Snipping Tool, Calculator, and Mail & Calendar. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133819/first-set-of-windows-app-updates-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders-for-windows-11/) 2021-08-13T02:05:17Z **Commodore 64 KERNAL, ported to Atari 8 bit computers**
This is the Commodore 64 KERNAL, modified to run on the Atari 8-bit line of computers. They’re practically the same machine; why didn’t someone try this 30 years ago? No time like the present. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133823/commodore-64-kernal-ported-to-atari-8-bit-computers/) 2021-08-13T02:04:04Z **Apple’s child protection features spark concern within its own ranks**
Apple employees have flooded an Apple internal Slack channel with more than 800 messages on the plan announced a week ago, workers who asked not to be identified told Reuters. Many expressed worries that the feature could be exploited by repressive governments looking to find other material for censorship or arrests, according to workers who saw the days-long thread. Past security changes at ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133821/apples-child-protection-features-spark-concern-within-its-own-ranks/) 2021-08-16T21:25:36Z **Build your own SPARC workstation with QEMU and Solaris**
A great intro to a classic platform by way of emulation and optionally even adapting a real physical keyboard: Back in the late 80s and through the 90s, Unix workstations were super powerful, super cool, and super expensive. If you were making 3D graphics or developing applications, you wanted a high-performance workstation and Sun made some of the best ones. But unless you worked for a huge company, university, or gover ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133825/build-your-own-sparc-workstation-with-qemu-and-solaris/) 2021-08-16T21:31:44Z **Debian GNU/Hurd 2021 released**
It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2021. This is a snapshot of Debian “sid” at the time of the stable Debian “bullseye” release (August 2021), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release. In this release, the port of go has been completed, experimental support for APIC, SMP, and 64bit has been added, and more. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133830/debian-gnu-hurd-2021-released/) 2021-08-16T21:29:09Z **Asahi Linux August progress report**
Asahi Linux, the effort to port Linux to Apple’s new M1 SoC, has posted its second progress report. It’s been a long time since the last update! In all honesty, the first Progress Report set the bar a little bit too high, and I found it difficult to sit down and put together monthly reports that would do it justice. So, going forward, we’re going to be providing shorter-form updates while striving to keep a monthly schedule. That said, a lot has happened ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133828/asahi-linux-august-progress-report/) 2021-08-16T21:34:16Z **Debian 11.0 released**
Speaking of Debian, there’s even bigger news than a new Debian GNU/Hurd release – Debian 11.0 is out and about! This release contains over 11,294 new packages for a total count of 59,551 packages, along with a significant reduction of over 9,519 packages which were marked as obsolete and removed. 42,821 packages were updated and 5,434 packages remained unchanged. As always, Debian release are big, and they are hugely important as they serve as the base for some of the most popular Li ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133832/debian-11-0-released/) 2021-08-18T15:39:47Z **Researchers produce collision in Apple’s child-abuse hashing system**
Researchers have produced a collision in iOS’s built-in hash function, raising new concerns about the integrity of Apple’s CSAM-scanning system. The flaw affects the hashing system, called NeuralHash, which allows Apple to check for exact matches of known child-abuse imagery without possessing any of the images or gleaning any information about non-matching pictures. On Tuesday, a GitHub us ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133835/researchers-produce-collision-in-apples-child-abuse-hashing-system/) 2021-08-19T00:59:25Z **Microsoft is making it harder to switch default browsers in Windows 11**
In Windows 11, Microsoft has changed the way you set default apps. Like Windows 10, there’s a prompt that appears when you install a new browser and open a web link for the first time. It’s the only opportunity to easily switch browsers, though. Unless you tick “always use this app,” the default will never be changed. It’s incredibly easy to forget to toggle the “always use thi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133837/microsoft-is-making-it-harder-to-switch-default-browsers-in-windows-11/) 2021-08-19T01:02:50Z **MATE 1.26 released**
The theme for this release has been adding new functionality to the MATE Desktop while maintaining the look and feel that we all know and love. While all the added features are surely quite exciting we also did not forget to do tons of bugfixing, modernising the code base and optimizing the performance. MATE is one of the two great alternatives for people who find GNOME 3 and later unpleasant (the other being Cinnamon, my DE of choice). ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133839/mate-1-26-released/) 2021-08-21T00:58:27Z **Performance improvements in .NET 6**
I at least peruse if not review in depth the vast majority of all those PRs, and every time I see a PR that is likely to impact performance, I make a note of it in a running log, giving me a long list of improvements I can revisit when it’s blog time. That made this August a little daunting, as I sat down to write this post and was faced with the list I’d curated of almost 550 PRs. Don’t worry, I don’t cover all of them here, but grab a large mug of you ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133841/performance-improvements-in-net-6/) 2021-08-21T01:04:26Z **286 vs. 386SX**
The Intel 386 SX CPU quickly replaced the 286 CPU in the early 1990s. For a time, it was a very popular CPU, especially for people who were wanting to run Microsoft Windows. Yet the two CPUs run at nearly identical speed. So what was the big deal? The 286 vs 386SX argument could be confusing in 1991, and it’s not much clearer today. Here at OSNews we pride ourselves in pointing you to the most relevant, up-to-date buying advice available on the internet. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133845/286-vs-386sx/) 2021-08-21T01:02:55Z **We built a system like Apple’s to flag child sexual abuse material – and concluded the tech was dangerous**
Earlier this month, Apple unveiled a system that would scan iPhone and iPad photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The announcement sparked a civil liberties firestorm, and Apple’s own employees have been expressing alarm. The company insists reservations about the system are rooted in “misunderstandings.” ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133843/we-built-a-system-like-apples-to-flag-child-sexual-abuse-material-and-concluded-the-tech-was-dangerous/) 2021-08-21T01:07:21Z **20 years of Haiku**
Dedication asks each of its adherents to have faith even as time and energy pass through from one year to the next. Dedication brings with it a variety of challenges, but also rewards. Dedication is something most people claim to have, but few readily exhibit it in the face of adversity. As of today, Aug. 18, 2021, the Haiku Project is celebrating two decades of dedication, marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Haiku operating system and the start of this ride to save, maintain, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133847/20-years-of-haiku/) 2021-08-24T03:00:20Z **Samsung confirms it’s removing ads from its stock apps later this year**
Samsung has confirmed that it will stop showing ads in default apps including Samsung Weather, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Theme. It follows comments made by its mobile chief TM Roh in an internal town hall meeting reported by Yonhap. “Samsung has made a decision to cease the advertisement on proprietary apps including Samsung Weather, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Theme,” the company said in ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133851/samsung-confirms-its-removing-ads-from-its-stock-apps-later-this-year/) 2021-08-25T03:11:36Z **The search for a FLOSS mobile OS**
For the last few weeks, I’ve been running CalyxOS. It is the latest in Free/Open Source mobile phone operating systems that I’ve used. This post is a summary of my experience using FLOSS mobile OSes and what my experience can tell us not only about phones, but Free/Open Source OSes in general. An excellent rundown of the various options in this space, and I’m tempted to see if I can make this step in the near future too. Cutting Google out of my mobile phone ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133856/the-search-for-a-floss-mobile-os/) 2021-08-25T03:09:40Z **Google Fuchsia update is rolling out widely to 1st-gen Nest Hubs**
More owners of the first-generation Nest Hub are Google Fuchsia update is rolling out widely to 1st-gen Nest Hubs as it expands beyond the Preview program. Back in May, Google formally released Fuchsia, its effort to develop a “not Linux” operating system from scratch, which has been years in the making. The first device to receive the new OS was Google’s 2018 smart display, the Nest Hub — not ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133854/google-fuchsia-update-is-rolling-out-widely-to-1st-gen-nest-hubs/) 2021-08-26T01:16:18Z **A decade and a half of instability: the history of Google messaging apps**
Currently, you would probably rank Google’s offerings behind every other big-tech competitor. A lack of any kind of top-down messaging leadership at Google has led to a decade and a half of messaging purgatory, with Google both unable to leave the space altogether and unable to commit to a single product. While companies like Facebook and Salesforce invest tens of billions of dollars ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133860/a-decade-and-a-half-of-instability-the-history-of-google-messaging-apps/) 2021-08-26T01:22:13Z **Thousands of Debian packages updated from their upstream Git repository**
Linux distributions like Debian fulfill an important function in the FOSS ecosystem – they are system integrators that take existing free and open source software projects and adapt them where necessary to work well together. They also make it possible for users to install more software in an easy and consistent way and with some degree of quality control and review. One of the conseq ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133862/thousands-of-debian-packages-updated-from-their-upstream-git-repository/) 2021-08-27T21:42:36Z **Apple just declared war on your privacy**
Edward Snowden: Having read thousands upon thousands of remarks on this growing scandal, it has become clear to me that many understand it doesn’t matter, but few if any have been willing to actually say it. Speaking candidly, if that’s still allowed, that’s the way it always goes when someone of institutional significance launches a campaign to defend an indefensible intrusion into our private spaces. They make a mad dash to the supposed high ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133866/apple-just-declared-war-on-your-privacy/) 2021-08-27T21:47:06Z **The semiconductor heist of the century: Arm China has gone completely rogue**
Arm is widely regarded as the most important semiconductor IP firm. Their IP ships in billions of new chips every year from phones, cars, microcontrollers, Amazon servers, and even Intel’s latest IPU. Originally it was a British owned and headquartered company, but SoftBank acquired the firm in 2016. They proceeded to plow money into Arm Holdings to develop deep pushes into the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133868/the-semiconductor-heist-of-the-century-arm-china-has-gone-completely-rogue/) 2021-08-28T12:16:43Z **Recent and not so recent changes in OpenBSD that make life better**
Known to be “functional, free and secure by default”, the OpenBSD operating system has played an important role in open source for more than a quarter century. It has also been fairly central to what I have done for the last two decades and some. What follows is my personal view of what life with OpenBSD has been like, with an emphasis on moments and developments that I feel made life, or at lea ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133870/recent-and-not-so-recent-changes-in-openbsd-that-make-life-better/) 2021-08-28T16:17:19Z **Microsoft will allow users to install Windows 11 on anything, but you won’t get updates**
Just in case you thought the Windows 11 upgrade and hardware compatibility situation couldn’t get any more confusing and complicated, Microsoft decided to do a Microsoft. This morning, Microsoft revealed a change of plan to The Verge: it won’t technically abandon those millions of PCs, because you’ll be able to manually install the downloadable Windo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133872/microsoft-will-allow-users-to-install-windows-11-on-anything-but-you-wont-get-updates/) 2021-08-29T23:17:22Z **Void Linux: excellent choice for more advanced Linux users**
Void is a general purpose operating system, based on the monolithic Linux kernel. Its package system allows you to quickly install, update and remove software; software is provided in binary packages or can be built directly from sources with the help of the XBPS source packages collection. Void Linux is one of my favourite distributions, but since it employs a rolling release model, I never really get the oppor ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133874/void-linux-excellent-choice-for-more-advanced-linux-users/) 2021-09-01T00:07:25Z **Why are hyperlinks blue?**
Elise Blanchard goes on a deep dive of ancient GUI design and early browsers to figure out why hyperlinks are blue. But now, I find myself all consumed by the question, WHY are links blue? WHO decided to make them blue? WHEN was this decision made, and HOW has this decision made such a lasting impact?  I turned to my co-workers to help me research, and we started to find the answer. Mosaic, an early browser released by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina on January 23, 1993, had blue h ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133881/why-are-hyperlinks-blue/) 2021-09-01T00:16:37Z **Linux 5.14 released with new hardware support, core scheduling, MEMFD_SECRET**
Version 5.14 of the most popular operating system kernel in the world has been released. See the Linux 5.14 feature list for a comprehensive list of the changes in this new kernel version. Some of the Linux 5.14 highlights include core scheduling support, secret memory areas support with MEMFD\_SECRET, continued enablement around Intel Alder Lake, Yellow Carp and Beige Goby AMD g ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133887/linux-5-14-released-with-new-hardware-support-core-scheduling-memfd_secret/) 2021-09-01T00:14:43Z **Windows 11 arrives on October 5, Android apps will come later**
Windows 11 is no longer merely “coming this fall.” Microsoft will begin releasing the new operating system to the public on October 5, starting with newer PCs (and PCs being sold in stores) and then rolling out to other supported systems over the next nine or so months. The company also says that the Amazon-powered Android app support coming to Windows 11 won’t be ready for public consumption at laun ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133885/windows-11-arrives-on-october-5-android-apps-will-come-later/) 2021-09-01T00:21:46Z **Apple and Google must allow developers to use other payment systems, new Korean law declares**
South Korea has passed a bill written to prevent major platform owners like Google and Apple from restricting app developers to built-in payment systems, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill is now expected to be signed into law by President Moon Jae-in, whose party championed the legislation. The law comes as a blow to Google and Apple who b ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133889/apple-and-google-must-allow-developers-to-use-other-payment-systems-new-korean-law-declares/) 2021-09-01T00:24:58Z **A new path: vm86-based Venix emulator**
So, I stole the bulk of my old 86sim-based Venix implementation, installed a i386 VM using bhyve on my FreeBSD/amd64 box and write a quick little test program. The test program worked, so in a fit of “why not give this a try” I ported the pcvenix.cc from 86sim to being driven from SIGSEGV in vm86 mode. Hello world quickly worked. I didn’t even know what Venix was before coming across this post, but it turns out it was a lightweight UNIX implementati ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133891/a-new-path-vm86-based-venix-emulator/) 2021-09-02T01:45:00Z **Windows Server 2022 released**
Today, we are announcing the general availability of Windows Server 2022. It’s a big step forward for the operating system that is trusted by major corporations and small businesses alike to run their business and mission-critical workloads. It comes with tons of security improvements (of course), SMB compression, support for up to 48TB of memory and 2048 threads running on 64 sockets, and more. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133893/windows-server-2022-released/) 2021-09-04T02:02:28Z **Apple delays rollout of controversial child safety features to make improvements**
Apple, in a statement to various news outlets: Last month we announced plans for features intended to help protect children from predators who use communication tools to recruit and exploit them, and limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material. Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133901/apple-delays-rollout-of-controversial-child-safety-features-to-make-improvements/) 2021-09-04T01:59:15Z **NEC’s forgotten FPUs**
The story of NEC’s FPUs is interesting, but as is usually the case, something led me down this path. While looking through loads of old scrap boards I found a most curious arrangement, a board with a normal unassuming V30 processor, but right next to it was another 40-pin chip, a chip with a HUGE die lid labeled D9008D, dated similar to everything else, in the 1989-1991 range curiously copyrighted 85 86 and ’87. I pulled the chip (soldered in , of course) and it sat on my desk, for ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133896/necs-forgotten-fpus/) 2021-09-04T02:10:34Z **This unsuspecting Lightning cable packs an implant that can log everything you type**
Dubbed OMG Cables, these new variants are more capable than their counterparts. According to their creator, payloads can be triggered from over one mile away. Attackers can use them to log keystrokes and change keyboard mappings. There is also a geofencing feature, a kill switch and the ability to forge the identity of specific USB devices, like those that can lev ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133897/this-unsuspecting-lightning-cable-packs-an-implant-that-can-log-everything-you-type/) 2021-09-04T02:08:30Z **PC-86-DOS**
A number of years ago, an 8″ disk containing Seattle Computer Products (SCP) 86-DOS 1.0 was successfully imaged. The newest files on the disk are dated April 30, 1981, making the disk the oldest complete release of what was soon to be known as PC DOS and MS-DOS, about a month older than a pre-release of PC DOS from early June 1981. While it is possible to run the 8″ disk image with 86-DOS version 1.00 under an emulator, it of course doesn’t run on a PC or any PC emulator/virtualizer. That’s a shame be ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133903/pc-86-dos/) 2021-09-04T02:14:53Z **Why can an ad break the Windows 11 desktop and taskbar?**
Earlier today, Microsoft pushed a promotional message to early adopters of Windows 11. The promo intended to promote the upcoming operating system’s integration with Microsoft Teams. Instead, it caused Explorer (the Windows desktop shell) to stop responding and left users without a working Start menu and taskbar. Based on the Microsoft-provided workaround, I narrowed the problem down to a registry key that contained a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133909/why-can-an-ad-break-the-windows-11-desktop-and-taskbar/) 2021-09-06T23:10:57Z **KDE Slimbook: the best way to run KDE**
How do you write a review of a laptop when you’re struggling to find truly negative things to say? This is rarely an issue – every laptop is a compromise – but with the KDE Slimbook, I feel like I’ve hit this particular problem for the first time. A luxury, for sure, but it makes writing this review a lot harder than it’s supposed to be. First, let’s talk about SlimBook itself. Slimbook is a Linux OEM from Spain, founded in 2015, which sells v ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133880/kde-slimbook-the-best-way-to-run-kde/) 2021-09-06T23:07:27Z **Germany wants smartphone makers to offer 7 years of software updates**
Apple is gearing up to roll out iOS 15 later this year. The company plans to roll it out to several of its devices, going all the way back to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. This will make Apple the only smartphone OEM to offer seven years of software updates to its devices. That’s a remarkable feat, considering that only a couple of OEMs on the Android side promise three years of OS upgra ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133921/germany-wants-smartphone-makers-to-offer-7-years-of-software-updates/) 2021-09-08T22:18:52Z **Android 12 is ‘just a few weeks away’ as release candidate Beta 5 lands**
Android 12 Beta 5 is here. For those that haven’t been following along at home, this is the last expected release before it hits stable and is ready for the masses — a so-called “release candidate” version that should be almost good to go. This latest version also picks up support for the brand new Pixel 5a, and it’s your last chance to get those beta-testing toes wet before ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133927/android-12-is-just-a-few-weeks-away-as-release-candidate-beta-5-lands/) 2021-09-08T22:28:34Z **Unlike POWER9, IBM’s new POWER10 processors are not completely open source**
While POWER9 was big for open-source fans with the formation of the OpenPOWER Foundation and Raptor Computing Systems designing POWER9-based systems that are fully open-source down to schematics and the motherboard firmware, the same can’t be currently said about POWER10. While IBM has published a lot of the POWER10 firmware as open-source, remaining closed for at least the time ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133931/unlike-power9-ibms-new-power10-processors-are-not-completely-open-source/) 2021-09-09T02:41:22Z **Pumpkin OS: Palm OS ported to x86-64**
Pumpkin is the name I have given to my port of PalmOS running on the x64 architecture. Please refer to this article for basic information on this project. Also look for other articles in the PalmOS category for more information and some technical details on the implementation. This article is about the first Technology Preview of this project: a functional version of Pumpkin OS running on the Windows platform. This first release is limited on purpose: just ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133933/pumpkin-os-palm-os-ported-to-x86-64/) 2021-09-11T01:35:54Z **Why that Thunderbolt add-in card doesn’t work properly in your unsupported PC**
I’ve long been intrigued by Thunderbolt add-in cards. Apparently regular looking PCIe expansion cards, but shipped with a mystery interface cable to the motherboard, of which there is a small list of supported models. It’s not a secret that these cards may work in a motherboard which isn’t supported, but full functionality is not a given. I have spent the past few even ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133935/why-that-thunderbolt-add-in-card-doesnt-work-properly-in-your-unsupported-pc/) 2021-09-11T01:38:28Z **Revealed: Google illegally underpaid thousands of workers across dozens of countries**
Google has been illegally underpaying thousands of temporary workers in dozens of countries and delayed correcting the pay rates for more than two years as it attempted to cover up the problem, the Guardian can reveal. Google executives have been aware since at least May 2019 that the company was failing to comply with local laws in the UK, Europe and Asia that m ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133937/revealed-google-illegally-underpaid-thousands-of-workers-across-dozens-of-countries/) 2021-09-11T01:45:34Z **Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI**
WSLg is short for Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI and the purpose of the project is to enable support for running Linux GUI applications (X11 and Wayland) on Windows in a fully integrated desktop experience. WSLg provides an integrated experience for developers, scientists or enthusiasts that prefer or need to run Windows on their PC but also need the ability to run tools or applications which works best, or exclusively, in a Linux environment. While users can accom ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133939/windows-subsystem-for-linux-gui/) 2021-09-11T01:52:15Z **Major win for Epic Games: Apple has 90 days to open up app store payments**
On Friday, the Northern California judge handling the closely watched Epic Games v. Apple court case turned in a ruling that, in many ways, works out in Apple’s favor—but with one massive, App Store-changing exception. The ruling from US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers includes a single-page permanent injunction demanding that Apple open up payment options for any software ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133941/major-win-for-epic-games-apple-has-90-days-to-open-up-app-store-payments/) 2021-09-11T01:56:50Z **PC DOS 1.1 from scratch**
A number of years ago, the Computer History Museum together with Microsoft released the source code for MS-DOS 1.25 (very close to PC DOS 1.1) and MS-DOS 2.11. I never did anything with it beyond glancing at the code, in no small part because the release was rather poorly organized. The obvious gaping hole is the lack of any source code for IBMBIO.COM. I do not know exactly what arrangement IBM and Microsoft had at the time, but in the days of DOS 1.x and 2.x OEMs did not get the s ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133943/pc-dos-1-1-from-scratch/) 2021-09-14T18:58:01Z **South Korea fines Google, allows Android forks**
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday Google’s contract terms with device makers amounted to an abuse of its dominant market position that restricted competition in the mobile OS market. Under the AFA, manufacturers could not equip their handsets with modified versions of Android, known as “Android forks”. That has helped Google cement its market dominance in the mobile OS market, the KFTC said. Under the ruling, G ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133946/south-korea-fines-google-allows-android-forks/) 2021-09-14T19:02:34Z **Mozilla has defeated Microsoft’s default browser protections in Windows**
In version 91 of Firefox, released on August 10th, Mozilla has reverse engineered the way Microsoft sets Edge as default in Windows 10, and enabled Firefox to quickly make itself the default. Before this change, Firefox users would be sent to the Settings part of Windows 10 to then have to select Firefox as a default browser and ignore Microsoft’s plea to keep Edge. Mozilla’s revers ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133948/mozilla-has-defeated-microsofts-default-browser-protections-in-windows/) 2021-09-16T23:41:42Z **Intel Seamless Update: Intel preparing for system firmware updates without the reboot**
“Intel Seamless Update” is a forthcoming feature for Intel platforms seemingly first being exposed by their new Linux kernel patches working on the functionality… Intel is working on being able to carry out system firmware updates such as UEFI updates but doing so at run-time and being able to avoid the reboot in the process. Pretty cool, but sadly, it’ ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133951/intel-seamless-update-intel-preparing-for-system-firmware-updates-without-the-reboot/) 2021-09-16T23:46:01Z **Sailfish OS 4.2.0 released**
Sailfish OS 4.2.0 has been released, and it packs a completely reworked sharing systems, improvements to the browser and camera application, further work on application sandboxing, and more. Read the full release notes for more details. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133953/sailfish-os-4-2-0-released/) 2021-09-17T00:11:54Z **GNOME to prevent theming, wider community not happy**
If you’ve been paying attention to recent chatter in the GNOME and surrounding communities, you may have noticed there’s a lot of disgruntled developers within certain communities that rely on parts of the GNOME stack, such as Pop!\_OS and Budgie. I’ve been trying to follow most of these discussions and have been itching to write about it, but with the discussions still ongoing and my own lack of knowledge on the intricac ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133955/gnome-to-prevent-theming-wider-community-not-happy/) 2021-09-18T01:37:05Z **AMD: we stand ready to make Arm chips**
AMD’s CFO Devinder Kumar recently commented that AMD stands ready to manufacture Arm chips if needed, noting that the company’s customers want to work with AMD on Arm-based solutions. Kumar’s remarks came during last week’s Deutsche Bank Technology Conference, building on comments from AMD CEO Lisa Su earlier in the year that underscored the company’s willingness to create custom silicon solutions for its customers, be they based on x86 or Arm a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133958/amd-we-stand-ready-to-make-arm-chips/) 2021-09-18T01:48:43Z **Apple, Google cooperate with Putin to steal Russia’s elections**
Alphabet’s Google and Apple have removed jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s tactical voting app from their stores, his team said on Friday, after Russia accused the U.S. tech firms of meddling in its internal affairs. Russia goes to the polls on Friday to elect a new parliament in a three-day vote that the ruling United Russia party is expected to win despite a ratings slump after the biggest crac ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133960/apple-google-cooperate-with-putin-to-steal-russias-elections/) 2021-09-18T01:50:58Z **Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair dies aged 81**
Sir Clive Sinclair, the inventor and entrepreneur who was instrumental in bringing home computers to the masses, has died at the age of 81. His daughter, Belinda, said he died at home in London on Thursday morning after a long illness. Sinclair invented the pocket calculator but was best known for popularising the home computer, bringing it to British high-street stores at relatively affordable prices. One of the great ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133962/home-computing-pioneer-sir-clive-sinclair-dies-aged-81/) 2021-09-22T01:14:24Z **Panfrost achieves OpenGL ES 3.1 conformance on Mali-G52**
The open source Panfrost driver for Mali GPUs has now achieved official conformance on Mali-G52 for OpenGL ES 3.1, as seen on the Khronos adopters list. This important milestone is a step forward for the open source driver, as it now certifies Panfrost for use in commercial products containing Mali G52 and paves the way for further conformance submissions on other Mali GPUs. Excellent news, and great progress. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133967/panfrost-achieves-opengl-es-3-1-conformance-on-mali-g52/) 2021-09-22T01:10:31Z **Apple releases iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, HomePod 15, tvOS 15**
Apple has released new versions of all of its platforms, with only the Mac lagging behind for now. There’s iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, HomePod 15, and tvOS 15. As usual, Apple’s device support for new updates is excellent and stretches back quite far, so pretty much every one of you who is an iOS users will be able to enjoy these new releases. You know where to find them. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133970/apple-releases-ios-15-ipados-15-watchos-8-homepod-15-tvos-15/) 2021-09-22T01:19:07Z **DOS Subsystem for Linux: run Linux on DOS**
A WSL alternative for users who prefer an MS-DOS environment. DOS Subsystem for Linux integrates a real Linux environment into MS-DOS systems, allowing users to make use of both DOS and Linux applications from the DOS command prompt. What is this unholy union. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133966/dos-subsystem-for-linux-run-linux-on-dos/) 2021-09-23T22:11:41Z **Android to take an “upstream first” development model for the Linux kernel**
The Linux Plumbers Conference is this week, and since Android is one of the biggest distributors of the Linux kernel in the world, Google software engineer Todd Kjos stopped by for a progress report from the Android team. Android 12—which will be out any day now—promises to bring Android closer than ever to mainline Linux by shipping Google’s “Generic Kernel Image” (GK ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133979/android-to-take-an-upstream-first-development-model-for-the-linux-kernel/) 2021-09-23T22:31:28Z **Microsoft’s fall Surface event: the 7 biggest announcements**
Microsoft just wrapped up its latest Surface event, and it was packed with news — including the redesigned Surface Pro 8, a camera-equipped Surface Duo 2, and even a new flagship laptop that puts a hinge behind the screen. There’s a lot of cool new hardware in here. I’ve always liked Microsoft’s Surface line of devices, and even own a few of them. They’re not much use to me anymore – Surface Linux s ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133983/microsofts-fall-surface-event-the-7-biggest-announcements/) 2021-09-23T22:27:34Z **EU proposes mandatory USB-C on all devices, including iPhones**
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has announced plans to force smartphone and other electronics manufacturers to fit a common USB-C charging port on their devices. The proposal is likely to have the biggest impact on Apple, which continues to use its proprietary Lightning connector rather than the USB-C connector adopted by most of its competitors. The rules are intended to cu ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133978/eu-proposes-mandatory-usb-c-on-all-devices-including-iphones/) 2021-09-23T22:35:38Z **If you upgrade to Windows 11 on an unsupported PC, you will have to sign a waiver first**
While we now know that Microsoft will only provide support for the new OS to the processors from both Intel and AMD that are in its list of supported CPUs, the company also stated that users on unsupported systems could still go ahead with an install using ISOs if they are interested. But this in return would leave their systems in an unsupported state. It ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133985/if-you-upgrade-to-windows-11-on-an-unsupported-pc-you-will-have-to-sign-a-waiver-first/) 2021-09-25T01:56:12Z **Examining btrfs, Linux’s perpetually half-finished filesystem**
Btrfs—short for “B-Tree File System” and frequently pronounced “butter” or “butter eff ess”—is the most advanced filesystem present in the mainline Linux kernel. In some ways, btrfs simply seeks to supplant ext4, the default filesystem for most Linux distributions. But btrfs also aims to provide next-gen features that break the simple “filesystem” mold, combining the functionality of a R ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133987/examining-btrfs-linuxs-perpetually-half-finished-filesystem/) 2021-09-28T15:30:37Z **EAC has come to Linux and BattlEye is inbound**
The Verge: Valve promised it would work with anti-cheat software makers EAC and BattlEye to ensure some of the most popular games will run on its upcoming Steam Deck Linux-based gaming handheld, and one of those companies is now officially on board — Epic Games announced today that its Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) now supports Linux and Mac. Not only that, it’s specifically set up to work with the Proton and Wine compatibility layers that Va ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133990/eac-has-come-to-linux-and-battleye-is-inbound/) 2021-09-28T15:38:44Z **In public, Apple champions fighting climate change – behind closed doors, Apple lobbies against climate change legislation**
In public, Apple claims it supports legislation to combat climate change. Jackson, now Apple’s VP for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, released a statement asserting that “the urgent threat of climate change is a key priority” for the company. Jackson called on Congress a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133992/in-public-apple-champions-fighting-climate-change-behind-closed-doors-apple-lobbies-against-climate-change-legislation/) 2021-09-29T19:18:41Z **Android 12.1 leak shows off iPad-style dock, dual-pane system UI**
Like the good (and quickly abandoned) Android tablet interfaces of yore, Android 12.1 sees Google return to dual-pane layouts for various bits of the OS interface. The settings screen is back to a dual-pane configuration, which has the top-level settings list on the left and each individual page of settings on the right. The notification panel takes a similar approach, with the quick settings on the l ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133996/android-12-1-leak-shows-off-ipad-style-dock-dual-pane-system-ui/) 2021-09-30T23:33:20Z **Fairphone 4 has an incredible 5-year warranty, aims for 6 years of updates**
Fairphone is unique in the world of smartphones. It’s pretty much the only company trying to build a sustainable device that isn’t glued together and hostile to the repair community. Today, Fairphone is announcing a brand-new flagship: the Fairphone 4, which brings an updated design and better specs while still shipping with all the modularity you would expect. A lot of welcome ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134000/fairphone-4-has-an-incredible-5-year-warranty-aims-for-6-years-of-updates/) 2021-09-30T23:30:44Z **Apple’s fortress of secrecy is crumbling from the inside**
Apple’s remote work struggle is emblematic of a deeper shift taking place inside the company. Since 1976, the tech giant has operated in largely the same way: executives make decisions about how the company will function, and employees either fall in line or leave. What choice do they have? Apple is currently worth $2 trillion, making it the most valuable company in the world, as well as one of the most powerful. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133998/apples-fortress-of-secrecy-is-crumbling-from-the-inside/) 2021-09-30T23:39:37Z **FyneDesk: an open source desktop environment in Go**
The FyneDesk project is taking a fresh look at what it means to be a desktop environment. Using the same beautiful and user friendly graphics of the Fyne toolkit you will find it a great place to call home on your computer. We also want to make it easy to update, add to or change your desktop just like you can with any other Open Source software. And so the design of our desktop project has put ease of learning and development in ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134002/fynedesk-an-open-source-desktop-environment-in-go/) 2021-10-01T00:10:43Z **Epic Games Store, Discord, and Zoom all join Windows 11’s more flexible app store**
Now we’re seeing some of the fruits of that change—Microsoft has announced that major third-party apps like Zoom, Discord, Adobe Reader, the VLC media player, and even the LibreOffice suite are all now available in the Microsoft Store for people using the Windows 11 Insider Preview builds. Web apps like Wikipedia, Reddit, and Tumblr are also available. These PWAs ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134004/epic-games-store-discord-and-zoom-all-join-windows-11s-more-flexible-app-store/) 2021-10-04T23:44:25Z **The Apple A15 SoC performance review: faster and more efficient**
Apple’s iPhone component design seems to be limiting the SoC from achieving even better results, especially the newer Pro models, however even with that being said and done, Apple remains far above the competition in terms of performance and efficiency. Overall, while the A15 isn’t the brute force iteration we’ve become used to from Apple in recent years, it very much comes with substantial generat ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134006/the-apple-a15-soc-performance-review-faster-and-more-efficient/) 2021-10-04T23:52:54Z **The Facebook files**
Apparently, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp experienced a massive outage today – just days after a huge whistleblower report confirmed what we already knew – Facebook is sleazy, destructive, negligent, and as close to actual evil as an inanimate entity can be. Facebook Inc. knows, in acute detail, that its platforms are riddled with flaws that cause harm, often in ways only the company fully understands. That is the central finding of a Wall Street Journal series, based on a review o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134010/the-facebook-files/) 2021-10-04T23:49:22Z **Brave and Firefox to intercept links that force-open in Microsoft Edge**
If you think making it harder to change the default browser away from Edge in Windows 11 was the only sleazy tactic Microsoft is employing to shove Edge down Windows users’ throats – think again. The company is using a microsoft-edge: URL scheme everywhere in Windows to bypass the default browser setting altogether, but luckily, competing browsers have caught on. The Brave web browse ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134008/brave-and-firefox-to-intercept-links-that-force-open-in-microsoft-edge/) 2021-10-04T23:58:03Z **Android 12 source code released**
Today we’re pushing the source to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and officially releasing the latest version of Android. Keep an eye out for Android 12 coming to a device near you starting with Pixel in the next few weeks and Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi devices later this year. The first Android 12 reviews have rolled out too, and the conclusion seems to be that this new release focuses heavily on overhauling the look a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134012/android-12-source-code-released/) 2021-10-05T00:07:16Z **Windows 11 released**
A day early, Microsoft has decided to release Windows 11. Today marks an exciting milestone in the history of Windows. As the day becomes October 5 in each time zone around the world, availability of Windows 11 begins through a free upgrade on eligible Windows 10 PCs and on new PCs pre-installed with Windows 11 that can be purchased beginning today. This is the first release of Windows I haven’t personally used or even tested, but much like Android 12 that’s also been released today, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134014/windows-11-released/) 2021-10-05T20:18:08Z **Insiders in Apple’s healthcare organization say its leaders suppress concerns and mislead executives**
It’s a symptom of what insiders say are deeper organizational problems that have left the health group without clear direction and struggling to mesh Apple’s hardware-oriented culture with the practices of the medical business. People at Apple Health said that they saw colleagues face retribution for disagreeing with superior ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134016/insiders-in-apples-healthcare-organization-say-its-leaders-suppress-concerns-and-mislead-executives/) 2021-10-05T23:19:49Z **Linux on the M1: progress report for September 2021**
It’s been a busy month! We’ve had a lot of movement in kernel land, as well as some tooling improvements and reverse engineering sessions. At this point, Asahi Linux is usable as a basic Linux desktop (without GPU acceleration)! The ground had been shifting until now, but we’re seeing drivers settle down. Let’s take a look at what’s been going on. Linux on Apple’s M1 Macs is making progress, but I would never buy an ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134020/linux-on-the-m1-progress-report-for-september-2021/) 2021-10-05T23:28:27Z **Lumina Desktop 1.6.1 released**
A desktop environment I had never heard of until now has seen its first new release in 611 days – always awesome to read about unknown projects like this, so here we go. Anyway onto the point, yes the project is still alive and there’s been some updates. This release encompasses two main things. First is a collection of minor fixes that have gone into master since 1.6.0 came out, along with some translation updates. This includes two small additional binaries for us ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134022/lumina-desktop-1-6-1-released/) 2021-10-05T23:32:53Z **Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s opening statement to US Senate subcommittee** ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134018/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugens-opening-statement-to-us-senate-subcommittee/) 2021-10-05T23:32:13Z **D-Wave announces new hardware, compiler, and plans for quantum computing**
Tracking quantum computing has been a bit confusing in that there are multiple approaches to it. Most of the effort goes toward what are called gate-based computers, which allow you to perform logical operations on individual qubits. These are well understood theoretically and can perform a variety of calculations. But it’s possible to make gate-based systems out of a variety of qubits ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134025/d-wave-announces-new-hardware-compiler-and-plans-for-quantum-computing/) 2021-10-07T15:11:24Z **How Linux and open-source software took the computing world by storm**
Interview with Miguel de Icaza about his own journey, GNU, Linux, GNOME, and open source software in general. It’s an interview for a mainstream audience, but with plenty of fun stories that should entertain any OSNews reader. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134030/how-linux-and-open-source-software-took-the-computing-world-by-storm/) 2021-10-08T01:21:12Z **Atari ST in daily use since 1985**
This Atari 1040ST is still in use after 36 years! Frans Bos bought this Atari in 1985 to run his camp site (Camping Böhmerwald). He wrote his own software over the years to manage his camp site, as well as reservations and the registration of the guests. He really likes the speed of the machine compared to newer computers. And 6 months every year the machine is on day and night. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134027/atari-st-in-daily-use-since-1985/) 2021-10-08T01:26:56Z **The Ampere Altra Max review: pushing it to 128 cores per socket**
On the competitive landscape, Ampere is carving out its niche for the moment, but what happens once AMD or Intel increase their core counts as well? A 50% increase in core counts for next-gen Genoa should be sufficient for AMD to catch up with the M128 in raw throughput, and technologies such as V-cache should make sure the HPC segment is fully covered as well, a segment Ampere appears to have no interes ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134043/the-ampere-altra-max-review-pushing-it-to-128-cores-per-socket/) 2021-10-08T01:33:03Z **Introduction to generating and running OS/360 on Hercules**
This is an introduction to getting IBM’s OS/360 operating system loaded and running on the Hercules emulator for the System/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture systems. It assumes you have some familiarity with the 370, and with OS; in particular, you need to have some understanding of JCL, and of OS/360 (or later versions, like MVS or OS/390) usage and operation. It does not purport to be an introduction to the wor ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134047/introduction-to-generating-and-running-os-360-on-hercules/) 2021-10-08T01:29:21Z **The best part of Windows 11 is a revamped Windows Subsystem for Linux**
For years now, Windows 10’s Windows Subsystem for Linux has been making life easier for developers, sysadmins, and hobbyists who have one foot in the Windows world and one foot in the Linux world. But WSL, handy as it is, has been hobbled by several things it could not do. Installing WSL has never been as easy as it should be—and getting graphical apps to work has historically been pos ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134045/the-best-part-of-windows-11-is-a-revamped-windows-subsystem-for-linux/) 2021-10-09T02:46:43Z **Shareholders pressure Microsoft into expanding its right-to-repair efforts**
Microsoft’s Xbox and Surface hardware may be getting easier to repair, according to a press release from shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow. According to the announcement, Microsoft has agreed to evaluate and expand the repair options for its products “by the end of 2022.” The promises are a bit vague for now, but hopefully this will have a real-world impact. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134060/shareholders-pressure-microsoft-into-expanding-its-right-to-repair-efforts/) 2021-10-09T02:44:42Z **Quickemu: quickly create and run optimised Windows, macOS and Linux virtual machines**
Quickly create and run highly optimised desktop virtual machines for Linux, macOS and Windows; with just two commands. You decide what operating system you want to run and Quickemu will figure out the best way to do it for you. Excellent idea. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134058/quickemu-quickly-create-and-run-optimised-windows-macos-and-linux-virtual-machines/) 2021-10-09T02:51:43Z **Google’s Fuchsia is expanding to ‘additional smart devices and other form factors’**
In the years leading up to that launch, we’ve uncovered signs of the Fuchsia team developing support for a variety of Google devices, including the Nest Hub Max, 2021’s second-gen Nest Hub, and more. Now, it seems, Google is ready to make its next steps more public, in a series of job listings posted this week, some of which reference a “Fuchsia Devices” ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134062/googles-fuchsia-is-expanding-to-additional-smart-devices-and-other-form-factors/) 2021-10-12T01:22:40Z **The insane innovation of TI calculator hobbyists**
In the mid-to-late 2000s, you either knew, or were, that kid in grade school. You know. The one who could put games on your graphing calculator. You may be surprised to learn that some of these people didn’t exist totally in a vacuum. There was in fact a thriving scene of hackers who had bent these calculators to their will, writing games, math software, and more generally hacking on the platform just for the sake of it. True ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134064/the-insane-innovation-of-ti-calculator-hobbyists/) 2021-10-12T01:57:26Z **Haiku monthly activity report for September**
Another month has passed, so time for another monthly update from the Haiku team. This time around, we get two for the price of one. First, the regular monthly activity report, where we can read that work on the ARM64 and RISC-V ports continues, and while these ports are nowhere near complete, they serve an important function both in discovering bugs and issues, as well as in getting Haiku ready for future architecture transitions. Tracker ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134068/haiku-monthly-activity-report-for-september-2/) 2021-10-14T00:45:30Z **The 100 MHz 6502**
The 6502 was the CPU in my first computer (an Apple II plus), as well as many other popular home computers of the late 1970s and 80s. It lived on well into the 1990s in game consoles and chess computers, mostly in its updated “65C02” CMOS version. Here’s a re-implementation of the 65C02 in an FPGA, in a pin-compatible format that lets you upgrade those old computers and games to 100 MHz clock rate! Interesting project. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134072/the-100-mhz-6502/) 2021-10-14T00:49:50Z **DragonFly 6.0.1 released**
6.0.1 is tagged and available. The major reason for this update is an expired Let’s Encrypt certificate that would cause problems when downloading dpkg binaries. A list of 6.0.1 commits is available. Not a whole lot going on in this release, but still a major bug fix. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134074/dragonfly-6-0-1-released/) 2021-10-15T01:07:36Z **First Windows 11 patch tuesday makes Ryzen L3 cache latency worse, AMD puts out fix dates**
Shortly after Windows 11 launch, AMD and Microsoft jointly discovered that Windows 11 is poorly optimized for AMD Ryzen processors, which see significantly increased L3 cache latency, and the UEFI-CPPC2 (preferred cores mechanism) rendered not working. In our own testing, a Ryzen 7 2700X “Pinnacle Ridge” processor, which typically posts an L3 cache ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134076/first-windows-11-patch-tuesday-makes-ryzen-l3-cache-latency-worse-amd-puts-out-fix-dates/) 2021-10-15T01:12:41Z **OpenBSD 7.0 released**
OpenBSD 7.0 has been released, and it seems a big focus for this release was improving ARM64 support, and adding support for RISC-V. There’s a long list or other improvements and fixes, too, of course. Downloads are where they always are. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134084/openbsd-7-0-released/) 2021-10-15T01:09:47Z **How Microsoft reduced Windows 11 update size by 40%**
Microsoft delivers the latest Windows security and user experiences updates monthly. Updates are modular meaning that, regardless of which update you currently have installed, you only need the most recent quality update to get your machine up to date. With the fast pace of Windows security and quality fixes, distributing this large amount of updated content takes up substantial bandwidth. Reducing this network transfer is crit ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134082/how-microsoft-reduced-windows-11-update-size-by-40/) 2021-10-15T01:16:34Z **Ubuntu 21.10 released**
Ubuntu 21.10 brings a wide variety of improvements, most notably on the desktop side switching to GNOME Shell 40 and offering many improvements there including some theme refinements. There are also many underlying improvements to enjoy with Ubuntu 21.10, like what gets us excited about kernel and compiler upgrades along with other notable package version bumps. Adding Wayland support for NVIDIA drivers is a big improvement, as is the addition of PipeWire. There’s also a big regressi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134086/ubuntu-21-10-released/) 2021-10-16T22:45:32Z **Plasma 25th Anniversary Edition released**
25 years ago today, Matthias Ettrich sent an email to the de.comp.os.linux.misc newsgroup explaining a project he was working on. The latest and direct result of that email (plus a quarter of a century of relentless experimentation, development and innovation) has just landed in KDE’s repositories. This time around, Plasma renews its looks and, not only do you get a new wallpaper, but also a gust of fresh air from an updated theme: Breeze – Blu ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134093/plasma-25th-anniversary-edition-released/) 2021-10-16T22:52:19Z **Sculpt OS release 21.10**
First and technically most exciting, the new version enables the use of hardware-accelerated graphics on Intel GPUs, paving the ground for graphics-intensive applications and games. The GPU support is based on the combination of the Mesa library stack with our custom GPU multiplexer as featured in Genode 21.08. Note that this fresh new feature should best be regarded as experimental and be used with caution. Second, our port of the Chromium-based Falkon web browser has become able ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134097/sculpt-os-release-21-10/) 2021-10-16T22:49:03Z **Vienna museums open adult-only OnlyFans account to display nudes**
More than a century after the artists of the Vienna Secession declared “to every age its art; to art its freedom”, the Austrian capital has found a new site for artistic expression free from censorship: the adults-only platform OnlyFans. Vienna’s tourism board has started an account on OnlyFans – the only social network that permits depictions of nudity – in protest against platforms’ ongo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134095/vienna-museums-open-adult-only-onlyfans-account-to-display-nudes/) 2021-10-18T23:06:45Z **Apple’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors take its in-house Arm-based chips to new heights**
For the M1 Pro, Apple promises 70 percent better CPU performance and twice the graphics performance compared to the M1. While the basic architecture is still the same on the M1 Pro, Apple is upping the hardware here in a big way, with a 10-core CPU that offers eight performance cores and two efficiency cores, along with a 16-core GPU with 2,048 execut ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134099/apples-new-m1-pro-and-m1-max-processors-take-its-in-house-arm-based-chips-to-new-heights/) 2021-10-20T02:14:04Z **Early progress made on porting Radeon Vulkan driver to Haiku**
After successfully getting Mesa’s software-based Lavapipe Vulkan implementation building on Haiku last month along with related Mesa code for headless support, a developer independent of AMD has started work on porting the Mesa Radeon Vulkan driver “RADV” to Haiku. Haiku developer “X512” has been spending the past number of weeks so far trying to get the open-source Radeon Vulkan driver stack workin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134103/early-progress-made-on-porting-radeon-vulkan-driver-to-haiku/) 2021-10-20T02:10:30Z **Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have big screens, big ambitions, and small prices**
After many leaks, official teases, and months of waiting, Google has finally given its latest Pixel phones a formal launch. The new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the latest high-end phones from the company that hasn’t traditionally been able to make much of a dent in the high-end phone market. Both are available for preorder starting today, October 19th, and will begin shipping on Oc ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134101/google-pixel-6-and-6-pro-have-big-screens-big-ambitions-and-small-prices/) 2021-10-20T02:32:47Z **Windows 11 shows Intel’s decade-old Pentium 4 CPU as supported**
Surprisingly, it looks like Microsoft will not put an upgrade block on installations done on a device using Intel’s Pentium 4 661, which was released in 2006 and obviously doesn’t meet all Windows 11 requirements. As you can see in the above screenshot, Intel Pentium 4 661, which has only one core and 3.6Ghz of clock speed, is listed as a supported processor in the PC Health Check. That’s possibly ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134105/windows-11-shows-intels-decade-old-pentium-4-cpu-as-supported/) 2021-10-21T01:41:12Z **PlayStation 3 architecture: a practical analysis**
In 2006, Sony unveiled the long-awaited ‘next generation’ video-game console, a shiny (albeit heavy) machine whose underlying hardware architecture continues the teachings of the Emotion Engine, that is, focus on vector processing to achieve power, even at the cost of complexity. Meanwhile, their new ‘super processor’, the Cell Broadband Engine, is conceived during a crisis of innovation and will have to keep up as trends for ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134109/playstation-3-architecture-a-practical-analysis/) 2021-10-21T01:38:59Z **IBM released AIX 7.3**
In today’s era of hybrid cloud, there is an increased demand for flexible infrastructure, continuous availability, scalable and sustainable compute, enhanced security and data protection, and increased integration with open technologies. As businesses navigate these dynamic market conditions and IT infrastructure demands, they require an operating system they can rely on that can be optimized to adapt to these changing business needs. With the introduction of IBM AIX 7.3 Standard Editi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134107/ibm-released-aix-7-3/) 2021-10-21T01:44:14Z **Introducing Android apps on Windows 11 to Windows Insiders**
Today, we are announcing the first preview of our Android apps experience into the Windows Insider Program. We are proud to deliver this experience with our partners – Amazon and Intel – to Beta Channel users in the United States on eligible devices running Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm platforms. I have my sincerest doubts about the true usefulness of running Android applications on Windows. They’ll always feel ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134111/introducing-android-apps-on-windows-11-to-windows-insiders/) 2021-10-22T01:18:37Z **Google lowers Google Play fees for developers**
To help support the specific needs of developers offering subscriptions, starting on January 1, 2022, we’re decreasing the service fee for all subscriptions on Google Play from 30% to 15%, starting from day one. Regulatory pressure works. This is only a small step, but at least it’s progress. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134113/google-lowers-google-play-fees-for-developers/) 2021-10-22T01:25:41Z **Chimera Linux: a Linux distribution based on FreeBSD userland and LLVM**
Chimera is a Linux distribution with the following goals: – Built entirely with LLVM– FreeBSD-based userland– Binary packaging and a well designed source build system– Bootstrappable– Portable This project is still very early in its development, but it’s an interesting premise. It’s developed by Daniel Kolesa, who also contributes a lot to Void Linux, most notably the excellen ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134115/chimera-linux-a-linux-distribution-based-on-freebsd-userland-and-llvm/) 2021-10-24T00:53:27Z **Microsoft reverses controversial .NET change after open source community outcry**
Microsoft is reversing a decision to remove a key feature from its upcoming .NET 6 release, after a public outcry from the open source community. Microsoft angered the .NET open source community earlier this week by removing a key part of Hot Reload in the upcoming release of .NET 6, a feature that allows developers to modify source code while an app is running and immedia ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134118/microsoft-reverses-controversial-net-change-after-open-source-community-outcry/) 2021-10-24T00:57:05Z **Getting to know Fuchsia, Google’s open-source operating system**
There are many interesting things to discuss about Fuchsia. In this article, you will get a taste of how Fuchsia OS works through a deep dive into some of its core features. We’ll also run the Fuchsia emulator on our systems and try running some example components on it. A great resource if you’re considering getting started with Fuchsia. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134120/getting-to-know-fuchsia-googles-open-source-operating-system/) 2021-10-25T18:00:39Z **Apple’s M1 Pro, M1 Max SoCs investigated: new performance and efficiency heights**
On the CPU side, doubling up on the performance cores is an evident way to increase performance – the competition also does so with some of their designs. How Apple does it differently, is that it not only scaled the CPU cores, but everything surrounding them. It’s not just 4 additional performance cores, it’s a whole new performance cluster with its own L2. On the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134123/apples-m1-pro-m1-max-socs-investigated-new-performance-and-efficiency-heights/) 2021-10-25T18:03:15Z **macOS Monterey released**
Monterey feels of a piece with maintenance-mode macOS updates like El Capitan or Sierra or High Sierra—change the default wallpaper, and in day-to-day use you can easily forget that you’ve upgraded from Big Sur at all. It’s not that there aren’t any new features here—it’s just that improving any operating system as mature as macOS involves a lot of tinkering around the edges. But there are plenty of things to talk about in even the most minor of macOS releases, and Mont ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134125/macos-monterey-released/) 2021-10-27T23:46:31Z **Intel 12th Gen Core Alder Lake for desktops: top SKUs only, coming November 4th**
Well, it’s almost here. It looks like Intel will take the ST crown, although MT is a bit of a different story, and might rely explicitly on the software being used or if the difference in performance is worth the price. The use of the hybrid architecture might be an early pain point, and it will be interesting to see if Thread Director remains resilient to the issues. The ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134128/intel-12th-gen-core-alder-lake-for-desktops-top-skus-only-coming-november-4th/) 2021-10-27T23:50:52Z **Microsoft is building an 11.6″ low-cost laptop and special Windows 11 edition for primary schools**
According to my sources, this new laptop is codenamed Tenjin and features a fully plastic exterior, a 1366×768 11.6-inch display, an Intel Celeron N4120 and up to 8GB RAM. This is a no-frills laptop designed to be as low-cost as possible, built for student-use in a classroom environment. I’m told the device features a full-sized key ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134130/microsoft-is-building-an-11-6-low-cost-laptop-and-special-windows-11-edition-for-primary-schools/) 2021-10-27T23:56:01Z **12L and new Android APIs and tools for large screens**
There are over a quarter billion large screen devices running Android across tablets, foldables, and ChromeOS devices. In just the last 12 months we’ve seen nearly 100 million new Android tablet activations–a 20% year-over-year growth, while ChromeOS, now the fastest growing desktop platform, grew by 92%. We’ve also seen Foldable devices on the rise, with year on year growth of over 265%! All told, there are over 250 m ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134132/12l-and-new-android-apis-and-tools-for-large-screens/) 2021-10-29T23:47:36Z **The ‘Dune’ screenplay was written in MS-DOS**
In the brutal future of Frank Herbert’s Dune, computers are outlawed and high level computations are done by specially trained and bred humans called mentats. In Herbert’s world, there’s something elegant about old solutions to new problems. Good then that Oscar winning Dune screenwriter Eric Roth banged out the screenplay using the MS-DOS program Movie Master. Roth writes everything using the 30-year-old software. “I work on an old ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134136/the-dune-screenplay-was-written-in-ms-dos/) 2021-10-29T23:43:05Z **Facebook changes its name to Meta**
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday at his company’s Connect event that its new name will be Meta. “We are a company that builds technology to connect,” Zuckerberg said. “Together, we can finally put people at the center of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy.” “To reflect who we are and what we hope to build,” he added. He said the name Facebook doesn’t fully encompass everything the company ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134134/facebook-changes-its-name-to-meta/) 2021-10-30T00:25:23Z **Expanded Windows 11 app store comes to Windows 10 “soon”, available to testers now**
Ars Technica: If you don’t want to (or can’t) run Windows 11 on your PC, the good news is that Microsoft will be providing at least a few app updates to Windows 10 to keep it feeling useful. One of those app updates is Windows 11’s revamped Microsoft Store, which is now available to Windows 10 users in the Release Preview Insider channel. The new Microsoft St ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134140/expanded-windows-11-app-store-comes-to-windows-10-soon-available-to-testers-now/) 2021-10-30T00:54:23Z **Students don’t know what files and folders are, professors say**
Strange as it may seem to older generations of computer users who grew up maintaining an elaborate collection of nested subfolders, thanks to powerful search functions now being the default in operating systems, as well as the way phones and tablets obfuscate their file structure, and cloud storage, high school graduates don’t see their hard drives the same way. As anyone who has had to sift through a r ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/133994/students-dont-know-what-files-and-folders-are-professors-say/) 2021-11-02T00:11:02Z **Linux 5.15 released**
As you’d expect, Linux 5.15 includes an impressive itinerary of improvements. These range from small fixes at lower levers through to major restructuring of core functionality. The following roundup highlights the additions that caught my interest/eye but is by no means an exhaustive run-through. The biggest new feature is the new NTFS driver, but there’s a lot more in this release, such as an in-kernel driver for SMB, and more Apple M1 support, to name a few. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134146/linux-5-15-released/) 2021-11-02T00:18:16Z **Looking for High Sierra**
Some time ago, I thought it would be useful to understand exactly what is the difference between CD-ROMs recorded in the old High Sierra format versus the ISO 9660 standard. This was in part spurred by the fact that I have a number of CD-ROMs/images that use the High Sierra format (Microsoft Programmer’s Library, some IBM Developer Connection issues, OS/2 Warp 4, and more) that both macOS and Windows 10 refuse to mount. The other part of my motivation was the usual insatiable cur ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134150/looking-for-high-sierra/) 2021-11-02T00:16:25Z **Pentium on a 386 motherboard**
I was wondering what would be the ultimate upgrade for my 386 motherboard. It has a 386 CPU soldered-in, an unpopulated 386 PGA socket and a socket for either 387 FPU or 486 PGA or (might take a Weitek as well – not quite sure) and even might have a soldered-in 486SX PQFP. Plenty of options… But how about hacking a Pentium in? Nothing about this makes any sense, and yet, it’s just plain awesome. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134148/pentium-on-a-386-motherboard/) 2021-11-02T00:21:13Z **Trinity Desktop Environment R14.0.11 released**
This release comes with improved support for user sessions on high resolution displays, new TWin styles (SUSE2 and DeKorator), some other new applications, improvements to ffmpeg support and video support in Kopete, a revamped weather bar for Konqueror, a working KNemo backend and various minor improvements and fixes to several long standing annoying bugs and crashes. It also adds support for Debian Bullseye, Ubuntu Impish, Fedora 34 and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134152/trinity-desktop-environment-r14-0-11-released/) 2021-11-02T00:27:39Z **SerenityOS: year 3 in review**
Today we celebrate the third birthday of SerenityOS, counting from the first commit in the git repository, on October 10, 2018. Previous birthdays: 1st, 2nd. What follows is a list of interesting events from the past year, mixed with random development screenshots and also reflections from other developers in the SerenityOS community. SerenityOS is simply a great project, with a good mindset, good people, and lots and lots of talent. These birthday posts are a great way to ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134145/serenityos-year-3-in-review/) 2021-11-04T00:57:16Z **Microsoft Edge reaches milestone on cross-platform journey: available on Linux today**
A common request is your need for Microsoft Edge to span the breadth of operating systems in your environment. Last October, we made Microsoft Edge available on Linux in preview channels (Dev and Beta channels) and today, the browser is generally available for Linux via the stable channel. This milestone officially rounds out the full complement of major platform ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134161/microsoft-edge-reaches-milestone-on-cross-platform-journey-available-on-linux-today/) 2021-11-04T01:01:43Z **The Pioneer PX-V7: MSX over all?**
To capture a composite video signal and display it on my computer’s output, I need to use an upscaler that converts to an HDMI signal, then an HDMI capture device which in turn communicates with my PC over USB. Then, I can overlay my stupid face over it and send it to Twitch or something. But what if it was 1984? Of course, Twitch wouldn’t exist, nor would HDMI. So what’s the next best thing? Ah, the MSX. Most people focus on how popular it was in Japan, but t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134163/the-pioneer-px-v7-msx-over-all/) 2021-11-04T01:07:33Z **The Common Desktop Environment (CDE) is still developed and modern in 2021**
While playing around with the GUI on OpenVMS I was looking for CDE documentation and I found out CDE is still being developed and can be installed on modern linux. This quick post shows you how to install CDE on Debian 10 and includes a bit on compiling GENERIC TETRIS, the same program I installed on OpenVMS. I will forever stand by my article from 14 years ago and you can put on my ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134165/the-common-desktop-environment-cde-is-still-developed-and-modern-in-2021/) 2021-11-05T02:07:33Z **The Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900K review: hybrid performance brings hybrid complexity**
Overall though, it’s no denying that Intel is now in the thick of it, or if I were to argue, the market leader. The nuances of the hybrid architecture are still nascent, so it will take time to discover where benefits will come, especially when we get to the laptop variants of Alder Lake. At a retail price of around $650, the Core i9-12900K ends up being comp ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134168/the-intel-12th-gen-core-i9-12900k-review-hybrid-performance-brings-hybrid-complexity/) 2021-11-05T02:09:16Z **The Soviet 1801VM2 LSI-11 processor**
The Soviet-made 1801VM2 CPU (a binary-compatible implementation of the PDP11 instruction set and QBUS interface) was developed in 1982. The 1801VM2 is a further development of the earlier 1801VM1 doubling the original 5MHz clock speed. From a constructive standpoint this CPU is a completely independent development. There’s a wealth of interesting computer technology in the former USSR, and it’s great to see more of it make its way online. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134170/the-soviet-1801vm2-lsi-11-processor/) 2021-11-09T01:25:03Z **So what is “the metaverse”, exactly?**
So is the metaverse the next big advance that will revolutionize the way we all connect with each other? Is it just a repackaging of existing technologies into a new catch-all concept? Or is it just the latest buzzword marketing term? The answer to that depends on what you mean by “metaverse”. If there’s ever been a buzzword that truly gets under my skin, it’s this one. It’s clearly manufactured and groomed by corporations, Facebook especially, t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134174/so-what-is-the-metaverse-exactly/) 2021-11-09T01:29:32Z **System76 reportedly developing their own Rust-written desktop, not based on GNOME**
System76’s Pop!\_OS Linux distribution already has their own “COSMIC” desktop that is based on GNOME, but moving ahead they are working on their own Rust-written desktop that is not based on GNOME or any existing desktop environment. Stemming from a Reddit discussion over the possibility of seeing a KDE flavor of Pop!\_OS, it was brought up by one of their own en ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134176/system76-reportedly-developing-their-own-rust-written-desktop-not-based-on-gnome/) 2021-11-09T01:33:55Z **LXQt 1.0.0 released**
LXQt, the lightweight desktop environment based on Qt, has hit its 1.0.0 release, with tons of changes and improvements. Going through the changelog, we can see it’s based on the final LTS release of Qt 5, Qt 5.15, and sports new features across all of its components. The file manager has seen a lot of work, there’s now a do-not-disturb mode, there’s the usual Wayland improvements, and a lot more. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134178/lxqt-1-0-0-released/) 2021-11-11T00:18:36Z **Last of original SCO v IBM Linux lawsuit settled**
While at the Linux Foundation Members Summit in Napa, California, I was bemused to find that an open-source savvy intellectual property attorney had never heard of SCO vs. IBM.  You know, the lawsuit that at one time threatened to end Linux in the cradle? Well, at least some people thought so anyway. More fool they. But now, after SCO went bankrupt; court after court dismissing SCO’s crazy copyright claims; and closing in on 20-y ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134180/last-of-original-sco-v-ibm-linux-lawsuit-settled/) 2021-11-11T00:54:38Z **Using Flutter to build a native-looking desktop app for macOS and Windows**
Here, I will try to present another huge benefit of using Flutter desktop: the ability to build an app with a user interface that matches the underlying platform’s design standards. As you can see, Shortcut Keeper is built to be an adaptive app for desktops, boasting a different UI design for macOS and Windows, while using a single codebase. This has always been the holy grail of c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134186/using-flutter-to-build-a-native-looking-desktop-app-for-macos-and-windows/) 2021-11-11T00:51:26Z **AMD gives details on EPYC Zen4: Genoa and Bergamo, up to 96 and 128 cores**
Since AMD’s relaunch into high-performance x86 processor design, one of the fundamental targets for the company was to be a competitive force in the data center. By having a competitive product that customers could trust, the goal has always been to target what the customer wants, and subsequently grow market share and revenue. Since the launch of 3rd Generation EPYC, AMD is growing ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134184/amd-gives-details-on-epyc-zen4-genoa-and-bergamo-up-to-96-and-128-cores/) 2021-11-11T01:43:11Z **Google loses challenge against EU antitrust ruling, $2.8-bln fine**
Alphabet unit Google lost an appeal against a 2.42-billion-euro ($2.8-billion) antitrust decision on Wednesday, a major win for Europe’s competition chief in the first of three court rulings central to the EU push to regulate big tech. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager fined the world’s most popular internet search engine in 2017 over the use of its own price comparison shopping service ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134188/google-loses-challenge-against-eu-antitrust-ruling-2-8-bln-fine/) 2021-11-11T01:45:24Z **Sailfish OS 4.3.0 released**
The headline improvement is one that was already trailed by Ville in his recent Sandboxing blog post. From now on, any app that defines an application profile will be automatically sandboxed. This is currently an opt-in process; any app that isn’t updated in this way will still run outside the sandbox. As a user this means you will start to see some third party apps bring up the sandboxing dialogue on first run. You should already be familiar with this from 4.2.0, in ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134190/sailfish-os-4-3-0-released/) 2021-11-11T01:52:14Z **MuditaOS: an open source e-ink mobile operating system**
MuditaOS has been released as open source. This mobile operating system is designed specifically for the Mudita Pure e-ink mobile phone, and is based on FreeRTOS. Developing our mobile operating system has been a big challenge in the process of creating Mudita Pure. We came up with a beautifully designed E Ink mobile OS and open-sourced it to fully meet our users’ desire for quality and transparency. This is an interest ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134192/muditaos-an-open-source-e-ink-mobile-operating-system/) 2021-11-11T08:28:08Z **.NET 6 released**
Welcome to .NET 6. Today’s release is the result of just over a year’s worth of effort by the .NET Team and community. C# 10 and F# 6 deliver language improvements that make your code simpler and better. There are massive gains in performance, which we’ve seen dropping the cost of hosting cloud services at Microsoft. .NET 6 is the first release that natively supports Apple Silicon (Arm64) and has also been improved for Windows Arm64. We built a new dynamic profile-guided optimization (PGO) sy ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134194/net-6-released/) 2021-11-16T18:37:21Z **Proof-of-concept work brings systemd to Ubuntu WSL**
This week one of the more interesting WSL mentions is proof-of-concept work on using systemd within Windows Subsystem for Linux. Well known Ubuntu developers Didier Roche and Jean Baptiste Lallement of Canonical’s desktop team mentioned among their WSL work recently was “PoC of systemd on WSL at startup of an instance.“ I’m sure nobody will be unhappy with systemd making its way to WSL. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134201/proof-of-concept-work-brings-systemd-to-ubuntu-wsl/) 2021-11-17T00:27:48Z **FreeBSD quarterly status report 3rd quarter 2021**
The third quarter of 2021 was quite active in lots of different areas, so the report covers a bunch of interesting work including but not limited to boot performance, compile-time analysis, hole-punching support, various drivers, ZFS raidz expansion, an update to the sound mixer, and many more. FreeBSD’s status reports are a great way to keep up to speed with the project’s progress. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134203/freebsd-quarterly-status-report-3rd-quarter-2021/) 2021-11-17T00:30:25Z **Microsoft blocks EdgeDeflector to force Windows 11 users into Edge**
Microsoft has already made it more difficult to switch default browsers in Windows 11, and now the company is going a step further by blocking apps like EdgeDeflector. Third-party apps like EdgeDeflector and even Firefox have offered workarounds to Microsoft forcing people to use Edge in Start menu search results, even if their default browser is not Edge. Microsoft has been forcing Windows 10 and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134205/microsoft-blocks-edgedeflector-to-force-windows-11-users-into-edge/) 2021-11-17T21:48:20Z **Rust on MIPS64 Windows NT 4.0**
Well, I do all of my projects in Rust now. Even little scripts I’d usually write in Python I often find myself grabbing Rust for. I’m comfortable with using Rust for pretty much any project at this point, that I decided that for a long-ish term stream project (ultimately a snapshot fuzzer for NT), I would want to do this in Rust. The very first thought that comes to mind is to just build a MIPS executable from Rust, and just… run it. Well, that would be great, but ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134208/rust-on-mips64-windows-nt-4-0/) 2021-11-17T21:58:40Z **Apple announces self service repair program, starting with iPhone 12 and 13**
The Self Service Repair program will give customers who are comfortable with the idea of completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and manuals, starting with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups. The scheme will be introduced in phases, adding more repairs and supported devices over time. This is a major win for right-to-repair, and I’m very happy Aplpe c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134212/apple-announces-self-service-repair-program-starting-with-iphone-12-and-13/) 2021-11-17T21:55:01Z **IBM clears the 100-qubit mark with its new processor**
IBM has announced it has cleared a major hurdle in its effort to make quantum computing useful: it now has a quantum processor, called Eagle, with 127 functional qubits. This makes it the first company to clear the 100-qubit mark, a milestone that’s interesting because the interactions of that many qubits can’t be simulated using today’s classical computing hardware and algorithms. But what may be more significant is t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134210/ibm-clears-the-100-qubit-mark-with-its-new-processor/) 2021-11-23T02:42:35Z **Nreal Light review: hardware is only half the battle**
Nreal’s Light sunglasses, which Verizon will start selling later this month, are one of only a few consumer-focused augmented reality headsets. They’re an impressive technical feat: small for an AR or VR product, comparatively affordable at $599, and capable of full-fledged mixed reality that projects images into real space, not just a flat heads-up overlay like the North Focals. Unfortunately, Nreal’s software doesn’ ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134231/nreal-light-review-hardware-is-only-half-the-battle/) 2021-11-23T02:37:42Z **Tesla server outage allegedly leaves owners unable to drive their cars**
Based on several posts on Twitter, it seems that Tesla owners around the world are reporting not being able to connect their phone to their vehicle or, in some cases, not even being able to start the car. Tesla owners should be used to being beta testers. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134216/tesla-server-outage-allegedly-leaves-owners-unable-to-drive-their-cars/) 2021-11-23T02:44:20Z **Qualcomm has an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for Windows on ARM**
Last week, we reported that MediaTek is planning to build a chipset for Windows on ARM. As it turns out, the Windows on ARM chipset space could be even hotter than that, because there’s a reason that we’ve only seen Qualcomm SoCs in ARM PCs so far. Qualcomm actually has an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for Windows on ARM, and speaking with people familiar with it, we’ve learned that the de ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134233/qualcomm-has-an-exclusivity-deal-with-microsoft-for-windows-on-arm/) 2021-11-23T20:11:53Z **Podcast: OSNews’ David Adams talks tech and politics with Flux’ Matthew Sheffield**
Flux is an independent online news source that covers politics, religion, philosophy, and technology, and the way that they intersect. I sat down with its founder, and talked about the state of the operating system world in 1997 when I started OSNews, and what has changed since then, both in the computing realm and in the political milieu that pervades our lives. We ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134237/podcast-osnews-david-adams-talks-tech-and-politics-with-flux-matthew-sheffield/) 2021-11-24T13:04:36Z **Fun with Red Star OS**
Let’s say you got your filthy hands on an ISO of Red Star OS Desktop 3.0 (like, 5 years ago but you forgot about it). The obvious next step is to install it on your main computer and give it access to the outside so it can spread love and goodness. Just kidding, install that motherfucker in a virtual machine (VirtualBox, VMware, etc), just because. These articles looking at North Korea’s Red Star OS pop up every few years, and they’re always a fun read. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134247/fun-with-red-star-os/) 2021-11-24T13:02:53Z **You don’t have to play ‘League of Legends’ to enjoy the masterful animation of Netflix’s ‘Arcane’**
If you’ve been putting off watching Netflix’s Arcane because you don’t play League of Legends, stop that right now. Friends, you’re missing out on some truly incredible animation. The first TV series from Riot Games and French animation studio Fortiche, created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee, Arcane landed on Netflix on N ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134245/you-dont-have-to-play-league-of-legends-to-enjoy-the-masterful-animation-of-netflixs-arcane/) 2021-11-24T13:12:05Z **Arcan 0.6.1 released**
The “desktop-engine” Arcan has put out a new release after close to a year of development, continuing its current focus on improving network transparency. A recent and long post on Arcan as OS Design is also a worthwhile and interesting view into this fascinating project. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134218/arcan-0-6-1-released/) 2021-11-24T13:09:29Z **Flatpak is not the future**
The current solutions involve packaging entire alternate runtimes in containerized environments. Flatpak, Snap, AppImage, Docker, and Steam: these all provide an app packaging mechanism that replaces most or all of the system’s runtime libraries, and they now all use containerization to accomplish this. Flatpak calls itself “the future of application distribution”. I am not a fan. I’m going to outline here some of the technical, security and usability problems with Flat ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134249/flatpak-is-not-the-future/) 2021-11-24T15:17:55Z **Apple sues NSO Group for abuse of state-sponsored spyware, yet continues to aid China in the abuse of state-sponsored spyware**
Apple today filed a lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company to hold it accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users. The complaint provides new information on how NSO Group infected victims’ devices with its Pegasus spyware. To prevent further abuse and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134254/apple-sues-nso-group-for-abuse-of-state-sponsored-spyware-yet-continues-to-aid-china-in-the-abuse-of-state-sponsored-spyware/) 2021-11-24T21:16:26Z **airyxOS Tanuki v0.3.0 released**
Airyx OS has seen its first beta release, with a quite a few big improvements. • Default application bundles: Firefox, Terminal, and Kate• A new AppKit-based ObjectiveC installer (Install airyxOS.app)• Java SDK 17.0.1+12• Updated to FreeBSD 12.3RC base OS and kernel• Improvements to AppKit including better support of color catalogs and color lists, more Mac-like default colors, support for pop-up menus, fixed scrollbar icons, improved font handling, system k ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134256/airyxos-tanuki-v0-3-0-released/) 2021-11-24T21:18:51Z **The secret history of ATAPI**
The other day I asked myself a seemingly trivial question: What was the first ATAPI CD-ROM drive and when was it available? Given that ATAPI was a major technology which instantly obsoleted all proprietary CD-ROM interfaces and made SCSI much less desirable, one might expect that there would have been some press releases touting the advantages of the new technology, articles describing the whys and wherefores, but… nope. There is nothing. And so begins a deep dive into th ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134259/the-secret-history-of-atapi/) 2021-11-26T01:57:58Z **Go does not need a Java-style GC**
Modern languages such as Go, Julia and Rust don’t need complex garbage collectors like the ones use by Java C#. But why? To explain why, we need to get into how garbage collectors work and how different languages allocate memory in different ways. However, we will start by looking at why Java in particular needs such a complex garbage collector. Good info on how Go deals with memory versus how Java, mainly, handles memory. The most interesting start of a rabbit ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134257/go-does-not-need-a-java-style-gc/) 2021-11-26T02:06:36Z **Apple, Google and Facebook may be forced into cross-platform messaging**
Apple, Google, Facebook and other tech companies may be forced into finding a solution that allows users to connect across the various messaging platforms. Currently, each service has its own way of handling communication that is not compatible with others, placing a burden upon the user when there is a need to reach someone using a different platform or service. A universal communication ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134264/apple-google-and-facebook-may-be-forced-into-cross-platform-messaging/) 2021-11-27T03:44:37Z **Why V7 Unix matters so much**
When I talk about things involving the history of Unix, I often wind up mentioning V7, also known as Seventh Edition of Research Unix from Bell Labs (for a recent example, in my entry on when Unix got stack size limits). If you’re relatively new to the history of Unix, you might wonder why V7 keeps coming up so often. There are a number of reasons that V7 matters so much both for the history of Unix and for what is what we think of as being ‘Unix’ and the Unix way. Th ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134270/why-v7-unix-matters-so-much/) 2021-11-27T03:42:46Z **Microsoft pushes ahead with controversial ‘buy now, pay later’ feature for Edge browser**
Microsoft is introducing a new feature in Edge allowing customers to pay for e-commerce transactions in installments – and not everybody is happy. The ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) feature is, controversially, integrated at the browser level, thanks to a partnership with third-party payments provider Zip, formerly QuadPay. The option is similar to tho ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134268/microsoft-pushes-ahead-with-controversial-buy-now-pay-later-feature-for-edge-browser/) 2021-11-30T01:14:13Z **ungoogled-chromium: Google Chromium, sans integration with Google**
ungoogled-chromium is Google Chromium, sans dependency on Google web services. It also features some tweaks to enhance privacy, control, and transparency (almost all of which require manual activation or enabling). ungoogled-chromium retains the default Chromium experience as closely as possible. Unlike other Chromium forks that have their own visions of a web browser, ungoogled-chromium is essentiall ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134281/ungoogled-chromium-google-chromium-sans-integration-with-google/) 2021-11-30T01:09:35Z **Firefox is the only alternative**
Supposedly today we have a lot of browsers to choose from – Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, etc. Having choices is a good thing, right? Nobody wants to relive the time of almost complete Internet Explorer domination again. Unfortunately our choices are significantly fewer than they seem to be at first glance, as Chrome and Safari (thanks to the iPhone) totally dominate the browser landscape in terms of usage and almost all br ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134279/firefox-is-the-only-alternative/) 2021-11-30T01:04:02Z **VMware mouse driver for Windows 3.x**
Running Windows 3.1 in VMware (or seemingly, QEMU, but it’s not yet tested), but annoyed by having to grab and ungrab the cursor manually? Wish you could just move the cursor in and out like a modern OS (one with USB tablet support or VMware Tools drivers), with no Ctrl+Alt dancing? Or want to control your cursor at all under the ESXi web UI? (It doesn’t do relative input.) With this driver, now you can. It implements the interface that VMware uses (th ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134277/vmware-mouse-driver-for-windows-3-x/) 2021-11-30T00:37:40Z **EU coalition urges EU to push back against gate keeping by Microsoft, files official complaint**
A coalition of EU software and cloud businesses joined Nextcloud GmbH in respect of their formal complaint to the European Commission about Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior in respect of its OneDrive (cloud) offering. In a repeat from earlier monopolistic actions, Microsoft is bundling its OneDrive, Teams and other services with Windows ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134273/eu-coalition-urges-eu-to-push-back-against-gate-keeping-by-microsoft-files-official-complaint/) 2021-12-01T01:01:36Z **DESQview/X : the forgotten mid-1990s OS from the future**
So. What is DESQview/X? Many people, in the current day and age, may have never even heard of this system from the mid-1990s. Its predecessor, DESQview (without the “/X”) which was first released in 1985, was a multi-tasking, windowing system for DOS. It allowed someone, with very modest PC hardware, to run multiple text-mode DOS applications at the same time. With overlapping, resizable windows. Pretty darned cool. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134284/desqview-x-the-forgotten-mid-1990s-os-from-the-future/) 2021-12-01T01:04:39Z **Haiku gets initial 3D acceleration**
I implemented RadeonGfx driver server mode and now it is possible to run multiple processes that use 3D acceleration. Because of GFX ring reset hack, command buffer scheduling is limited and only one command buffer can be executed at moment of time. That’s right – that’s X512, the amazing developer who ported Haiku to RISC-V, now working on bringing initial 3D acceleration to Haiku. There’s a long road ahead for this to become a default, working part o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134286/haiku-gets-initial-3d-acceleration/) 2021-12-03T02:14:53Z **FTC sues to block Nvidia acquiring ARM**
The Federal Trade Commission today sued to block U.S. chip supplier Nvidia Corp.’s $40 billion acquisition of U.K. chip design provider Arm Ltd. Semiconductor chips power the computers and technologies that are essential to our modern economy and society. The proposed vertical deal would give one of the largest chip companies control over the computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop their own competing chips. The FTC’s c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134292/ftc-sues-to-block-nvidia-acquiring-arm/) 2021-12-03T02:12:11Z **Oxide Announces Hubris OS**
Oxide announced Hubris, their microkernel OS for embedded systems, and Humility the debugger for it. As time went on in early 2020 and we found ourselves increasingly forcing existing systems out of the comfort of their design centers, we wondered: was our assumption of using an existing system wrong? Should we in fact be exploring our own de novo operating system? Instead of having an operating system that knows how to dynamically create tasks at run-time (itself a hallmark of ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134288/oxide-announces-hubris-os/) 2021-12-03T02:24:08Z **Booting Haiku’s RISC-V images**
Thanks in large part to the hard work by X512 and everyone developing on Haiku, our nightly RISCV64 images are now functional. RISC-V marks Haiku’s first functional non-Intel/x86 port! This is still crazy to me. This port has taken relatively little time, yet it marks a major milestone in Haiku’s history. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134296/booting-haikus-risc-v-images/) 2021-12-03T02:22:11Z **KDE developer urges KDE to embrace simplicity by default, without removing features**
This is what I think we should shoot for in KDE: software that is simple by default so it can work for 1-dot users, but powerful when needed via expansive customization, so that it can appeal all the way to the 4-dot users–which includes many KDE developers. This is currently a strength of KDE software, and it won’t be going away! Essentially we need to fully e ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134294/kde-developer-urges-kde-to-embrace-simplicity-by-default-without-removing-features/) 2021-12-06T00:37:16Z **Hackers are spamming businesses’ receipt printers with ‘antiwork’ manifestos**
Someone or multiple people are blasting “antiwork” manifestos to receipt printers at businesses around the world, according to people who claim to have seen the printed manifesto, dozens of posts on Reddit, and a cybersecurity company that is analyzing network traffic to insecure printers. An intersection between technology and social issues – and an inventive and effe ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134298/hackers-are-spamming-businesses-receipt-printers-with-antiwork-manifestos/) 2021-12-06T01:06:31Z **Microsoft makes it easier to set your default browser in Windows 11**
Microsoft has been courting much controversy in Windows 11 by making it difficult to set your default browser to anything but Edge. After much outcry and a seeming change in strategy, Microsoft appears to have come round in the latest Windows 11 Insider Builds, and are now making it relatively easier to set the default browser to your own preference. This was an untenable situation, and I’m gl ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134302/microsoft-makes-it-easier-to-set-your-default-browser-in-windows-11/) 2021-12-06T01:02:58Z **Genode OS Framework release 21.11**
Genode 21.11 puts the spotlight on device drivers. Interactive Genode scenarios come to the Pinephone, hardware-accelerated graphics becomes available on Intel Gen9+ and Vivante GPUs, and Xilnx Zynq receives new love. Excellent progress, as always from the Genode team. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134300/genode-os-framework-release-21-11/) 2021-12-08T20:41:32Z **FreeBSD 12.3 released**
FreeBSD 12.3 has been released. As a true point release, there’s no major new features or massive updates in here – there’s updated network drivers, kernel bug fixes, and so on. The full release notes have all the details. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134305/freebsd-12-3-released/) 2021-12-08T20:45:47Z **Diacritical marks in Unicode**
I won’t bury the lede, by the end of this article you should be able to write your name in crazy diacritics like this: Ḡ͓̟̟r̬e̱̬͔͑g̰ͮ̃͛ ̇̅T̆a̐̑͢ṫ̀ǔ̓͟m̮̩̠̟. This article is part of the Unicode and i18n series motivated by my work with internationalization in Firefox and the Unicode ICU4X sub-committee. There are three motivations behind linking to this article. First, it’s an deep technical look at how Unicode handles complex diacritics, w ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134307/diacritical-marks-in-unicode/) 2021-12-08T20:48:28Z **OpenIndiana Hipster 2021.10 released**
Another 6 months have passed and we are proud to announce the release of our 2021.10 snapshot. The images are available at the usual place. As usual we have automatically received all updates that have been integrated into illumos-gate. The new images are interesting for people with newer hardware that hasn’t been supported in the past. There is no necessity to re-install from newer images as OpenIndiana Hipster is a rolling release and will bring all up ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134309/openindiana-hipster-2021-10-released/) 2021-12-08T23:11:33Z **Redesigned Notepad for Windows 11 begins rolling out to Windows Insiders**
We are very excited to introduce to all of you the redesigned Notepad for Windows 11, which includes a number of changes we think the community will enjoy! First, you will notice a completely updated UI that aligns with the new visual design of Windows 11, including rounded corners, Mica, and more. We know how important Notepad is to so many of your daily workflows, so we designed this ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134311/redesigned-notepad-for-windows-11-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/) 2021-12-09T00:48:04Z **Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘secretly’ signed $275 billion deal with China in 2016**
In an extensive paywalled report based on interviews and purported internal Apple documents, The Information revealed that Tim Cook personally forged a five-year agreement with the Chinese government during a series of in-person visits to the country in 2016. The need to push for a closer alliance with the Chinese government reportedly came from a number of Apple executives who were ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134313/apple-ceo-tim-cook-secretly-signed-275-billion-deal-with-china-in-2016/) 2021-12-09T00:51:45Z **ArcaOS 5.0.7 released**
ArcaOS 5.0.7 includes refreshed driver content, updated kernel and included software, as well as installation boot fixes since 5.0.6 was released in 2020. If you have experienced difficulty installing previous releases of ArcaOS on your hardware, 5.0.7 may address your issue(s). If installing from USB stick, the image may be created using any major operating system at hand (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and of course, OS/2, eComStation, and ArcaOS). Once built, the USB stick can be inserted i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134315/arcaos-5-0-7-released/) 2021-12-10T02:01:43Z **Why ISO was retired**
Some time ago I stopped releasing EasyOS as an ISO file, from then onward as a drive image file only. This has been contentious, and I receive emails from people lamenting the demise of the ISO. So, I should post some thoughts why I made this decision. Not an exhaustive rationale, just some thoughts while I think of them right now… The ISO9660 file format is very old, going right back to 1988, and has since then had enhancements bolted on, see the Wikipedia ISO9660 page. In addition, the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134318/why-iso-was-retired/) 2021-12-12T23:52:26Z **European Commission to release its own software as open source**
Today, the Commission has adopted new rules on Open Source Software that will enable its software solutions to be publicly accessible whenever there are potential benefits for citizens, companies or other public services. The recent Commission study on the impact of Open Source Software and Hardware on technological independence, competitiveness and innovation in the EU economy showed that investment in o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134320/european-commission-to-release-its-own-software-as-open-source/) 2021-12-12T23:54:14Z **How to boot a PDP-11**
So you want to play Adventure, but don’t know how to turn on the PDP-11? These instructions are for booting our dual rack machine from its RL01 drives, although booting the single cabinet machine from the RK05 is very similar. Detailed instructions for booting a PDP-11, including lots and lots of photos. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134322/how-to-boot-a-pdp-11-2/) 2021-12-13T00:49:09Z **“Open source” is not broken**
I read this article (“Open Source” is Broken by Xe) written in the aftermath of the unfortunate log4j2 fiasco. The author discusses a pertinent problem that has plagued the FOSS (Free and Open Source) world ever since large for-profit corporations started their widespread consumption of FOSS, ever since countless “unicorns” raised infinite amounts of funding on valuations built pretty much entirely on FOSS, ever since FOSS got co-opted into corporatisation and cap ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134324/open-source-is-not-broken/) 2021-12-15T00:31:11Z **Dude this should NOT be in a Dell Switch… Or HPE Supercomputer**
Today we are going to share the result of a bit of investigation that started a few months ago on STH. The short version, it appears as though the Dell EMC S5200-ON series switches, the company’s high-end 25GbE-200GbE switches, have license/ royalty stickers that have a different company name on them than they should have. Instead of saying “American Megatrends”, they instead said “American Megat ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134328/dude-this-should-not-be-in-a-dell-switch-or-hpe-supercomputer/) 2021-12-15T00:34:26Z **Gaming on Wayland**
A considerable amount of people assume Wayland isn’t particularly suitable for gaming, usually because you can’t turn off the compositor. This post will challenge that assumption and see how the current state of gaming on Wayland is, with a focus on KWin, KDEs compositor. A very in-depth look at how Wayland works for gaming – from input lag to rendering – compared to X, including latency benchmarks. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134330/gaming-on-wayland/) 2021-12-15T21:40:38Z **When HDMI 2.1 isn’t HDMI 2.1**
If you’ve followed the display, graphics card or games console market at all recently you will surely have heard about HDMI 2.1. It’s the new connection interface standard widely being adopted on new graphics cards, displays, games consoles and other devices; allowing support for improved bandwidths, resolutions, refresh rates and features. It’s one of the hot topics at the moment when it comes to buying a new device, and promoted heavily by manufacturers, often as ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134334/when-hdmi-2-1-isnt-hdmi-2-1/) 2021-12-16T00:02:34Z **Dell’s Luna laptop concept is all about repairability**
Repairability of electronics is a hot topic when hardware gets discussed, and Dell produced a concept laptop to explore the idea of a highly repairable Dell laptop. On Tuesday, Dell announced a new design concept for a laptop that’s long lived, easy to take apart and fix, and takes a smaller toll on the climate. It’s a collection of ideas that could go a long way toward making the tech giant’s products more sustaina ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134332/dells-luna-laptop-concept-is-all-about-repairability/) 2021-12-16T01:54:00Z **A deep dive into an NSO zero-click iMessage exploit: remote code execution**
Google’s Project Zero describes a (now fixed) zero-click exploit in iMessage, and, well, it’s kind of insane. JBIG2 doesn’t have scripting capabilities, but when combined with a vulnerability, it does have the ability to emulate circuits of arbitrary logic gates operating on arbitrary memory. So why not just use that to build your own computer architecture and script that!? T ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134339/a-deep-dive-into-an-nso-zero-click-imessage-exploit-remote-code-execution/) 2021-12-16T02:40:36Z **Windows Terminal will become the default command line experience in Windows 11 soon**
An additional change that Microsoft is planning is that it is switching the default terminal app in Windows 11 to Windows Terminal. This modification will be rolled out in 2022 via the Windows Insider Program first before being made available generally. Microsoft hasn’t defined a firm timeline as of yet, but it’s clear that we can expect this to happen sometim ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134342/windows-terminal-will-become-the-default-command-line-experience-in-windows-11-soon/) 2021-12-17T02:42:31Z **Isn’t she just misunderstood? The Casio Loopy!**
The Casio Loopy is a 32-bit machine with a SuperH CPU, released in 1995. This family of CPUs is probably more famous for its use by Sega, but the SH7201 used in the Loopy appears to be still in production by Renesas. I’m not sure how much the SH7201 has changed over that time; it seems to be an SH-1 system, as opposed to the SH-2 used in the 32X and Saturn, and the SH-4 used in the Dreamcast. The Loopy is a treasure. If you’ve never ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134347/isnt-she-just-misunderstood-the-casio-loopy/) 2021-12-17T02:39:30Z **Update for Windows 10 and 11 blocks default browser redirect, but there’s a workaround**
You can no longer fully switch away from Edge in Windows 10 and 11. It seems that Microsoft has quietly backported the block, introduced a month ago in a Dev build of Windows 11, on tools like EdgeDeflector and browsers from being the true default browser in Windows 10, with the change being implemented in Windows 11 too. Starting from KB5008212, which was i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134345/update-for-windows-10-and-11-blocks-default-browser-redirect-but-theres-a-workaround/) 2021-12-20T22:59:27Z **Player builds complete 8-bit processor in Minecraft**
Everybody knows how big of a sandbox Minecraft is, but this is taking it to the next level: somebody has built a complete 8-bit RISC processor in Minecraft, capable of running custom software: Sammyuri has reportedly spent seven months constructing an enormous–and enormously complicated–computer processor that exists virtually within the Minecraft engine. Although another Minecraft mod allows players to run the Mario 64 en ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134353/player-builds-complete-8-bit-processor-in-minecraft/) 2021-12-20T23:03:40Z **Xlibe: an Xlib/X11 compatibility layer for Haiku**
An Xlib compatibility layer implemented on top of the Haiku API, in order to run X11 applications on Haiku without an X server. Xlib‘s API is relatively low-level, but it is just high-level enough that it can be emulated on top of a higher-level API like Haiku’s. At present, it provides “most” commonly-used Xlib APIs, but many of them are stubbed or incomplete implementations. (GTK, with some hacks, can compile, link, and ope ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134362/xlibe-an-xlib-x11-compatibility-layer-for-haiku/) 2021-12-21T00:39:08Z **ReactOS 0.4.14 released**
The ReactOS Team is pleased to announce the release of version 0.4.14. As with every other release, we’re regularly noting improvements and updates to keep you in touch with what is being done in ReactOS. In this release, improvements range from FreeLoader fixes, Shell features, kernel fixes, NetKVM VirtIO bringup, further work on the Xbox port and support for NEC PC-9800. A steady stream of improvements, and there’s more already implemented in the nightly builds that’s not i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134364/reactos-0-4-14-released/) 2021-12-21T20:10:02Z **80% of Steam’s top 100 games now work on Linux**
Proton has made enormous strides toward game compatibility through advances in related technologies like DXVK, which enable DirectX 9, 10, and 11 games to run through the Vulkan API. In fact, the project is so far along that Amazon has thrown its hat in the ring, working toward streaming Proton enabled games through Luna. The progress of this effort is updated all the time on ProtonDB, and today they crossed a major milestone as user re ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134367/80-of-steams-top-100-games-now-work-on-linux/) 2021-12-22T22:33:27Z **The Dreamcast legacy**
The Dreamcast is a bit of an odd beast. Coming on the heels of the unpopular Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast was meant to be a simple console built with off-the-shelf parts. The PlayStation 2 was already tough competition, and ultimately the Dreamcast fell out of the public eye as the Nintendo 64 was released with incredible fanfare. In some sense, it’s a footnote in console history. But despite not achieving the success that Sega hoped for, the Dreamcast has formed a small cult following, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134369/the-dreamcast-legacy/) 2021-12-28T20:17:35Z **Untangling the rat’s nest of USB-C standards and cables**
The evolution to USB-C connectors just after the release of the USB 3.1 standard promised simplicity. Instead of host device Type-A and peripheral Type-B, Mini-B, Micro-B, and others, a single connector works for both ends of a connection and carries both power and data. Power can flow either way with the same cable: a computer charging a battery or phone; a battery charging a computer. It’s also reversible across i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134374/untangling-the-rats-nest-of-usb-c-standards-and-cables/) 2021-12-28T20:20:39Z **Running your own email is increasingly an artisanal choice, not a practical one**
To be clear, you absolutely can still run your own email infrastructure, getting email delivered to you, filtering incoming spam, sending email (with DMARC signatures and other modern email practices), providing IMAP access, and even run your own webmail setup. You can even do this with all open source software. But the email environment you get this way is increasingly wh ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134376/running-your-own-email-is-increasingly-an-artisanal-choice-not-a-practical-one/) 2021-12-28T20:27:12Z **Intel apologizes over its statement on forced labor in Xinjiang**
Intel apologized on Thursday after a letter in which the chip maker said it would avoid products and labor from Xinjiang set off an outcry on Chinese social media, making it the latest American company caught between the world’s two largest economies. The chip maker apologized to its Chinese customers, partners and the public in a Chinese-language statement on Weibo, the popular social media site. The ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134378/intel-apologizes-over-its-statement-on-forced-labor-in-xinjiang/) 2021-12-28T20:33:02Z **Enlightenment 0.25 desktop environment released**
Enlightenment 0.25 is here more than one and a half years after Enlightenment 0.24 to introduce a flat look to match the new flat theme, new gesture recognition bindings for touchpads, fingerprint support in desklock via the libFprint library and a new tool to configure fingerprints, a new binding action that lets users switch profiles, as well as palette editor and selector tool to help you set up custom colors. There are a lot more ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134380/enlightenment-0-25-desktop-environment-released/) 2021-12-29T01:52:36Z **Windows 2000 modernization guide**
So, you want to use Windows 2000 in 2021? Well, you’ve come to the right place, although we’re not the only place you’ll want to keep handy. You’ll find some great tips, software advice, and know-how at the MSFN Windows 2000 Forums. Special thanks to @win32, who provided many of the pointers and suggestions used in this guide. This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it! Sending this message was important to us. We co ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134385/windows-2000-modernization-guide/) 2021-12-29T01:48:49Z **Maui Shell is a convergent shell for Linux on desktops, phones, and tablets**
I’ve been keeping an eye on MauiKit for a while now, and over Christmas, they surprised us with their brand new convergent desktop environment – Maui Shell – targeted at both desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. After developing a whole set of applications, as well as a Linux distribution to use them, their next step is now a complete desktop environment. The objective of M ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134383/maui-shell-is-a-convergent-shell-for-linux-on-desktops-phones-and-tablets/) 2021-12-30T11:23:57Z **You must never press the original Razr’s forbidden internet button**
The first phone I ever owned was a Motorola Razr. The Razr’s buttons are some of the finest ever to grace a mobile device. The keypad is laser-etched out of a sheet of shimmering aluminum, and when pressed, ignites in a lambent blue glow that looked like the sci-fi future. But there was one button that I was terrified to press. In all my years of owning a Razr, I can’t say I tapped it more th ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134389/you-must-never-press-the-original-razrs-forbidden-internet-button/) 2021-12-30T11:21:29Z **Women force change at Indian iPhone plant, sick from bad food, crowded dorms**
For women who assembled iPhones at a Foxconn plant in southern India, crowded dorms without flush toilets and food sometimes crawling with worms were problems to be endured for the paycheck. But when tainted food sickened over 250 of the workers their anger boiled over, culminating in a rare protest that shut down a plant where 17,000 had been working. Just in case you thought Ap ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134387/women-force-change-at-indian-iphone-plant-sick-from-bad-food-crowded-dorms/) 2022-01-01T14:09:48Z **Unicode normalization forms: when ö != ö**
Some time ago, a very weird issue was reported to me about a Nextcloud system. The user uploaded a file with an “ö” on a SMB share that was configured as an external storage in the Nextcloud server. But when accessing the folder containing the file over WebDAV, it did not appear (no matter which WebDAV client was used). After ruling out the usual causes (wrong permissions, etc…), I analyzed the network traffic between the WebDAV client and the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134396/unicode-normalization-forms-when-o-o/) 2022-01-01T14:05:40Z **BlackBerry will die on January 4th – for real this time**
Dear friends, we’re gathered here today to mourn the death of that once-beloved monarch of the mobile world: BlackBerry. And, yes, I realize that this is not the first time we’ve announced the death of the company or its devices (and, for reasons I’ll explain below, it likely won’t be the last) but this is a very definite ending for legacy BlackBerry hardware. As of January 4th, any phones or tablets running Bl ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134394/blackberry-will-die-on-january-4th-for-real-this-time/) 2022-01-01T20:06:42Z **Libadwaita 1.0 released**
Libadwaita 1.0 has been released, just at the end of the year. Libadwaita is a GTK 4 library implementing the GNOME HIG, complementing GTK. For GTK 3 this role has increasingly been played by Libhandy, and so Libadwaita is a direct Libhandy successor. Libadwaita is quite controversial, as aside from dark mode and a (promised) colour API, applications that use Libadwaita cannot be themed. It’s all the result of developers being unhappy us pesky users get to decide what our compute ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134398/libadwaita-1-0-released/) 2022-01-03T13:25:16Z **The MicroWeb DOS web browser**
MicroWeb is a web browser for DOS! It is a 16-bit real mode application, designed to run on minimal hardware. This is a thing that exists. Incredible. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134400/the-microweb-dos-web-browser/) 2022-01-03T20:05:02Z **Wine gets ported to Haiku**
Haiku continues to be on its roll, this time making tons of progress porting Wine to run on Haiku. Rockstar Haiku developer X512 has managed to not just start porting Wine to Haiku, but also to get so far as to run actual Windows applications on the platform. The screenshots in the Haiku forum thread speak for themselves. This is amazing work, and I can’t even begin to imagine how so much progress can be made in such short time. That being said – and the reason I’m late w ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134402/wine-gets-ported-to-haiku/) 2022-01-05T10:37:15Z **Intel, AMD, Nvidia announce tons of new products**
So, AMD, Intel, and Nvidis all decided to announce their latest products all on the same day yesterday. Let’s start with Intel, who announced the laptop version of their latest generation of processors, and if the performance claims hold up, they’re some damn good chips – but as always, we’ll have to await proper benchmarks. These laptop chips use Intel’s new hybrid processor architecture, which combines larger, faster perfo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134410/intel-amd-nvidia-announce-tons-of-new-products/) 2022-01-05T20:26:37Z **Windows 11 Sun Valley 2 to be finalized by summer**
Windows 11 is going to be a year old in July 2022 and Microsoft will be giving users an anniversary present – a new feature update with a long list of much-needed improvements. The update is apparently codenamed “Sun Valley 2” internally and it is going to be similar to the anniversary update for Windows 10. Sun Valley 2 or version 22H2 would be a version of Windows 11 with some important improvements to make it faster, smoo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134412/windows-11-sun-valley-2-to-be-finalized-by-summer/) 2022-01-08T03:35:40Z **The most important computer you’ve never heard of**
It’s not unusual to hear that a particular military technology has found its way into other applications, which then revolutionized our lives. From the imaging sensors that were refined to fly on spy satellites to advanced aerodynamics used on every modern jetliner, many of these ideas initially sounded like bad science fiction. So did this one. I had never heard of this. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134416/the-most-important-computer-youve-never-heard-of/) 2022-01-08T03:42:40Z **AmigaOS 3.2.1 released**
AmigaOS 3.2.1 fixes several bugs and additionally comes with new features. The team of developers and testers have worked ever since the release of AmigaOS 3.2 fixing bugs and implementing new features. They have read social platforms for user anecdotes, videos and reviews, and are excited by the positive reception and feedback. The Amiga will never die. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134392/amigaos-3-2-1-released/) 2022-01-08T03:38:40Z **Filling in some gaps in the story of Space Cadet Pinball on 64-bit Windows**
Space Cadet Pinball has a special place in the hearts of many Windows enthusiasts. A customer used their support contract to ask how to change among the three levels of play in Space Cadet Pinball. My proudest achievement of Windows XP was fixing the game so it didn’t consume 100% CPU. People keep asking if it can be brought back. One point of contention is over my claim that I r ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134418/filling-in-some-gaps-in-the-story-of-space-cadet-pinball-on-64-bit-windows/) 2022-01-08T03:46:30Z **Unidentified PC DOS 1.1 boot sector junk identified**
Anyone trying to disassemble the PC DOS 1.1 boot sector soon notices that at offsets 1A3h through 1BEh there is a byte sequence that just does not belong. It appears to be a fragment of code, but it has no purpose in the boot sector and is never executed. So why is the sequence of junk bytes there, and where did it come from? The immediate answer is “it came from FORMAT.COM”. The junk is copied verbatim from FORMAT.COM to ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134423/unidentified-pc-dos-1-1-boot-sector-junk-identified/) 2022-01-11T08:28:00Z **Simplicity of IRC**
During discussions with my friends and colleagues, whenever the topic of chat protocols comes up, I often remark how simple the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol is and how this simplicity has fostered creativity in the lives of many young computer hobbyists growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For many of us who were introduced to the Internet during that time, writing an IRC bot turned out to be one of our first few non-trivial hobby programming projects that involved network socke ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134425/simplicity-of-irc/) 2022-01-11T08:40:52Z **My first impressions of web3**
Moxie Marlinspike takes a look at “web3”. Despite considering myself a cryptographer, I have not found myself particularly drawn to “crypto.” I don’t think I’ve ever actually said the words “get off my lawn,” but I’m much more likely to click on Pepperidge Farm Remembers flavored memes about how “crypto” used to mean “cryptography” than I am the latest NFT drop. Also – cards on the table here – I don’t share the same generational excitement ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134427/my-first-impressions-of-web3/) 2022-01-11T08:55:03Z **Pluton is not (currently) a threat to software freedom**
At CES this week, Lenovo announced that their new Z-series laptops would ship with AMD processors that incorporate Microsoft’s Pluton security chip. There’s a fair degree of cynicism around whether Microsoft have the interests of the industry as a whole at heart or not, so unsurprisingly people have voiced concerns about Pluton allowing for platform lock-in and future devices no longer booting non-Windows operating sys ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134429/pluton-is-not-currently-a-threat-to-software-freedom/) 2022-01-14T09:59:50Z **A data black hole: Europol ordered to delete vast store of personal data**
The EU’s police agency, Europol, will be forced to delete much of a vast store of personal data that it has been found to have amassed unlawfully by the bloc’s data protection watchdog. The unprecedented finding from the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) targets what privacy experts are calling a “big data ark” containing billions of points of information. Sensitive data in the a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134431/a-data-black-hole-europol-ordered-to-delete-vast-store-of-personal-data/) 2022-01-14T10:02:30Z **Linux 5.16 released**
Linux 5.16 has many new features including the FUTEX2 futex\_waitv system call for helping Steam Play (and Wine), memory folios have been mainlined, AMD Ryzen 6000 mobile series support is getting into better shape, Intel Alder Lake S graphics are now considered stable, Intel AMX support for Sapphire Rapids has landed, big AMD Ryzen with Radeon graphics performance improvements, and a wealth of other hardware improvements. And this new kernel release will find its way to your computer soon i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134436/linux-5-16-released/) 2022-01-14T10:08:14Z **PCIe 6.0 specification published**
PCI Express technology has served as the de facto interconnect of choice for nearly two decades. The PCIe 6.0 specification doubles the bandwidth and power efficiency of the PCIe 5.0 specification (32 GT/s), while providing low latency and reduced bandwidth overhead. We’re barely seeing the rollout of PCIe 5.0 begin, and we’re already moving ahead. Also, who knew the standards organisation for PCIe is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, of all places. Although, to b ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134438/pcie-6-0-specification-published/) 2022-01-17T13:01:24Z **Exploring System76’s new Rust-based desktop environment**
A few months ago, System76 announced that they would be developing a new desktop environment based on the Rust programming language called COSMIC. Their idea is to create a desktop environment that is similar to the one that is currently available for the Pop!\_OS operating system, but with a different focus. System76’s objective is to create something that is faster, more customizable, and free of the limitations of the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134448/exploring-system76s-new-rust-based-desktop-environment/) 2022-01-17T13:09:22Z **GhostBSD 22.01.12 released**
This new ISO contains fixes, improvements, and software updates. Finally, the installer hanging at the cleaning stage for ZFS installation got fixed, and OpenRC and dhcpcd were removed from the base code. Furthermore, automation configuration for HD 7000 series and older GPUs has been added. I also added the support for os-release to show GhostBSD name and GhostBSD version in applications like mate-system-monitor, python distros, pfetch, and neofetch and added a new set of wall ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134450/ghostbsd-22-01-12-released/) 2022-01-17T19:52:47Z **Debut of X**
I’ve spent the last couple weeks writing a window system for the VS100. I stole a fair amount of code from W, surrounded it with an asynchronous rather than a synchronous interface, and called it X. Overall performance appears to be about twice that of W. The code seems fairly solid at this point, although there are still some deficiencies to be fixed up. The original mailing list announcement of the Linux kernel gets regurgitated quite often, but I had never seen the original announcement for X. Fascinating. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134454/debut-of-x/) 2022-01-17T19:50:31Z **Hello Mac OS X Tiger**
2005! The future is here! You have just spent $129 for the newest release of Mac OS X: Tiger. You’re amazed by the brand new Spotlight and Safari RSS, you like your new OS so much you want to develop apps for it. You read on Apple’s website about this app “Xcode” that just received the version 2.0 update. That’s it! Time to code! You fire up Safari, go to Yahoo! and start searching for Xcode tutorials, unfortunately, besides a bunch of Geocities websites mentioning “Web 2.0” (or whatever t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134452/hello-mac-os-x-tiger/) 2022-01-18T00:00:53Z **DragonFly BSD 6.2 released**
DragonFly version 6.2 is the next step in the 6.x release series. This version has hardware support for type-2 hypervisors with NVMM, an amdgpu driver, the experimental ability to remote-mount HAMMER2 volumes, and many other changes. You can get the new release from the downloads page. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134458/dragonfly-bsd-6-2-released/) 2022-01-17T23:58:45Z **Windows 11’s Device Manager finally uses OS path instead of A:**
Microsoft took a while to figure out that the A: assignment is pointless as the era of Floppy drives is now over. This has been fixed in Windows 11 Build 22000 (stable). Starting with Windows 11, Device Manager no longer defaults to A: i.e it doesn’t ask you for a floppy disk for drivers (icon has also been replaced). Device Manager can now automatically detect the OS drive, so you can easily locate the drive ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134456/windows-11s-device-manager-finally-uses-os-path-instead-of-a/) 2022-01-18T21:52:51Z **Microsoft set to purchase Activision Blizzard in $68.7 billion deal**
Microsoft announced plans on Tuesday morning to purchase gaming mega-publisher Activision Blizzard for a record-setting $68.7 billion. When finalized, the acquisition would bring franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and many more under the umbrella of the Xbox maker. That’s a lot of money for a bunch of games and a ton of sexual harassment claims. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134461/microsoft-set-to-purchase-activision-blizzard-in-68-7-billion-deal/) 2022-01-19T23:46:47Z **What goes into making an OS to be Unix compliant certified?**
A lot. I was the tech lead at Apple for making Mac OS X pass UNIX certification, and it was done to get Apple out of a $200M lawsuit filed by The Open Group, for use of the UNIX trademark in advertising. Fascinating bit of history. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134463/what-goes-into-making-an-os-to-be-unix-compliant-certified/) 2022-01-20T00:01:30Z **Google requiring all ‘G Suite legacy free edition’ users to start paying for Workspace this year**
In 2020, G Suite became Google Workspace as part of a mass reorganization of the company’s apps for the “future of work.” Various plans were migrated over, and Google is now finally getting rid of the G Suite legacy free edition. “Google Apps” for businesses and schools were introduced 16 years ago and was discontinued in 2012. However, the c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134465/google-requiring-all-g-suite-legacy-free-edition-users-to-start-paying-for-workspace-this-year/) 2022-01-21T23:35:13Z **RTM/Z80**
RTM/Z80 is a multitasking kernel, built for Z80 based computers, written in Z80 assembly language, providing its users with an Application Programming Interface (API) accessible from programs written in the C language and the Z80 assembly language. It is intended to be a simple and easy to use learning tool, for those who want to understand the tips and tricks of the multitasking software systems. This is certainly not the only hobby operating system for Z80-based computers, but the more the merrier. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134473/rtm-z80/) 2022-01-22T00:21:32Z **This is Microsoft’s canceled Andromeda OS running on a Lumia 950**
Ever wondered what Microsoft’s canceled version of Windows for the Surface Duo was going to be like? Well wonder no more, as we’ve got a first hands-on look at a pre-release build from mid-2018 running on a Lumia 950. We’ve already shown you what Andromeda OS looked like in recreated mockups, so now it’s time to see the real thing running on video. The idea of using a blank canvas for writing as the home ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134475/this-is-microsofts-canceled-andromeda-os-running-on-a-lumia-950/) 2022-01-23T21:31:39Z **Linux on a 486SX**
I’ve spent the past several months trying on and off to make Linux run on the Presario. The 486SX is the oldest CPU Linux still supports! I was quite hindered by my lack of any floppy disks – fortunately, I managed to get my hands on a few working ones for Christmas this year and made some headway, first getting MS-DOS 6.22 installed on the new hard disk, then messing with the Linux kernel configuration until I got it to work. And yesterday I finally got it! Here are the steps for configuring a ba ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134478/linux-on-a-486sx/) 2022-01-23T22:13:59Z **That magical word: workstation**
In retrospect, it might be a bit tough to put a circle around what constituted a workstation. Is a PERQ a workstation? Probably. Xerox Alto and Star? Definitely. Symbolics Lisp machines? Not sure. Probably? The real success stories came out of Apollo, Sun, HP,IBM,NeXT,DEC and Silicon Graphics. For a time it was a hot market, especially in what was known then as technical computing: research, manufacturing, CAD, graphics, simulations. If you had a job where you were issue ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134480/that-magical-word-workstation/) 2022-01-25T23:05:25Z **The curse of NixOS**
I’ve used NixOS as the only OS on my laptop for around three years at this point. Installing it has felt sort of like a curse: on the one hand, it’s so clearly the only operating system that actually gets how package management should be done. After using it, I can’t go back to anything else. One the other hand, it’s extremely complicated constantly changing software that requires configuration with the second-worst homegrown config programming language I’ve ever used. I don’t think that NixOS ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134482/the-curse-of-nixos/) 2022-01-25T23:13:03Z **Nvidia quietly prepares to abandon $40 billion Arm bid**
Nvidia Corp. is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.  Nvidia has told partners that it doesn’t expect the transaction to close, according to one person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. SoftBank, meanwhile, is steppin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134487/nvidia-quietly-prepares-to-abandon-40-billion-arm-bid/) 2022-01-25T23:08:13Z **Reverse engineering the 1988 NeXT keyboard protocol**
Steve Jobs’s NeXT computer company made a keyboard in 1988. With no prior electronics experience, I tried to get it to work over USB. To do so, I had to go way deeper than I ever expected – all the way back over 100 years to broadcast radio standards from the 1920s. I learned tons and tons, and had a lot of fun. The things people do for the perfect keyboard. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134485/reverse-engineering-the-1988-next-keyboard-protocol/) 2022-01-27T22:01:48Z **Google relents: Legacy G Suite users will be able to migrate to free accounts**
Well, that didn’t take long. There is hope for users of Google’s “legacy” free G Suite accounts. Last week, Google announced a brutal policy change—it would shut down the Google Apps accounts of users who signed up during the first several years when the service was available for free. Users who had a free G Suite account were given two options: start paying the per-user monthly ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134494/google-relents-legacy-g-suite-users-will-be-able-to-migrate-to-free-accounts/) 2022-01-27T22:09:02Z **Windows 11 update coming next month brings Android apps to Windows**
Next month we’re bringing new experiences to Windows that include a public preview of how you can use Android apps on Windows 11 through the Microsoft Store and our partnerships with Amazon and Intel, taskbar improvements with call mute and unmute, easier window sharing and bringing weather to the taskbar, plus the introduction of two new redesigned apps, Notepad and Media Player. Definitely some we ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134500/windows-11-update-coming-next-month-brings-android-apps-to-windows/) 2022-01-27T22:05:38Z **Writing an open source GPU driver – without the hardware**
In 2021, there were no Valhall devices running mainline Linux. While a lack of devices poses an obvious obstacle to device driver development, there is no better time to write drivers than before hardware reaches end-users. Developing and distributing production-quality drivers takes time, and we don’t want users to be reliant on closed source blobs. If development doesn’t start until a device hits shelves, that device c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134493/writing-an-open-source-gpu-driver-without-the-hardware/) 2022-01-30T00:48:14Z **The smart modem**
I think I’ve mentioned occasionally that various devices, mostly cellular modems, just use the Hayes or AT command set. Recently I obtained a GPS tracking device (made by Queclink) that is, interestingly, fully configured via the Hayes command set. It’s an example of a somewhat newer trend of converging the functionality of IoT devices into the modem baseband. But what is this Hayes command set anyway? The Hayes command set is a fascinating piece of technology that’s been hanging around for far long ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134503/the-smart-modem/) 2022-01-30T00:52:29Z **DBOS: a DBMS-oriented operating system**
This paper lays out the rationale for building a completely new operating system (OS) stack. Rather than build on a single node OS together with separate cluster schedulers, distributed filesystems, and network managers, we argue that a distributed transactional DBMS should be the basis for a scalable cluster OS. We show herein that such a database OS (DBOS) can do scheduling, file management, and inter-process communication with competitive performance t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134506/dbos-a-dbms-oriented-operating-system/) 2022-01-30T00:56:48Z **Rust-written replacement to GNU Coreutils progressing, some binaries now faster**
Along with the broader industry trend of transitioning security-sensitive code to memory-safe languages like Rust, there has been an effort to write a Rust-based replacement to GNU Coreutils. For nearly a year that Rust Coreutils has been able to run a basic Debian system while more recently they have been increasing their level of GNU Coreutils compatibility and in some cas ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134508/rust-written-replacement-to-gnu-coreutils-progressing-some-binaries-now-faster/) 2022-02-01T00:10:22Z **Review: MNT Reform laptop has fully open hardware and software-for better or worse**
But those laptops all have something in common with run-of-the-mill Windows PCs: a reliance on closed-source hardware and, often, the proprietary software and drivers needed to make it function. For some people, this is a tolerable trade-off. You put up with the closed hardware because it performs well, and it supports the standard software, development tools, and APIs ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134512/review-mnt-reform-laptop-has-fully-open-hardware-and-software-for-better-or-worse/) 2022-02-01T00:42:54Z **Numerous Linux/X11 display drivers can no longer even properly build**
While many Linux enthusiasts like to cite Linux’s stellar support for older hardware platforms, in reality that isn’t always the case. For instance with many old X.Org user-space mode-setting drivers for powering old graphics cards at least for display purposes, they can no longer even build with with modern toolchains/software components. Given the lack of bug reports around such issues, there ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134516/numerous-linux-x11-display-drivers-can-no-longer-even-properly-build/) 2022-02-02T03:31:45Z **Installing every Arch package**
Surprisingly, yes! It’s hard to judge how bad the performance really is, since it’s in a virtual machine, but all the software that I tested was definitely usable. It’s somewhat slow, but that’s exactly what you’d expect. As we used a lot of unsafe hacks (disabling dependency and file conflict checking, for instance) to get this to actually work, I wouldn’t recommend using this system for anything other than proving it’s possible. Now is this useful? The short answer is n ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134518/installing-every-arch-package/) 2022-02-05T20:35:59Z **IRS will soon require selfies for online access**
If you created an online account to manage your tax records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), those login credentials will cease to work later this year. The agency says that by the summer of 2022, the only way to log in to irs.gov will be through ID.me, an online identity verification service that requires applicants to submit copies of bills and identity documents, as well as a live video feed of their faces via a mobile d ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134510/irs-will-soon-require-selfies-for-online-access/) 2022-02-05T20:42:53Z **How a decades-old database became a hugely profitable dossier on the health of 270 million Americans**
To most Americans, the name MarketScan means nothing. But most Americans mean everything to MarketScan. As a repository of sensitive patient information, the company’s databases churn silently behind the scenes of their medical care, scooping up their most guarded secrets: the diseases they have, the drugs they’re taking, the places ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134524/how-a-decades-old-database-became-a-hugely-profitable-dossier-on-the-health-of-270-million-americans/) 2022-02-07T14:49:27Z **Addressing the “dark mode” weirdness on the site**
As many of you have no doubt noticed, a recent bug in our CMS flipped everyone over to our experimental dark mode (along with some other quirks). We haven’t had the time to address the issue at its core yet, but for the time being, if you’re a registered user, you should be able to get light mode back now by clicking the “Revert to Light Mode” link in your right sidebar. We’ll get light mode working for non-logged-in users ASAP. I since ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134531/addressing-the-dark-mode-weirdness-on-the-site/) 2022-02-08T23:43:00Z **We’re fine without Facebook, German and French ministers say**
“I can confirm that life is very good without Facebook and that we would live very well without Facebook,” Le Maire added. “Digital giants must understand that the European continent will resist and affirm its sovereignty.”  The pair were responding to comments in Meta’s annual report published Thursday, warning that if it couldn’t rely on new or existing agreements to shift data, then it would “likely be unable ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134529/were-fine-without-facebook-german-and-french-ministers-say/) 2022-02-08T23:48:16Z **A practical solution for GNU/Hurd’s lack of drivers: NetBSD’s rumpkernel framework**
GNU/Hurd is the original Free Software operating system started in the 1980s. Its microkernel design has been evolving over the years and the project has not quite hit mainstream use. I believe this is due to one main reason: the lack of drivers for peripherals and hardware. In this talk, I explain how NetBSD kernel drivers have been reused in a microkernel setting and d ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134539/a-practical-solution-for-gnu-hurds-lack-of-drivers-netbsds-rumpkernel-framework/) 2022-02-08T23:45:00Z **SoftBank dumps sale of Arm over regulatory hurdles, to IPO instead**
SoftBank Group Corp has shelved its blockbuster sale of Arm Ltd to U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp valued at up to $80 billion citing regulatory hurdles and will instead seek to list the company. Britain’s Arm, which named a new CEO on Tuesday, said it would go public before March 2023 and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son indicated that would be in the United States, most likely the Nasdaq. As everyone already ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134537/softbank-dumps-sale-of-arm-over-regulatory-hurdles-to-ipo-instead/) 2022-02-08T23:50:30Z **GORILLA.BAS: how to play the secret MS-DOS game from your childhood**
Starting in 1991, every copy of MS-DOS (and many versions of Windows) included a hidden artillery game called Gorillas. It inspired a generation of programmers and drew the ire of computer lab instructors everywhere. Here’s how it came to be—and how to play it today. I played the hell out of this as a kid. Such a simple but fun game, and the fact so many people had no idea it existed made it all th ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134541/gorilla-bas-how-to-play-the-secret-ms-dos-game-from-your-childhood/) 2022-02-10T05:37:30Z **Nintendo Game Processor: the lost game creation PC**
The Nintendo Game Processor was a custom built computer — complete with a keyboard & mouse — that was built with one specific purpose: to visually create your own Super Nintendo games, via drag and drop, and write those games onto an actual SNES game cartridge. Although the machine was never released, the planned architecture was really interesting: two parallel systems, one console-like which executed games natively and another wh ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134535/nintendo-game-processor-the-lost-game-creation-pc/) 2022-02-11T08:13:57Z **KDE Plasma 5.24 released**
Today the KDE Community releases Plasma 5.24, a Long Term Support (LTS) release that will receive updates and bugfixes until the final Plasma 5 version, before we transition to Plasma 6. This new Plasma release focuses on smoothing out wrinkles, evolving the design, and improving the overall feel and usability of the environment. Highlights for this release include: a new overview effect for managing all your desktops and application windows (similar to the overview in GNOME), easy ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134534/kde-plasma-5-24-released/) 2022-02-11T08:17:54Z **First developer preview of Android 13 released**
Today, we’re sharing a first look at the next release of Android, with the Android 13 Developer Preview 1. With Android 13 we’re continuing some important themes: privacy and security, as well as developer productivity. We’ll also build on some of the newer updates we made in 12L to help you take advantage of the 250+ million large screen Android devices currently running. There’s actually quite a few cool features in here, some of which ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134551/first-developer-preview-of-android-13-released/) 2022-02-14T21:44:05Z **UEFI support in ArcaOS 5.1**
Development and testing of Arca Noae’s support for UEFI continues. Here’s a brief recap of how this will work in ArcaOS 5.1: When the installation media boots, if the system is determined to be in “UEFI mode” as opposed to “Legacy mode” (“Legacy” here refers to the configuration which presents a traditional PC BIOS), ArcaOS will begin the preboot process using its compatibility system. Essentially, this is a 64-bit environment which will provide a rather complete BIOS emulation ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134558/uefi-support-in-arcaos-5-1/) 2022-02-14T21:41:43Z **Privacy preserving attribution for advertising**
Attribution is how advertisers know if their advertising campaigns are working. Attribution generates metrics that allow advertisers to understand how their advertising campaigns are performing. Related measurement techniques also help publishers understand how they are helping advertisers. Though attribution is crucial to advertising, current attribution practices have terrible privacy properties. For the last few months we have been wor ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134554/privacy-preserving-attribution-for-advertising/) 2022-02-14T22:53:15Z **Haiku gets GIMP, Inkscape**
Haiku’s latest activity report is here, and while there’s a lot of stuff in there – as usual – I think the Gtk work stands out this month. After all that work, GTK3 worked “well enough” that it seemed ready for general consumption (or at least testing), so waddlesplash committed the necessary changes to HaikuPorts for Xlibe to be packaged, and then GTK3, and then finally the first GTK3 application: Inkscape. Already, GIMP has followed closely on its tail thanks to 3dEyes (with som ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134560/haiku-gets-gimp-inkscape/) 2022-02-15T21:55:07Z **Version 100 in Chrome and Firefox**
Chrome and Firefox will reach version 100 in a couple of months. This has the potential to cause breakage on sites that rely on identifying the browser version to perform business logic. This post covers the timeline of events, the strategies that Chrome and Firefox are taking to mitigate the impact, and how you can help. Just skip 9. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134569/version-100-in-chrome-and-firefox/) 2022-02-15T23:58:14Z **NES 64: Commodore 64 KERNAL and BASIC port**
A few years ago, I got the crazy idea to try porting the Commodore 64 KERNAL and BASIC ROMs to the NES, since their CPUs are mostly the same. But I gave up when things got complicated with the PPU. Then a couple weeks ago, I saw that someone ported it to the Atari 1200XL, so I decided I’d give it another shot. This time, I was able to make a (mostly) working system. Quite impressive. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134573/nes-64-commodore-64-kernal-and-basic-port/) 2022-02-15T23:57:17Z **Google unveils Chrome OS Flex: Chrome OS for any PC or Mac**
Today, we’re excited to announce early access to a new version of Chrome OS bringing the benefits of Chrome OS to PCs and Macs. Chrome OS Flex is the cloud-first, fast, easy-to manage, and secure operating system for PCs and Macs. Learn more below, try it out, and share your feedback to help us shape this product. It’s basically Chrome OS for any PC or Mac you might have lying around. Other parties offered similar C ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134571/google-unveils-chrome-os-flex-chrome-os-for-any-pc-or-mac/) 2022-02-18T15:10:49Z **Introducing the Privacy Sandbox on Android**
Today, we’re announcing a multi-year initiative to build the Privacy Sandbox on Android, with the goal of introducing new, more private advertising solutions. Specifically, these solutions will limit sharing of user data with third parties and operate without cross-app identifiers, including advertising ID. We’re also exploring technologies that reduce the potential for covert data collection, including safer ways for apps to integrate with adver ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134579/introducing-the-privacy-sandbox-on-android/) 2022-02-18T21:14:07Z **Is Firefox OK?**
At the end of 2008, Firefox was flying high. Twenty percent of the 1.5 billion people online were using Mozilla’s browser to navigate the web. In Indonesia, Macedonia, and Slovenia, more than half of everyone going online was using Firefox. “Our market share in the regions above has been growing like crazy,” Ken Kovash, Mozilla’s president at the time, wrote in a blog post. Almost 15 years later, things aren’t so rosy. Across all devices, the browser has slid to less than 4 percent of the market—on mob ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134581/is-firefox-ok/) 2022-02-20T17:15:48Z **KEYBCS2**
After writing about the likely origins of IBM code page 852, I thought I should revisit the homegrown Czech alternative solution, the Kamenický brothers encoding and their keyboard driver. Its existence is well documented, and the so-called (somewhat misnamed) KEYBCS2 encoding even has its own Wikipedia article. The encoding itself lives on in various conversion tables, and utilities to convert text to or from the Kamenický encoding are easy enough to locate. But finding the actual KEYBCS2 utility turned out to be ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134585/keybcs2/) 2022-02-20T17:22:48Z **Windows 11 Pro to also requite Microsoft Account during installation**
They hid it very well, two-thirds down a long list of changes and screenshots, but what was already inevitable is now reality. Similar to Windows 11 Home edition, Windows 11 Pro edition now requires internet connectivity during the initial device setup (OOBE) only. If you choose to setup device for personal use, MSA will be required for setup as well. You can expect Microsoft Account to be requi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134584/windows-11-pro-to-also-requite-microsoft-account-during-installation/) 2022-02-21T15:59:47Z **FreeDOS 1.3 released**
The new FreeDOS 1.3 is now available for download! This contains a bunch of great new features and improvements since the 1.2 release, including: new FreeCOM 0.85a, new Kernel 2043 and an 8086 version with FAT32 support, floppy Edition now uses compression and requires about half as many diskettes, the return of networking, some new programs and games, many many many package updates, some updates and improvements to NLS, improved install process, especially with the MBR, some support to au ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134597/freedos-1-3-released/) 2022-02-21T16:01:37Z **Review: Slimbook Executive**
Late last year, we reviewed Slimbook’s KDE Slimbook, a special version of the Spanish’ Linux OEM’s 15″ laptop made in collaboration with the KDE project. I found it to be an excellent laptop, which left little to be desired for anyone in the market for a laptop of that size. It came with tons of power, unobtrusive fans, a great design, and a fair price tag. That being said – personally, I prefer smaller laptops. The KDE Slimbook’s 15 inches is just a bit too wide for me to be co ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134460/review-slimbook-executive/) 2022-02-24T18:01:53Z **DevOps for the Sinclair Spectrum**
We’re fast approaching the 40th birthday of the Sinclair Spectrum in 2022, and to keep myself occupied during COVID lockdowns I decided it would be a lot of fun to go back and re-visit the computer that started it all for me. I set about coding and building the infrastructure for a Spectrum-based community project (website at tnfs.markround.com) incorporating my current-day tools and knowledge, hence the title of this series of posts. The enterprise grew into a curi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134590/devops-for-the-sinclair-spectrum/) 2022-02-24T18:06:51Z **The cats sitting on a fence in early builds of Windows 8**
Now, a black screen could have multiple causes. The video driver may have crashed. Or the video driver could be working fine, but the compositor has crashed, so that nothing is being given to the video driver. Or the compositor could be working fine, but the shell has crashed, so the compositor has nothing to render. Or the shell could be running, but it simply forgot to put something on the screen. For that last case, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134613/the-cats-sitting-on-a-fence-in-early-builds-of-windows-8/) 2022-02-24T18:05:11Z **Neptune OS: a WinNT personality of the seL4 microkernel**
Neptune OS is a Windows NT personality of the seL4 microkernel. It implements what Microsoft calls the “NT Executive”, the upper layer of the Windows kernel NTOSKRNL.EXE, as a user process under the seL4 microkernel. The NT Executive implements the so-called NT Native API, the native system call interface of Windows upon which the more familiar Win32 API is built. These are exposed to the user mode via stub functions in N ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134603/neptune-os-a-winnt-personality-of-the-sel4-microkernel/) 2022-02-26T14:53:33Z **Writing an OS in Rust**
This blog series creates a small operating system in the Rust programming language. Each post is a small tutorial and includes all needed code, so you can follow along if you like. The source code is also available in the corresponding Github repository. A great way to learn Rust. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134618/writing-an-os-in-rust/) 2022-02-27T21:56:37Z **Make Linux look exactly like Windows 95**
Linux themes and icon sets, inspired by other operating systems, have been around for as long as Linux has had a GUI. Some times those themes get pretty close to looking like the original. But… What if — what if — you could make your Linux desktop look almost exactly like Windows 95? It’s damn headerbars in GNOME (and now also Xfce) that mess this utopia up. They looks preposterously bad using these classic operating systems skins. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134620/make-linux-look-exactly-like-windows-95/) 2022-02-28T00:13:40Z **Microsoft is testing a desktop watermark for unsupported Windows 11 PCs**
If you’ve already installed Windows 11 on unsupported devices, you might soon notice a new watermark on the desktop. The watermark, which appears above the taskbar clock, is similar to the “Windows is not activated” error, but it won’t affect apps, windows or web browsers. The desktop watermark simply states “system requirements not met” and it may irritate some users, but it should not co ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134622/microsoft-is-testing-a-desktop-watermark-for-unsupported-windows-11-pcs/) 2022-03-01T22:56:58Z **Genode OS Framework 22.02 released**
The 22.02 release is dominated by three topics, the tightening and restructuring of the code base, device-driver infrastructure, and the transition of Sculpt OS towards a versatile toolkit for building specialized operating-system appliances. Genode’s release notes are always a sight to behold. Detailed, interesting, and always worth a read. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134624/genode-os-framework-22-02-released/) 2022-03-02T23:40:46Z **The decline and fall of Java on the desktop part 1 (1999-2005)**
This is the first in a series of articles about the history of Java on the Desktop, from my perspective as a developer who started working with Java in the late ‘90’s. I’m writing this, partly as a background for why I created jDeploy, a developer-friendly desktop deployment tool for Java. Despite the ominous tone of this article’s title, I believe that Java is a compelling platform for modern desktop applica ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134627/the-decline-and-fall-of-java-on-the-desktop-part-1-1999-2005/) 2022-03-02T23:57:54Z **Samsung appears to be throttling 10,000 Android apps on Galaxy devices, just like OnePlus**
Oh, oh, oh Samsung, up to their usual tricks. Samsung phones ship with a Game Optimizing Service app pre-installed as a system app — we confirmed it’s installed on the Galaxy S22+, as pictured below. It cannot be disabled. The app’s exact purpose isn’t described very well anywhere, but its name certainly implies the app is used to improve performance for g ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134629/samsung-appears-to-be-throttling-10000-android-apps-on-galaxy-devices-just-like-oneplus/) 2022-03-03T23:28:01Z **Enthusiast makes the Mac mini more mini**
At 7.7×7.7×1.4 inches, the Mac mini is a tiny desktop. When the form factor debuted in 2010, it was pretty impressive. But 12 years later, with mini PCs like the Intel NUC measuring 4.6×4.4×1.5 inches, the Mac mini doesn’t feel all that mini anymore. As it turns out, the PC is packing some extra baggage, and by getting rid of some of those parts—like an overly powerful internal power supply unit (PSU)—an enthusiast has been able to rebuild the system w ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134632/enthusiast-makes-the-mac-mini-more-mini/) 2022-03-06T01:23:01Z **Tech’s cult of thinness needs to come to an end**
Gadgets are getting too thin, again. These past few weeks saw some of the latest victims of the seemingly unending drive towards making our devices as thin as possible, no matter the consequences. Samsung’s Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus — what will undoubtedly be some of the most popular Android phones of the year — are thinner than last year’s models and held back by disappointing battery life. The new Dell XPS 15 is “exceptionally thin and l ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134637/techs-cult-of-thinness-needs-to-come-to-an-end/) 2022-03-06T01:25:04Z **Here’s the full Google Chrome browser running on Fuchsia**
Google’s homegrown Fuchsia operating system has taken another step closer to being broadly usable by gaining the full Google Chrome browser experience. It’s been possible to access the web in a very limited way on Fuchsia for quite some time now via the operating system’s “Simple Browser” app – which was powered by the Chromium engine under the hood. While usable, this “browser” didn’t offer the usual necessities like a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134639/heres-the-full-google-chrome-browser-running-on-fuchsia/) 2022-03-07T00:49:30Z **Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Mozilla are working together to improve the web for developers**
For the first time ever, all major browser vendors, and other stakeholders, have come together to solve the top browsers compatibility issues identified by web developers. Interop 2022 will improve the experience of developing for the web in 15 key areas. In this article, find out how we got here, what the project focuses on, how success will be measu ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134643/google-microsoft-apple-and-mozilla-are-working-together-to-improve-the-web-for-developers/) 2022-03-07T00:45:04Z **Windows Defender is enough, if you harden it**
This article is not intended to convince you to abandon your current antivirus solutions. In this post I would like to share my observations and ways to improve the effectiveness of Defender. But today, let’s focus on Defender for the home user. It does not have additional functions that are offered by other commercial solutions, but what it does is enough. However, it is worth enabling some additional functions that are not available from the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134641/windows-defender-is-enough-if-you-harden-it/) 2022-03-07T23:34:43Z **All desktop calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own**
Writing this article wasn’t easy. At first glance, it’s all about a fairly unentertaining subject (building a calculator, the kind of exercise that every IT student tried at some point of its education), and to make the matter worse, it’s pedantically advertised. But in the end, I believe that this article really brings out valuable features, highlights enjoyable development stories, and offers an interesting expe ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134645/all-desktop-calculators-are-wrong-so-i-had-to-build-my-own/) 2022-03-08T00:30:33Z **Ntfs2btrfs: convert NTFS to Btrfs**
Ntfs2btrfs is a tool which does in-place conversion of Microsoft’s NTFS filesystem to the open-source filesystem Btrfs, much as btrfs-convert does for ext2. The original image is saved as a reflink copy at image/ntfs.img, and if you want to keep the conversion you can delete this to free up space. Neat tool, but probably with a rather limited application. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134647/ntfs2btrfs-convert-ntfs-to-btrfs/) 2022-03-08T23:47:30Z **Apple’s M1 Ultra tapes two M1 Max chips together**
Apple is adding “one last chip” to the M1 processor family. The M1 Ultra is a new design that uses “UltraFusion” technology to strap two M1 Max chips together, resulting in a huge processor that offers 16 high-performance CPU cores, four efficiency cores, a 64-core integrated GPU, and support for up to 128GB of RAM. It looks like Apple is using a chiplet-based design for the M1 Ultra, just like AMD is doing for many of its Ryzen chips. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134649/apples-m1-ultra-tapes-two-m1-max-chips-together/) 2022-03-08T23:54:52Z **Android 12L released**
Android 12L, the big-screen updated version of Android 12, is now rolling out after months of testing, landing as part of today’s Feature Drop update for Pixels and coming soon to other tablets and foldables from companies like Samsung, Lenovo, and Microsoft. If you haven’t followed along with our Android 12L feature coverage, the very short version is that most of the changes were meant to address issues larger devices face when running Android. That includes UI tweaks covering a range fr ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134651/android-12l-released/) 2022-03-10T01:56:25Z **PipeWire: a year in review & a look ahead**
The PipeWire project has made major strides over the past few years, bringing shiny new features, and paving the way for new possibilities in the Linux multimedia scene. With 2021 seeing significant progress made on all fronts, let’s take a moment to look back at what was accomplished, and what lies ahead for 2022. Just one of the many project that make Linux easier to use on the desktop. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134653/pipewire-a-year-in-review-a-look-ahead/) 2022-03-10T02:07:24Z **elementary OS is imploding**
elementary OS, a Linux distribution that is currently ranked as one of the top 10 distros (according to DistroWatch.com), appears to be in the process of completely imploding on itself. The Short Version: The company behind elementary OS has been losing money for quite some time. Two co-founders are not pleased with each other and are attempting to part ways… and it is getting messy. elementaryOS was never going to be long for this world. They go years without releases, new rel ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134655/elementary-os-is-imploding/) 2022-03-11T01:22:35Z **MorphOS 3.16 released**
The MorphOS development team is proud to announce the immediate availability of MorphOS 3.16. This release includes numerous important performance, stability and security improvements. A new version of Wayfarer comes included with the OS and replaces the now obsolete Odyssey Web Browser. We’ve also included the Iris email client, Magic Beacon notifications system and a Command-Tab application switcher. The Synergy Client and Server applications are now compatible with the free Barrier al ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134659/morphos-3-16-released/) 2022-03-14T18:47:24Z **ReactOS making progress on SMP/multi-core support**
ReactOS as the open-source project striving for binary compatibility with Windows applications/drivers is still working away in 2022 on symmetric multi-processing (SMP) support. Proper SMP/multi-core support is obviously critical for today’s hardware or even anything in the past roughly two decades… It’s also been a pain point for ReactOS, but fortunately the situation is improving. We’re still looking at very early code that’s not ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134671/reactos-making-progress-on-smp-multi-core-support/) 2022-03-14T18:45:56Z **A brief tour of the PDP-11**
The history of computing could arguably be divided into three eras: that of mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers. Minicomputers provided an important bridge between the first mainframes and the ubiquitous micros of today. This is the story of the PDP-11, the most influential and successful minicomputer ever. A deep dive into the inner workings of the PDP-11, specifically on how to use the machine to do actual computing tasks. I lack the skills to do anything with a mac ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134663/a-brief-tour-of-the-pdp-11/) 2022-03-15T00:15:12Z **Google forces YouTube Vanced to shut down ‘due to legal reasons’**
The popular Vanced YouTube app is being discontinued, after a legal threat from Google. The creators of Vanced have revealed the project will be shut down in the coming days, with download links set to be removed. While the app will continue to work for anyone who currently has it installed on Android, without any future updates it’s likely to stop working at some point soon. The Vanced owners say they’ve ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134673/google-forces-youtube-vanced-to-shut-down-due-to-legal-reasons/) 2022-03-15T01:22:46Z **Writing a device driver for Unix V6**
In this post we will learn the useful skill of writing a device driver for Unix V6 (released in 1975) and run it on an emulator. The implemented device is fairly trivial: it will open a message box on the host OS. Read this article now. Everybody needs to know how to do this. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134675/writing-a-device-driver-for-unix-v6/) 2022-03-15T01:29:02Z **DirectStorage API now available on Windows**
Starting today, Windows games can ship with DirectStorage. This public SDK release begins a new era of fast load times and detailed worlds in PC games by allowing developers to more fully utilize the speed of the latest storage devices. In September 2020, we announced DirectStorage would be coming to Windows, and after collecting feedback throughout our developer preview, we are making this API available to all of our partners to ship with their ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134678/directstorage-api-now-available-on-windows/) 2022-03-16T00:25:34Z **Google casually announces Steam for Chrome OS is coming in alpha for select Chromebooks**
The long-awaited availability of Steam on Chromebooks was just more or less announced (in alpha) at the 2022 Google for Games Developer Summit. That said, Google is light on availability details for the moment. Google specifically said that the “Steam Alpha just launched, making this longtime PC game store available on select Chromebooks for users to try.” T ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134686/google-casually-announces-steam-for-chrome-os-is-coming-in-alpha-for-select-chromebooks/) 2022-03-16T00:24:13Z **Microsoft puts ads in Explorer, claims it was a test**
Microsoft appears to be testing a new type of ad inside File Explorer on Windows 11. Microsoft MVP and Twitter user Florian Beaubois discovered an ad in the latest test build of Windows 11, prompting users to check out the Microsoft Editor. While the ads might have appeared for some Windows 11 users, Microsoft says it was a mistake. “This was an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134684/microsoft-puts-ads-in-explorer-claims-it-was-a-test/) 2022-03-17T01:31:04Z **Haiku gets USB WiFi support**
Haiku’s latest activity report is out, and right off the bat, there’s a big ticket item. That’s right, after many years of being requested, Haiku finally has support for USB WiFi devices! (Currently only Realtek controllers are supported, but Ralink and others should follow before too long; Realtek/“RTL” chips are generally the most common, however.). That’s great news. There’s way more in here than just this, of course, so head on over to find out more. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134688/haiku-gets-usb-wifi-support/) 2022-03-18T20:01:47Z **OVerview: the Fuchsia Interface Definition Language**
This document is a high level overview of the Fuchsia Interface Definition Language (FIDL), which is the language used to describe interprocess communication (IPC) protocols used by programs running on Fuchsia. This overview introduces the concepts behind FIDL — developers familiar with these concepts already can start writing code by following the tutorials, or dive deeper by reading the language or bindings references. Some lig ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134691/overview-the-fuchsia-interface-definition-language/) 2022-03-21T19:24:55Z **iCloud and many other Apple services are down or experiencing issues**
Apple is experiencing a widespread outage today, with a wide range of the company’s services and apps down or experiencing issues currently. Affected services and apps include the App Store, iCloud, Siri, iMessage, iTunes Store, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple TV+, Find My, FaceTime, Notes, Stocks, and many others, according to complaints across Twitt ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134695/icloud-and-many-other-apple-services-are-down-or-experiencing-issues/) 2022-03-21T20:09:26Z **The first Asahi Linux Alpha Release is here**
It’s been a long while since we updated the blog! Truth be told, we wanted to write a couple more progress reports, but there was always “one more thing”… So, instead, we decided to take the plunge and publish the first public alpha release of the Asahi Linux reference distribution! We’re really excited to finally take this step and start bringing Linux on Apple Silicon to everyone. This is only the beginning, and things will move even more qui ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134700/the-first-asahi-linux-alpha-release-is-here/) 2022-03-21T23:39:14Z **Windows needs a change in priorities**
We need to talk about Windows priorities as a product. And I am saying this as someone who wants Windows to succeed – it’s a great OS that, despite it’s naysayers, is still one of the best when it comes to backwards compatibility and richness of functionality. I mean, I can literally run a game written for Windows 95 on Windows 11 without major issues (no, I am not going to open the SafeDisc can of worms this time). I can’t do that on macOS or Linux boxes re ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134704/windows-needs-a-change-in-priorities/) 2022-03-23T08:22:13Z **NVIDIA Hopper GPU architecture and H100 accelerator announced: working smarter and harder**
Taking NVIDIA into the next generation of server GPUs is the Hopper architecture. Named after computer science pioneer Grace Hopper, the Hopper architecture is a very significant, but also very NVIDIA update to the company’s ongoing family of GPU architectures. With the company’s efforts now solidly bifurcated into server and consumer GPU configurations, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134706/nvidia-hopper-gpu-architecture-and-h100-accelerator-announced-working-smarter-and-harder/) 2022-03-23T08:27:37Z **Lanai, the mystery CPU architecture in LLVM**
Some of my recent long-term projects revolve around a little known CPU architecture called ‘Lanai’. Unsurprisingly, very few people have heard of it, and even their Googling skills don’t come in handy. This page is a short summary of what I know, and should serve as a reference for future questions. Deeply fascinating. I love obscure CPU architectures, and they don’t come more obscure than this. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134708/lanai-the-mystery-cpu-architecture-in-llvm/) 2022-03-24T00:05:23Z **Google Play announces support for third-party ‘User Choice’ app billing, starting with Spotify**
Back in 2020, Google announced that it would require all apps in the Play Store to use its billing system but later delayed that to this month. Google will soon allow Android apps to use their own payment system as long as Play Store billing is an option alongside it, with Spotify notably the first “User Choice Billing” partner. Regulatory pressur ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134710/google-play-announces-support-for-third-party-user-choice-app-billing-starting-with-spotify/) 2022-03-24T00:19:45Z **GNOME 42 released**
After six months of development, GNOME 42 is here and it’s packed with some cool new features and enhancements for fans of the GNOME desktop environment. The biggest change in this major release is the porting of almost all default GNOME apps to the latest GTK4 toolkit and the libadwaita 1.0 library for a more modern look and faster performance. This is a very odd release. There’s tons of great, valuable new features and improvements in here, and if it wasn’t for libadwaita, I’d be quite excited ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134712/gnome-42-released/) 2022-03-25T00:21:59Z **EU to force WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage to interoperate with others**
A new seminal antitrust legislation has been proposed in the EU, which will go up for a final vote in the EU Parliament. There’s a whole boatload of measures in here, many targeting big tech. The first major one: During a close to 8-hour long trilogue (three-way talks between Parliament, Council and Commission), EU lawmakers agreed that the largest messaging services (such as W ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134718/eu-to-force-whatsapp-facebook-messenger-imessage-to-interoperate-with-others/) 2022-03-25T00:29:44Z **EU targets Big Tech with sweeping new antitrust legislation**
Moving on from interoperability in messaging services, there’s a lot more in the proposed Digital Markets Act. For instance, bloatware and other preinstalled applications on iOS and Android devices must be removable by the user, and users must be given choice of which browser, e-mail application, etc. they want to use by default. This is a complete no-brainer, and something virtually every user will welcome. Ther ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134720/eu-targets-big-tech-with-sweeping-new-antitrust-legislation/) 2022-03-26T00:37:32Z **Apple would be forced to allow sideloading and third-party app stores under new EU law**
And we’re not done yet with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, since it contains another important and very consequential regulation: alternative application stores. “We believe that the owner of a smartphone should have the freedom to choose how to use it,” said European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke in an emailed statement. “This freedom includes being ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134724/apple-would-be-forced-to-allow-sideloading-and-third-party-app-stores-under-new-eu-law/) 2022-03-29T11:27:09Z **Whatever happened to QuickTime?**
In its day QuickTime was bigger than Apple itself, so widely known that many who used it on their PCs weren’t even aware that it was an Apple product. As one of the first extensible frameworks for multimedia, from 1991 onwards it was at the forefront of computer audio and video. When the MPEG-4 format was standardised in 1998, it was based on QuickTime. For several years, sales of QuickTime-based products for Windows far exceeded those for Macs. Then, with the release ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134728/whatever-happened-to-quicktime/) 2022-03-29T11:29:31Z **Firefox UI UX history**
The history of Firefox UI is important because my project compensates for the shortcomings of this Proton UI and inherits the strengths of the existing Firefox UIs. It’s also one of the ways to prevent divisions in the community, given that there have been forks every time the UI changes big. A detailed timeline of the changes to the user interface of Firefox. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134730/firefox-ui-ux-history/) 2022-04-02T12:55:38Z **The wild world of non-C operating systems**
Believe it or not, not everything is based on C. There are current, shipping, commercial OSes written before C was invented, and now others in both newer and older languages that don’t involve C at any level or layer. There’s tons of examples. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134736/the-wild-world-of-non-c-operating-systems/) 2022-04-02T13:26:07Z **DDC OLED**
I have a proclivity to stupid and/or pointless projects. This is one of them. Conceived from a conversation that ended with “Hey, it would technically be possible to…” – sure, let’s do it. DDC, display data channel, is a protocol for reading information about what resolutions and so on a monitor supports. It was later extended to DDC/CI, that lets you set brightness and other parameters, but fundamentally, the original idea was to stick a cheap i2c eeprom on each device with some basic info on it. (Technically, t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134738/ddc-oled/) 2022-04-03T18:28:15Z **The Fuchsia “Workstation” configuration**
Workstation (workstation) is an open source reference design for Fuchsia. Workstation is not a consumer-oriented product. Workstation is a tool for developers and enthusiasts to explore Fuchsia and experiment with evolving concepts and features. Workstation is one of the many “product configurations” Fuchsia can be set up with, and it targets both the Fuchsia emulator as well as an Intel NUC – so real hardware. This configuration’s goal is to be “a basis ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134740/the-fuchsia-workstation-configuration/) 2022-04-03T18:57:27Z **Sailfish OS Vanha Rauma brings in several new features and improvements**
We aim for the beautiful Sailfish user experience to bring a similar elegance and simplicity to an otherwise busy and distracting world. But the beauty on the surface has to be backed up with cutting-edge technology underneath which keeps up with modern standards and developments. That’s why in the 4.4.0 Vanha Rauma release we’ve been working hard to improve compatibility across the board, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134733/sailfish-os-vanha-rauma-brings-in-several-new-features-and-improvements/) 2022-04-03T18:55:57Z **Infinite Mac: an instant-booting Quadra in your browser**
I’ve extended James Friend’s in-browser Basilisk II port to create a full-featured classic 68K Mac in your browser. You can see it in action at system7.app or macos8.app. However, none of these setups replicated the true feel of using a computer in the 90s. They’re great for quickly launching a single program and playing around with it, but they don’t have any persistence, way of getting data in or out of it, or running m ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134746/infinite-mac-an-instant-booting-quadra-in-your-browser/) 2022-04-06T18:44:50Z **Writing a NetBSD kernel module**
In this post, we’ll look at implementing a simple character device driver as a kernel module in NetBSD. Once it is loaded, userspace processes will be able to write an arbitrary byte string to the device, and on every successive read expect a cryptographically-secure pseudorandom permutation of the original byte string. IF you’ve always wanted to learn how to write a NetBSD driver, here’s a great starting point. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134755/writing-a-netbsd-kernel-module/) 2022-04-06T18:43:09Z **Fedora 37 looks to begin signing RPM contents for greater trust**
With Fedora 36 working its way towards release later this month, more developer attention and planning is turning to Fedora 37 that will be released this autumn. One of the changes being talked about this week is for signing RPM contents for a means of trusting the files that are executed. The Fedora 37 change proposal is for adding IMA-based signatures to the individual files that are part of shipped RPM ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134753/fedora-37-looks-to-begin-signing-rpm-contents-for-greater-trust/) 2022-04-07T22:57:19Z **Using Windows after 15 years on Linux**
I’ve been using Linux exclusively for ~15 yrs. I’ve recently started a fantastic new job – the only wrinkle was that it came with a Windows 10 laptop. This is my first time using Windows after a 15-year break. This is how it’s been going. Hint: not well. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134759/using-windows-after-15-years-on-linux/) 2022-04-07T23:03:08Z **Things aren’t “back to normal” yet, but GPU prices are steadily falling**
Graphics card prices remain hugely inflated compared to a few years ago, but the good news is that things finally seem to be getting consistently better and not worse. This is good news. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced something like this before in my life, and I can’t wait for prices to truly reach sane levels again, as both my fiancée and I are due for an upgrade. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134761/things-arent-back-to-normal-yet-but-gpu-prices-are-steadily-falling/) 2022-04-07T23:07:47Z **Abandoned applications delisted from the Play Store**
Starting on November 1, 2022, existing apps that don’t target an API level within two years of the latest major Android release version will not be available for discovery or installation for new users with devices running Android OS versions higher than apps’ target API level. As new Android OS versions launch in the future, the requirement window will adjust accordingly. This is a very welcome move, since finding incredibly ol ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134763/abandoned-applications-delisted-from-the-play-store/) 2022-04-08T21:15:42Z **Why not Pentium III?**
Word is out there that an individual is trying to develop Pentium III emulation as part of a fork of 86Box, regardless of how slow it is, in the name of “hardware preservation”. But why didn’t we do it in the first place? Why did we, developers of a PC emulator clearly aimed at the preservation of hardware and software, limit ourselves to the Pentium II and an underperforming competitor (the VIA Cyrix III), and why did we do these two knowing they’re already pretty slow to emulate? It’s sto ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134765/why-not-pentium-iii/) 2022-04-08T22:47:22Z **Raspberry Pi OS no longer defaults to user “pi”**
Up until now, all installs of Raspberry Pi OS have had a default user called “pi”. This isn’t that much of a weakness – just knowing a valid user name doesn’t really help much if someone wants to hack into your system; they would also need to know your password, and you’d need to have enabled some form of remote access in the first place. But nonetheless, it could potentially make a brute-force attack slightly easier, and in response to t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134767/raspberry-pi-os-no-longer-defaults-to-user-pi/) 2022-04-12T19:31:18Z **How is the free firmware for the Raspberry progressing?**
Raspberry Pi computers require a piece of non-free software to boot — the infamous raspi-firmware package. But for almost as long as there has been a Raspberry Pi to talk of (this year it turns 10 years old!), there have been efforts to get it to boot using only free software. How is it progressing? Turns out a lot better than expected. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134773/how-is-the-free-firmware-for-the-raspberry-progressing/) 2022-04-12T19:30:15Z **EndeavourOS delivers new tiling window manager**
EndeavourOS is an Arch-based Linux distribution, and in and of itself not something I’d write about here. However, at the very end of the release notes for its latest release, there’s this: This release is also shipping with a brand-new Window Manager developed by our community editions team member Codic12 and we are more than proud to present you this WM that was developed a little bit under our wing. Codic12 decided to develop this WM t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134771/endeavouros-delivers-new-tiling-window-manager/) 2022-04-13T21:25:33Z **u+237c ⍼ right angle with downwards zigzag arrow**
Known as right angle with downwards zigzag arrow, angle with down zig-zag arrow, \\rangledownzigzagarrow, and ⍼, no one knows what ⍼ is meant to represent or where it originated from. Section 22.7 Technical Symbols from the Unicode Standard on the Miscellaneous Technical block doesn’t say anything about it. Who doesn’t love a good what-the-hell-is-this-glyph story? ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134776/u237c-%e2%8d%bc-right-angle-with-downwards-zigzag-arrow/) 2022-04-14T22:32:51Z **Reversing Sound Blaster X7 Control for fun and Linux support**
The Sound Blaster X7 is a DAC (Digital Analog Converter) and amplifier. It allows several inputs to be mixed together toward a single output. Its configuration is maintained directly on the device and can be controlled by either a mobile device over Bluetooth or from a Windows machine over USB. When using my work laptop, I can’t change the X7 volume or output. This is an issue when you need to jump into a quick ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134780/reversing-sound-blaster-x7-control-for-fun-and-linux-support/) 2022-04-14T22:39:37Z **Haiku acitivity report for March 2022**
The latest Haiku activity report is here – covering the month of March – and it’s a real grab bag of tons of changes, but I’m not seeing any big ticket items. This means there should be something for everybody in here, from improved support for various Intel integrated grahpics chips, to more work on the ARM port, to glibc fixes, to… Well, you get the point. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134782/haiku-acitivity-report-for-march-2022/) 2022-04-14T22:55:16Z **Google Chrome/Chromium experimenting with a Qt back-end**
Public code reviews started this week on Qt platform support for Google’s Chromium open-source browser code. It looks like Google is at least evaluating the prospects of Qt toolkit support for the Chromium/Chrome UI. Chrome might get a Qt-based UI option before it even gets video decoding acceleration on Linux that doesn’t require custom builds or hacks. Possibly good news for KDE users. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134784/google-chrome-chromium-experimenting-with-a-qt-back-end/) 2022-04-16T05:50:10Z **Announcing the first Oracle Solaris 11.4 CBE**
This you don’t see every day – Oracle doing something fun and interesting. I’m very happy to announce that today we are releasing a new version of Oracle Solaris 11.4 for free/open source developers and non-production personal use. Today marks the first delivery of our “Common Build Environment” (CBE) releases for the Oracle Solaris 11.4.To enable us to make new features and fixes available quicker and to more systems Oracle Solaris now uses ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134786/announcing-the-first-oracle-solaris-11-4-cbe/) 2022-04-16T22:06:56Z **Calculating Pi digits on the first Intel microprocessor (Intel 4004)**
One day I thought about the performance gap between the first Intel processor and modern machines. Of course, we can try to do some estimations empirically – we know clock rate and how the pipeline is organized and what features intel 4004 CPU has (but it would not be standard FLOPS, because there was no embedded support for float numbers yet). But there are few details: architecture bit width (on ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134791/calculating-pi-digits-on-the-first-intel-microprocessor-intel-4004/) 2022-04-16T22:14:49Z **Android 13 deep dive: every change up to DP2, thoroughly documented**
Building on the foundation laid by Android 12, described by many as the biggest Android OS update since 2014, this year’s upcoming Android 13 release refines the feature set and tweaks the user interface in subtle ways. However, it also includes many significant behavioral and platform changes under the hood, as well as several new platform APIs that developers should be aware of. For large screen d ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134795/android-13-deep-dive-every-change-up-to-dp2-thoroughly-documented/) 2022-04-16T22:12:20Z **LXQt 1.1.0 released**
LXQt 1.1.0 has been released. As its version number makes clear, this isn’t a major release, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from the changelog – there’s a lot in here. The biggest improvement is better integration of Gtk+ applications into the desktop environment, so that, among other things, applications like Chromium and Firefox can call LXQt’s own file picker. There’s a lot more, so be sure to read the release notes. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134793/lxqt-1-1-0-released/) 2022-04-19T23:52:23Z **Leaked Game Boy emulators for Switch were made by Nintendo, experts suggest**
Ars Technica reports: In most cases, the release of yet another classic console emulator for the Switch wouldn’t be all that noteworthy. But experts tell Ars that a pair of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance emulators for the Switch that leaked online Monday show signs of being official products of Nintendo’s European Research & Development division (NERD). That has some industry watcher ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134799/leaked-game-boy-emulators-for-switch-were-made-by-nintendo-experts-suggest/) 2022-04-20T00:00:06Z **Getting the basics of Windows 11 right should be a higher priority for Microsoft**
Back when I reviewed Windows 11 for Neowin in 2021, I awarded it a score of 6.5/10, while saying that “simplification of UI isn’t a terrible idea but having it there in a half-baked manner doesn’t really make for an enticing user experience”. Although that was my opinion based on the launch version of the OS, unfortunately, it still hasn’t changed more than six months lat ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134801/getting-the-basics-of-windows-11-right-should-be-a-higher-priority-for-microsoft/) 2022-04-21T18:15:12Z **Apple discontinues macOS Server**
As of April 21, 2022, Apple has discontinued macOS Server. Existing macOS Server customers can continue to download and use the app with macOS Monterey. The most popular server features—Caching Server, File Sharing Server, and Time Machine Server are bundled with every installation of macOS High Sierra and later, so that even more customers have access to these essential services at no extra cost. I doubt many people are running macOS Server installations at this poin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134804/apple-discontinues-macos-server/) 2022-04-21T23:11:43Z **QEMU 7.1 released**
QEMU 7.0 is out today as the newest version of this important piece of the open-source Linux virtualization stack. Since QEMU 6.2 at the end of last year, developers at Red Hat and other organizations have been busy working on QEMU 7.0 as this open-source emulator widely used as part of the free software Linux virtualization stack. QEMU 7.0 brings support for Intel AMX, a lot of ongoing RISC-V work, and more. QEMU is one of the great success stories of open source – and one operating system and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134807/qemu-7-1-released/) 2022-04-21T23:16:05Z **OpenBSD 7.1 released**
OpenBSD 7.1 has been released. The biggest improvement in this point release is support for Apple Silicon, which is now ready for general use. Of course, there’s a lot more in this new release, so head on over to the changelog to get all the details. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134809/openbsd-7-1-released/) 2022-04-21T23:22:06Z **Ubuntu 22.04 LTS released**
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS comes with the latest GNOME 42 desktop environment with the triple buffering patch included, yet it still uses apps from the GNOME 41 stack due to compatibility issues between GTK4 apps included in the upstream release and Ubuntu’s Yaru theme. Apps that weren’t ported to GTK4 are from the GNOME 42 stack, such as the Nautilus (Files) file manager. This is also the first LTS release with Wayland as its default (except for machines with NVIDIA GPUs, which will stick ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134811/ubuntu-22-04-lts-released/) 2022-04-25T23:04:15Z **Elon Musk buys Twitter**
Twitter, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company. Elon Musk is now the founder and inventor of Twitter. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134814/elon-musk-buys-twitter/) 2022-04-25T23:09:48Z **How macOS manages M1 CPU cores**
CPUs in Apple Silicon chips are different, as they contain two different core types, one designed for high performance (Performance, P or Firestorm cores), the other for energy efficiency (Efficiency, E or Icestorm cores). For these to work well, threads need to be allocated by core type, a task which can be left to apps and processes, as it is in Asahi Linux, or managed by the operating system, as it is in macOS. This article explains how macOS manages core allocation ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134816/how-macos-manages-m1-cpu-cores/) 2022-04-25T23:14:26Z **Microsoft’s internal upgrade to Windows 11**
Microsoft’s upgrade to Windows 11 is largely considered the smoothest we’ve ever had. The Microsoft Digital Employee Experience team was able to upgrade 190,000 employee devices in just five weeks. We learned a lot so, in this post, I’m sharing our learnings with you to help with your deployment journey. Our success was built around several factors: far fewer app compatibility challenges than in the past, not needing to build out a plethora of dis ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134818/microsofts-internal-upgrade-to-windows-11/) 2022-04-27T21:59:50Z **Apple Self Service Repair store now available**
Apple today launched the Self Service Repair Store, allowing iPhone customers in the United States access to parts and manual that they can use to repair their own devices. The new store enables repairs of iPhone SE, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 components, including display, battery and camera replacements. Apple also said it will launch Mac self-service repairs later this year. A good start. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134821/apple-self-service-repair-store-now-available/) 2022-04-27T22:02:30Z **Celebrating 40 years of ZX Spectrum**
Well color me old! The ZX Spectrum (affectionately known as “Speccy” or just “Spectrum” by its fans), one of the best-selling microcomputers of all time, was released 40 years ago today. Can you believe it still has a large and active community creating new content, archiving old content, and hacking on all sorts of hardware? I have never owned or used one, but the Spectrum is one of those machines everyone is familiar with – like the C64, the Apple II, TRS 80 ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134823/celebrating-40-years-of-zx-spectrum/) 2022-04-29T21:50:01Z **The first developer preview of Privacy Sandbox on Android**
Today, we’re releasing the first developer preview for the Privacy Sandbox on Android, which provides an early look at the SDK Runtime and Topics API. You’ll be able to do preliminary testing of these new technologies and evaluate how you might adopt them for your solutions. This is a preview, so some features may not be implemented just yet, and functionality is subject to change. See the release notes for more deta ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134828/the-first-developer-preview-of-privacy-sandbox-on-android/) 2022-04-29T21:53:21Z **Android 13 beta 1 released**
It’s already April and we’ve been making steady progress refining the features and stability of Android 13, building around our core themes of privacy and security, developer productivity, as well as tablet and large screen support. Today we’re moving into the next phase of our cycle and releasing the first Beta of Android 13. Android 13 development seems to be ahead of the regular schedule. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134830/android-13-beta-1-released/) 2022-04-30T00:56:53Z **Redox OS 0.7.0 released**
A lot has changed since release 0.6.0! First thing, it is impossible to collect all the changes that happened since December 24, 2020 into one set of release notes, so this will focus on the highlights. It was very important to me that this be a release targeting the foundations of Redox OS. This includes, the bootloader, the filesystem, the package manager, the kernel, the drivers, and much more. The focus was on enabling Redox OS to boot on the widest set of hardware possible. Redo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134832/redox-os-0-7-0-released/) 2022-05-03T01:49:48Z **Trinity Ddesktop Environment R14.0.12 released**
The Trinity Desktop Environment, a fork of the KDE 3.x codebase, has released its latest version. This release comes with a new D-Bus based polkit authentication agent, new markdown document viewer, support for HTML5 in Quanta, support for Let’s Encrypt certificates, some improvements to GUI options, better cooperation between tdm and plymouth, fix for ICEAuthority ownership stealing when using sudo, various other bug fixes and improvemen ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134836/trinity-ddesktop-environment-r14-0-12-released/) 2022-05-03T01:46:25Z **Unity 7.6 released for testing**
Unity 7.6 will be the first major release of Unity in 6 years (the last release was in May 2016). We have restarted the active development of Unity7 and will be releasing new versions with more features regularly. I was never a fan of Ubuntu’s Unity, but I’ve seen quite a few people over the years who miss it. Your call has been answered – this first release has a a lot of visual touch-ups and updates to make it look a bit more modern, and there’s bugfixes in here, too, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134834/unity-7-6-released-for-testing/) 2022-05-03T01:52:17Z **Sculpt OS release 22.04 available**
Sculpt OS version 22.04 introduces the concept of service-level sandboxing and features completely new drivers for wireless, graphics, and USB. On the user-visible surface, the new version of Sculpt OS looks and feels familiar to users of the previous version. Under the hood, however, at the nitty-gritty hardware-support level, it features completely revamped device drivers for Intel wireless, Intel graphics, and USB. Get Sculpt OS’ latest release from the downloa ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134838/sculpt-os-release-22-04-available/) 2022-05-05T00:51:46Z **Microsoft open-sourced the code for 1995’s 3D Movie Maker because someone asked**
Ars Technica writes: Back in 1995, the Microsoft Kids division of the company released a program called Microsoft 3D Movie Maker. The same year that the original Toy Story proved that feature-length 3D computer animation was feasible, people could install software on their home computers that could spit out crude-but-creative 3D animated movies at 6 to 8 frames per second. A ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134842/microsoft-open-sourced-the-code-for-1995s-3d-movie-maker-because-someone-asked/) 2022-05-06T01:22:46Z **Apple, Google, and Microsoft will soon implement passwordless sign-in on all major platforms**
In a joint effort, tech giants Apple, Google, and Microsoft announced Thursday morning that they have committed to building support for passwordless sign-in across all of the mobile, desktop, and browser platforms that they control in the coming year. Effectively, this means that passwordless authentication will come to all major device platforms in ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134844/apple-google-and-microsoft-will-soon-implement-passwordless-sign-in-on-all-major-platforms/) 2022-05-06T17:29:24Z **Android 13’s new sideloading restriction makes it harder for malware to abuse Accessibility APIs**
Android’s Accessibility API is an incredibly powerful tool intended for developers to build apps for users with disabilities. The API lets apps read the contents of the screen and perform inputs on behalf of the user, which are essential functions for screen readers and alternative input systems. Unfortunately, these functions are also incre ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134847/android-13s-new-sideloading-restriction-makes-it-harder-for-malware-to-abuse-accessibility-apis/) 2022-05-06T18:55:49Z **OpenVMS E9.2 on x86 now available**
We are excited to announce the availability of VSI OpenVMS E9.2 for x86-64, field test version of the upcoming V9.2 release. This is the next step in the journey to migrate OpenVMS to the x86-64 platform. The E9.2 release allows you to use the operating system with some of the most commonly-used hypervisors and includes a host of newly migrated applications. VSI has been porting OpenVMS to x86-64 for a while now, and it seems they’re getting quite close to general ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134849/openvms-e9-2-on-x86-now-available/) 2022-05-09T15:36:34Z **Compiling an OpenBSD kernel 50% faster**
This is approximately as wise as taking off from Mars in a ragtop rocket, but don’t worry, the math all checks out. My theory is that compiling less code will be faster than compiling more code, but first we must find the code so we know not to compile it. This is vital information to know in your day-to-day computing life. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134852/compiling-an-openbsd-kernel-50-faster/) 2022-05-09T20:06:56Z **Homemade TPM 2.0 Module**
With the recent launch of Windows 11 Microsoft also made having a hardware TPM module mandatory. Although this technology is not new (it was introduced in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016), now, that most people can’t upgrade to Windows 11, it will (slowly) become mainstream. (My personal opinion on it is that is probably a step in the right direction, but Microsoft could have handled mandating it better..) Several months ago, when I heard about this new requirement, I checked how ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134854/homemade-tpm-2-0-module/) 2022-05-09T21:39:09Z **Are alternative app stores worth it?**
App Store Optimization is, for most people, synonymous with Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. After all, they contribute to 90% of the total available apps in the market. But they’re not the only ones out there. These alternative app stores seem to lurk in the shadows but each of them has its slew of users. With the looming DMA and Open Markets Acts that aim to open the app markets to third-party stores,  their time to shine may be just around the co ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134856/are-alternative-app-stores-worth-it/) 2022-05-11T20:42:08Z **Apple discontinues iPod touch, ending 20 year run of iconic ‘iPod’ brand**
It’s the end of an era: Apple is officially discontinuing the iPod touch. The company says that the device will be available only “while supplies last.” This also means that the “iPod” brand is officially retired, as the iPod touch was the last iPod in Apple’s lineup. It’s the end of an era for a product that was once one of the most popular gadgets in the world. The iPod was one of the mos ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134858/apple-discontinues-ipod-touch-ending-20-year-run-of-iconic-ipod-brand/) 2022-05-11T20:53:03Z **NVIDIA transitioning to official, open-source Linux GPU kernel driver**
The day has finally come: NVIDIA IS PUBLISHING THEIR LINUX GPU KERNEL MODULES AS OPEN-SOURCE! To much excitement and a sign of the times, the embargo has just expired on this super-exciting milestone that many of us have been hoping to see for many years. Over the past two decades NVIDIA has offered great Linux driver support with their proprietary driver stack, but with the success of AMD’s op ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134860/nvidia-transitioning-to-official-open-source-linux-gpu-kernel-driver/) 2022-05-12T08:47:03Z **Dutch digital identity system crisis**
Dutch digital identity verification system DigiD has announced the phasing out SMS as second factor. That way they require citizens to install a smartphone app in order to use digital services from the government, municipalities, the health sector and others. These applications only work on iOS and Android phones, with reliance on third party services. Plenty of members of our community choose not to use a device that is tied to vendor-specific services. The ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134862/dutch-digital-identity-system-crisis/) 2022-05-13T22:24:25Z **Google releases Android 13 beta 2**
At its Google I/O event on Wednesday, Google released the second beta of Android 13. The search giant highlighted several new aspects to Android 13 including better privacy controls that help users to limit what data apps have access to, an improved Material You theme system that works across more apps, a new Settings & Privacy page that can help you boost your security, swanky music controls that adjust their look based on the music you’re listening to, and the a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134866/google-releases-android-13-beta-2/) 2022-05-13T22:21:34Z **The Apple GPU and the impossible bug**
In late 2020, Apple debuted the M1 with Apple’s GPU architecture, AGX, rumoured to be derived from Imagination’s PowerVR series. Since then, we’ve been reverse-engineering AGX and building open source graphics drivers. Last January, I rendered a triangle with my own code, but there has since been a heinous bug lurking: The driver fails to render large amounts of geometry. Spinning a cube is fine, low polygon geometry is okay, but detailed models won’t render ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134864/the-apple-gpu-and-the-impossible-bug/) 2022-05-13T22:29:42Z **Fedora 36 released**
Fedora 36 is releasing this morning as what is yet another release in recent times of being a very robust and bleeding-edge yet stable and reliable Linux distribution. I’ve already been running Fedora Workstation 36 and Fedora Server 36 snapshots on various systems in my benchmarking lab and this release has proven to be quite solid while adding new features and polish on top of the excellent Fedora 35. I have no reservations about stating that Fedora is by far the best desktop Linux distribut ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134868/fedora-36-released/) 2022-05-17T00:23:01Z **FreeBSD 13.1 released**
FreeBSD 13.1 has been released, and as the version number signifies, this is not a major release, so don’t expect any massive changes. Lots of various core packages of the operating system have been updated to their most recent versions, like OpenSSH, OpenSLL, and ZFS, there’s the usual driver updates, and a whole slew of fixes. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134871/freebsd-13-1-released/) 2022-05-17T00:25:10Z **The very weird Hewlett Packard FreeDOS option**
In this installment: some strange things I discovered when purchasing a FreeDOS laptop from Hewlett Packard. I suspect that the audience for this will be somewhat limited but I had fun exploring this. Perhaps you, dear reader, will find a chuckle in here too. Some background: I recently purchased a HP ZBook 17.8 G8 as I run Fedora Linux I decided to have a little fun with the OS selection and picked the FreeDOS option (Other options include ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134873/the-very-weird-hewlett-packard-freedos-option/) 2022-05-17T21:09:25Z **Restoring a Tadpole SPARCbook 3**
Tadpole Technology was a small British computer company formed in 1983 and originally based out of Cambridge, who amongst other things manufactured VMEbus boards for industrial applications, along with military spec, small server and laptop computers. During the 1990s and perhaps most famously, Tadpole produced a range of high-end laptops that were based on the SPARC, PowerPC and Alpha RISC architectures, running Solaris, AIX and OpenVMS respectively. A previous serie ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134877/restoring-a-tadpole-sparcbook-3/) 2022-05-17T21:14:05Z **My unholy battle with a Rock64**
I’ve got this rock64, which is an aarch64 board comparable to a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with 4 gigs of ram. For years I’ve wanted to put a distribution on here that doesn’t have a premade image available, mainly because out of all the options on that page I don’t actually like any of them. Well, except NetBSD, but NetBSD doesn’t have GPU drivers for it. Problem is, everything I do want to use provides rootfs tarballs and tells you to figure it out. To do that I’ve got to get ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134879/my-unholy-battle-with-a-rock64/) 2022-05-19T19:54:25Z **Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 released**
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 is now officially available to Red Hat customers as stable, building off the RHEL9 beta available since the end of last year. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 ships with a wealth of updated software components and derived from CentOS Stream. On the versioning front, RHEL9 has GCC 11 as the default system compiler, Python 3.9, RPM 4.16, PHP 8.0, updated LLVM / Rust / Go compilers, a plethora of optimizations, OpenSSL 3, Ruby 3.0, and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134881/red-hat-enterprise-linux-9-0-released/) 2022-05-19T23:09:16Z **Developer pulls plug on popular open source Android email client FairEmail**
And another great application falls victim to Google’s absolute disdain for Android developers. Marcel Bokhorst has announced that after yet another brick wall interaction with Google, he is ending development of his popular (in the right circles) open source email client FairEmail. All my projects have been terminated after Google falsely flagged FairEmail as spyware without a reaso ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134885/developer-pulls-plug-on-popular-open-source-android-email-client-fairemail/) 2022-05-20T21:49:41Z **EU planning to force Apple to give developers access to all hardware and software features**
The European Union is pressing ahead with legislation to heavily regulate companies like Apple, setting plans to force “gatekeepers” to open up access to hardware and software, and even set up an internal department to meet new rules, according to an endorsed agreement from the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee. The DMA could force Apple ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134890/eu-planning-to-force-apple-to-give-developers-access-to-all-hardware-and-software-features/) 2022-05-20T23:29:51Z **Apple promoting accessibility features for iOS users that anyone can take advantage of**
Apple this week celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day by announcing new accessibility features that will be available later this year with iOS 16 and other software updates. However, while we wait for those updates, the company has been promoting accessibility tips that anyone can take advantage of. One of the new accessibility features teased by Apple ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134893/apple-promoting-accessibility-features-for-ios-users-that-anyone-can-take-advantage-of/) 2022-05-21T00:26:47Z **Raptor CS: fully owner-controlled computing using OpenPOWER**
Peter Czanik did an interview with Timothy Pearson of Raptor Engineering, the company behind POWER9 systems like the Talos II and Blackbird, which I reviewed last year. There’s some good stuff in there, most importantly the reasoning as to why there isn’t any POWER10 hardware from Raptor yet. At this time we do not have plans to create a POWER10 system. The reasoning behind this is that somehow, during the COVID19 ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134889/raptor-cs-fully-owner-controlled-computing-using-openpower/) 2022-05-21T17:28:14Z **Windows XP Delta Edition**
Windows XP Delta Edition is a modification of Windows XP which aims to recreate the Windows XP Beta 2 aesthetic and bring back lost features, functions, and programs from previous versions of Windows, along with prerelease versions of Windows XP. I like these community releases for Windows XP. While I never really liked XP when it was current, and while you really shouldn’t be using XP in any serious capacity today, it can be a ton of run to try and see how far you can get in the m ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134897/windows-xp-delta-edition/) 2022-05-21T23:57:46Z **The nightmare of getting DOOM running on PowerPc AIX**
Can’t get enough of porting old software? How about getting Doom ported to and running on an old version of AIX for PowerPC? You know what ever computer needs? DOOM. Do you know what I couldn’t find? DOOM for the IBM RS/6000, but that’s not surprising. These machines were never meant for gaming, but that’s doesn’t mean you can’t do it. If you like pain anyway. In this extra long NCommander special, we’re going to explore AIX, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134901/the-nightmare-of-getting-doom-running-on-powerpc-aix/) 2022-05-21T23:54:39Z **Lotus 1-2-3 ported to Linux**
I’ll cut to the chase; through a combination of unlikely discoveries, crazy hacks and the 90s BBS warez scene I’ve been able to port Lotus 1-2-3 natively to Linux – an operating system that literally didn’t exist when 1-2-3 was released! If you want to hear how a proprietary application could be ported to new operating systems 30 years after release, read on! This isn’t running through an emulator or a VM – this is a real port. Amazing work. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134899/lotus-1-2-3-ported-to-linux/) 2022-05-24T23:00:26Z **Budgie team details plans for Budgie 10, 11**
Joshua Strobl, the lead developer of Budgie, the (currently) Gtk+-based desktop, posted a lengthy article about the state of the project and the future it’s embarking on. Budgie had been in a feature-freeze and maintenance mode for a long time, but now that Strobl is no longer involved with the Linux distribution Solus, Budgie has become truly independent, and development can pick up again. The article touches upon a lot – such as the way the Bu ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134907/budgie-team-details-plans-for-budgie-10-11/) 2022-05-26T08:18:03Z **A kernel hacker meets Fuchsia OS**
Alexander Popov, Linux kernel developer and security researcher, takes a very detailed look at Fuchsia and its kernel. Fuchsia is a general-purpose open-source operating system created by Google. It is based on the Zircon microkernel written in C++ and is currently under active development. The developers say that Fuchsia is designed with a focus on security, updatability, and performance. As a Linux kernel hacker, I decided to take a look at Fuchsia OS and assess i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134909/a-kernel-hacker-meets-fuchsia-os/) 2022-05-26T23:08:24Z **Broadcom, VMware agree to $61b merger**
The Register reports: Broadcom has confirmed it intends to acquire VMware in a deal that looks set to be worth $61 billion, if it goes ahead: the agreement provides for a “go-shop” provision under which the virtualization giant may solicit alternative offers. That “go-shop” provision: However, the merger agreement has a “go-shop” provision under which VMware may seek alternative offers from other interested parties and potentially enter negotiations with the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134913/broadcom-vmware-agree-to-61b-merger/) 2022-05-26T23:14:10Z **What happened to Perl 7?**
When we last heard from Perl, Perl 6 was going off on its own becoming Raku, Perl 5 was going to continue until version 5.36 which would serve as the basis for Perl NG, and Perl NG would be known as Perl 7 because Raku burned the Perl 6 namespace. No one saw the humor in “not that Perl 6, the other Perl 6”. Anyway, the Perl Steering Committee (PSC) decided to write a blog post about the future of Perl and Perl 7. The first PSC was elected in late 2020, and one of our first tasks was ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134914/what-happened-to-perl-7/) 2022-05-26T23:18:27Z **Microsoft announces a brand-new ARM-powered desktop PC and ARM-native dev tools**
At its Build developer conference Tuesday, Microsoft made a few announcements aimed at bolstering Windows on Arm. The first is Project Volterra, a Microsoft-branded mini-desktop computer powered by an unnamed Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. More relevant for developers who already have Arm hardware, Volterra will be accompanied by a fully Arm-native suite of developer tools. Accor ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134925/microsoft-announces-a-brand-new-arm-powered-desktop-pc-and-arm-native-dev-tools/) 2022-05-31T22:41:28Z **Apple’s RealityOS for rumored headset appears in trademark application**
RealityOS — the name Apple is reportedly using for the operating system running on its rumored virtual and augmented reality headset — has appeared in a trademark filing spotted by Parker Ortolani. Bloomberg News was first to report the “reality operating system” branding back in 2017, and references to the name have appeared in Apple’s software. The trademark application hasn’t officially be ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134929/apples-realityos-for-rumored-headset-appears-in-trademark-application/) 2022-06-01T21:25:48Z **Electronic Catan LCD tiles**
A collection of hexagon tiles that magnetically snap together to create a Settlers of Catan board of any shape or size. Each tile features a large round LCD and a custom magnetic pogo connector on each edge. Linking up a bunch of tiles creates a position-aware partial mesh network. This is just excellent. I want this. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134931/electronic-catan-lcd-tiles/) 2022-06-01T21:28:27Z **Remembering Apple’s Newton, 30 years on**
Thirty years ago, on May 29, 1992, Apple announced its most groundbreaking and revolutionary product yet, the Newton MessagePad. It was released to great fanfare a year later, but as a product, it could only be described as a flop. Widely mocked in popular culture at the time, the Newton became a poster child for expensive but useless high-tech gadgets. Even though the device improved dramatically over time, it failed to gain market share, and it was dis ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134934/remembering-apples-newton-30-years-on/) 2022-06-01T23:36:42Z **Towards GNOME Shell on mobile**
As part of the design process for what ended up becoming GNOME 40 the design team worked on a number of experimental concepts, a few of which were aimed at better support for tablets and other smaller devices. Ever since then, some of us have been thinking about what it would take to fully port GNOME Shell to a phone form factor. Say about GNOME what you want, but this looks kind of amazing. Of course, the issue will always be application support – or lack thereof – but a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134936/towards-gnome-shell-on-mobile/) 2022-06-01T23:38:29Z **Genode OS Framework 22.05 released**
Functionality-wise, the added support for WireGuard-based virtual private networks is certainly the flagship feature of the release. Section WireGuard briefly introduces the new component while leaving in-depth information to a dedicated article. Among the other topics of the release, our continued work on device drivers stands out. We managed to bring Genode’s lineup of PC drivers ported from the Linux kernel up to the kernel version 5.14.21 using Genode’s uniq ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134938/genode-os-framework-22-05-released/) 2022-06-03T22:00:07Z **Have an old iPad lying around? You might be able to make it run Linux soon**
If you have a 2013- or 2014-era iPad sitting around unused because it’s not getting updates from Apple anymore and has stopped running the apps you need, some developers are working on an alternative software solution for you. Developer Konrad Dybcio and a Linux enthusiast going by “quaack723” have collaborated to get Linux kernel version 5.18 booting on an old iPad Air 2, a major fea ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134941/have-an-old-ipad-lying-around-you-might-be-able-to-make-it-run-linux-soon/) 2022-06-03T22:03:35Z **webOS App Catalog, SDK, and more restored by 3rd party**
webOSArchive (WOSA) is the unofficial repository of information, restoration efforts, and archives for Palm/HP’s mobile webOS operating system. This site does not provide material or information about the spin-off operating systems, webOS Open Source Edition (wOSE) or LG’s webOS for TVs. It’s the position of the curator, and the remaining webOS community, that Palm and HP’s webOS devices, including the Pre series phones, the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134943/webos-app-catalog-sdk-and-more-restored-by-3rd-party/) 2022-06-06T22:28:55Z **Windows 9x Video Minidriver HD+**
The OS/2 Museum has made available the first version of a display driver disk for Windows 9x running on VirtualBox. The driver uses a linear framebuffer and supports 8/16/24/32bpp modes with resolutions up to 1920×1200 pixels. The driver is not accelerated but tends to be very speedy on modern hardware. I cannot wait to try this out. The linked article also includes a few notes about the development of the driver in question – it won’t come as a surprise that this wasn ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134954/windows-9x-video-minidriver-hd/) 2022-06-06T22:25:09Z **Apple unveils new versions of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS**
macOS wasn’t the only platform in Apple’s spotlight today, of course. First, iOS 16 comes with an entirely new lock screen, moving notifications from the top to the bottom of the screen, and adding tons of customisability. Craig Federighi says that iOS 16 includes “the biggest update ever to the lock screen, completely reimagining how it looks and how it works for you.” You can add widgets to the lock screen, adjust the depth of fie ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134952/apple-unveils-new-versions-of-ios-ipados-watchos/) 2022-06-06T22:12:06Z **Apple announces macOS 13 Ventura, the next major software update for the Mac**
As expected, Apple has used the stage at its WWDC 2022 keynote to reveal the features and changes coming to macOS in the next major software update for the platform, macOS 13 Ventura. Ventura’s headlining feature is a new multitasking interface called Stage Manager. It’s being billed as a way to fight window clutter on a busy desktop—enter Stage Manager mode, and one of your windo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134950/apple-announces-macos-13-ventura-the-next-major-software-update-for-the-mac/) 2022-06-06T22:08:11Z **Apple unveils M2, new MacBook Air**
From MacRumors: Apple today announced the M2 chip, the second-generation Apple silicon chip for the Mac, offering improved efficiency and performance, as well as support for up to 24GB of memory. M2 is built using second-generation 5nm technology with 20 billion transistors, 25 percent more than the M1 chip. ‌M2‌ features a 18 percent faster CPU, a 35 percent more powerful GPU, and a 40 percent faster Neural Engine compared to the ‌M1‌ chip. The ‌M2‌ supports up to ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134948/apple-unveils-m2-new-macbook-air/) 2022-06-07T22:47:22Z **macOS 13 adding ability to use Rosetta in ARM Linux VMs**
With macOS 13, Apple has announced that Apple Silicon systems running ARM Linux virtual machines will now be able to access Rosetta for translating of x86\_64 Linux binaries… In other words, great Linux x86\_64 support when running within Linux (Arm-based) VMs. This is a neat addition. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134958/macos-13-adding-ability-to-use-rosetta-in-arm-linux-vms/) 2022-06-07T22:52:52Z **EU reaches agreement mandating USB-C charging for phones and other devices**
The European Union (EU) has reached an agreement that will make USB-C charging no longer just a convenience but a requirement for iPhones and all other mobile phones by the fall of 2024. The plan extends to additional consumer electronics using wired charging, including digital cameras, tablets, and, at a later date, laptops. Today’s announcement shows the EU Parliament and Council a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134960/eu-reaches-agreement-mandating-usb-c-charging-for-phones-and-other-devices/) 2022-06-07T22:55:47Z **GNOME’s Mutter variable rate refresh support closer to being merged**
Variable rate refresh (VRR / FreeSync / Adaptive-Sync) support for GNOME’s Mutter compositor is closer to being merged. The native back-end support for VRR that has been in development the past two years is no longer considered a work-in-progress and it’s believed there are no longer any blocking issues that would prevent this code from landing. Every modern compositor should support this. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134962/gnomes-mutter-variable-rate-refresh-support-closer-to-being-merged/) 2022-06-09T23:03:29Z **Haiku monthly activity report for May**
The latest Haiku activity report has been published, and this one is heavy on the driver work. The intel\_extreme driver has received quite a bit of love, and Haiku now has an RNDIS USB ethernet driover, which Android uses to share its WiFi connection, so you can now use an Android phone’s hotspot to get Haiku online (only a few devices have been tested so far, though. Another big improvement is the overhauled MTU. waddlesplash overhauled MTU (“maximum tra ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134964/haiku-monthly-activity-report-for-may/) 2022-06-09T23:12:07Z **Porting Doom to A/UX**
It seems NCommander’s horrid journey porting Doom to AIX is inspiring others to the same. This time around, Cariad Keigher ported Doom to a more obscure UNIX variant – Apple’s A/UX. I’ve never considered porting Doom before, but I was curious if my favourite abandoned UNIX variant had a port. With some very brief cursory searches on Google and GitHub, I was led to believe that this was unlikely or if it had been done, it was never publicly announced a port or it has been lost to the sands ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134966/porting-doom-to-a-ux/) 2022-06-10T19:18:05Z **OpenBSD 7.1 on PINE64 RockPro64**
This is a small write-up about installing OpenBSD 7.1 on a PINE64 RockPro64 SBC. RockPro64 is a beefy single-board computer made by a company that brought us awesome devices like Pinebook Pro (laptop), Pinecil (soldering iron), PineTime (smartwatch) and of course PinePhone. The board utilizes the same hexa-core processor as Pinebook Pro – Rockchip RK3399, and 4 gigabytes of LPDDR4 RAM. One of the distinct features of that computer is a PCI-express X4 socket. Unfortuna ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134968/openbsd-7-1-on-pine64-rockpro64/) 2022-06-10T19:21:00Z **Xbox 360 architecture: a practical analysis**
Released a year before its main competitor, the Xbox 360 was already claiming technological superiority against the yet-to-be-seen Playstation 3. But while the Xbox 360 might be the flagship of the 7th generation, it will need to fight strongly once Nintendo and Sony take up retail space. This new entry of the console architecture series will give you an additional perspective of how technology was envisioned during the early naughties, with emp ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134970/xbox-360-architecture-a-practical-analysis/) 2022-06-13T20:50:43Z **DragonFly 6.2.2 released**
Hopefully there’s a new ISO/img on the mirrors for DragonFly 6.2.2 by the time you read this – or you can just update your installation.  The changelog is short, because this is a bugfix-level release.  Also, don’t forget there’s a new set of binary packages out; update that too if you haven’t. Clear as day. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134973/dragonfly-6-2-2-released/) 2022-06-13T20:55:41Z **PowerMac 6100 upgrade guide**
This site is a comprehensive resource for a variety of upgrades to the Apple PowerMac 6100 and related machines. Contrary to popular press and opinion, the PowerMac 6100 is a very expandable and upgradeable machine! From its humble beginnings as a “beginner’s” Performa, my venerable PowerMac is now a G3-powered, multimedia authoring workhorse machine with all manner of options, input devices, peripherals and cross-platform capabilities. It took a little elbow grease and a lot ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134977/powermac-6100-upgrade-guide/) 2022-06-13T20:52:35Z **Changing the primary display on Windows by code is easy… Right?**
I have this issue where Windows is sometimes randomly changing my primary display after a system restart. So I wanted to create a simple command-line application that would allow me to change the display settings on system startup – should be easy, right? Narrator: it wasn’t easy. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134975/changing-the-primary-display-on-windows-by-code-is-easy-right/) 2022-06-13T21:03:43Z **People on unsupported hardware were being offered Windows 11 22H2 upgrade**
Yesterday, Microsoft released Windows 11 build 22621 to Windows Insiders enrolled in the Release Preview Channel, marking another step towards general availability of Windows 11 22H2 which is scheduled for release sometime later this year. However, it seems from reports on Reddit, that users on unsupported hardware are being offered the upgrade as well, even those on Windows 10. The wr ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134979/people-on-unsupported-hardware-were-being-offered-windows-11-22h2-upgrade/) 2022-06-14T19:44:44Z **Doom ported to Xenix – last year**
After our last story about porting Doom to weird versions of UNIX, I suggested porting Doom to Xenix should be the next challenge. Well, as cb88 pointed out – it’s already been done, and even improved upon. I should have known. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134983/doom-ported-to-xenix-last-year/) 2022-06-15T19:06:54Z **Internet Explorer 11 has retired and is officially out of support**
After 25+ years of helping people use and experience the web, Internet Explorer (IE) is officially retired and out of support as of today, June 15, 2022. To many millions of you, thank you for using Internet Explorer as your gateway to the internet. You hear that? That’s the cries of thousands of enterprise software engineers finally realising their garbage enterprise software doesn’t work anymore. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134991/internet-explorer-11-has-retired-and-is-officially-out-of-support/) 2022-06-15T19:04:49Z **KDE Plasma 5.25 released**
This new version brings many improvements: the accent colour can now be set based on the prominent colour from the current desktop background image (it updates if you use slide-show wallpapers) and it applies to more graphical elements. The global theme settings page lets you pick and choose which parts to apply, and floating panels add a margin all around the panel to make it float while no window is maximised. Touchscreen mode can now be activated by detaching the screen, rotatin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134985/kde-plasma-5-25-released/) 2022-06-20T22:31:25Z **Text consoles and framebuffer consoles in Linux**
And the second post by Chris Siebenmann, this time about how the Linux console has gotten slower over the years. If you’ve been running x86 Linux servers for long enough, you’ve probably noticed two changes in the kernel’s text console. On the one hand, the text console has gotten substantially bigger, sporting sizes like 128×40 instead of the much smaller old sizes, for example 80×25. On the other hand, text output to the console has g ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134999/text-consoles-and-framebuffer-consoles-in-linux/) 2022-06-20T22:28:02Z **How we wound up with Linux’s kernel mode setting**
I’ve got two fantastic posts about Linux today, from the same author – Chris Siebenmann. First, the history behind kernel mode setting in Linux. In the older days of Linux, the kernel didn’t know very much about graphics (at least on PCs). Instead, setting up and handling graphics hardware was the domain of the X server; the kernel gave it access to PCI (or AGP) resources, and the X server directly stored values and read things out. Pa ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/134997/how-we-wound-up-with-linuxs-kernel-mode-setting/) 2022-06-20T22:35:46Z **Making the Master System a master of speech**
The Intellivision Voice Synthesis Module was released in 1982, giving the 16-bit console the power of speech. But unfortunately, most other consoles weren’t quite as lucky. Sure, some systems, like the PC Engine CD and Nintendo Famicom, have the ability to play samples directly, so at least they can do pre-recorded speech. But the Sega Master System can’t even do that. So how do we manage? This is the kind of obscure stuff the internet needs mo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135003/making-the-master-system-a-master-of-speech/) 2022-06-21T00:08:22Z **Running Windows NT 4 MIPS on Qemu in 3 easy steps**
Today we will be looking at how to run Windows NT 4 for MIPS on the Qemu emulator. I didn’t really have a reason to try this but it seemed like a fun weekend project. In the process I’ve learned a lot about how some systems booted, got even more angry about how awful BIOS boot was on PC, and probably found a 25 year old bug in the ARC boot firmware. While I’m sure all MIPS server admins of yore knew about this I could not find any d ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135006/running-windows-nt-4-mips-on-qemu-in-3-easy-steps/) 2022-06-22T21:31:30Z **What would a Chromium-only Web look like?**
Many argue that browser engine diversity is the backbone of the open Web – assuring not only interoperability and user choice but also a bulwark protecting the Web from centralization. So my ears perked up when I recently heard from a well-placed contact that “many in the Chromium community are arguing for a Chromium-only Web.” While the Chrome team (and friends) have long railed against what they perceive as other browsers’ plodding implementation ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135008/what-would-a-chromium-only-web-look-like/) 2022-06-22T21:34:33Z **Because cross-compiling binaries for Windows is easier than building natively**
I want Microsoft to do better, want Windows to be a decent development platform-and yet, I constantly see Microsoft playing the open source game: advertising how open-source and developer friendly they are – only to crush developers under the heel of the corporate behemoth’s boot. The people who work at Microsoft are amazing, kind, talented individuals. This is aimed at the com ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135010/because-cross-compiling-binaries-for-windows-is-easier-than-building-natively/) 2022-06-23T22:21:34Z **Finding the hardware compatibility list for the MIPS, Alpha, and PowerPC versions of Windows NT**
After our post a few days ago about running Windows NT for MIPS with Qemu, I was once again reminded of just how much fun it would be to own a MIPS, Alpha, or PowerPC machine from the mid-’90s that can run Windows NT 4. However, after some trouble finding a hardware compatibility list, I decided to ask Twitter – Steven Sinofsky suggested lookin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135014/finding-the-hardware-compatibility-list-for-the-mips-alpha-and-powerpc-versions-of-windows-nt/) 2022-06-23T22:21:13Z **Google is releasing Fuchsia for the Nest Hub Max, starting in Preview Program**
Roughly a year after launching on the original Nest Hub, Google is making the Fuchsia operating system available for the Nest Hub Max. For over five years now, Google has been quietly toiling away on Fuchsia, an operating system intended to replace and/or compete with Linux. While many Google fans were hoping that Fuchsia’s launch would be a splashy one, like that of Android in ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135016/google-is-releasing-fuchsia-for-the-nest-hub-max-starting-in-preview-program/) 2022-06-24T23:01:10Z **Windows 98 system inside ESA’s Mars water-finder is finally getting an upgrade**
Windows 98 was released by Microsoft back in 1998 which means in 2022 today, it’s more than 20 years old and something that most have forgotten. However, a recent major announcement by the European Space Agency (ESA) has brought Windows 98 back to the spotlight once more. The Agency says that it is upgrading the software inside its MARSIS instrument in order to enhance its per ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135019/windows-98-system-inside-esas-mars-water-finder-is-finally-getting-an-upgrade/) 2022-06-27T22:11:10Z **Is there a maximum size for Windows clipboard data?**
A customer had a program that opened a very large spreadsheet in Excel. Very large, like over 300,000 rows. They then selected all of the rows in the very large spreadsheet, copied those rows to the clipboard, and then ran a program that tried to extract the data. The program used the Get­Clipboard­Data function to retrieve the data in Rich Text Format. What they found was that the call to Get­Clipboard­Data was returning NULL. I ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135029/is-there-a-maximum-size-for-windows-clipboard-data/) 2022-06-27T22:07:32Z **Delivering the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime to Windows 10 consumers**
Starting with Windows 11, the WebView2 Runtime is included as part of the operating system. For Windows 10, we have recommended developers to distribute and install the runtime with their applications. In the past two years, more than 400 million of these devices now have the WebView2 runtime thanks to developers building and distributing WebView2 applications. Redistributable runtime deploy ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135027/delivering-the-microsoft-edge-webview2-runtime-to-windows-10-consumers/) 2022-06-27T22:53:26Z **Valve is doubling Steam Deck shipments**
Valve is doubling the number of Steam Decks it ships to customers, the company announced Monday. “Production has picked up, and after today we’ll be shipping more than double the number of Steam Decks every week!” Valve said in a tweet from the official Steam Deck account. And in response to a question from my colleague Sean Hollister, Valve designer Lawrence Yang spelled out the change more clearly: “in previous weeks we were shipping x units / week to ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135031/valve-is-doubling-steam-deck-shipments/) 2022-06-30T00:20:33Z **Nolan Bushnell on Atari, 50 years later**
It’s been 50 years since Nolan Bushnell co-founded Atari, which brought video games to the mainstream. To celebrate, we asked Bushnell what he learned during the early years—and what we’ve lost sight of since then. I’m too young to have experienced Atari in its heyday, so I don’t have much to add here. I am, however, fascinated by Atari’s classic computers, like the 800 or the Falcon, and remember fawning over the Jaguar before growing up and realising ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135035/nolan-bushnell-on-atari-50-years-later/) 2022-06-30T16:17:46Z **US communications regulator wants TikTok removed from app stores over spying concerns**
A commissioner with the U.S. communications regulator is asking Apple and Google to consider banning TikTok from their app stores over data security concerns related to the Chinese-owned company. Brendan Carr, a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has written a letter to the CEOs of both companies, alerting them that the wildly popular ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135037/us-communications-regulator-wants-tiktok-removed-from-app-stores-over-spying-concerns/) 2022-06-30T17:54:52Z **OpenBSD has two new C compilers: chibicc and kefir**
In my never ending quest to have oksh support every C compiler in existence, I have ported two more C compilers to OpenBSD. They are chibicc and kefir. As always, let’s review them and at the end I’ll have links to unofficial ports so that you can play around with these C compilers. As you all know, these things are a little over my head, but I know many OSNews readers are far more knowledgeable about and interested in these things ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135039/openbsd-has-two-new-c-compilers-chibicc-and-kefir/) 2022-07-01T21:32:51Z **USB installer tool removes Windows 11’s Microsoft account requirements (and more)**
An easy workaround for this requirement is the Rufus USB formatting tool, which can create USB install media for Windows and all kinds of other operating systems. Rufus has already offered some flags to remove Windows 11’s system requirement checks from the installer, removing the need for clunky Windows Registry edits and other workarounds. But the beta of version 3.19 wi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135047/usb-installer-tool-removes-windows-11s-microsoft-account-requirements-and-more/) 2022-07-01T21:31:05Z **What’s the deal with all those weird wrong-number texts?**
Even thought it was clear this message was the lead-in to a swindle of some kind, I had to pause and admire the craft that went into its composition. Like everyone else, I get scam text come-ons pretty frequently, and they’re always poorly pitched and low-energy. In contrast, this text opened up a rich world, animated by detail and alive with mystery. I didn’t care about packages missing their intended destinations, or B ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135045/whats-the-deal-with-all-those-weird-wrong-number-texts/) 2022-07-01T21:28:11Z **Thanks to fans, the weirdest official Doom game is now playable on Windows**
Doom RPG, id’s Doom game for pre-iPhone mobile phones, has been reverse engineerd and ported to Windows. Even id Software’s official “Year of Doom” museum at E3 2019 left this 2005 game unchronicled. That’s a shame, because it was a phenomenal example of id once again proving itself a master of technically impressive gaming on a power-limited platform. And platforms don’t get more lim ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135041/thanks-to-fans-the-weirdest-official-doom-game-is-now-playable-on-windows/) 2022-07-03T20:48:14Z **Some Macs are getting fewer updates than they used to. Here’s why it’s a problem**
When macOS Ventura was announced earlier this month, its system requirements were considerably stricter than those for macOS Monterey, which was released just eight months ago as of this writing. Ventura requires a Mac made in 2017 or later, dropping support for a wide range of Monterey-supported Mac models released between 2013 and 2016. This certainly seems more aggressive ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135049/some-macs-are-getting-fewer-updates-than-they-used-to-heres-why-its-a-problem/) 2022-07-04T22:22:21Z **Mojo’s smart contact lenses begin in-eye testing**
I’ve brought a tiny, chip-studded, display-enabled contact lens made up to my eye, but I never was actually able to wear it. But by the end of 2022, I might get a chance. Mojo Vision’s smart contact lenses, which have been in development for years, are finally being worn internally, starting with the company’s CEO Drew Perkins. Perkins, who I spoke to over Zoom, has only worn the lens for an hour at a time so far. He likens the first t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135051/mojos-smart-contact-lenses-begin-in-eye-testing/) 2022-07-05T23:37:25Z **EU Parliament passes DMA, DSA to reign in big tech and force interoperability and openness**
On Tuesday, Parliament held the final vote on the new Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), following a deal reached between Parliament and Council on 23 April and 24 March respectively. The two bills aim to address the societal and economic effects of the tech industry by setting clear standards for how they operate and provide serv ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135055/eu-parliament-passes-dma-dsa-to-reign-in-big-tech-and-force-interoperability-and-openness/) 2022-07-07T22:21:03Z **iPhone Lockdown Mode coming in iOS 16 to protect against targeted cyber attacks**
Apple filed a lawsuit against ‘Pegasus’ spyware creator NSO Group last fall and announced it would be donating $10 million+ to organizations pursuing cyber-surveillance research and advocacy. Now taking the next step in combatting sophisticated spyware, Apple has announced a brand new “extreme” security feature called iPhone Lockdown Mode – coming to iPad and Mac as well – ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135062/iphone-lockdown-mode-coming-in-ios-16-to-protect-against-targeted-cyber-attacks/) 2022-07-07T22:19:44Z **Running the Steam Deck’s OS in a virtual machine using QEMU**
The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer that runs a Linux-based operating system called SteamOS. The machine comes with SteamOS 3 (code name “holo”), which is in turn based on Arch Linux. Although there is no SteamOS 3 installer for a generic PC (yet), it is very easy to install on a virtual machine using QEMU. This post explains how to do it. Exactly what it says. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135060/running-the-steam-decks-os-in-a-virtual-machine-using-qemu/) 2022-07-07T22:22:53Z **Europe faces Facebook blackout**
Europeans risk seeing social media services Facebook and Instagram shut down this summer, as Ireland’s privacy regulator doubled down on its order to stop the firm’s data flows to the United States. The Irish Data Protection Commission on Thursday informed its counterparts in Europe that it will block Facebook-owner Meta from sending user data from Europe to the U.S. The Irish regulator’s draft decision cracks down on Meta’s last legal resort to transfer large chunks of ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135064/europe-faces-facebook-blackout/) 2022-07-11T18:48:47Z **Report: Google wants to give its ad business a different postal address to please US regulators**
The US Justice Department is gearing up for a possible antitrust lawsuit against Google’s ad business, and a new report from The Wall Street Journal outlines a “concession” Google is proposing in response to the investigation. Google might split up some of its ad business and move it to Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The meat of the WSJ re ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135068/report-google-wants-to-give-its-ad-business-a-different-postal-address-to-please-us-regulators/) 2022-07-11T19:13:27Z **Microsoft still plans to block Office macros by default after temporary rollback**
Microsoft is still planning to block Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros by default in Office apps. The software giant rolled back planned changes last week, surprising IT admins who had been preparing for Microsoft to prevent Office users from easily enabling macros in Office files downloaded from the internet. The change, designed to improve security in Office, w ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135070/microsoft-still-plans-to-block-office-macros-by-default-after-temporary-rollback/) 2022-07-11T19:17:28Z **Atari open-source Linux DRM graphics driver being worked on in 2022**
In addition to the OpenChrome DRM/KMS driver hoping to be finally mainlined in 2022 for supporting aging VIA graphics hardware from the long-ago days of their x86 chipsets, separately there is a DRM/KMS kernel driver in the works for something even older… A Linux DRM graphics driver for the Atari Falcon from the early 90’s. Over the past two years a DRM driver has been in the works for the Atari g ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135072/atari-open-source-linux-drm-graphics-driver-being-worked-on-in-2022/) 2022-07-13T19:59:46Z **Windows 3.1 flash edition**
Recently, a friend of mine paid me a visit with a few of his ThinkPads. Over a course of a weekend, I’ve prepared a SPI flasher based on flashrom and a Raspberry Pi and flashed a few ThinkPads. Besides my rage that was mostly a result of badly written libreboot and coreboot docs (things are hard to find, a ton of the info is outdated, etc), I came up with an idea for corebooting my own X200. This is not going where you think it might be going. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135079/windows-3-1-flash-edition/) 2022-07-13T20:05:47Z **CP/M’s licensing situation cleared up**
CP/M has been in a sort of legal limbo for quite a while – the code was openly available, but not through a license, but a short paragraph in an email that contained an odd piece of phrasing that wasn’t entirely clear, and could easily be misunderstood as “you can only distribute any derivative works through this one specific website”. This has now been clarified by the rights holder – DRDOS, Inc. and Bryan Sparks, president of DRDOS… In an email. However, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135081/cp-ms-licensing-situation-cleared-up/) 2022-07-15T20:54:26Z **ChromeOS Flex officially released**
Today, we’re excited to announce that ChromeOS Flex, the cloud-first, easy-to-manage, and fast operating system for PCs and Macs, is now ready for your fleet. Just like too much sun, software bloat, clunky hardware, and security vulnerabilities can cause unwanted damage. Thankfully, ChromeOS Flex is just the sunscreen your legacy devices need. And thanks to everyone who has participated in our early access program, we’ve been able to significantly improve the prod ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135086/chromeos-flex-officially-released/) 2022-07-15T21:02:54Z **Microsoft Validation OS**
Microsoft Validation OS is a lightweight, fast, and customizable Windows 11-based operating system that you can use on the factory floor to diagnose, mitigate and repair hardware defects during Windows device manufacturing. Validation OS boots into a Command Line environment to increase reliability on the factory floor and supports running Win32 apps, smoothing the transition from early hardware bring-up to retail OS and apps development. This is an intriguing Windows variant I’d nev ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135092/microsoft-validation-os/) 2022-07-15T20:59:20Z **Microsoft moves to new Windows development cycle with major release every three years, feature drops in between**
Microsoft is shifting to a new engineering schedule for Windows which will see the company return to a more traditional three-year release cycle for major versions of the Windows client, while simultaneously increasing the output of new features shipping to the current version of Windows on the market. The news ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135090/microsoft-moves-to-new-windows-development-cycle-with-major-release-every-three-years-feature-drops-in-between/) 2022-07-18T19:54:14Z **Android removes much of Fuchsia-related code as Starnix project progresses**
Work on this Fuchsia project within Android — dubbed “device/google/fuchsia” — stalled in February 2021, with no public indication of how things were progressing. This week, all of the code for “device/google/fuchsia” was removed from Android, formally signaling the end of this particular avenue. In its place, we have a lone “TODO” message, suggesting that Google may be building up s ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135096/android-removes-much-of-fuchsia-related-code-as-starnix-project-progresses/) 2022-07-19T20:51:47Z **Google Play will allow alternate billing systems in Europe with reduced service fee**
Following regulation in South Korea last year and a somewhat more voluntary “User Choice Billing” in March, Google announced today that it would soon allow nongaming Android apps to offer users in Europe (European Economic Area) an alternative to Google Play’s billing system. This is in response to the Digital Markets Act, with Google saying it’s “committed to meeti ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135098/google-play-will-allow-alternate-billing-systems-in-europe-with-reduced-service-fee/) 2022-07-20T17:56:02Z **Carbon, a new programming language from Google, aims to be C++ successor**
Carbon, the latest programming language to be built within Google, was unveiled today as an experimental successor to C++. To that end, while Carbon has many of the same goals as Rust, such as helping developers to create “performance-critical software,” Carbon is also intended to be fully interoperable with existing C++ code. Additionally, the goal is to make migrating from C++ to Carbon as ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135100/carbon-a-new-programming-language-from-google-aims-to-be-c-successor/) 2022-07-20T18:50:41Z **Nova Launcher acquired by mobile links and analytics company Branch**
Hello Nova Community, I’m Kevin Barry, the creator of Nova Launcher. I’ve made, make and will continue to make Nova Launcher. Today I’m announcing that Branch has acquired Nova Launcher, and hired myself and Cliff Wade (Nova Community Manager). Branch has also acquired Sesame Search and hired the Sesame Crew (Steve Blackwell and Phil Wall). I’ll continue to control the direction and development of ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135103/nova-launcher-acquired-by-mobile-links-and-analytics-company-branch/) 2022-07-20T21:55:57Z **DMA: Council gives final approval to new rules for fair competition online**
The Council today gave its final approval on new rules for a fair and competitive digital sector through the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA ensures a digital level playing field that establishes clear rights and rules for large online platforms (‘gatekeepers’) and makes sure that none of them abuses their position. Regulating the digital market at EU level will create a fair and c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135107/dma-council-gives-final-approval-to-new-rules-for-fair-competition-online/) 2022-07-20T21:53:44Z **Apple releases new versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS**
Apple’s latest slate of updates — iOS and iPadOS 15.6, macOS 12.5, watchOS 8.7, and tvOS 15.6 — are starting to show up for some users. Given the next versions of the OSes are likely due out in a few short months (and beta testers are already using them), it’s not a surprise that Wednesday’s updates are all relatively light on features. You know where to get them. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135105/apple-releases-new-versions-of-ios-ipados-macos-watchos-and-tvos/) 2022-07-23T22:29:49Z **The Windows 11 taskbar is getting better for people who open tons of apps**
The most interesting addition we’ve seen in a while is rolling out to users on the experimental Dev Channel now: a modified version of the taskbar with much-improved handling of app icon overflow when users have too many apps open at once. Click an ellipsis button on your taskbar, and a new icon overflow menu opens up, allowing you to interact with any of those extra icons the same way ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135112/the-windows-11-taskbar-is-getting-better-for-people-who-open-tons-of-apps/) 2022-07-24T16:32:06Z **Google Play Store is bringing back the app permissions list**
With the addition of the developer-generated Data safety section this year, Google Play removed the old list of app permissions. The Play Store is now reversing this decision in response to user feedback and will have both coexist. This was a baffling decision to begin with – the Data safety section relied on developers being honest and truthful about their privacy practices and permissions usage, which was never ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135114/google-play-store-is-bringing-back-the-app-permissions-list/) 2022-07-26T01:07:40Z **Not so Common Desktop Environment (NsCDE) 2.2 released**
NsCDE is a retro but powerful UNIX desktop environment which resembles CDE look (and partially feel) but with a more powerful and flexible framework beneath-the-surface, more suited for 21st century unix-like and Linux systems and user requirements than original CDE. NsCDE can be considered as a heavyweight FVWM theme on steroids, but combined with a couple other free software components and custom FVWM applications and a lo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135116/not-so-common-desktop-environment-nscde-2-2-released/) 2022-07-27T23:20:05Z **Chrome use subject to restrictions in Dutch schools over data security concerns**
The Dutch Ministry of Education has decided to impose some restrictions on the use of the Chrome OS and Chrome web browser until August 2023 over concerns about data privacy. The officials worry that Google services collect student data and make it available to large advertising networks, who use it for purposes beyond helping education. Since the national watchdog doesn’t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135120/chrome-use-subject-to-restrictions-in-dutch-schools-over-data-security-concerns/) 2022-07-27T23:12:30Z **Gmail’s new look is now rolling out to everyone**
We’ve been tracking the progress of Google’s interface refresh for Gmail since February, and as promised, the company says it’s now becoming available for all Gmail users. The rework pulls Meet, Chat, and Spaces closer together as part of the overall experience and includes elements from Google’s Material Design 3. It’s not stopping there and says that, later this year, we should see improvements to Gmail for tablet users, better emoji s ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135118/gmails-new-look-is-now-rolling-out-to-everyone/) 2022-07-27T23:28:47Z **Ring, Google and the police: what to know about emergency requests for video footage**
CNet decided to ask makers of home security cameras about their policies when it comes to dealing with requests from United States law enforcement: Ring, the Amazon-owned video doorbell and home security company, came under renewed criticism from privacy activists this month after disclosing it gave video footage to police in more than 10 cases without users’ consen ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135122/ring-google-and-the-police-what-to-know-about-emergency-requests-for-video-footage/) 2022-07-28T22:39:02Z **Upgrading a 30 year old Debian install**
Two weeks ago I upgraded chiark from Debian jessie i386 to bullseye amd64, after nearly 30 years running Debian i386. This went really quite well, in fact! This story gets more impressive the more you read of it. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135124/upgrading-a-30-year-old-debian-install/) 2022-07-30T00:12:03Z **Embedding an EXE inside a .REG file with automatic execution**
Earlier this year, I released a proof-of-concept project called “EmbedExeLnk” – this tool would generate a Windows link (.lnk) file containing an embedded EXE payload. I have taken this concept further and created a tool that generates a Windows registry (.reg) file containing an EXE payload. Nifty. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135130/embedding-an-exe-inside-a-reg-file-with-automatic-execution/) 2022-07-31T22:33:52Z **Raspberry Pi Zero vs. MangoPi MQ Pro benchmarks**
Putting the Raspberry Pi Zero against the MangoPi MQ Pro was something I’d wanted to do since seeing the MQ Pro’s announcement and specifications. It just seemed to make sense. On paper, they’re largely similar, with 1GHz single-core CPUs, and 512MB of RAM. A 1GB MQ Pro is also available and is what I’ll be using here so your mileage may vary slightly if you have the 512MB version. So what happens when you pit these relatively similar si ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135132/raspberry-pi-zero-vs-mangopi-mq-pro-benchmarks/) 2022-08-01T00:27:48Z **Antique display driving: a new video driver for Windows 1.x**
That screenshot surely looks a little funny. That’s because it is Windows 1.04 running with a heavily modified 256-color Windows 3.x display driver, using resources from a Windows 2.0 VGA driver. Yes, a video driver for Windows 1.0x that can run at high resolutions. Madness. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135135/antique-display-driving-a-new-video-driver-for-windows-1-x/) 2022-08-01T23:18:03Z **Linux 5.19 released**
Linus Torvalds just released Linux 5.19 as stable for the newest version of the Linux kernel. He also mentioned this is the first time he released the new Linux kernel from an ARM64 laptop in the form of an Apple MacBook running an AArch64 Apple M2 SoC. Linux 5.19 brings many new features from initial LoongArch CPU support to continued work on bringing-up AMD Zen 4 CPUs, AMD RDNA3 enablement continuing, more work on Intel DG2/Alchemist, Intel Idle driver support for Alder Lake, initial Rapto ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135141/linux-5-19-released/) 2022-08-01T23:15:17Z **AMD passes Intel in market cap**
AMD surpassed rival Intel’s market cap on Friday. AMD stock rose over 3% for the day, giving the chipmaker a market capitalization of $153 billion. Intel fell nearly 9%, a day after disastrous earnings that missed expectations for profit and showed declining revenue. Intel’s market cap was $148 billion at the end of trading on Friday. The shift is mostly symbolic, but it signifies a much more competitive market for PC and server chips, where the two companies compete di ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135139/amd-passes-intel-in-market-cap/) 2022-08-01T23:22:23Z **The story behind Google’s in-house desktop Linux**
If you look around Google’s Mountain View, CA offices, you’ll see Windows machines, Chromebooks, Macs — and gLinux desktops. G what, you ask? Well, in addition to  relying on Linux for its servers, Google has its very own Linux desktop distribution. You can’t get it — darn it! — but for more than a decade, Google has been baking and eating its own homemade Linux desktop distribution. The first version was Goobuntu. It’s not news that G ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135143/the-story-behind-googles-in-house-desktop-linux/) 2022-08-03T00:00:52Z **Apple’s Virtualization framework is a great, free way to test new macOS betas**
One of the coolest power-user Mac features of the Apple Silicon era is Apple’s Virtualization framework. Normally the purview of paid software like Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion, virtualization lets you run multiple operating systems on one Mac at the same time, which is useful for anyone who wants to run Linux on top of macOS, test an app they’re developing in different ver ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135145/apples-virtualization-framework-is-a-great-free-way-to-test-new-macos-betas/) 2022-08-04T00:24:36Z **The Microsoft team racing to catch bugs before they happen**
As a rush of cybercriminals, state-backed hackers, and scammers continue to flood the zone with digital attacks and aggressive campaigns worldwide, it’s no surprise that the maker of the ubiquitous Windows operating system is focused on security defense. Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday update releases frequently contain fixes for critical vulnerabilities, including those that are actively being exploited by attackers out ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135149/the-microsoft-team-racing-to-catch-bugs-before-they-happen/) 2022-08-04T00:54:22Z **Here is how you can still open Internet Explorer in Windows 11 if you really, really want to**
Internet Explorer was finally killed off for almost every consumer version of Windows on June 15, 2022. It’s death was even mourned celebrated with faux gravestones commemorating it as a “good tool to download other browsers”. However, it seems like Microsoft’s browser still lives on in the depths of its latest operating system. Although Windows 11 ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135151/here-is-how-you-can-still-open-internet-explorer-in-windows-11-if-you-really-really-want-to/) 2022-08-04T22:48:51Z **The MGR Window System**
MGR, sometimes said to be short for “ManaGeR”, sometimes short for “Munger”, is a simple network transparent window system. It was originally developed for the Sun 3 series of workstations by Stephen Uhler and colleagues beginning in 1984 while at Bellcore (later Telcordia, now part of Ericsson) and later enhanced by many others. The window system ran on many different hardware platforms, at least these: Sun 3/xx workstations running SunOS, which was the the original development platform ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135155/the-mgr-window-system/) 2022-08-04T22:46:07Z **The women calling out Apple’s handling of misconduct claims**
In interviews with 15 female Apple employees, both current and former, the Financial Times has found that Mohr’s frustrating experience with the People group has echoes across at least seven Apple departments spanning six US states. The women shared allegations of Apple’s apathy in the face of misconduct claims. Eight of them say they were retaliated against, while seven found HR to be disappointing or counterprod ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135153/the-women-calling-out-apples-handling-of-misconduct-claims/) 2022-08-06T23:48:32Z **NetBSD 9.3 released**
NetBSD 9.3 has made it into the wild. Aside from many bug fixes, 9.3 includes backported improvements to suspend and resume support, various minor additions of new hardware to existing device drivers, compatibility with UDF file systems created on Windows 10, enhanced support for newer Intel Gigabit Ethernet chipsets, better support for new Intel and AMD Zen 3 chipsets, support for configuring connections to Wi-Fi networks using sysinst(8), support for wsfb-based X11 servers on the Commodore ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135159/netbsd-9-3-released/) 2022-08-08T23:35:13Z **Citing danger of “ink spills” Epson programs end of life for some printers**
You have a perfectly healthy, functioning Epson inkjet printer in your home office. It’s served you well for years and you use it frequently. Then, one day, you go to print a document and realize that the printer isn’t working. A message on the display reads “a part inside your printer is at the end of its service life. Service is required.” That’s funny, you think. You hadn’t noticed ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135165/citing-danger-of-ink-spills-epson-programs-end-of-life-for-some-printers/) 2022-08-08T23:31:01Z **Hackable $20 modem combines LTE and Pi Zero W2 power**
tells us about a new hacker-friendly device – a $20 LTE modem stick with a quadcore CPU and WiFi, capable of running fully-featured Linux distributions. This discovery hinges on a mountain of work by a Chinese hacker , who’s figured out this stick runs Android, hacked its bootloader, tweaked a Linux kernel for it and created a Debian distribution for the stick – calling this the OpenStick project. ’s writeup translates the ’s t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135161/hackable-20-modem-combines-lte-and-pi-zero-w2-power/) 2022-08-10T00:04:15Z **Rumors, delays, and early testing suggest Intel’s Arc GPUs are on shaky ground**
All of that makes Arc a lot more serious than Larrabee, Intel’s last effort to break into the dedicated graphics market. Larrabee was canceled late in its development because of delays and disappointing performance, and Arc GPUs are actual things that you can buy (if only in a limited way, for now). But the challenges of entering the GPU market haven’t changed since the late 200 ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135167/rumors-delays-and-early-testing-suggest-intels-arc-gpus-are-on-shaky-ground/) 2022-08-10T23:38:22Z **Review of /e/: an Android alternative for mobile phones**
The /e/ OS operating system provides a user-friendly alternative to Android for people who want the Android experience without the reliance on Google and associated manufacturer-related applications and telemetry. Compared to LineageOS, /e/ provides a more unified experience out of the box, with a suitable suite of default open source applications and a system-based application store. Despite the fact that /e/ borrowed from ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135171/review-of-e-an-android-alternative-for-mobile-phones/) 2022-08-11T00:04:52Z **The many derivatives of the CP/M operating system**
But still, CP/M was, for a while, the industry-standard microcomputer OS, making Digital Research a powerful and important company. Wealthy companies that lose dominance over a market they formerly controlled don’t tend to just give up. Digital Research put a substantial R&D effort into expanding and enhancing CP/M, creating a large family of OSes. It had some significant wins and big sales. Some of those products are still in use. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135174/the-many-derivatives-of-the-cp-m-operating-system/) 2022-08-12T00:14:00Z **Revirt: virtualization on Redox OS**
So, as part of RSoC 2022, I have been working on introducing Virtualization on Redox OS. This feature/technology is called Revirt and has wide-ranging consequences for Redox OS as a secure, well-designed, virtualizable and effective operating system. This is a big new addition to Redox OS. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135181/revirt-virtualization-on-redox-os/) 2022-08-12T00:22:16Z **US political campaign emails can bypass Google’s spam filters under a newly approved pilot project**
Federal election regulators voted Thursday to allow Google to proceed with a plan to make it easier for campaign emails to bypass spam filters. Google’s proposal to run a pilot project changing the filters for political emails came after intense Republican criticism that spam filters were biased against conservatives, a charge the tech g ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135178/us-political-campaign-emails-can-bypass-googles-spam-filters-under-a-newly-approved-pilot-project/) 2022-08-12T22:41:03Z **Apple asked for a cut of Facebook’s ad sales years before it stifled Facebook’s ad sales**
Apple and Meta may not be the best of friends right now, but at one point, Apple was in discussions with the social media company about how it could make more money from its presence on the App Store, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple reportedly argued that it deserved a cut of certain portions of Facebook’s ad revenue. The specific ads in question ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135188/apple-asked-for-a-cut-of-facebooks-ad-sales-years-before-it-stifled-facebooks-ad-sales/) 2022-08-15T19:58:53Z **How I hacked my car**
The IVI in the car, like many things these days, is just a computer. My goal was to hack the IVI to get root access and hopefully be able to run my own software on it. Of course, the first step in hacking a device like this is research. This is a story full of twits and turns, and some rally questionable decisions by Hyundai’s developers. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135190/how-i-hacked-my-car/) 2022-08-15T20:10:13Z **Android 13 releases today for Google Pixel smartphones**
Today, Google is releasing Android 13 for Google Pixel smartphones, following months of developer previews and beta releases. It’s an update that polishes a lot of the changes that Android 12 brought to the table, while also introducing a ton of small, helpful features across the board that aims to improve privacy, security, and usability. Alongside the update, the company has also announced that Android 13’s source code i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135195/android-13-releases-today-for-google-pixel-smartphones/) 2022-08-15T20:09:08Z **Apple finds its next big business: showing ads on your iPhone**
Apple is set to expand ads to new areas of your iPhone and iPad in search of its next big revenue driver. Let’s begin with the current state of play: Apple’s advertising efforts today consist of display ads inside of its News and Stocks apps, as well as inside the App Store, across the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The App Store also has Google-like search ads. And more recently, Apple put advertising inside of TV+ fo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135192/apple-finds-its-next-big-business-showing-ads-on-your-iphone/) 2022-08-17T00:55:10Z **Windows 11 22H2 “Sun Valley 2” apparently going public on September 20**
As it turns out, our guesstimation was probably pretty spot on, as there are now multiple reports alleging that Microsoft is going to be making Windows 11 22H2 (codenamed Sun Valley 2 or SV2) public on the 20th of September. It will be apparently be served via the Windows Update option in the Settings. For those on Windows 11 21H2, which is the original release, it should be a seamless upgrade ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135200/windows-11-22h2-sun-valley-2-apparently-going-public-on-september-20/) 2022-08-17T00:52:45Z **RSoC: improving drivers and kernel – part 7**
In my last blog post, I introduced the userspace\_fexec/userspace\_clone features. As the names suggest, they move the inherently complex implementations of fork(3) and execve(2), from the kernel into relibc, giving userspace much more freedom while simplifying the kernel. There has been considerable progress since last post; the features userspace\_fexec/userspace\_clone, userspace\_initfs, and userspace\_initfs, have now all been merged! I under ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135198/rsoc-improving-drivers-and-kernel-part-7/) 2022-08-18T00:33:13Z **Why I left PINE64**
Linux hardware projects are made or broken by their community support. PINE64 has made some brilliant moves to build up a mobile Linux community, and has also made some major mistakes. This is my view on how PINE64 made the PinePhone a success, and then broke that again through their treatment of the community. I want to start by pointing out that this is me leaving PINE64 and not the projects I’m involved in like postmarketOS. This is just a sad story. I hope some of the problems can be mended ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135202/why-i-left-pine64/) 2022-08-18T00:37:46Z **Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds**
Physical buttons are increasingly rare in modern cars. Most manufacturers are switching to touchscreens – which perform far worse in a test carried out by Vi Bilägare. The driver in the worst-performing car needs four times longer to perform simple tasks than in the best-performing car. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Anyone with more than only a modicum of experience in human-machine interaction will ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135204/physical-buttons-outperform-touchscreens-in-new-cars-test-finds/) 2022-08-19T21:26:39Z **We tested all the Ubuntu remixes for resource usage so you don’t have to**
All the remixes use less memory than the default GNOME edition. To be honest, we didn’t expect that. The last time we did this comparison, in 2013, Kubuntu scoffed the most RAM – and as before, it still uses the most disk. KDE Plasma 5 really has slimmed down its memory footprint impressively, although it’s still no lightweight. The KDE, MATE, and Budgie editions are quite close in resour ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135206/we-tested-all-the-ubuntu-remixes-for-resource-usage-so-you-dont-have-to/) 2022-08-19T21:31:15Z **TikTok’s iOS app uses in-app browser to log your keystrokes and taps**
When you open any link on the TikTok iOS app, it’s opened inside their in-app browser. While you are interacting with the website, TikTok subscribes to all keyboard inputs (including passwords, credit card information, etc.) and every tap on the screen, like which buttons and links you click. TikTok is spyware, and should be labelled and treated as such. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135211/tiktoks-ios-app-uses-in-app-browser-to-log-your-keystrokes-and-taps/) 2022-08-19T21:28:36Z **Janet Jackson and the power to crash system**
A colleague of mine shared a story from Windows XP product support. A major computer manufacturer discovered that playing the music video for Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” would crash certain models of laptops. I would not have wanted to be in the laboratory that they must have set up to investigate this problem. Not an artistic judgement. One discovery during the investigation is that playing the music video also crashed some of their compet ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135207/janet-jackson-and-the-power-to-crash-system/) 2022-08-19T21:33:57Z **Apple’s use of AppKit, Mac Catalyst and SwiftUI in macOS**
The WWDC 2019 had a major impact on the UI toolkit landscape: while the venerable AppKit APIs remained available, Apple removed the old Carbon APIs and introduced 2 brand new frameworks: Mac Catalyst and SwiftUI. Apple sporadically mentioned some apps built with these new UI toolkits. In this article, I try to bring a better overview of Apple’s use of AppKit, Mac Catalyst and SwiftUI in the different versions of macOS, f ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135213/apples-use-of-appkit-mac-catalyst-and-swiftui-in-macos/) 2022-08-25T20:41:30Z **FreeBSD on the Framework laptop**
It’s been a long journey these past few months trying to find a modern, compatible, FreeBSD laptop, and getting it to work well enough for daily use (everything except for gaming). For the past few months, I’ve been documenting my journey using this laptop, then I left the framework laptop and switched to a Thinkpad X260, and then a Thinkpad X1C7. This gave me perspective on what is considered “FreeBSD compatible”.. After experiencing what that “compatibility” meant, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135221/freebsd-on-the-framework-laptop/) 2022-08-25T20:57:41Z **What have we lost?**
We have ended up in a world where UNIX and Windows have taken over, and most people have never experienced anything else. Over the years, though, many other system designs have come and gone, and some of those systems have had neat ideas that were nevertheless not enough to achieve commercial success. We will take you on a tour of a variety of those systems, talking about what makes them special. In particular, we’ll discuss IBM i, with emphasis on the Single Level Store, TIMI, and block termin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135225/what-have-we-lost/) 2022-08-25T20:54:17Z **Devs are making progress getting macOS Ventura to run on unsupported, decade-old Macs**
Skirting the official macOS system requirements to run new versions of the software on old, unsupported Macs has a rich history. Tools like XPostFacto and LeopardAssist could help old PowerPC Macs run newer versions of Mac OS X, a tradition kept alive in the modern era by dosdude1’s patchers for Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, and Catalina. For Big Sur and Monterey, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135223/devs-are-making-progress-getting-macos-ventura-to-run-on-unsupported-decade-old-macs/) 2022-08-26T20:29:30Z **US government to make all research it funds open access on publication**
Many federal policy changes are well known before they are announced. Hints in speeches, leaks, and early access to reporters at major publications all pave the way for the eventual confirmation. But on Thursday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) dropped a big one that seemed to take everyone by surprise. Starting in 2026, any scientific publication that receives ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135227/us-government-to-make-all-research-it-funds-open-access-on-publication/) 2022-08-26T20:31:51Z **Apple faces growing likelihood of DOJ antitrust suit**
Justice Department lawyers are in the early stages of drafting a potential antitrust complaint against Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter — a sign that a long-running investigation may be nearing a decision point and a suit could be coming soon. Various groups of prosecutors inside DOJ are assembling the pieces for a potential lawsuit, the individual said, adding that the department’s antitrust di ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135229/apple-faces-growing-likelihood-of-doj-antitrust-suit/) 2022-08-30T15:41:29Z **Google launches cross-device SDK developer preview for building multi-device experiences on Android**
Today we’re launching our Developer Preview of the new Cross device SDK for Android. First announced during the Google I/O ‘22 Multi-device development session, our Cross device SDK allows developers to build rich multi-device experiences with a simple and intuitive set of APIs. This SDK abstracts away the intricacies involved with wo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135237/google-launches-cross-device-sdk-developer-preview-for-building-multi-device-experiences-on-android/) 2022-08-30T15:39:44Z **Why YouTube decided to make its own video chip**
Roughly seven years ago, Partha Ranganathan realized Moore’s law was dead. That was a pretty big problem for the Google engineering vice president: He had come to expect chip performance to double every 18 months without cost increases and had helped organize purchasing plans for the tens of billions of dollars Google spends on computing infrastructure each year around that idea. But now Ranganathan was getting a chip twice as good every ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135235/why-youtube-decided-to-make-its-own-video-chip/) 2022-08-30T15:44:24Z **Google wants to make Fuchsia devices manageable with Android’s ADB tool**
This week, the Fuchsia team shared a new proposal titled “ADB on Fuchsia” that shares the team’s intention to support ADB for controlling devices and the reasoning behind wanting to do so. At present, the core “fx” and “ffx” tools used to control Fuchsia devices are only compatible with Linux and macOS computers. And while there’s an effort to get ffx running on Windows, that’s not projecte ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135239/google-wants-to-make-fuchsia-devices-manageable-with-androids-adb-tool/) 2022-08-31T21:19:01Z **Google gives developers a way to sidestep Android 13’s one-way update**
With the rollout of Android 13 to the Pixel 6 and 6a, Google posted an interesting warning on the system image website: Once you flash Android 13, you can never go back to the old version. That’s still the case for anyone wanting a fully functional phone, but now, Google has posted an Android 12 “developer support image” that will let developers roll back their phones even after upgrading. The ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135241/google-gives-developers-a-way-to-sidestep-android-13s-one-way-update/) 2022-08-31T21:49:26Z **Japan declares ‘war’ on the humble floppy disk in new digitization push**
Japan’s digital minister, who’s vowed to rid the bureaucracy of outdated tools from the hanko stamp to the fax machine, has now declared “war” on a technology many haven’t seen for decades — the floppy disk.  The hand-sized, square-shaped data storage item, along with similar devices including the CD or even lesser-known mini disk, are still required for some 1,900 government procedures and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135243/japan-declares-war-on-the-humble-floppy-disk-in-new-digitization-push/) 2022-08-31T21:58:52Z **macOS now scans for malware whenever it gets a chance**
In the last six months macOS malware protection has changed more than it did over the previous seven years. It has now gone fully pre-emptive, as active as many commercial anti-malware products, provided that your Mac is running Catalina or later. This article updates those I’ve previously written about Apple’s new tool in the war against malware, XProtect Remediator. Apple has been slowly building out its anti-malware and a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135247/macos-now-scans-for-malware-whenever-it-gets-a-chance/) 2022-08-31T21:55:55Z **The original “universal” port**
We talk a lot about standards over this way, including what came before the standards were put into place and what came before that. Our last issue was about standards, even. But sometimes, de facto standards simply come into place, where a large number of people and organizations agree to do something a certain way, despite no formalized agreement or strategy. And one of the greatest examples of a de facto standard in computing history may be a controller port that remaine ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135245/the-original-universal-port/) 2022-08-31T22:04:44Z **Android 13 review: plans for the future, but not much to offer today**
The Android update treadmill continues with the release of Android 13. It’s one of the smallest Android releases in recent memory, with barely any user-facing features to point to. Keep in mind, though, that this update follows the monster Android 12 release from last year. This is also the second Android OS release this year, the previous one being the tablet-focused Android 12L update that was r ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135249/android-13-review-plans-for-the-future-but-not-much-to-offer-today/) 2022-09-03T20:34:33Z **Genode OS Framework release 22.08**
The overarching theme of Genode 22.08 is the emerging phone variant of Sculpt OS, touching topics as diverse as USB ECM, Mali-400 GPU, SD-card access, telephony, mobile-data connectivity, the Morph web browser, and a custom user interface. Among the further highlights are new tracing tools, improved network performance USB smart-card support, and VirtIO drivers for RISC-V. Genode never fails to impress. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135253/genode-os-framework-release-22-08/) 2022-09-03T20:31:59Z **EU regulators want 5 years of smartphone parts, much better batteries**
The most notable proposed fix (listed in Annex II) is for phone makers and sellers to make “professional repairers” available for five years after the date a phone is removed from the market. Those repairers would have access to parts including the battery, display, cameras, charging ports, mechanical buttons, microphones, speakers, and hinge assemblies (including for folding phones and tablets ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135254/eu-regulators-want-5-years-of-smartphone-parts-much-better-batteries/) 2022-09-03T20:39:15Z **USB4 v2 will support speeds up to 80 Gbps**
The next generation of USB devices might support data transfer speeds as high as 80 Gbps, which would be twice as fast as current-gen Thunderbolt 4 products. The USB Promotor Group says it plans to publish the new USB4 version 2.0 specification ahead of this year’s USB Developer Days events scheduled for November, but it could take a few years before new cables, hubs, PCs, and mobile devices featuring the new technology are available for purchase. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135258/usb4-v2-will-support-speeds-up-to-80-gbps/) 2022-09-06T23:23:59Z **Apple II Desktop updated**
Disassembly and enhancements for Apple II DeskTop (a.k.a. Mouse Desk), a “Finder”-like GUI application for 8-bit Apples and clones with 128k of memory, utilizing double hi-res monochrome graphics (560×192), an optional mouse, and the ProDOS 8 operating system. There’s a new version with tons of improvements. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135261/apple-ii-desktop-updated/) 2022-09-06T23:26:16Z **Userspace FUSE for macOS**
FUSE-T is a kext-less implementation of FUSE for macOS that uses NFS v4 local server instead of a kernel extension. The main motivation for this project is to replace macfuse that implements its own kext to make fuse work. With each version of macOS it’s getting harder and harder to load kernel extensions. Apple strongly discourages it and, for this reason, software distributions that include macfuse are very difficult to install. With Apple locking down macOS more and more, develo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135263/userspace-fuse-for-macos/) 2022-09-06T23:35:10Z **The death of the PCIe expansion card**
With the AM5 platform from AMD on the horizon, five major motherboard manufacturers have annonced their flagship motherboards with the X670E chipset. Some of them are having fun with this generation’s multi-faceted step into “five”: AM5, PCIe Gen 5.0, DDR5, 5nm process, boost clocks over 5GHz, you catch the drift. But do you know what every single announced motherboard has fewer than five of? PCI Express (PCIe) slots. Other than a GPU and the occasional WiFi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135265/the-death-of-the-pcie-expansion-card/) 2022-09-07T20:56:54Z **TinyClock: a tiny true 5-arch universal Mac OS X single-binary GUI application**
TinyClock is a tiny true 5-arch universal Mac OS X single-binary GUI application. Single universal binary, that can be natively executed on every hardware platform Mac OS X was made for (32/64 bit, PowerPC/x86/AppleSilicon). Just fun. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135271/tinyclock-a-tiny-true-5-arch-universal-mac-os-x-single-binary-gui-application/) 2022-09-07T21:09:26Z **Digital museum of plugs and sockets**
A website containing a vast, vast collection of domestic electrical plugs and sockets from all over the world, including more information and details about them than you knew existed. I’ve been stuck here for hours. Be wary of going in – you’re never coming back out. But you’ll be happier for it, since there’s enough information here to last a lifetime. One of my favourites is this one from Sweden – I was baffled by these at first when emigrating to Sweden a f ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135273/digital-museum-of-plugs-and-sockets/) 2022-09-12T19:52:15Z **Transcending POSIX: the end of an era?**
In this article, we provide a holistic view of the Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) abstractions by a systematic review of their historical evolution. We discuss some of the key factors that drove the evolution and identify the pitfalls that make them infeasible when building modern applications. Some light reading to start the week. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135277/transcending-posix-the-end-of-an-era/) 2022-09-12T19:54:54Z **iOS 16 released**
iOS 16 brings the biggest update ever to the Lock Screen, the ability to edit and collaborate in Messages, new tools in Mail, and more ways to interact with photos and video with Live Text and Visual Look Up. iOS 16 is available today as a free software update. Unlike in the Android world, every iOS user here on OSNews will most likely be able to install this latest update right away. I’m especially enamoured by the notifications popping in from the bottom instead of the top – this makes a lot more ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135279/ios-16-released/) 2022-09-12T19:59:55Z **Slovenian OS/2 Warp 4**
Slovenia being a tiny country with a population of just 2 million, IBM OS/2 Warp 4 was one of the few non-Microsoft operating systems to be localized to Slovenian in the mid-90s and a big deal for the local IT community back then. But nearly 3 decades later, when OS/2 disappeared from the last ATMs in the country, the even rarer Slovenian version was as good as completely gone. Or was it? This is an amazing example of digital archeology, and I hope the other rare OS/2 translations are fo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135281/slovenian-os-2-warp-4/) 2022-09-13T20:33:38Z **We spoke with the last person standing in the floppy disk business**
Tom Persky is the self-proclaimed “last man standing in the floppy disk business.” He is the time-honored founder of floppydisk.com, a US-based company dedicated to the selling and recycling of floppy disks. Other services include disk transfers, a recycling program, and selling used and/or broken floppy disks to artists around the world. All of this makes floppydisk.com a key player in the small ye ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135285/we-spoke-with-the-last-person-standing-in-the-floppy-disk-business/) 2022-09-13T20:41:09Z **Ladybird: a new cross-platform browser project**
Since starting the SerenityOS project in 2018, my goal has been “to build a complete desktop operating system to eventually use as my daily driver”. What started as a little therapy project for myself has blossomed into a huge OSS community with hundreds of people working on it all over the world. We’ve gone from nothing to a capable system with its own browser stack in the last 4 years. Throughout this incredible expansion, my own goals h ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135287/ladybird-a-new-cross-platform-browser-project/) 2022-09-14T22:11:38Z **Apple plans to sell ads in new spots in the App Store by year-end**
Apple plans to release new ad “placements” as soon as the holiday season, according to a message sent to developers on Tuesday inviting them to an online session to encourage them to buy ads. The new spots represent a significant expansion in Apple’s advertising inventory, which is focused on its App Store. In recent years, Apple’s advertising inventory has been limited to one unit in the Search tab o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135293/apple-plans-to-sell-ads-in-new-spots-in-the-app-store-by-year-end/) 2022-09-14T22:26:09Z **EU upholds Google’s 4.1B euro fine for bundling search with Android**
Google has lost its latest battle with European Union regulators. This morning, the EU General Court upheld Google’s record fine for bundling Google Search and Chrome with Android. The initial ruling was reached in July 2018 with a 4.34 billion euro fine attached, and while that number has been knocked down to 4.125 billion euro ($4.13 billion), it’s still the EU’s biggest fine ever. The EU takes i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135295/eu-upholds-googles-4-1b-euro-fine-for-bundling-search-with-android/) 2022-09-15T23:00:43Z **Adobe to acquire Figma in a deal worth $20 billion**
Adobe has announced that it’s acquiring Figma, a popular design platform, for around $20 billion in cash and stock. After rumors surfaced early on Thursday about a potential acquisition, Adobe made it official in a press release shortly afterward. It’s big news in the design and development world, particularly as Figma has been competing heavily with Adobe’s XD products in recent years. I had never heard of Figma before, but it see ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135301/adobe-to-acquire-figma-in-a-deal-worth-20-billion/) 2022-09-15T23:10:34Z **Multi-threading and globals on Pumpkin OS**
The developer of Pumpkin OS (which we talked about before), a port of the Palm OS to x86-64, has written a very interesting post about dealing with multi-threading. Pumpkin OS is multi-threaded from the start, but several parts of the operating system rely on old parts of Palm OS that were never meant to be multi-threaded – such as the M68K emulator used to run Palm OS applications written for that architecture. The solution I came up with uses som ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135304/multi-threading-and-globals-on-pumpkin-os/) 2022-09-19T07:09:11Z **How clever mechanics keep 50-year-old BART trains running: Windows 98, eBay, and scraps**
When BART first carried passengers, the country was sending astronauts to the moon. The Apollo-era trains were symbols of a generation barreling toward a space-age future complete with carpeted floors and a seat promised to every passenger. That was 1972, when BART was state of the art. But half a century later, as the agency celebrates its 50th anniversary thi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135311/how-clever-mechanics-keep-50-year-old-bart-trains-running-windows-98-ebay-and-scraps/) 2022-09-19T07:50:07Z **Linux command line for you and me**
Linux command line for you and me is a book for newcomers to command line environment. Exactly as it says on the tin. This is a great, easy to use resource for command line use. Even though I’ve used Linux for more than two decades, and have been Linux-only for a few years now, I rarely use the command line, and having a resource like this in my back pocket for the few times I do dive into the command line is very nice – especially when you need to use some of the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135314/linux-command-line-for-you-and-me/) 2022-09-19T19:13:27Z **Intel replaces Pentium and Celeron brands with “Processor” brand**
Today, Intel introduces a new processor for the essential product space: Intel Processor. The new offering will replace the Intel Pentium and Intel Celeron branding in the 2023 notebook product stack. Those are some old, long-standing brands Intel just put out to pasture. “Intel Processor” will exist next to the Core i product lines as budget processors, just like Pentium and Celeron do today. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135317/intel-replaces-pentium-and-celeron-brands-with-processor-brand/) 2022-09-19T20:32:45Z **The $300bn Google-Meta advertising duopoly is under attack**
For the past decade there were two more or less universally acknowledged truths about digital advertising. First, the rapidly growing industry was largely impervious to the business cycle. Second, it was dominated by the duopoly of Google (in search ads) and Meta (in social media), which one jealous rival has compared to John Rockefeller’s hold on oil in the 19th century. Both of these verities are now being challen ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135319/the-300bn-google-meta-advertising-duopoly-is-under-attack/) 2022-09-19T20:42:00Z **Running PalmOS without PalmOS**
A traditional PalmOS emulator requires a ROM: a binary object that contains the original PalmOS compiled and linked for the 68K architecture. When you run an application PRC in those emulators, everything is emulated down to the hardware layer, so the ROM thinks it is talking to an actual device. Therefore, as an emulator developer, your job is to provide an implementation of the CPU, memory, display, serial port, and so on, taking into accounting the low level difference ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135323/running-palmos-without-palmos/) 2022-09-19T20:39:56Z **An X11 apologist tries Wayland**
All in all, I’m very impressed with the work the wayland community has done since I last did a serious look at the state of things. I’m still waiting for a stacking window manager that scratches the same itch for me that icewm does, but I’m following labwc with great interest. At this point though, I’ve established that I can live my life on wayland, and for the time being I am. Not everyone can yet though, and there’s still work to be done. Part of why I’m feeling the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135321/an-x11-apologist-tries-wayland/) 2022-09-19T21:07:46Z **Unicode 15.0.0 adds more eyes to ꙮ**
The character “ꙮ” (U+A66E) is being updated in version 15.0.0. Because it doesn’t have enough eyes. It needs to have three more eyes. This character is rare. Very, very rare. Rare enough to occur in a single phrase, in a single text written in an extinct language, Old Church Slavonic. The text is a copy of the Book of Psalms, written around 1429 and kept in Russia. Basically, in some old Slavic languages, authors would stylise the “O” in their word for e ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135325/unicode-15-0-0-adds-more-eyes-to-%ea%99%ae/) 2022-09-20T23:35:46Z **The Texas Instruments TMX 1795: the (almost) first, forgotten microprocessor**
The first 8-bit microprocessor, the TMX 1795 had the same architecture as the 8008 but was built months before the 8008. Never sold commercially, this Texas Instruments processor is now almost forgotten even though it had a huge impact on the computer industry. In this article, I present the surprising history of the TMX 1795 in detail, look at other early processors, and explain how ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135331/the-texas-instruments-tmx-1795-the-almost-first-forgotten-microprocessor/) 2022-09-20T23:30:33Z **Linux optimised for 386 and 486**
Do you have some old 386 or 486 machines lying around, collecting dust, but want them to become productive members of your computer household? Fret no more – there’s gray386linux and gray486linux, distributions specifically tailored for these two older architectures. I’m not entirely sure what you’d actually do with them, but fascinating projects nonetheless. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135329/linux-optimised-for-386-and-486/) 2022-09-20T23:40:31Z **Upcyling a 40-year-old Tandy Model 100 Portable Computer**
The M100’s LCD is really 10 separate displays, each controlled by its own HD44102 driver chip. The driver chips are each responsible for a 50-by-32-pixel region of the screen, except for two chips at the right-hand side that control only 40 by 32 pixels. This provides a total screen resolution of 240 by 64 pixels. Within each region the pixels are divided into four rows, or banks, each eight pixels high. Each vertical ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135333/upcyling-a-40-year-old-tandy-model-100-portable-computer/) 2022-09-20T23:43:18Z **Microsoft releases Windows 11 22H2, formally dubbed the “2022 Update”**
As predicted, Microsoft is formally releasing Windows 11 version 22H2 to the general public today. Also called the “Windows 11 2022 Update,” version 22H2 is a major update that brings a plethora of fixes and refinements to the operating system, improving the Start menu, jettisoning some more Windows 8-era user interface designs, adding new touchscreen and window management features, and more. We ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135335/microsoft-releases-windows-11-22h2-formally-dubbed-the-2022-update/) 2022-09-23T00:35:27Z **Hacking anything with GNU Guix**
Perhaps my favourite feature of Guix is guix shell. It is one of those tools that I don’t know how to do without. Even if you are not ready to use Guix as a package manager (or distro), guix shell alone might be a reason to have Guix installed. Why? This article describes a really nifty feature of Guix. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135340/hacking-anything-with-gnu-guix/) 2022-09-23T00:41:48Z **GNOME 43 released**
After nearly six months of development, the GNOME 43 “Guadalajara” desktop is finally here and introduces a few interesting changes, the most prominent one being the Quick Settings menu that can be accessed from the system top bar, very similar to those you probably saw on Android devices or the latest Windows 11 and macOS systems. Nautilus has also been improved considerably, and Epiphany (GNOME Web) now supports WebExtensions, instantly making the browser a lot more useful. The move to GTK4 co ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135344/gnome-43-released/) 2022-09-23T00:38:14Z **Systemd support is now available in WSL**
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) can now run systemd inside of your WSL distros, empowering you to do more with your Linux workflows on your Windows machine. The most controversial piece of Linux software in recent times makes its way to WSL. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135342/systemd-support-is-now-available-in-wsl/) 2022-09-26T21:53:41Z **Anatomy of a PumpkinOS app**
We have seen how PumpkinOS runs a classic 68K application. First, code.0 and data.0 resources from the PRC are loaded and decoded. Then code.1 is loaded and the 68K emulator starts running it. Native applications, that is, applications compiled from source to the target architecture of PumpkinOS (x86 or ARM), are still stored in PRC files, having access to all PalmOS resources like forms, bitmaps, alerts, etc. In fact, the same resource compiler (pilrc) used to generate the bin ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135347/anatomy-of-a-pumpkinos-app/) 2022-09-26T22:01:53Z **The MIPS ThinkPad, kind of**
Say hello to the RISC ThinkPad that’s not a ThinkPad, the IBM WorkPad z50. Let’s say you went to CompUSA, or, I dunno, Fry’s, or Circuit City, in mid-1999. Why, you might pick up an Ethernet hub and a BeOS advanced topics book, and marvel at this lithe little laptop IBM was selling for US$999 ($1780 in today’s dollars) MSRP. It had all the ThinkPad design cues and a surprisingly luxurious 95% keyboard, plus that frisson-inducing bright red mouse stick. And you might say, I want ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135349/the-mips-thinkpad-kind-of/) 2022-09-26T22:08:09Z **IBM AIX for IA64 runs again**
Project Monterey was an attempt to unify the fragmented Unix market of the 90s in to a single cross vendor Unix that would run on Intel Itanium (and others). The main collaborators were: IBM who brought its AIX, HP was supposed to bring some bits from HP-UX, Sequent from DYNIX/ptx and SCO from UnixWare. The project shared fate of Itanium – it totally failed. In the end Linux took its spot as a single Unix. The main legacy of Project Monterey was the famous SCO vs IBM lawsuit. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135351/ibm-aix-for-ia64-runs-again/) 2022-09-30T00:29:27Z **Google shuts down Stadia**
A few years ago, we also launched a consumer gaming service, Stadia. And while Stadia’s approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected so we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service. We’re grateful to the dedicated Stadia players that have been with us from the start. We will be refunding all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Sto ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135356/google-shuts-down-stadia/) 2022-09-30T00:35:32Z **CDE 2.5 released**
CDE 2.5.0 is now available on SourceForge. This is a significant release compared to the previous one with, among many other things, a replacement of the build system from ancient Imake to somewhat less ancient Autotools. There’s also a ton of bug fixes, as well as new features and other changes. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135353/cde-2-5-released/) 2022-09-30T00:45:46Z **The rest of Intel Arc’s A700-series GPU prices: A750 lands Oct. 12 below $300**
Intel’s highest-end graphics card lineup is approaching its retail launch, and that means we’re getting more answers to crucial market questions of prices, launch dates, performance, and availability. Today, Intel answered more of those A700-series GPU questions, and they’re paired with claims that every card in the Arc A700 series punches back at Nvidia’s 18-month-old RTX 3060. Af ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135361/the-rest-of-intel-arcs-a700-series-gpu-prices-a750-lands-oct-12-below-300/) 2022-10-05T21:23:12Z **IceWM 3.0.0 adds tabbed windowing**
There’s a new release of the venerable IceWM window manager, version 3.0.0. The major new feature here is tabbed windowing, in which you can drag titlebar over another to combine them into one unit. There are, of course, also the usual bug fixes and translation updates. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135365/icewm-3-0-0-adds-tabbed-windowing/) 2022-10-05T21:26:15Z **Microsoft’s early Windows 8 concepts shown in new video**
It’s been nearly 10 years since Windows 8 launched to the world as part of Microsoft’s big tablet push. While we’ve seen two heads of Windows since then, former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky has shared some early concept images for Windows 8 in a new video. The images show concepts for the Start menu, multiple monitor support, File Explorer, Internet Explorer, and lots more. Windows 8 development began in the spring of 20 ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135367/microsofts-early-windows-8-concepts-shown-in-new-video/) 2022-10-05T21:38:14Z **Alibaba T-Head TH1520 RISC-V processor to power the ROMA laptop**
The ROMA RISC-V laptop was announced this summer with an unnamed RISC-V processor with GPU and NPU. We now know it will be the Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core Xuantie C910 processor clocked at up to 2.5GHz with a 4 TOPS NPU, and support for 64-bit DDR at up 4266 MT. The TH1520 is born out of the Wujian 600 platform unveiled by Alibaba in August 2022, and is capable of running desktop-level applications su ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135369/alibaba-t-head-th1520-risc-v-processor-to-power-the-roma-laptop/) 2022-10-05T21:49:35Z **Google gives adblockers in Chrome another year as it postpones Manifest V3**
Last year, Google announced plans to phase out Manifest V2-based browser extensions in favor of new Manifest V3 policies. Although Manifest V3 promises increased safety and “peace of mind,” developers argue that the new rules hurt innovations, decrease performance, and cripple content blockers without giving much better security. Google initially wanted to disable Manifest V2 extensi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135373/google-gives-adblockers-in-chrome-another-year-as-it-postpones-manifest-v3/) 2022-10-05T21:47:38Z **System76’s Pop!_OS COSMIC Desktop to make use of Iced Rust toolkit rather than GTK**
System76 has been developing their own COSMIC desktop as the next evolution for their Pop!\_OS Linux distribution built atop an Ubuntu base. Interestingly with this big COSMIC desktop undertaking, which is being written in the Rust programming language, they have decided to shift away from using the GTK toolkit to instead make use of Iced-Rs as a Rust-native, multi-plat ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135371/system76s-pop_os-cosmic-desktop-to-make-use-of-iced-rust-toolkit-rather-than-gtk/) 2022-10-07T00:47:25Z **Pimp my Beeb**
How I built the RGBeeb, a BBC Micro inside a PC case. With RGB Backlight, USB inputs, ATX PSU, and working full-height floppy drives. This project is way more involved than you think it is. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135377/pimp-my-beeb/) 2022-10-09T21:40:03Z **Cross-compiling Classic Mac apps on MacOS X**
I like to do some retro programming, but SheepShaver, the best Mac emulator out there, has a bug that makes copy and paste not function, so is kind of hard to use. I was recently made aware that there is a tool named mpw (lowercase) that emulates just enough of classic MacOS to run Apple’s MPW compiler suite’s command line tools on MacOS X. So I thought I’d give it a try and set that up. The audience for this is probably quite small, but inform ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135382/cross-compiling-classic-mac-apps-on-macos-x/) 2022-10-09T21:47:49Z **My favourite computer: an old Mac**
This Macintosh Classic II wasn’t the best computer of its day, it wasn’t even the best Mac available at the time, but 30 years on and as its second owner it has unexpectedly become one of my favourite computers. The Classic II sits on a desk in the corner of my living room, just beside my main front window. It takes up a small amount of space, is unassuming, and always looks happy, ready to serve me whenever I call on it. There’s definitely something to be said abo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135384/my-favourite-computer-an-old-mac/) 2022-10-09T21:58:18Z **Going where BeOS NetPositive hasn’t gone before: NetPositive+**
This is a real 133MHz BeBox running otherwise stock BeOS R5, surfing Hacker News and Lobste.rs using a modified, bug-fixed NetPositive wired to offload encryption to an onboard copy of Crypto Ancienne (see my notes on the BeOS port). NetPositive is the only known browser on the PowerPC ports of BeOS — it’s probably possible to compile Lynx 2.8.x with BeOS CodeWarrior, but I’ve only seen it built for Intel, and M ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135386/going-where-beos-netpositive-hasnt-gone-before-netpositive/) 2022-10-11T20:47:51Z **Blender gets Wayland support**
Recently we have been working on native Wayland support on Linux. Wayland is now enabled for daily builds and if all goes well, it will be enabled for Blender 3.4 release too. One of the major productivity applications adding Wayland support – especially one such as Blender – is a big deal. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135388/blender-gets-wayland-support/) 2022-10-11T21:29:50Z **Samsung licenses Tizen OS to other TV makers**
Samsung Electronics today announced a partnership with leading international ODM (Original Development Manufacturing) companies such as Atmaca, HKC and Tempo — a collaboration that will enable non-Samsung smart TV models to use Tizen OS for the first time. New TVs from Bauhn, Linsar, Sunny, Vispera and other brands will be available in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom this year, allowing more consumers to e ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135390/samsung-licenses-tizen-os-to-other-tv-makers/) 2022-10-11T21:38:21Z **The 4th year of SerenityOS**
Well hello friends! Today we celebrate the 4th birthday of SerenityOS, counting from the first commit to the repository, on October 10th, 2018. What follows is a selection of random highlights from the past year, mixed with personal reflections from some of the SerenityOS developers. Just sit down, relax, take a deep breath, forget your day’s troubles, and enjoy a rundown of some of the awesome work being done in the SerenityOS community. There’s few communities that seem so we ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135396/the-4th-year-of-serenityos/) 2022-10-11T21:35:53Z **AmigaOS 4.1: introduction to the Software Development Kit V54.16**
After a break of about half a year, there is a sign of life from Hyperion Entertainment again. The company has made a new SDK available for download. But what is it? And what do you need it for? This and other questions will be answered in this and other articles. If you ever wanted to develop for Amiga OS 4, this seems like a good time to dive in. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135394/amigaos-4-1-introduction-to-the-software-development-kit-v54-16/) 2022-10-11T21:33:12Z **KDe Plasma 5.26 released**
Even with a bare-bones installation, Plasma lets you customize your desktop a lot. If you want more, there is always Plasma’s vast ecosystem of widgets. Widgets add features and utilities to the Plasma desktop and today you can find out all the stuff you can do and what’s new for widgets in Plasma 5.26. Widgets are not the only thing to look forward to in Plasma 5.26: check out all the new stuff landing on the desktop designed to make using Plasma easier, more accessible and enjoya ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135392/kde-plasma-5-26-released/) 2022-10-13T22:42:41Z **32 years in, Microsoft has decided to rebrand “Microsoft Office”**
Microsoft Office was first released in 1990, and aside from Windows, it’s probably the Microsoft product the general public has the most experience with. Individual apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook will all continue to exist, but starting now, the Office brand name these apps have all been grouped under will begin to go away, to be replaced by “Microsoft 365”. I’m fairly certain this will tur ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135401/32-years-in-microsoft-has-decided-to-rebrand-microsoft-office/) 2022-10-13T22:48:54Z **Microsoft accidentally revealed a UI design prototype for the next version of Windows at Ignite 2022**
I didn’t expect to be writing about the next version of Windows again so soon, but a handful of viewers watching the Ignite Keynote yesterday noticed an updated version of the Windows UI that was shown in a brief cutaway, which had a floating taskbar along the bottom, system icons in the top right, a floating search box in the top m ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135403/microsoft-accidentally-revealed-a-ui-design-prototype-for-the-next-version-of-windows-at-ignite-2022/) 2022-10-17T00:00:21Z **Google Stadia shutdown stuns indie developers**
Swider wasn’t the only Stadia developer blindsided by Google’s late September announcement that the streaming gaming service would be shutting down next January. Game makers who talked to Ars (and some who shared their surprise on social media) all said they had no indication of Google’s shutdown plans before the public announcement. “During correspondence , we are exchanging emails—nothing showed us it could be the end of Stadia,” Swider s ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135407/google-stadia-shutdown-stuns-indie-developers/) 2022-10-16T23:58:12Z **retrowin32, a win32 emulator**
My first post-Figma hobby project is a win32 emulator I’ve called retrowin32. It is now barely capable of executing a few unmodified Windows exe files in a browser (see the site for some links). A fun project. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135405/retrowin32-a-win32-emulator/) 2022-10-17T00:07:58Z **Sculpt OS 22.10 released**
Sculpt OS 22.10 is a maintenance release of our Genode-based general-purpose OS. It imposes a new rigid regime to the management of low-level devices, improves USB hotplug support, and comes with numerous performance optimizations. I should really find the time to sit down with Sculpt. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135411/sculpt-os-22-10-released/) 2022-10-17T00:05:21Z **Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro get a head start on banishing 32-bit Android apps**
Change is many things: scary, exciting, inevitable. Android is changing all the time, and for a while now we’ve been anticipating a major shift in terms of software support, one that would see the platform abandon its oldest software — Android will go 64-bit-only, dropping compatibility for old 32-bit apps. The biggest question has been “when?” Would the Pixel Tablet demand 64-bit apps ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135409/pixel-7-and-pixel-7-pro-get-a-head-start-on-banishing-32-bit-android-apps/) 2022-10-17T00:11:28Z **Google annunced KataOS, an open source operating system for machine learning**
To begin collaborating with others, we’ve open sourced several components for our secure operating system, called KataOS, on GitHub, as well as partnered with Antmicro on their Renode simulator and related frameworks. As the foundation for this new operating system, we chose seL4 as the microkernel because it puts security front and center; it is mathematically proven secure, with ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135413/google-annunced-kataos-an-open-source-operating-system-for-machine-learning/) 2022-10-17T23:53:54Z **Whipping up a new Shell – Lash#Cat9**
Arcan, the unique development framework for user interfaces that’s exploring a ton of new and different ideas, has released a new project – Lash#Cat9, a new command line shell. A guiding principle is the role of the textual shell as a frontend instead of a clunky programming environment. The shell presents a user-facing, interactive interface to make other complex tools more approachable or to glue them together into a more advanced weapon. Cat9 is entirely writt ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135419/whipping-up-a-new-shell-lashcat9/) 2022-10-19T22:49:35Z **Windows Terminal is now the Default in Windows 11**
The day has finally come! Windows Terminal is now the default command line experience on Windows 11 22H2! This means that all command line applications will now automatically open in Windows Terminal. This blog post will go into how this setting is enabled, the journey of Windows Terminal along with its fan-favorite features, as well as give a huge thank you to our contributors who have helped throughout Terminal’s journey. It’s sti ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135421/windows-terminal-is-now-the-default-in-windows-11/) 2022-10-19T22:58:09Z **When life gives you lemons, write better error messages**
Error messages are part of our daily lives online. Every time a server is down or we don’t have internet, or we forget to add some info in a form, we get an error message. “Something went wrong” is the classic. But what went wrong? What happened? And, most importantly, how can I fix it? I really enjoyed this article detailing a massive project at Wix to go through and rephrase every single error message to make them easie ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135424/when-life-gives-you-lemons-write-better-error-messages/) 2022-10-20T21:47:32Z **OpenBSD 7.2 released**
OpenBSD 7.2 has been released. The major new features in this release are all concerned with expanding the operating system’s hardware support. This release adds supports for Apple’s M2, the Ampere Altra, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135428/openbsd-7-2-released/) 2022-10-20T21:51:35Z **Ubuntu 22.10 released**
Dubbed the “Kinetic Kudu,” Ubuntu 22.10 is here with the latest and greatest GNOME 43 desktop environment by default (yes, with support for GTK4 apps), which comes with numerous new features and enhancements for fans of the GNOME/Ubuntu desktop, yet the look and feel remain unchanged from previous releases. The default audio server is PipeWire instead of PulseAudio with WirePlumber as the default session/policy manager. Kinetic Kudu also ships with an up-to-date toolchain and subsystem c ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135433/ubuntu-22-10-released/) 2022-10-24T21:13:09Z **NEC’s Tetris processor**
Tetris is a classic time-waster, both in and outside of the office. What good is any computing device if it can’t play this game? Tokyo System House certainly thought so, and ported it to the NEC mini5 line of CP/M-based word processors. Let’s preserve it for future generations and then see what it’s like! First, the author had to get their hands on a NEC mini5 word processor. Then, they had to somehow manage to find a copy of the game itself. Then, and only then, could the actual prese ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135436/necs-tetris-processor/) 2022-10-24T21:17:03Z **The Linux kernel may finally phase out Intel i486 CPU support**
Linus Torvalds has backed the idea of possibly removing Intel 486 (i486) processor support from the Linux kernel. After the Linux kernel dropped i386 support a decade ago, i486 has been the minimum x86 processor support for the mainline Linux kernel. This latest attempt to kill off i486 support ultimately arose from Linus Torvalds himself with expressing the idea of possible requiring x86 32-bit CPUs with “cm ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135438/the-linux-kernel-may-finally-phase-out-intel-i486-cpu-support/) 2022-10-24T21:20:28Z **IceWM 3.1 released**
IceWM was released only a short while ago, and now we’ve got 3.1. IceWM 3.1 introduces a new window option “frame” to automatically group application windows with the same “frame” value as tabs within a single frame. IceWM 3.1 also now shows indicators for the presence of tabs on the title bar, clicking on the title bar tab indicators can change tabs, tray hints are now preserved across restarts, improved Alt + Tab handling, improvements to the CMake build system integration, and a variety of ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135440/icewm-3-1-released/) 2022-10-24T22:50:27Z **Apple releases OS updates for basically everything, including iPadOS and macOS**
It’s “release everything!” day for Apple – virtually every single Apple platform and operating system is getting updates today. Almost all device releases are point releases to address issues in the major versions released in September, with the exception being iPadOS 16, which was delayed and is accompanied today by macOS 13. Ars’ macOS review, is, of course, the definitive r ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135442/apple-releases-os-updates-for-basically-everything-including-ipados-and-macos/) 2022-10-25T23:46:49Z **Chrome ends support for Windows 7/8.1 in early 2023**
With the release of Chrome 110 (tentatively scheduled for February 7th, 2023), we’ll officially end support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. You’ll need to ensure your device is running Windows 10 or later to continue receiving future Chrome releases. This matches Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 extended support on January 10th, 2023. It’s time. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135447/chrome-ends-support-for-windows-7-8-1-in-early-2023/) 2022-10-25T23:45:04Z **How the clipboard works**
Reading how copy-paste works from the Wayland specification is non-trivial unless you understand a lot of how desktop computing works and Wayland internal. It took me quite a while to figure it all out, though once you get there, it seems quite obvious. Here’s my attempt at explaining how it works for mere mortals. One of those things you do countless times every day, but don’t really know how it works. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135445/how-the-clipboard-works/) 2022-10-28T00:02:07Z **Recovered: forgotten SEGA exclusives on Palm OS**
An old article, but since I had no idea Sega made Palm OS games, I find it deeply fascinating. As part of my ongoing efforts to uncover lost gems from Japan, I recovered two exclusive games made by SEGA in their brief flirtation with Palm OS back in 2002. These games were presented by their Smilebit division at PalmSource Japan Forum 2002. This was around the time SEGA were abandoning consoles and Palm OS seems to have been part of an ef ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135453/recovered-forgotten-sega-exclusives-on-palm-os/) 2022-10-27T23:59:09Z **Apple clarifies security update policy: only the latest OSes are fully patched**
Earlier this week, Apple released a document clarifying its terminology and policies around software upgrades and updates. Most of the information in the document isn’t new, but the company did provide one clarification about its update policy that it hadn’t made explicit before: Despite providing security updates for multiple versions of macOS and iOS at any given time, Apple ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135451/apple-clarifies-security-update-policy-only-the-latest-oses-are-fully-patched/) 2022-10-28T22:29:11Z **Welcome to hell, Elon**
You fucked up real good, kiddo. Twitter is a disaster clown car company that is successful despite itself, and there is no possible way to grow users and revenue without making a series of enormous compromises that will ultimately destroy your reputation and possibly cause grievous damage to your other companies. The essential truth of every social network is that the product is content moderation, and everyone hates the people who decide how content moderation works. Content moderation i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135455/welcome-to-hell-elon/) 2022-10-28T22:37:03Z **NVIDIA’s hot 12VHPWR adapter for the GeForce RTX 4090 with a built-in breaking point**
Those who are now beating up on the new 12VHPWR (although I don’t really like the part either) may generate nice traffic with it, but they simply haven’t recognized the actual problem with the supposedly fire-hazardous and melting connections or cables. Even if certain YouTube celebrities are of a different opinion because they seem to have found a willing object o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135457/nvidias-hot-12vhpwr-adapter-for-the-geforce-rtx-4090-with-a-built-in-breaking-point/) 2022-10-31T21:46:55Z **RustyHermit: a Rust-based, lightweight unikernel**
RustyHermit is a unikernel targeting a scalable and predictable runtime for high-performance and cloud computing. Unikernel means, you bundle your application directly with the kernel library, so that it can run without any installed operating system. This reduces overhead, therefore, interesting applications include virtual machines and high-performance computing. The kernel is able to run Rust applications, as well as C/C++/Go/Fortran ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135462/rustyhermit-a-rust-based-lightweight-unikernel/) 2022-10-31T21:44:53Z **AmigaOS 4.1: Introduction to Software Development Kit V54.16, part 2**
In the second article I will show how to install the SDK. Since I unfortunately cannot go into every individual configuration, I assume that AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition Update 2 is already installed. However, it is irrelevant whether further software or the Enhancer 2.2 is installed.’ We mentioned the first part in this series a few weeks ago. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135459/amigaos-4-1-introduction-to-software-development-kit-v54-16-part-2/) 2022-10-31T21:54:30Z **The Talos II, Blackbird POWER9 systems support tagged memory**
Thus for many years the possibility of getting memory tagging working on these systems was an interesting possibility, but there was no idea of whether it was actually feasible or whether IBM fused off this functionality in the CPUs it sells to third parties. The POWER CPUs IBM sells to third parties are fused slightly differently to those it uses in most of its own servers, being fused for 4-way multithreading ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135464/the-talos-ii-blackbird-power9-systems-support-tagged-memory/) 2022-10-31T21:58:51Z **If one GUI’s not enough for your SPARC workstation, try four**
This is a 1990 Solbourne Computer S3000 all-in-one workstation based around the 33MHz Panasonic MN10501, irreverently code-named the Kick-Ass Processor or KAP. It is slightly faster than, and the S3000 and the related S4000 and later S4000DX/S4100 directly competed with, the original gangsta 1989 Sun SPARCstation and SPARCstation 1+. Solbourne was an early SPARC innovator through majority owner Matsushita, who wa ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135466/if-one-guis-not-enough-for-your-sparc-workstation-try-four/) 2022-11-03T00:18:56Z **I made outlines for KDE Breeze window decoration**
Window outlines! Yet another KDE contribution by yours truly! This was fun. Not easy at all, but fun. I’m pretty happy how they turned out. A small feature, but a fun read to learn how, exactly, it was implemented. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135473/i-made-outlines-for-kde-breeze-window-decoration/) 2022-11-03T00:17:03Z **Taking a look at Mastodon**
Mastodon is interesting. On the surface it might just seem like a Twitter clone, but it’s based on a federated protocol called ‘ActivityPub’. What this means in practice is that there’s no central server. There’s many instances. Each of these instances is managed by different people, and many of them focus on specific interests. With email, it doesn’t matter which provider you go with Thanks to universal SMTP standards that every server uses, you can exchange messages with everyo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135471/taking-a-look-at-mastodon/) 2022-11-03T00:24:37Z **GNU Make to drop support for OS/2, AmigaOS, Xenix**
GNU Make 4.4 is here, and it has some interesting – and sad – news for some of the old operating systems we still cover on OSNews. Sadly, support for OS/2 (EMX), AmigaOS, Xenix, and Cray will be dropped from the next release of Make. Now, I’m not entirely sure just how many users of these operating systems even use Make, but for those of you that do – tough cookie right here. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135475/gnu-make-to-drop-support-for-os-2-amigaos-xenix/) 2022-11-03T23:42:15Z **Mozilla launches venture fund, for some reason**
Today, amid a sea of internet companies and products that routinely put profits ahead of people, Mozilla is unveiling an ambitious new venture capital fund to transform technology investment — and the internet more broadly. Yes, this is exactly what the only browser standing between us and complete Chrome dominance needs. Can you taste the sarcasm? ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135477/mozilla-launches-venture-fund-for-some-reason/) 2022-11-03T23:45:25Z **AMD’s next-gen Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT launch December 13, start at $999**
AMD is gearing up to launch its next-generation Radeon RX 7000-series GPUs next month, and today the company shared more details about the cards’ pricing, performance levels, and the new RDNA 3 GPU architecture that will power all of its graphics cards for the next couple of years. The launch begins at the high end, with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT. AMD will launch b ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135479/amds-next-gen-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-and-7900-xt-launch-december-13-start-at-999/) 2022-11-07T22:20:06Z **Microsoft hints at low-cost Windows 11 PCs powered by advertising and subscriptions**
Microsoft is exploring a new business model for Windows, according to the company’s job listing for a Principal Software Engineering Manager. Microsoft expects the Program Manager to shape a new future of low-cost Windows 11 PCs powered by advertisements and subscriptions (Windows 365?). Casino ads for children on your desktop. Sounds like a steal. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135481/microsoft-hints-at-low-cost-windows-11-pcs-powered-by-advertising-and-subscriptions/) 2022-11-07T22:23:16Z **Windows 11 PowerToy now lets you find out which processes are using the file**
Microsoft’s PowerToys for Windows 11 and Windows 10 has been updated with a new feature called ‘File LockSmith’. So what exactly is File Locksmith? In technical terms, it is a Windows shell extension that lets you check which files are in use and by which processes. Up until today, it was not possible to find out which particular process is using the file on Windows. While Task M ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135483/windows-11-powertoy-now-lets-you-find-out-which-processes-are-using-the-file/) 2022-11-07T22:38:23Z **The Motorola PowerStack**
The PowerStack was one of the Motorola Computer Group’s entries into the personal computer (PC) market around the time the Microsoft Windows/Intel x86 juggernaut was stumbling with their mass market Windows 3.11 replacement. It’s a compact, modular, efficient platform featuring IBM/Motorola’s PowerPC CPUs as well as best-in-class contemporary interfaces like PCI and SCSI. A compute element could be stacked with other modular I/O and storage cases to expand its capabilities without ha ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135487/the-motorola-powerstack/) 2022-11-07T22:34:52Z **LXQt 1.2 desktop environment released with initial Wayland support, various improvements**
LXQt 1.2 is here about seven months after LXQt 1.1 and it’s a major update to the lightweight desktop environment that introduces initial support for the Wayland display server in an attempt to keep up with the times and the new technologies most GNU/Linux distributions are adopting these days. Still based on the long-term supported Qt 5.15 LTS open-source ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135485/lxqt-1-2-desktop-environment-released-with-initial-wayland-support-various-improvements/) 2022-11-08T20:08:53Z **Microsoft is showing ads in the Windows 11 sign-out menu**
Microsoft is now promoting some of its products in the sign-out flyout menu that shows up when clicking the user icon in the Windows 11 start menu. This new Windows 11 “feature” was discovered by Windows enthusiast Albacore, who shared several screenshots of advertisement notifications in the Accounts flyout. The screenshots show that Microsoft promotes the OneDrive file hosting service and prods users to create or com ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135489/microsoft-is-showing-ads-in-the-windows-11-sign-out-menu/) 2022-11-09T00:57:26Z **Redditor discovers legendary 1956 computer in grandparents’ basement**
On Monday, a German Redditor named c-wizz announced that they had found a very rare 66-year-old Librascope LGP-30 computer (and several 1970 DEC PDP-8/e computers) in their grandparents’ basement. The LGP-30, first released in 1956, is one of only 45 manufactured in Europe and may be best known as the computer used by “Mel” in a famous piece of hacker lore. This is the vintage computing version o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135494/redditor-discovers-legendary-1956-computer-in-grandparents-basement/) 2022-11-11T23:53:13Z **Windows 11 gets Task Manager search**
We are bringing process filtering to Task Manager. This is the top feature request from our users to filter/search for processes. You can filter either using the binary name, PID or publisher name. The filter algorithm matches the context keyword with all possible matches and displays them on the current page. The filter is also applied as you switch between pages. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ALT + F to focus on the filter box. This is a helpful fea ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135499/windows-11-gets-task-manager-search/) 2022-11-12T01:03:06Z **AMD EPYC Genoa gaps Intel Xeon in stunning fashion**
The AMD EPYC 9004 series, codenamed “Genoa” is nothing short of a game-changer. We use that often in the industry, but this is not a 15-25% generational improvement. The new AMD EPYC Genoa changes the very foundation of what it means to be a server. This is a 50-60% (or more) per-socket improvement, meaning we get a 3:2 or 2:1 consolidation just from a generation ago. If you are coming from 3-5 year-old Xeon Scalable (1st and 2nd ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135501/amd-epyc-genoa-gaps-intel-xeon-in-stunning-fashion/) 2022-11-15T00:40:15Z **The unusual bootstrap drivers inside the 8086 microprocessor chip**
The 8086 microprocessor is one of the most important chips ever created; it started the x86 architecture that still dominates desktop and server computing today. I’ve been reverse-engineering its circuitry by studying its silicon die. One of the most unusual circuits I found is a “bootstrap driver”, a way to boost internal signals to improve performance. This circuit consists of just three NMOS transi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135504/the-unusual-bootstrap-drivers-inside-the-8086-microprocessor-chip/) 2022-11-15T00:45:12Z **ZealOS: a modernised fork of TempleOS**
The Zeal Operating System is a modernized, professional fork of the 64-bit Temple Operating System. Guiding principles of development include transparency, full user control, and adherence to public-domain/open-source implementations. ZealOS strives to be simple, documented, and require as little of a knowledge gap as possible. One person should be able to comprehend the entire system in at least a semi-detailed way within a few days of study. Simplify, don ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135506/zealos-a-modernised-fork-of-templeos/) 2022-11-15T00:51:32Z **In praise of Plan 9**
Plan 9 is an operating system designed by Bell Labs. It’s the OS they wrote after Unix, with the benefit of hindsight. It is the most interesting operating system that you’ve never heard of, and, in my opinion, the best operating system design to date. Even if you haven’t heard of Plan 9, the designers of whatever OS you do use have heard of it, and have incorporated some of its ideas into your OS. Plan 9 is a research operating system, and exists to answer questions about ideas in OS design ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135508/in-praise-of-plan-9/) 2022-11-15T23:39:15Z **“Project Volterra” review: Microsoft’s $600 Arm PC that almost doesn’t suck**
It’s undeniably good for the Arm Windows app ecosystem to have a viable, decently specced PC that is usable as an everyday computer. The Dev Kit 2023 is priced to move, so there may be some developers who buy one just for the hell of it, which might have some positive trickle-down effects for the rest of the ecosystem. Because eventually, the Windows-on-Arm project will need to develop s ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135513/project-volterra-review-microsofts-600-arm-pc-that-almost-doesnt-suck/) 2022-11-18T01:34:54Z **Ads in Windows 11 might make sense to Microsoft, but it’s really bad for consumers**
Earlier in the week, some Windows 11 Dev Channel users spotted Start menu ads/promos encouraging them to back up their data to OneDrive, sign up for a Microsoft account, and complete their profile. This obviously opened the door to lots of conversations over on social media platforms such as Twitter as well as the comments section on our own coverage as the majority of ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135517/ads-in-windows-11-might-make-sense-to-microsoft-but-its-really-bad-for-consumers/) 2022-11-18T23:58:50Z **The HP-UX Porting and Archive Centre**
The HP-UX Porting and Archive Centre was established in August 1992 in the Department of Computer Science at Liverpool University in the United Kingdom, but has been run by Liverpool-based Connect Internet Solutions Limited since 1995. Its primary aim is to make public domain, freeware and Open Source software more readily available to users of Hewlett-Packard UNIX systems. The archive began with an initial collection of 150 packages, all of which had been ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135519/the-hp-ux-porting-and-archive-centre-2/) 2022-11-20T20:19:44Z **Mastodon 3.11 For Workgroups: a Mastodon client for Windows 9x**
This project is a Mastodon client written in Visual Basic 6. It works on Windows 95 and higher (Windows 10/11 untested). Yes. Belgian developer Maartje Eyskens made a Mastodon client for Windows 9x. Amazing. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135524/mastodon-3-11-for-workgroups-a-mastodon-client-for-windows-9x/) 2022-11-20T20:17:38Z **Investigating why Steam started picking a random font**
Out of the blue my Steam started picking a random font I had in my user fonts dir: Virgil, the Excalidraw font. That triggered me all sorts of emotions, ranging from laugh to total incredulity. I initially thought the root cause was a random derping from Valve but the Internet seemed quiet about it, so the unreasonable idea that it might have been my fault surfaced. Who doesn’t love a good technology mystery story? ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135522/investigating-why-steam-started-picking-a-random-font/) 2022-11-20T23:22:50Z **DOS/4GW and Protected Mode**
We’ll start our conversation by saying that DOS/4GW is a DOS extender. That means DOS/4GW is a program responsible for adding some useful stuff on top of the vanilla DOS kernel you have installed on your system. And look, I know this does not really answer anything yet, but we’ll get there. Let’s begin our journey trying to understand why DOS needs extending in the first place. I definitely remember seeing DOS/4GW a lot when playing MS-DOS games back in the ’90s, but I had enti ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135527/dos-4gw-and-protected-mode/) 2022-11-21T23:01:53Z **How does Windows decide whether your computer has limited or full Internet access?**
Windows lets you know when your computer’s Internet connection is limited or absent entirely. What is this sorcery? Raymond Chen’s answer is simple. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135533/how-does-windows-decide-whether-your-computer-has-limited-or-full-internet-access/) 2022-11-22T23:10:26Z **Asahi Linux November 2022 progress report**
Time for another overdue progress report! This month’s update is packed with new hardware support, new features, and fixes for longstanding pain points, as well as a new bleeding-edge kernel branch with long-awaited support for suspend and the display controller! Asahi Linux is the project bringing Linux to Apple’s M1 and M2 platform, and they continue to make great strides. I’m still skeptical about how wise it is to buy expensive hardware you hav ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135539/asahi-linux-november-2022-progress-report/) 2022-11-22T23:47:50Z **Improving Firefox on Windows stability with this one weird trick**
The first computer I owned shipped with 128 KiB of RAM and to this day I’m still jarred by the idea that applications can run out of memory given that even 15-year-old machines often shipped with 4 GiB of memory. And yet it’s one of the most common causes of instability experienced by users and in the case of Firefox the biggest source of crashes on Windows. A detailed technical explanation of why Windo ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135541/improving-firefox-on-windows-stability-with-this-one-weird-trick/) 2022-11-22T23:54:41Z **The Windows Subsystem for Linux in the Microsoft Store is now generally available on Windows 10 and 11**
Today the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the Microsoft Store is dropping its “Preview” label and becomes generally available with our latest release! We are also making the Store version of WSL the default for new users who run wsl --install and easily upgradeable by running wsl --update for existing users. Using the Store ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135545/the-windows-subsystem-for-linux-in-the-microsoft-store-is-now-generally-available-on-windows-10-and-11/) 2022-11-23T22:04:56Z **Atlas: third party Windows ISO for gaming**
Atlas is a Windows version designed for gamers. Atlas users can enjoy higher framerate, lowered input delay & latency. Great for people on a low-end system, or high-end gaming machine. I had no idea people still did this – create custom versions of Windows ISOs and try to pawn them off as something special. The legality of this is more than dubious, of course, and you can probably achieve the same results with some of the countless scripts that are ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135547/atlas-third-party-windows-iso-for-gaming/) 2022-11-23T22:16:17Z **Redox OS 0.8.0 released**
We have a lot to show since the 0.7.0 release! This release, care has been taken to ensure real hardware is working, i686 support has been added, features like audio and preliminary multi-display support have been enabled, and the boot and install infrastructure has been simplified and made more robust. I highly recommend skimming through the changes listed below before jumping into the images, if you want more details. It is also recommended to read through the Redox OS book if you ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135549/redox-os-0-8-0-released/) 2022-11-24T21:43:46Z **MusicStudio: a Music/SFX editor for Commodore 64**
Music Studio is a Windows-based SID music creator software. For an accurate C64 sound, it utilises the newest RESID-FP emulation available, both old (6581) and new (8580) SID chips. MS2 is capable of creating 1x speed tunes and many SID chip parameters can be edited directly using the various commands. Classic and new C64 sounds can be created with envelope parameters that can be set up in few simple steps. While I’m sure purists will ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135558/musicstudio-a-music-sfx-editor-for-commodore-64/) 2022-11-24T21:41:18Z **Intel officially introduces pay-as-you-go chip licensing**
Intel has officially revealed its Intel On Demand program (opens in new tab) that will activate select accelerators and features of the company’s upcoming Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids processor. The new pay-as-you-go program will allow Intel to reduce the number of SKUs it ships while still capitalizing on the technologies it has to offer. Furthermore, its clients will be able to upgrade their machines without replaci ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135552/intel-officially-introduces-pay-as-you-go-chip-licensing/) 2022-11-24T23:21:07Z **Apple is becoming an ad company despite privacy claims**
Apple currently brings in roughly $4 billion from advertising and is forecasted to bring in as much as $30 billion by 2026. While these amounts are an order of magnitude smaller than the $210 billion Google made from its ad services, they represent a change in philosophy for Apple, which only earned around $300 million for ads in 2017. This new emphasis on advertising also undermines Apple’s claims about privacy with its A ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135560/apple-is-becoming-an-ad-company-despite-privacy-claims/) 2022-11-24T23:47:39Z **Mac OS 9 on an unmodified Wii**
Via Hackaday: We’re used to the so-called “Hackintoshes”, non-Apple hardware running MacOS. One we featured recently was even built into the case of a Nintendo Wii. But Dandu has gone one better than that, by running MacOS on an unmodified Wii, original Nintendo hardware (French, Google Translate link). How has this seemingly impossible task been achieved? Seasoned Mac enthusiasts will remember the days when Apple machines used PowerPC processors, and the Wii uses a Power ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135562/mac-os-9-on-an-unmodified-wii/) 2022-11-28T21:36:30Z **Meet your new two-factor authenticator: your Commodore 64**
Multi-factor authentication is ripe for disruption. SMS 2FA is inherently defective. Phone authenticators get stolen. Security tokens get lost. But just try misplacing a Commodore SX-64. And any thief who tries to grab it and run gets a free hernia truss from the prison infirmary. I want to see someone carry an SX-64 into a coffee shop to authenticate something. Please. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135566/meet-your-new-two-factor-authenticator-your-commodore-64/) 2022-11-28T21:34:58Z **89 operating systems**
I occasionally do talks about curl. In these talks I often include a few slides that say something about curl’s coverage and presence on different platforms. Mostly to boast of course, but also to help explain to the audience how curl has manged to reach its ten billion installations. Curl is literally everywhere – even on another planet. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135564/89-operating-systems/) 2022-11-28T21:37:59Z **The Internet Archive just put 565 Palm Pilot apps in your web browser**
Yes, I am playing Dope Wars on a Palm Pilot inside my iPhone. It’s thanks to The Internet Archive, which is once again launching a giant collection of software you can instantly play on any web browser, up to and including your touchscreen-equipped phone. There are currently 565 classic Palm apps in all, including games, widgets, and even free trials from both the greyscale and color eras. This is probably the easiest way to experience Palm OS application ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135568/135568/) 2022-11-29T01:04:15Z **Ubuntu Touch OTA-24 released for Ubuntu Phone users**
Highlights of this release include initial gesture support with double-tap to wake for selected devices, improvements to fingerprint unlock by allowing more backoff time between read retries, as well as support for media buttons on headsets for most Ubuntu Phone devices. In addition, the Ubuntu Touch OTA-24 update adds support for handling the sms:// URL scheme for properly opening the Messaging app, adds Full HD 1080p support t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135572/ubuntu-touch-ota-24-released-for-ubuntu-phone-users/) 2022-11-30T01:17:45Z **Tales of the M1 GPU**
There is still a long road ahead! The UAPI that we are using right now is still a prototype, and there are a lot of new features that need to be added or redesigned in order to support a full Vulkan driver in the future. Since Linux mandates that the UAPI needs to remain stable and backwards compatible across versions (unlike macOS), that means that the kernel driver will not be heading upstream for many months, until we have a more complete understanding of the GPU rendering parameters and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135577/tales-of-the-m1-gpu/) 2022-11-30T01:21:19Z **Used thin client PCs are an unsexy, readily available Raspberry Pi alternative**
“Raspberry Pi boards are hard to get, probably also next year,” says Andreas Spiess, single-board enthusiast and YouTuber, in his distinctive Swiss accent. He’s not wrong. Spiess says he and his fellow Pi devotees need “a strategy to survive” without new boards, so he suggests looking in one of the least captivating, most overlooked areas of computing: used, corporate-minded t ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135579/used-thin-client-pcs-are-an-unsexy-readily-available-raspberry-pi-alternative/) 2022-12-02T00:51:23Z **Do not use services that hate the internet**
As you look around for a new social media platform, I implore you, only use one that is a part of the World Wide Web. If posts in a social media app do not have URLs that can be linked to and viewed in an unauthenticated browser, or if there is no way to make a new post from a browser, then that program is not a part of the World Wide Web in any meaningful way. Consign that app to oblivion. Yep. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135581/do-not-use-services-that-hate-the-internet/) 2022-12-02T01:17:47Z **Secure Boot: this is not the protection we are looking for**
So there you have it: recommending idly Secure Boot for all systems requiring intermediate security level accomplishes nothing, except maybe giving more work to system administrators that are recompiling their kernel, while offering exactly no measurable security against many threats if UEFI Administrative password and MOK Manager passwords are not set. This is especially true for laptop systems where physical acces ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135583/secure-boot-this-is-not-the-protection-we-are-looking-for/) 2022-12-02T01:20:53Z **Memory safe languages in Android 13**
In Android 13, about 21% of all new native code (C/C++/Rust) is in Rust. There are approximately 1.5 million total lines of Rust code in AOSP across new functionality and components such as Keystore2, the new Ultra-wideband (UWB) stack, DNS-over-HTTP3, Android’s Virtualization framework (AVF), and various other components and their open source dependencies. These are low-level components that require a systems language which otherwise would have been implement ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135585/memory-safe-languages-in-android-13/) 2022-12-02T23:42:10Z **Why we can’t trust Apple**
This is a problem for all of us. Most people who can afford one have bought their iPhone or iPad already. The programmers already have their MacBooks. And while everyone will need to buy replacements at some point, that’s a steady-state or at best low-growth business. When Apple says more, it means the Wall Street kind of “more”: a hockey stick of growth. Which means, Apple needs to find growth outside its usual business. And these days, that means: advertising. And online advertisi ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135588/why-we-cant-trust-apple/) 2022-12-02T23:48:39Z **Snap updates happen without user consent**
Traditionally, updates on Linux systems are controlled by the user. You get an icon in the system tray that looks important; you click on it; it asks you if you want to install updates; you say “yes” or “no”; updates are applied, or not; when you next restart any applications that you have running that were updated, the new version is picked up. Data isn’t lost, because updates don’t restart the application. You can (and do) update the Linux kernel i ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135590/snap-updates-happen-without-user-consent/) 2022-12-04T14:24:12Z **Samsung’s Android app-signing key has leaked, is being used to sign malware**
Ars Technica: Guess what has happened! Łukasz Siewierski, a member of Google’s Android Security Team, has a post on the Android Partner Vulnerability Initiative (AVPI) issue tracker detailing leaked platform certificate keys that are actively being used to sign malware. The post is just a list of the keys, but running each one through APKMirror or Google’s VirusTotal site will put na ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135594/samsungs-android-app-signing-key-has-leaked-is-being-used-to-sign-malware/) 2022-12-06T01:18:21Z **OpenIndiana Hipster 2022.10 released**
As you may already have noticed we have released new ISO and USB images for OpenIndiana Hipster some days ago. As usual we have received many updates via illumos-gate, eg. the latest Intel and AMD CPU microcode updates, the latest time zone changes and lots of enhancements for BHyVe and the internal SMB server. Does anybody still legitimately use any of the variants of Solaris? It certainly had a moment in the final days of Sun, but ever since Oracle got the ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135596/openindiana-hipster-2022-10-released/) 2022-12-08T01:41:05Z **FreeBSD 12.4 released**
FreeBSD 12.4 has been released. This is a maintenance release of the older stable branch, and contains the usual package updates, bug fixes, and other relatively minor changes. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135603/freebsd-12-4-released/) 2022-12-08T01:38:46Z **Apple GPU drivers now in Asahi Linux**
This release features work-in-progress OpenGL 2.1 and OpenGL ES 2.0 support for all current Apple M-series systems. That’s enough for hardware acceleration with desktop environments, like GNOME and KDE. It’s also enough for older 3D games, like Quake3 and Neverball. While there’s always room for improvement, the driver is fast enough to run all of the above at 60 frames per second at 4K. Please note: these drivers have not yet passed the OpenGL (ES) conforma ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135601/apple-gpu-drivers-now-in-asahi-linux/) 2022-12-09T23:46:29Z **Intel using DXVK (part of Steam Proton) for their Windows Arc GPU DX 9 drivers**
Intel recently announced a big driver update for their Arc GPUs on Windows, because their DirectX 9 performance wasn’t as good as it could have been. Turns out, they’re using code from the open source DXVK which is part of Steam Play Proton. DXVK translates Direct3D 9, Direct3D 10 and Direct3D 11 to Vulkan. Primarily written for Wine, the Windows compatibility layer, which is w ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135619/intel-using-dxvk-part-of-steam-proton-for-their-windows-arc-gpu-dx-9-drivers/) 2022-12-09T23:44:18Z **Adobe releases PostScript source code**
The story of PostScript has many different facets. It is a story about profound changes in human literacy as well as a story of trade secrets within source code. It is a story about the importance of teams, and of geometry. And it is a story of the motivations and educations of engineer-entrepreneurs. The Computer History Museum is excited to publicly release, for the first time, the source code for the breakthrough printing technology, PostScript. We than ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135617/adobe-releases-postscript-source-code/) 2022-12-09T23:41:42Z **Apple adds end-to-end encryption to iCloud device backups and more**
End-to-end encryption is coming to most of iCloud with a new optional feature called Advanced Data Protection, according to Apple’s announcement on Wednesday. Previously, 14 data categories within iCloud were protected. This new feature brings that count to 23, including photos, notes, voice memos, reminders, Safari bookmarks, and iCloud backups of the contents of your devices. Not everything is enc ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135615/apple-adds-end-to-end-encryption-to-icloud-device-backups-and-more/) 2022-12-09T23:47:43Z **Google preparing to upgrade Nest Audio as Fuchsia’s first smart speaker**
Google is working on upgrading its Nest Audio smart speaker to run on the company’s own Fuchsia operating system. For the last few years, Google has been steadily working on switching its Nest Hub smart displays from running on “Cast OS” to the company’s in-house OS, Fuchsia. The original Nest Hub was the first to make the jump in 2021, and the Nest Hub Max made a similar move earlier this ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135621/google-preparing-to-upgrade-nest-audio-as-fuchsias-first-smart-speaker/) 2022-12-11T22:37:19Z **The mass extinction of UNIX workstations**
Back in the ’90s and very early 2000s, a whole market segment of computers existed that we don’t really talk about anymore today: the UNIX workstation. They were non-x86 machines running one of the many commercial UNIX variants, and were used for the very high end of computing. They were expensive, unique, different, and quite often incredibly overengineered. Countless companies made and sold these UNIX workstation. SGI was a big player in this marke ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135605/the-mass-extinction-of-unix-workstations/) 2022-12-13T20:20:35Z **The Sidecar for Psion – A PPP modem and Linux terminal for RS232 devices**
Creating the PiRS232 and playing with the Pi over serial has been leading towards an idea – I wanted to create a small, battery powered device, a sidecar that I could carry with my Psion and use as portable Linux terminal. I also managed to turn it into an Internet gateway, leading to some interesting experiences. The idea was straightforward: take a Pi Zero, add an RS232 board that alread ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135651/the-sidecar-for-psion-a-ppp-modem-and-linux-terminal-for-rs232-devices/) 2022-12-13T20:27:54Z **Apple is reportedly preparing to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone**
The Verge, reporting on a paywalled story from Bloomberg: Apple is planning to let users install alternative app stores on iOS, according to a report from Bloomberg. The shift would be a remarkable change from the company, which has famously only allowed iPhone and iPad users to download apps from the App Store. The plans are reportedly being spurred on by the EU’s Digital Markets ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135653/apple-is-reportedly-preparing-to-allow-third-party-app-stores-on-the-iphone/) 2022-12-16T20:53:29Z **Apple considering dropping requirement for iPhone web browsers to use WebKit**
As part of a larger story about Apple’s plans to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone and iPad in EU countries, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman claimed that Apple is also considering removing its requirement for iPhone and iPad web browsers to use WebKit, the open source browser engine that powers Safari. Well, well, well. The EU might actually force Apple to turn iOS into a real o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135661/apple-considering-dropping-requirement-for-iphone-web-browsers-to-use-webkit/) 2022-12-16T21:29:12Z **Xfce 4.18 released**
Nearly two years after the release of Xfce 4.16, here comes another major update to one of the oldest and lightest desktop environments for GNU/Linux distributions, Xfce 4.18. Xfce 4.18 is packed with lots of new features and improvements to the file manager, panel, plugins, and other core components. For example, the Thunar file manager now features not one but two image preview side panes, a new Split View, recursive search, and finally lets you undo or redo basic file operations. It also co ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135663/xfce-4-18-released/) 2022-12-16T21:31:25Z **Legacy Update revives the original Windows Update website for XP, Vista, 7, and more**
This is a community-run resource to help you fix the Windows Update service on earlier versions of Windows. Since Windows XP was discontinued in 2014, followed by Windows 7 in 2020, Microsoft’s support for their earlier OSes has significantly dwindled. As XP and earlier don’t officially support modern security improvements, such as the SHA256 hash algorithm required ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135665/legacy-update-revives-the-original-windows-update-website-for-xp-vista-7-and-more/) 2022-12-20T02:32:13Z **The strange case of BeOS, SRS and the silent Power Mac 6500**
Tonight’s story time: the Power Macintosh that wouldn’t make any sound in BeOS R5, how I figured out the problem, and how I hacked the sound driver to fix it. OSNews bait, 100%. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135667/the-strange-case-of-beos-srs-and-the-silent-power-mac-6500/) 2022-12-20T02:35:29Z **How to start with CP/M**
As of year 2004, Dr. Gary Kildall’s operating system called CP/M was approaching 30 years old. I decided then to describe that history on my Web site, before it was lost. I worked on that through 2008; and updated my notes since. See my DRI home page for links to Web pages about that event, and about about persons, companies and developments related to Digital Research and/or CP/M in the S-100 and microcomputer world of the 1970’s. This Web page provides some ideas about how to get and ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135669/how-to-start-with-cp-m/) 2022-12-21T01:06:51Z **It might be time for Apple to throw in the towel on the Mac Pro**
The Mac Pro is one of the few remaining Intel Macs with no Apple Silicon replacement ready to go, even though we’re a little past the two-year deadline that CEO Tim Cook originally set for the transition in summer 2020 (and to be fair, it has been a hard-to-predict couple of years). Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple continues to work on a new version of the Mac Pro, alongside other as-yet-unrepla ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135671/it-might-be-time-for-apple-to-throw-in-the-towel-on-the-mac-pro/) 2022-12-21T01:11:39Z **Fedora 38 plots path to unified kernel support**
Red Hat and Fedora engineers are plotting a path to supporting Unified Kernel Images (UKI) with Fedora Linux and for the Fedora 38 release in the spring they are aiming to get their initial enablement in place. Unified Kernel Images have been championed by the systemd folks for better securing and trusting Linux distributions. Unified kernel images are a combination of the kernel image, initrd, and UEFI stub program all distributed as one ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135673/fedora-38-plots-path-to-unified-kernel-support/) 2022-12-21T01:20:53Z **Windows 11 22H2 to get more new features as several “Moment” updates are planned**
Reports have indicated that Microsoft is planning to release a new Windows version every three years like it was in the times of Windows Vista and Windows 7. However, Microsoft doesn’t want Windows 11 to become boring or unexciting. Microsoft wants to keep Windows 11 constantly updated with “Moment” and some “feature” updates. Microsoft has reportedly scrapped the original ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135675/windows-11-22h2-to-get-more-new-features-as-several-moment-updates-are-planned/) 2022-12-23T00:37:13Z **Upgrading my old Chumby 8 Linux kernel part 1: U-Boot**
With that initial explanation out of the way, in 2022 I’ve been getting my Chumby working with the mainline Linux kernel and slowly trying to submit fixes upstream for issues as I find them. To be clear, I’m not trying to get the stock Chumby software working with the new kernel. That’s likely impossible. The stock software is heavily dependent on Flash which is a dead end. I’m just getting the new kernel running well enough ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135681/upgrading-my-old-chumby-8-linux-kernel-part-1-u-boot/) 2022-12-23T00:30:33Z **Emulating an iPod Touch 1G and iPhoneOS 1.0 using QEMU**
Around a year ago, I started working on emulating an iPod Touch 1G using the QEMU emulation software. After months of reverse engineering, figuring out the specifications of various hardware components, and countless debugging runs with GDB, I now have a functional emulation of an iPod Touch that includes display rendering and multitouch support. The emulated device runs the first firmware ever released by Apple for the iP ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135679/emulating-an-ipod-touch-1g-and-iphoneos-1-0-using-qemu/) 2022-12-24T01:05:39Z **Haiku R1/beta4 released**
The fourth beta for Haiku R1 over a year and a half of hard work to improve Haiku’s hardware support and its overall stability, and to make lots more software ports available for use. Over 400 bugs and enhancement tickets have been resolved for this release. There’s a lot here to talk about. The improved support for HiDPI looks amazing, and definitely a must-have in today’s world of 4K displays. There’s lots of new and improved drivers, including a new compatibility layer for OpenBSD ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135686/haiku-r1-beta4-released/) 2022-12-27T22:21:28Z **PostScript Cartridge Plus for HP LaserJet III**
The HP LaserJet III laser printer from 1990 used the “Printer Command Language” PCL 5 by default, but could be upgraded with the “HP PostScript Cartridge Plus” cartridge, which contained 2 MB of ROM with Adobe’s PostScript Level 2 rasterizer. Let’s look at the ROM contents and some of its hidden gems. With how printers have become the butt of jokes, it’s easy to forget they were sometimes kind of cool and had interesting technologies, featu ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135692/postscript-cartridge-plus-for-hp-laserjet-iii/) 2022-12-27T22:29:43Z **Setting up my new laptop: Nix style**
This week I received a new 12th Gen Intel laptop from Framework. And like with any new piece of hardware I get these days, my first instinct was to put NixOS on it 😄. But I wasn’t just content with firing up the NixOS installer and getting to work. Oh no no no. You see, I knew there was a better way. I didn’t now exactly what that better way looked like just yet, but I could feel in my bones that it existed. So I did what I usually do when I suspect there’s a b ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135694/setting-up-my-new-laptop-nix-style/) 2022-12-27T22:33:18Z **Win16 retro development**
Several months ago I had a go at producing a high resolution 256-color driver for Windows 3.1. The effort was successful but is not yet complete. Along the way I re-learned many things I had forgotten, and learned several new ones. This blog entry is based on notes I made during development. There’s tons of lessons to re-learn when focusing on older platforms, whether as a mere user exploring or reminiscing, or as a developer trying to deal with all the constraints and limitations th ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135696/win16-retro-development/) 2022-12-30T00:15:29Z **WuMgr gives Windows 10 users control over updates**
WuMgr (Update Manager for Windows) is a tool to manage updates of Microsoft products on the Windows operating system. It uses the “Windows Update Agent API” to identify as well as download and install missing updates. It allows the user fine control of updates on modern (Windows 10) operating system versions, comparable to what windows 7 and 8.1 offered. This functionality should be included in Windows by default, and the fact that ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135705/wumgr-gives-windows-10-users-control-over-updates/) 2022-12-30T00:10:59Z **Excel gets formula suggestions**
We are excited to announce the release of Formula Suggestions and Formula by Example for Excel web users – a couple exciting capabilities designed to help save you time and learn more about Excel formulas as you use them. Also for web users are suggested links, IMAGE function, and a new search bar in the queries pane. For Windows users, a new keyboard shortcut is available to open the Power Query editor, and Insiders users on Windows can now get data from dynamic arrays ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135703/excel-gets-formula-suggestions/) 2022-12-30T00:22:06Z **Rant: year of Linux on the desktop**
A rant about “year of Linux on the desktop” from a tired old man. I’ve been part of the Linux community since before Linux was called Linux. Over the years there’s been many people telling me directly that Linux is silly or wrong or imperfect, or that free and open source software is foolish or pointless. A lot more people have, of course, pontificated along those lines in public, and not directed it at me. I’m not claiming to be targeted at that, but I’ve been a ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135707/rant-year-of-linux-on-the-desktop/) 2023-01-03T01:12:11Z **Vanilla OS 22.10 released**
Vanilla OS has released its first version. Vanilla OS is an immutable desktop Linux distribution that brings some interesting new technologies to the table, such as the Apx package manager. By default, Apx provides a container based on your Linux distribution (Ubuntu 22.10 for Vanilla OS 22.10) and wraps all commands from the distribution’s package manager (apt for Ubuntu). Nevertheless, you can install packages from other package distributions. For example, using the --aur flag, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135712/vanilla-os-22-10-released/) 2023-01-03T01:13:56Z **How many layers of UI inconsistencies are in Windows 11?**
It’s 2023, and Windows 11 is finally a mature operating system that most people would be happy to use. Sun Valley has finally arrived, and it’s all about a long overdue reinvestment in design under Panos Panay’s leadership. But is it enough? Let’s take a look. For the purpose of this research, I used Windows 11 build 25267, which as of now is the latest Insider Dev build. Death, taxes, and new windows theme layers. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135714/how-many-layers-of-ui-inconsistencies-are-in-windows-11/) 2023-01-05T01:19:29Z **Google wants RISC-V to be a “tier-1” Android architecture**
Google’s keynote at the RISC-V Summit was all about bold proclamations, though. Lars Bergstrom, Android’s director of engineering, wants RISC-V to be seen as a “tier-1 platform” in Android, which would put it on par with Arm. That’s a big change from just six months ago. Bergstrom says getting optimized Android builds on RISC-V will take “a lot of work” and outlined a roadmap that will take “a few years” to come to fru ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135716/google-wants-risc-v-to-be-a-tier-1-android-architecture/) 2023-01-05T01:23:11Z **DragonFlyBSD 6.4 released**
DragonFly version 6.4 is the next step in the 6.x release series. This version has hardware support for type-2 hypervisors with NVMM, an amdgpu driver, the experimental ability to remote-mount HAMMER2 volumes, and many other changes. The details of all commits between the 6.2 and 6.4 releases are available in the associated commit messages for 6.4.0. The downloads are ready. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135718/dragonflybsd-6-4-released/) 2023-01-07T00:03:23Z **Microsoft backtracks one of the worst Start menu changes in Windows 11**
Several weeks ago, we published an article detailing five not-so-great features coming soon to Windows 11. Recommended websites in the Start menu (introduced in build 25247) appear in the list as arguably one of Microsoft’s worst ideas. Luckily, the company has decided to backtrack that controversial change. Those unhappy with Windows 11 showing more ads on the Start menu will be glad to lea ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135724/microsoft-backtracks-one-of-the-worst-start-menu-changes-in-windows-11/) 2023-01-07T00:01:08Z **The future of ZFS on Ubuntu desktop is not looking good**
Last year, Ubuntu developers pushed to remove Zsys from Ubuntu’s Ubiquity installer. This is an integral tool Ubuntu created to make it easier to manage and maintain ZFS-based installations. In a bug report they bluntly noted that ‘priority changes’ in the desktop team meant Zsys was no longer something they want to “advertise using”. As of writing, Zsys remains available in the Ubuntu archives but development of it isn’ ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135722/the-future-of-zfs-on-ubuntu-desktop-is-not-looking-good/) 2023-01-06T23:57:30Z **Sony unveils ‘Project Leonardo’ accessibility controller kit for PlayStation 5**
At CES today, Sony gave a look at its latest PlayStation 5 gaming controller, but this one is very different from its previous designs. Aimed at lowering the barrier of entry for players with disabilities, Project Leonardo for the PS5 is a highly customizable controller kit that has been developed with help from organizations such as AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up. The ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135720/sony-unveils-project-leonardo-accessibility-controller-kit-for-playstation-5/) 2023-01-10T00:53:06Z **When is a PC not a PC? The PC-98**
So the Japanese market had very specific requirements, that PCs could not fulfill in the early DOS days. You couldn’t just replace the character ROM on your PC and make it display Japanese text (IBM did later develop the 5550 and the JX, a derivative of the PCjr, specifically for the Japanese market, and later, they developed the DOS/V variant, which added support for Japanese text to their PS/2 line, using standard VGA hardware, which by now had caught up in terms o ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135733/when-is-a-pc-not-a-pc-the-pc-98/) 2023-01-11T00:21:21Z **Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 reach the end of the line**
Ars reports: It’s the end of the line for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. These older versions of Windows (plus Windows RT) stop receiving all security updates today, over a decade after their original releases. Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Edge browser updates for these operating systems in a few days, and the remaining third-party apps that still work will eventually follow suit (Google Chrome support, most notably, ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135736/windows-7-and-windows-8-1-reach-the-end-of-the-line/) 2023-01-12T01:09:53Z **Amazon ships Android TV device with malware**
Your T95 is infected with malware pre-installed, ready to do whatever the C2 servers decide. Yes, malware from Amazon straight to your door! If they insist on selling these devices they really should add an “Includes Malware” category in the Android TV section. I find it absolutely baffling that Amazon is full of sketchy garbage like this, and nobody really seems to care. Amazon itself, lawmakers, consumers – everybody just takes it for granted ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135739/amazon-ships-android-tv-device-with-malware/) 2023-01-12T01:15:12Z **Surprising consequences of macOS’ environment variable sanitization**
One unfortunate fact of my life is that I have to deal with an obscure database whose macOS drivers require the addition of a directory to DYLD\_LIBRARY\_PATH for their Python driver to find them. To make matters worse, Apple’s CLI tools strip that variable away as part of macOS’s System Integrity Protection (SIP) before running a command. Given that DYLD\_\* environment variables are a known attac ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135741/surprising-consequences-of-macos-environment-variable-sanitization/) 2023-01-12T01:18:10Z **DragonFlyBSD’s HAMMER2 file-system being ported on NetBSD**
NetBSD continues using the FFS file-system by default while it’s offered ZFS support that has been slowly improving — in NetBSD-CURRENT is the ability to use ZFS as the root file-system if first booting to FFS, for example. There may be another modern file-system option soon with an effort underway to port DragonFlyBSD’s HAMMER2 over to NetBSD. The GitHub repository has the code if you’re up for contributing. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135743/dragonflybsds-hammer2-file-system-being-ported-on-netbsd/) 2023-01-14T20:54:54Z **Chuck E. Cheese still uses floppy disks in 2023, but not for long**
On Sunday, a Chuck E. Cheese employee named Stewart Coonrod posted a TikTok video that documents the process of installing a new song-and-dance show on an old Chuck E. Cheese animatronics system—a process that involves a 3.5-inch floppy disk and two DVDs. Coonrod says it is the last update before his store undergoes a remodel that will remove the animatronics altogether. I’ve never visited this restaura ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135749/chuck-e-cheese-still-uses-floppy-disks-in-2023-but-not-for-long/) 2023-01-14T20:51:43Z **I don’t understand terminals, shells and SSH**
Confession time: I don’t fully understand how terminals, shells and SSH really work (and my guess is you don’t either). And I don’t mean the cryptography behind SSH. I mean how SSH and the terminal — and the shell for that matter — interact with one another. I recently realized that even though I’ve been daily remotely logging into Linux systems for all of my adult life (and type in the shell and Vim) I didn’t really grasp how these things actu ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135747/i-dont-understand-terminals-shells-and-ssh/) 2023-01-14T20:58:33Z **Atari 2600 hardware design: making something out of (almost) nothing**
Recently over the holiday break, I became interested in the 2600’s hardware architecture and started reading everything that I could find about it. I knew that it was some kind of 6502-based system, and I’d heard mentions of “racing the beam”, but that’s as far as my knowledge went. I was shocked to discover how primitive the 2600 hardware was, even compared to contemporary 6502 systems like the Ap ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135751/atari-2600-hardware-design-making-something-out-of-almost-nothing/) 2023-01-17T01:11:14Z **In case you thought AIX had a future**
In case you thought IBM AIX had a future, IBM’s legacy proprietary Unix, IBM apparently doesn’t. The Register reported Friday that IBM has moved the entire AIX development group to IBM India, apparently their Bangalore office, and placing 80 US-based developers into “redeployment.” That’s a fairly craven way of replacing layoffs with musical chairs, requiring the displaced developers to either find a new position within the company (possibly relocating as we ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135756/in-case-you-thought-aix-had-a-future/) 2023-01-17T01:07:54Z **Microsoft returns to the Altair**
The Altair 8800 arguably launched Microsoft. Now Dave Glover from Microsoft offers an emulated and potentially cloud-based Altair emulation with CP/M and Microsoft Basic. You can see a video of the project below. One thing that makes it a bit odd compared to other Altair clones we’ve seen is that the emulator runs in a Docker environment and is fully cloud-enabled. You can interact with it via a PCB front panel, or a terminal running in a web browser. Neat. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135754/microsoft-returns-to-the-altair/) 2023-01-17T01:18:08Z **Project Mage: building power-user environment in Common Lisp**
Project Mage is an effort to build a power-user environment and a set of applications in Common Lisp. To get an overview, see The Power of Structure. Otherwise, the essays listed below may be read in any order. This goes far beyond my comfort level, but I’m pretty sure quite a few of you will find this project incredibly interesting. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135758/project-mage-building-power-user-environment-in-common-lisp/) 2023-01-17T01:24:07Z **SAIC Galaxy 1100: a pre-CDE VUE of the PA-RISC with a security clearance**
Here’s an in-depth look at a portable, ruggedized, third-party PA-RISC system running a pre-CDE version of HP-UX. The SAIC Galaxy family consisted of two systems, the 1000 and the 1100. Both the 1000 and 1100 were essentially recased 9000/712 workstations with minor hardware modifications and custom added electronics, but all of the systems I’ve seen including mine are Galaxy 1100s, based ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135753/saic-galaxy-1100-a-pre-cde-vue-of-the-pa-risc-with-a-security-clearance/) 2023-01-19T00:41:31Z **Here’s what’s going on in the world of Firefox extensions**
So we weren’t surprised to hear that Chrome users were concerned after learning that several of the internet’s most popular ad blockers, like uBlock Origin, would lose some of their privacy-preserving functionality on Google’s web browser, resulting from the changes Manifest V3 brings to Chrome’s extensions platform – changes that strengthen other facets of security, while unfortunately limiting the capabilities of cer ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135764/heres-whats-going-on-in-the-world-of-firefox-extensions/) 2023-01-19T00:44:40Z **Microsoft, Amazon and other tech companies have laid off more than 60,000 employees in the last year**
Here are some of the major cuts in the tech industry so far. All numbers are approximations based on filings, public statements and media reports. Many of the listed companies have experienced – and are experiencing – insane growth and financial success. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135766/microsoft-amazon-and-other-tech-companies-have-laid-off-more-than-60000-employees-in-the-last-year/) 2023-01-19T00:58:31Z **No start menu for you**
I tend to launch most programs on my Windows 10 laptop by typing the key, then a few letters of the program name, and then hitting enter. On my powerful laptop (SSD and 32 GB of RAM) this process usually takes as long as it takes me to type these characters, just a fraction of a second. Usually. Sometimes, however, it takes longer. A lot longer. As in, tens of seconds. The slowdowns are unpredictable but recently I was able to record an Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) trace of one ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135768/no-start-menu-for-you/) 2023-01-19T01:02:39Z **The defender’s guide to Windows Services**
This is the second installment of the Defender’s Guide series. In keeping with the theme, we are discussing Windows Services, the underlying technology, common attack vectors, and methods of securing/monitoring them. Services are an important part of the Windows operating system, allowing the control and configuration of long-running processes essential to keeping the OS functional. This also allows services to be a common vector of escalation and per ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135770/the-defenders-guide-to-windows-services/) 2023-01-21T02:02:41Z **Source code for the Apple Lisa released**
Happy 40th Birthday to Lisa! The Apple Lisa computer, that is. In celebration of this milestone, CHM has received permission from Apple to release the source code to the Lisa software, including its system and applications software. Access the code here. More of this please. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135772/source-code-for-the-apple-lisa-released/) 2023-01-21T02:13:54Z **What is the Apple YACC?**
Has anyone ever heard of the Apple YACC, or YACCintosh? it was a 68010 prototype mac intended to do colour in 1986. Weirdly enough someone managed to find the ROMs \*and\* the PALS for it, but no schematics have turned up yet. All of the stuff is on bitsavers. I do not know what to add here. This seems to be one of the most obscure – if not the most obscure – Apple efforts out there, as there are virtually zero references of it online. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135776/what-is-the-apple-yacc/) 2023-01-23T23:46:24Z **Windows 11 is getting ReFS support**
Recent Windows 11 Insider builds include support for ReFS, the Resilient File System. The file system is currently only available in Windows server operating systems, but not in client systems. Resilient File System is designed to “maximize data availability, scale efficiently to large data sets across diverse workloads, and provide data integrity with resiliency to corruption” according to Microsoft. I doubt ReFS will replace NTFS any time soon, but with Window ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135780/windows-11-is-getting-refs-support/) 2023-01-23T23:41:08Z **Google’s Fuchsia and Area 120 see significant cuts in layoffs**
Ahead of these layoffs, Fuchsia appeared to be on an upward trajectory within Google. After years of being a skunkworks project, the company’s from-scratch operating system has grown to be used in the Nest Hub series and is poised to be used in an upcoming device. There are even indications of Google ramping up Fuchsia development internally in recent months. Considering Google’s overall workforce is set to be ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135778/googles-fuchsia-and-area-120-see-significant-cuts-in-layoffs/) 2023-01-23T23:51:03Z **Windows 3.x VDDVGA**
While working on my Windows 3.x display driver, I ran into a vexing problem. In Windows 3.1 running in Enhanced 386 mode, I could start a DOS session and switch it to a window. But an attempt to set a mode in the DOS window (e.g. MODE CO80) would destroy the Windows desktop, preventing further drawing from happening properly. It was possible to recover by using Alt+Enter to switch the DOS window to full screen again and then returning to the desktop, but obviously that wasn’t going to cut it. ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135782/windows-3-x-vddvga/) 2023-01-24T21:58:03Z **US accuses Google of abusing monopoly in ad technology**
The Justice Department and a group of eight states sued Google on Tuesday, accusing it of illegally abusing a monopoly over the technology that powers online advertising, in the agency’s first antitrust lawsuit against a tech giant under President Biden and an escalation in legal pressure on one of the world’s biggest internet companies. The lawsuit said Google had “corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135789/us-accuses-google-of-abusing-monopoly-in-ad-technology/) 2023-01-24T21:56:19Z **Magic Cap, from the Magic Link to the DataRover and the stuff in-between**
Welcome to Magic Cap, the oddest yet somehow most endearing interface a PDA — and, briefly, Windows 95 — ever had. Unlike the Palm OS where I bought my first device brand new, I was a late convert to Magic Cap, picking up this wacky device called a DataRover in 2004 just to play with. It wasn’t exactly pocket-sized, but it was still quite portable, and the whimsical audio feedback and imm ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135787/magic-cap-from-the-magic-link-to-the-datarover-and-the-stuff-in-between/) 2023-01-24T21:54:45Z **Bulldozer, AMD’s crash modernization: frontend and execution engine**
But as you might think, nobody at AMD envisioned it that way in the planning or design stages. No engineer would ever start working with the idea to “build a shit product”; a recent chat with an engineer who was at AMD during Bulldozer’s development gave us additional insight on what the original goals for the architecture were. AMD originally wanted Bulldozer to be like K10, but with a shared fronte ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135785/bulldozer-amds-crash-modernization-frontend-and-execution-engine/) 2023-01-25T23:30:07Z **DiscoBSD: a 2.11BSD-based UNIX-like operating system for STM32 and PIC32 microcontrollers**
DiscoBSD is a 2.11BSD-based UNIX-like operating system for microcontrollers, with a focus on high portability to memory constrained devices without a memory management unit. This microcontroller-focused operating system is the continuation of RetroBSD, a 2.11BSD-based OS targeting only the MIPS-based PIC32MX7. DiscoBSD is multi-platform, as it also suppor ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135795/discobsd-a-2-11bsd-based-unix-like-operating-system-for-stm32-and-pic32-microcontrollers/) 2023-01-25T23:26:53Z **Fun with macOS’s SIP**
While developing mirrord, which heavily relies on injecting itself into other people’s binaries, we ran into some challenges posed by macOS’s SIP (System Integrity Protection). This post details how we ultimately overcame these challenges, and we hope it can be of help to other people hoping to learn about SIP, as we’ve learned the hard way that there’s very little written about this subject on the internet. Potentially useful information for macOS developers. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135793/fun-with-macoss-sip/) 2023-01-28T00:20:49Z **This is Microsoft’s new modern File Explorer overhaul for Windows 11**
As was revealed a handful of weeks ago, Microsoft is currently working on a significant update to File Explorer on Windows 11 that will update several core areas of the app with modern designs and new features that will better integrate the experience with OneDrive and Microsoft 365. The home page itself is being updated with more integration with Microsoft 365. Along the top will be a feed of “r ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135798/this-is-microsofts-new-modern-file-explorer-overhaul-for-windows-11/) 2023-01-29T21:09:33Z **Here be four bits of dragons: the Mattel Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game and the TMS1100**
This is the bigger, more deluxe of the two Mattel dedicated D&D games (the Intellivision of course had its own set, and we had a Tandyvision ourselves), the other being the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™ Computer Fantasy Game. That was a handheld unit with a surprisingly compelling implementation of Hunt the Wumpus, and something we might talk abou ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135800/here-be-four-bits-of-dragons-the-mattel-dungeons-dragons-computer-labyrinth-game-and-the-tms1100/) 2023-01-29T21:15:23Z **Budgie 10.7 released**
Budgie 10.7 is a brand new release series for Budgie Desktop, featuring major re-architectures, new APIs for extensibility, and polish to the user experience. For a point release, there’s a lot of changes, improvements, and new features in here, as the release notes detail. The changes are all over the place – from a brand new application indexer to replace libgnome-menus, to dual-GPU support, notification improvements, general UX improvements, and much more. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135802/budgie-10-7-released/) 2023-01-30T18:55:21Z **Living alone in the wild Siberian forest for 20 years**
As a complete and utter juxtaposition to the usual tech stuff we quibble about here on OSNews, I stumbled upon this interesting video about Samuil, a man who, for the past 20 years, has been living in the middle of the Yakutia wilderness, the coldest place on earth with temperatures that go down to -71°. This is a story of Samuil. For the past 20 years, Samuil has chosen to live far away from civilization, together with bear ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135804/living-alone-in-the-wild-siberian-forest-for-20-years/) 2023-02-01T23:50:46Z **The parallel port**
I wrote a popular post about serial ports once, and serial ports are something I think about, worry about, and dream about with some regularity. Yet I have never really devoted that much attention to the serial port’s awkward sibling, always assuming that it was a fundamentally similar design employing either 8 data pins each way or 8 bidirectional data pins. It turns out that the truth is a lot more complicated. And it all starts with printers. You see, I have written here before that parallel ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135812/the-parallel-port/) 2023-02-01T23:57:34Z **Microsoft reportedly shows full-screen Windows 11 upgrade ads with two ‘yes’ buttons**
It appears that Microsoft is getting more aggressive with Windows 11 promos. A Reddit user (the post is now removed) has published a photo of their Windows 10 computer with a full-screen Windows 11 ad offering to upgrade to the latest operating system. And in typical Microsoft fashion, available options are as head-scratching as it gets: two buttons, and both mean “ ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135814/microsoft-reportedly-shows-full-screen-windows-11-upgrade-ads-with-two-yes-buttons/) 2023-02-02T00:00:29Z **Love: install IRIX from IRIX, Linux, or Windows**
I just finished my new project, it is called love. It allows installation of IRIX from IRIX, LINUX or WINDOWS. The reason for its existence is that IRIX installations are difficult, even for experienced users. New users almost always struggle with IRIX installations which can be demotivating and frustrating. My goal is to make this task easy, fast and accessible. This is absolutely amazing, and it works very well. This will make life for r ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135816/love-install-irix-from-irix-linux-or-windows/) 2023-02-03T00:52:52Z **Exploring Rust for Vulkan drivers**
I don’t expect to see any actual Mesa Vulkan drivers in Rust for a few years yet. My current goal is merely to explore the possibility. When the time comes that someone does choose to write a Vulkan driver in Rust, I want us to be ready. This exploration may also be useful for informing the Rust community about language features which would make the task easier. Converting existing Vulkan drivers to Rust is an explicit non-goal at this time. Rust seems everywhere. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135818/exploring-rust-for-vulkan-drivers/) 2023-02-03T00:55:47Z **“I own porn I can’t watch”**
So, Cartrivision tapes came in two formats: Black Tapes and Red Tapes. Black tapes you’d buy at the store like any other product, but for Red Tapes (which were relatively recent movies), you instead would go to the store and place an order from a catalog. The store would have it delivered by mail, then you’d come back in and get the tape. You’d take it home, watch it, and then return it back to the store. So… Video rental (like Blockbuster!), except they didn’t have any stock on h ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135820/i-own-porn-i-cant-watch/) 2023-02-04T21:30:48Z **The newest feature in the Microsoft Store is more ads**
If your main problem with the Microsoft Store is that you get too many relevant results when you search for apps, good news: Microsoft is officially launching Microsoft Store Ads, a way for developers to pay to get their apps in front of your eyes when you go to the store to look for something else. Exactly what Windows needs – more ads. ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135825/the-newest-feature-in-the-microsoft-store-is-more-ads/) 2023-02-04T21:28:54Z **Dev explains why Tiny11 Windows is so tiny yet secure despite no TPM, Secure Boot**
While many like how Windows 11 looks or feels, there are some who just want to cut out on what they feel is bloat as their hardware may not be good enough to run the new OS smoothly, or simply for the fun of it. Recently, a popular third-party Windows 11 tweaking and customization app called ThisIsWin11 (TIW11) evolved into Debloos or Debloat OS, which, as the name sugge ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.osnews.com/story/135823/dev-explains-why-tiny11-windows-is-so-tiny-yet-secure-despite-no-tpm-secure-boot/)