10 Cool Software to Try from CORP Repo in Fedora

In this article, we will share 10 cool software projects to try in Fedora distribution. All the apps or tools covered here can be found in COPR repository. However, before we move any further, let’s briefly explain COPR.

Mozilla: Extensions in Firefox 66 and Jingle Smash (VR)

• Extensions in Firefox 66

  I want to start by highlighting an important change that has a major, positive impact for Firefox users. Starting in release 66, extensions use IndexedDB as the backend for local storage instead of a JSON file. This results in a significant performance improvement for many extensions, while simultaneously reducing the amount of memory that Firefox uses. This change is completely transparent to extension developers – you do not need to do anything to take advantage of this improvement. When users upgrade to Firefox 66, the local storage JSON file is silently migrated to IndexedDB. All extensions using the storage.local() API immediately realize the benefits, especially if they store small changes to large structures, as is true for ad-blockers, the most common and popular type of extension used in Firefox. The video below, using Adblock Plus as an example, shows the significant performance improvements that extension users could see.

• Jingle Smash: Geometry and Textures

  I’m not a designer or artist. In previous demos and games I’ve used GLTFs, which are existing 3D models created by someone else that I downloaded into my game. However, for Jingle Smash I decided to use procedural generation, meaning I combined primitives in interesting ways using code. I also generated all of the textures with code. I don’t know how to draw pretty textures by hand in a painting tool, but 20 years of 2D coding means I can code up a texture pretty easily. Jingle Smash has three sets of graphics: the blocks, the balls, and the background imagery. Each set uses its own graphics technique.

Voters Choose Two New Board Members and One Incumbent to openSUSE Board

Out of 446 eligible voters, 46 more openSUSE Members than last elections, only 231 — 6 fewer than last elections — chose to cast their votes, leaving last spring’s elections holding the record both for most ballots cast and largest percentage of Members who took enough interest in openSUSE to take the time to cast their votes. Incumbent Christian Boltz aka cboltz garnered the most votes with a total of 141 votes — more than half of those who voted — confirming the Community’s confidence in him. He was followed closely by Marina Latini aka deneb_alpha with 119 votes — also more than half of the active voters — and Dr. Axel Braun aka DocB with 104 votes, almost half. As incumbent, Christian is already sitting on the Board and will continue his duties for his second two-year term. Marina and Axel are expected to join him and take their seats for their first two-year terms sometime within the next couple of weeks.