Android Leftovers

• Google brings enterprise-grade Android security to SMBs

• How to set your Google Photos images as a live wallpaper on Android

• How to Automatically Revoke Permissions for Unused Android Apps

• How to send a large video file on an Android device in 3 different ways

• [Exclusive] Jio and Google’s 4G Android phone will not launch in December

• 10 Best Free Hidden Spy Apps for Android (Undetectable)

• The Best Wireless Chargers for iPhone or Android

• 5 Nifty Little Tricks to Make Typing Easier on Android

• The best Android phones available at Cricket Wireless (December 2020)

• Motorola is the latest to start shipping an Android desktop, and that’s good news for Chromebooks

• Realme X50 Pro 5G starts getting Realme UI 2.0 update based Android 11

• Samsung finally starts its Android 11 rollout, three months after release

• Reliance Jio and Google Reportedly Not Launching Low-Cost 4G Android Phone This Year

• Nokia 1 and Nokia 6.2 receiving a new Android update

• These are the best Android TV devices [Late 2020]

• Lilbits: GMK’s 2.4 inch mini PC is now available, Android picks up new features, and Raspberry Pi OS gains performance enhancements

today's leftovers

• How to tell my mother that Free Software can cost money?

  For this episode we talk about why Free Software can cost money. Bonnie Mehring and Matthias Kirschner discuss the topics: How can I pay for Free Software and why is it important to pay and thereby support Free Software? What are the different models of earning money with Free Software and where is the difference of earning money as an individual or as a company. Throughout this conversation both explain the concept of Free Software and talk about some of the most common questions. This is the perfect episode for explaining to your loved ones what Free Software is.

• The International Day Against DRM (IDAD) is today -- here's what you can do to help | Defective by Design

  There's no time like the present to stand up against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). Fittingly, today is the Defective by Design campaign's annual International Day Against DRM (IDAD)! As months of quarantine have only tightened the stranglehold DRM has on how so many people experience culture, we have a lot of work ahead of us. If each person reading this takes a small step to show their support for the movement, we can have a meaningful and lasting effect.

• Are Bill Gates’s Billions Distorting Public Health Data?

  “It seems to be a version of the playbook Trump follows,” says Sam Clark, a demographer at Ohio State University. “Absolutely nothing negative sticks, and the more exposure you get, the better, no matter what. It’s really stunning, and I don’t know any other scientific personality or organization that is able to pull it off quite like IHME.”

• Nicholas Nethercote: Farewell, Mozilla

  Today is my last day working for Mozilla. I will soon be starting a new job with Apple. [...] I have a lot of memories, and the ones relating to these two projects are at the forefront. Thank you to everyone I’ve worked with. It’s been a good time. As I understand it, this blog will stay up in read-only mode indefinitely. I will make a copy of all the posts and if it ever goes down I will rehost them at my personal site.

• Google Opens Up "Atheris" To Automatically Find Bugs In Python Code - Phoronix

  Google today is announcing the open-sourcing of Atheris, a Python fuzzer they developed internally for automatically finding bugs within Python code and native extensions.

• Dbus-Broker 25 Released With More Fixes

  The BUS1 kernel code for providing an in-kernel, capability-based IPC mechanism hasn't seen much (or any?) activity in well over a year but at least the Dbus-Broker project continues ahead. Dbus-Broker continues ahead as this D-Bus compatible implementation focused on correctness while being optimized for performance.

• [Older] VTOWN Goes to Current

  Hey all, it's been a while since i posted here, but today there's a big update that i want to share to all Slackware users who have waited for this to happen and this is one of the remaining part of my wishlist and that is the one and only, Plasma 5!!! Yes, Patrick has finally decided to push Plasma 5 after coming with teaser in previous updates. At this moment, the Plasma 5 packages are still in /testing directory, but i'm guessing it won't be long until it's merged into the main tree along with other updates. I have downloaded the new Plasma 5 packages at my current desktop at home, but didn't have time to upgrade it this morning so i did test the upgrade on my workstation at the office first and once i confirmed it worked well, i perform the upgrade on my laptop which i used to write this post.

• Thanksgiving Updates

  It's Thanksgiving day in the US and Patrick gives a very nice gift to every Slackware users which he posted on his Patreon page. He pushed GNOME-related stacks to main tree (including UPower 0.99.x) and XFCE stack to vtown. Please note that this update will affect those who are using MSB and CSB projects as some of the dependencies are now part of the main tree, so before upgrading, it would be good idea to remove them first.

Proprietary Software, Openwashing, Surveillance

• Setting a standard for digital public goods | Opensource.com

  In June 2020, the Secretary-General of the United Nations published a "Roadmap for Digital Cooperation." In this report, he expanded on recommendations made a year before, calling on all actors, including the Member States, the United Nations system, the private sector, and others, to promote digital public goods. He says to realize the benefits of increased internet connectivity, open source projects in the form of digital public goods must be at the center.

• Vivaldi adds privacy features in new version for Android

  Norway-based Vivaldi Technologies has released a new version of its browser for the Android mobile operating system, which it says has added WebRTC leak protection and auto-clearing of browsing data upon exit.

• Control your holiday lights with a tap of a Disney MagicBand

  Because of travel limitations due to the pandemic, Civitano decided to create a replica of a MagicBand reader that uses an NFC card reader module to recognize a programmed MagicBand, which triggers a ring of LEDs, audio output, and a relay for Christmas lighting. This setup could likely be applied to other devices, opening up its possibilities into January and beyond. Electronics for the build — including an Arduino Mega that runs the show — are hidden inside of a 3D-printed, property-themed enclosure that resembles those found outside of any Disney theme park. This would potentially preserve a sense of wonder at the device, and diffuses the LEDs nicely.

• Avoid “Advertiser ID” with the Librem 5

  Apple and Google profess to care about the privacy rights of their customers, but their operating systems tell a different story. iOS and Android both allow for pervasive tracking of users through Advertiser IDs. Google uses a version is known as GAID (Google Advertiser Identification) and Apple uses its version called IDFA (Identifier For Advertisers). While most advertisers claim it’s a benefit because you got a coupon for your pizza, it instead keeps a permanent record of everything your phone has done. That treasure trove of your personal information is shared with any party participating in the user tracking business model, which ends up meaning most apps on your phone.