Coming two weeks after the first beta release, the highly anticipated GNOME 3.30 desktop environment received a second beta release today as Michael Catanzaro informed us via an email announcement. This beta 2 release is tagged as GNOME 3.29.91, and it marks the Software String Freeze stage in the development cycle.

But it doesn't look like it was an easy release for the GNOME Release Team, as Michael Catanzaro reports build failures for several components, including GNOME Boxes, which didn't make it for this second beta release. As a consequence, numerous components weren't updated in this beta 2 release.

Following in the footsteps of the recently released Linux 4.18 kernel series, the GNU Linux-libre 4.18 kernel is now available for those who don't want to run any proprietary firmware on their Linux-based operating system or the GNU operating system.

Including pretty much the same new features and enhancements as Linux kernel 4.18, the GNU Linux-libre 4.18 kernel cleans up the new psp-dev crypto and icn8505 touchscreen drivers, removes the atom isp driver, and adjusts numerous others.

• Google Voice app for Android updated with Contacts tab

• Eight Motorola phones are getting Android Pie

• Android Pie issues mean Google Pixel owners might not want to update just yet

• Android 9 Pie review: the predictive OS

• Sony Xperia devices will start getting Android 9 Pie in November

• Google shaves half a gig off Android Poundland Edition

• Skype Preview for Android will soon relay SMS messages from your PC and Mac

• The $999 Galaxy Note 9 is the best Android phone you can buy

• Rollout begins of dark mode and Material Design within Android Messages

• Google working on native hearing aid support for an upcoming Android release

• Google is bringing native hearing aid support to Android

One of the frequent requests/comments stemming from the launch-day Windows 10 vs. Linux benchmarks on the new AMD Threadripper 2990WX were questions about whether this 32-core / 64-thread processor would do better with Windows Server given Microsoft's obvious tuning of that Windows flavor to high core/thread counts... Well, here are some initial figures with Windows Server 2016 and a Windows Server 2019 preview.

Given the immense interest and speculation about the Windows Server performance on the AMD Threadripper 2990WX, to see if it would give Linux better competition relative to Windows 10, I ran some initial benchmarks so far. I am still doing some more Windows vs. Linux exploration and benchmarking (a lot of other interesting tests from this new hardware) while for today are the Windows Server 2016/2019 results alongside the other operating system tests on this 2990WX system.

Shipping with the updated HWE (Hardware Enablement) stack from the recently announced Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS point release, which is powered by the Linux 4.15 kernel from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver), as well as an updated X graphics stack, Zorin OS 12.4 brings all the latest software and security updates from the Ubuntu repositories, along with performance enhancements and bug fixes.

"Zorin OS 12.4 introduces an updated hardware enablement stack. The newly-included Linux kernel 4.15, as well as an updated X server graphics stack," reads the release announcement. "In addition, new patches for system vulnerabilities are included in this release, so you can have the peace of mind knowing that you’re using the most secure version of Zorin OS ever."

Linux kernel 4.18 was released on Sunday, August 12, 2018, by Linus Torvalds, and it's currently the most advanced kernel series available for Linux-based operating systems. The first point release, Linux 4.18.1, is now available, which marks the Linux 4.18 kernel series as stable and ready for mass deployments.

All Linux OS vendors are now urged to adopt the latest Linux 4.18 kernel series for their operating systems on supported architectures as it brings various new features, improvements, and updated drivers for better hardware support. Linux kernel 4.18.1 is now available for download from kernel.org or our software portal.

• Linux 4.18.1

• Linux 4.17.15

• Linux 4.14.63

• Linux 4.9.120

• Linux 4.4.148

• Export all Stremio movie names

• How to Install Asterisk on Debian 9

• How to Monitor your Linux Server using osquery

• How to Use htop to Monitor System Processes in Ubuntu 18.04

• MongoDB installation & configuration on RHEL/CentOS

• General steps for building older versions of Firefox for Android

• How to Back Up Your PostgreSQL Database

• Learn how to install several VPN protocols on your Linux device

• How to enable sudo on RHEL

• convert Decimal to IP from stdin

• USPTO Craziness: Changing Rules to Punish PTAB Petitioners and Reward Microsoft for Corruption at ISO
• The Demise of US Software Patents Continues at the Federal Circuit
• Almost Two Months After the ILO Ruling Staff Representative Brumme is Finally Back on the Job at EPO
• Links 15/8/2018: Akademy 2018 Wrapups and More Intel Defects

Released back in May 2018, CentOS Linux 7.5 is based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 operating system and supported 32-bit (i386), 64-bit (x86_64), ARM64 (AArch64), PowerPC 64-bit Little Endian (PPC64el), PowerPC 64-bit (PPC64), and ARMhf architectures. However, the initial release only supported IBM POWER8 processors, but it's now available for IBM POWER9 processors too.

"I am pleased to announce the general availability of CentOS Linux 7 (1804) for POWER9 processors (ppc64le - powerpc 64-bit little endian). This release is derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 ALT," said James O'Connor. "Note this release is 99% equivalent to the existing CentOS 7 Linux 7 (1804) for POWER8 processors (ppc64le - powerpc 64-bit little endian)."

Both Canonical and Red Hat emailed us with regards to the L1 Terminal Fault security vulnerability, which are documented as CVE-2018-3620 for operating systems and System Management Mode (SMM), CVE-2018-3646 for impacts to virtualization, as well as CVE-2018-3615 for Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX). They affect all Linux-based operating system and machines with Intel CPUs.

"It was discovered that memory present in the L1 data cache of an Intel CPU core may be exposed to a malicious process that is executing on the CPU core. This vulnerability is also known as L1 Terminal Fault (L1TF). A local attacker in a guest virtual machine could use this to expose sensitive information (memory from other guests or the host OS)," reads the Ubuntu security advisory.

I have been out of touch for the past six months, because I accepted a teaching position in Amsterdam. The amount of time that required, and the weekly commute from Switzerland (yes, really, weekly), was vastly more than I expected, and left me no time to do justice to my blog. But now I am back again, and determined to manage my time more effectively and keep up with blogging.

Although I haven't been writing, I certainly have been keeping up with news and developments in the Linux world. What really inspired me to get busy and write again was the announcement of LMDE 3 (Cindy) Beta. Hooray! How long have we been waiting for this? It feels like years. Oh, that's because it has been years.

• Theo on the latest Intel issues

  Theo de Raadt (deraadt@) posted to the tech@ mailing list with some background on how the latest discovered Intel CPU issues relate to OpenBSD.

  [...]

  These 3 issues (CVE-2018-3615, CVE-2018-3620, CVE-2018-3646) together
  are the currently public artifacts of this one bug.

• Putting Stickers On Your Laptop Is Probably a Bad Security Idea

  Mitchell said political stickers, for instance, can land you in secondary search or result in being detained while crossing a border. In one case, Mitchell said a hacker friend ended up missing a flight over stickers.

• Video Shows Hotel Security at DEF CON Joking About Posting Photos of Guests' Belongings to Snapchat

  But the room check captured on video suggests the walkthroughs are subject to abuse by hotel personnel who may use them as opportunity to snoop on guests or take and post images for amusement. And accounts of other searches that involved hotel security staff refusing to show ID or showing insufficient ID, and displaying bullying and threatening behavior to guests in occupied rooms, raises questions about the legality of the searches and the tactics and training of security personnel.

• Researchers in Finland detect vulnerability in password management software

  Researchers identified a security gap in more than 10 applications used by millions around the world, including an app used by Finland's population registry.

• Trump ends Obama-era rules on US-led cyberattacks: report

   

  The memorandum required that an extensive interagency process take place before the U.S. government embarks on any cyberattacks. Trump reversed the rules to try and ease some of those restrictions, which critics argued were detrimental to launching the attacks quickly, according to the Journal.

• How to Back Up and Restore Your Android Phone or Tablet

• Are your Android apps listening to you?

• The Android app that could boost your phone's battery life by 30 per cent

• Google Voice w/ tweaked navigation & Contacts tab rolling out to Android via server-side update

• Which smartphones will get Android 9 first

• Synology and Android: Everything you need to know

• Android 9 Pie (Go edition) will make Android Go better this fall

• Android Pie makes it impossible to record calls with third-party apps

• [Podcast] PodCTL #45 – Container Registries

  This week is the One Year Anniversary of the PodCTL podcast! We’ve now got a few teeth coming in and we’re ready for the terrible twos.

  This week we dug into the role of Container Registries and how they interact with both Kubernetes, but also CI/CD pipelines and security systems (e.g. scanning, image signing, etc.). We also go into some design consideration basics for container registry usage.

• How software users are like kittens

• Bulls bet on Bank of America, this software name

  "Halftime Report" traders Jon and Pete Najarian spot unusual activity in Red Hat, Boston Scientific, and Bank of America.

• Red Hat (RHT) to strike $164.88 in short term period

• Strs Ohio Sells 142,688 Shares of Red Hat Inc (RHT)

• Looks Like A Buying Opportunity: Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB), Red Hat, Inc. (RHT)

• Analysts Watch-List Stock: Red Hat, Inc. (RHT)

• Have Stock Gurus Now Turned Sour On Red Hat, Inc. (RHT), Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (LL)?

• Speculative Bullish Options Activity in Red Hat (RHT) Ahead of Q2 Earnings Announcement on 9/20 -Susquehanna

• Red Hat Inc. (RHT) Dips 3.07% for August 15

One of the oldest Linux distribution still in development, Debian has just turned 25. Let’s have a look at some interesting facts about this awesome FOSS project.

The Linux Foundation has always been committed to welcoming companies and organizations of all sizes as part of its heritage and ongoing vision for opening technology for all to experiment with and to build things.

The Zephyr Project, an open source project to build a real-time operating system (RTOS) for the Internet of Things (IoT), announced last week they grew their community of contributors with support for more than 100 developer boards and the addition of six new members.

These industry and academic leaders include Antmicro, DeviceTone, SiFive, the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, The Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) and Northeastern University.

• How to install Linux apps on your Chromebook

  Chromebooks are great because they're simple: there's a lot you can get done with web services without exposing yourself to the troubles and security issues that plague more complex platforms.

  But if you need to do a bit more with your Chromebook, you have a few options. Most Chromebooks these days allow you to install apps from the Google Play Store, which should fill most productivity gaps. If not, you'll soon have one more option: installing Linux apps. To be clear, you've been able to install Linux apps on Chromebooks for years because Chrome OS is Linux. But, it's about to get much easier.

• Top 5 Features Still Missing From Chrome OS

  Google’s Chrome OS gets a lot of things right, and the platform has evolved considerably over the years. Not only does it offer an always up-to-date version of the Chrome browser, but there are also Android apps, stylus input, and even Linux support on some devices. However, Chrome OS is far from perfect. You have to make compromises if you choose to live with a Chromebook, but you shouldn’t have to make quite this many. Here are the top five things Google should fix.

• Walmart's selling an all-aluminum Chromebook with a comfy keyboard for just $220

  If you’re not considering a Chromebook when you're shopping for a notebook, you’re doing it wrong. Google's low-cost laptops are typically light, fast, secure, and have almost everything you need for remote work a.k.a. the Internet. Today, you can get in on the action for a great price. Walmart is selling the Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431-C6ZB) for $220. That’s about $30 to $40 cheaper than you’d usually pay for this laptop.

• AMD's New Threadripper 2990WX Much Faster On Linux Than Windows 10

• Microsoft Announces the General Availability of Linux on App Service Environment [Ed: Exactly the same company that is attacking GNU/Linux using patents and bribes officials to reject, dump GNU/Linux.]

• Windows 10 Build 17738 includes fix for WSLs ‘tar and curl’ commands [Ed: Some of these 'fixes' have involved Microsoft perturbing UNIX/Linux tools to become more like Windows. This is dangerous for reasons that were explained at the time.]

• Open Source Software Poses a Real Security Threat [Ed: Contrast Security attacks FOSS while ignoring, conveniently, back doors in proprietary software (hidden temporarily through secrecy). These are classic FUD tactics regarding security.]

• Using AI on patents

  Software patents account for more than half of all utility patents granted in the US over the past few years. Clearly, many companies see these patents as a way to fortune and growth, even while software patents are hated by many people working in the free and open-source movements. The field of patenting has now joined the onward march of artificial intelligence. This was the topic of a talk at OSCON 2018 by Van Lindberg, an intellectual-property lawyer, board member and general counsel for the Python Software Foundation, and author of the book Intellectual Property and Open Source. The disruption presented by deep learning ranges from modest enhancements that have already been exploited—making searches for prior art easier—to harbingers of automatic patent generation in the future.

• Diverse technical topics from OSCON 2018

  The O'Reilly Open Source Conference (OSCON) returned to Portland, Oregon in July for its 20th meeting. Previously, we covered some retrospectives and community-management talks that were a big part of the conference. Of course, OSCON is also a technology conference, and there were lots of talks on various open-source software platforms and tools.

  An attendee who was coming back to OSCON after a decade would have been somewhat surprised by the themes of the general technical sessions, though. Early OSCONs had a program full of Perl, Python, and PHP developer talks, including the famous "State of The Onion" (Perl) keynote. Instead, this year's conference mostly limited the language-specific programming content to the tutorials. Most of the technical sessions in the main program were about platforms, administration, or other topics of general interest, some of which we will explore below.