Language Selection

English French German Italian Portuguese Spanish

Google

GSoC Work on KDE and GNOME

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 8th of June 2018 08:31:36 PM Filed under
KDE
Google
GNOME
  • GSoC’18 Week 2 && 3

    Thanks to Timothée Giet, for providing me the icons of different tools. We’ll be updating the remaining icons soon.

    We noticed some bugs with the default color picker, and decided to create our own Color picker, consisting of three bars –> Hue, Saturation and lightness to select the required color. This was a little difficult task for me at the beginning but finally managed to create this with the help of my mentors and resources on the internet.

    •  

  • Improving the reliability and usability of KStars

    The goal of my GSOC project to continue the improvements over the codebase what was started previous year. Improving the reliability and bring modern C++ features. I have the following goals for the first period to make KStars better:

  • GSoC 2018: Filter Infrastructure

    This summer I’m working on librsvg, a GNOME library for rendering SVG files, particularly on porting the SVG filter effects from C to Rust. That involves separating the code for different filters from one huge C file into individual files for each filter, and then porting the filter rendering infrastructure and the individual filters.

    Thankfully, in the large C file the code for different filters was divided by comment blocks, so several vim macros later I was done with the not so exciting splitting part.

»

Software: GNU/Linux, Chrome, and Mozilla/Firefox

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 8th of June 2018 07:27:06 PM Filed under
Google
Software
Moz/FF
  • Read Ebooks Quicker With This Spritz-Like Fast Reading Command Line Software

    Uniread aims at improving your reading speed by using a Spritz-like technique for fast reading. The application uses Node.js, runs on the command line, and it currently supports the EPUB ebook file format.

    According to Spritzinc, when you read "the eye seeks a certain point within the word, which we call the optimal recognition point, or ORP. After your eyes find the ORP, your brain starts to process the meaning of the word that you're viewing".

    They continue to mention that "when reading, only around 20% of your time is spent processing content. The remaining 80% is spent physically moving your eyes from word to word and scanning for the next ORP".

    This is where the Spritz-like technique / software comes in. Using it, you can read the text without moving your eyes and thus, improve your reading speed (thanks to the 80% of time gained from not having to move your eyes and by increasing the speed at which words are being displayed on screen).

  • Linux Release Roundup: Curlew, Cantata & Google Chrome

    Another week, another batch of welcome Linux app updates to round-up — and another one of these rather difficult post intros to write!

    This week we’re taking in updates from a diverse range of apps: from a nifty media converter to a nimble music player, by way of a largely unknown web browser called “Google Chrome”.

    Yes, that was an attempt at sarcasm.

  • Chrome 68 Beta: add to home screen, payment handler, page lifecycle

    Unless otherwise noted, changes described below apply to the newest Chrome Beta channel release for Android, Chrome OS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. View a complete list of the features in Chrome 68 on ChromeStatus.com. Chrome 68 is beta as of June 7, 2018.

  • Chrome 68 Rolls Out In Beta Form

    For those not satisfied by last week's Chrome 67 stable release, Chrome 68 is now available in beta form with the latest and greatest feature work.

  • @media, MathML, and Django 1.11: MDN Changelog for May 2018
  • What is Standup?

    Standup is a system for capturing standup-style posts from individuals making it easier to see what's going on for teams and projects. It has an associated IRC bot standups for posting messages from IRC.

  • Paris, Munich, & Dresden: Help Us Give the Web a Voice!

    In July, our Voice Assistant Team will be in France and Germany to explore trust and technology adoption. We’re particularly interested in how people use voice assistants and how people listen to content like Pocket and podcasts. We would like to learn more how you use technology and how a voice assistant or voice user interface (VUIs) could improve your Internet and open web experiences. We will be conducting a series of in-home interviews and participatory design sessions. No prior voice assistant experience needed!

»

Google's do no evil AI style likely to clash with open source approach

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 8th of June 2018 08:26:12 AM Filed under
Google
OSS
Sci/Tech
  • Google's do no evil AI style likely to clash with open source approach

    Google outlined its artificial intelligence principles in a move to placate employees who were worried about their work and research winding up in U.S. weapons systems.

    Guess what? It's already too late. There's no way that Google's open source approach and its headline principle to not allow its AI into weapons is going to mesh. Chances are fairly good that the technology already open sourced is in some fledgling weapon system somewhere. After all, TensorFlow and a bunch of other neural network tools are pretty damn handy.

  • Read Google's AI ethics memo: 'We are not developing AI for use in weapons'
  • Google Plans Not to Renew Its Contract for Project Maven, a Controversial Pentagon Drone AI Imaging Program
  • Google promises not to use A.I. for weapons or surveillance, for the most part
  • Google pledges not to develop AI weapons, but says it will still work with the military

    Google has released a set of principles to guide its work in artificial intelligence, making good on a promise to do so last month following controversy over its involvement in a Department of Defense drone project. The document, titled “Artificial Intelligence at Google: our principles,” does not directly reference this work, but makes clear that the company will not develop AI for use in weaponry. It also outlines a number of broad guidelines for AI, touching issues like bias, privacy, and human oversight.

    While the new principles forbid the development of AI weaponry, they state that Google will continue to work with the military “in many other areas.” Speaking to The Verge, a Google representative said that had these principles been published earlier, the company would likely not have become involved in the Pentagon’s drone project, which used AI to analyze surveillance footage. Although this application was for “non-offensive purposes,” and therefore hypothetically permitted under these guidelines, the representative said it was too close for comfort — suggesting Google will play it safe with future military contracts.

»

Samsung’s Chromebook Plus now supports GNU/Linux apps

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Tuesday 5th of June 2018 08:48:13 PM Filed under
GNU
Linux
Google
  • Samsung’s Chromebook Plus now supports Linux apps

    Google began bringing Linux app support to Chrome OS almost exactly one month ago, but it only started with a single device, the very expensive Pixelbook. Now, that’s changing: Linux support is becoming available for Samsung’s Chromebook Plus as well, as spotted by users on Reddit.

  • Samsung Chromebook Plus is second device to support Linux apps

    The idea of Chromebooks (and Chrome OS in general) supporting Linux apps changes the game for the Chrome OS ecosystem. If Chromebooks support Linux apps there suddenly are so many more applications available to run, which makes Chromebooks a more robust competitor to Windows and Mac laptops.

    However, the only Chromebook that supported Linux apps when Google announced the feature was the Pixelbook – probably the most expensive Chromebook on the market.

    But some savvy Redditors just found that the much-more-reasonably-priced Samsung Chromebook Plus now supports Linux apps as well. It’s a little tricky to get them installed, but the support is there nonetheless.

»

Chromebooks: GNU/Linux on Samsung Chromebook Plus and More

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Tuesday 5th of June 2018 06:53:51 AM Filed under
GNU
Linux
Google
  • Samsung Chromebook Plus is second Chromebook to support Linux apps (Project Crostini)

    Google announced last month that it was bringing the ability to run Linux apps to Chromebooks, confirming the existence of Project Crostini, which was first spotted in the Chromium code earlier this year, and which adventurous users have been testing for months.

    Up until now you’ve needed a Google Pixelbook to try Crostini. Now it looks like Google has added support for a second Chromebook.

    Several users have noted in recent days that Crostini now works on the Samsung Chromebook Plus, allowing you to run desktop Linux apps alongside Chrome apps.

  • Samsung Chromebook Plus now supports Linux apps in Dev channel

    There has been a lot of exciting stuff happening in the world of Chrome OS, but the most exciting development might be Linux apps. Chrome OS started as a simple web-based “OS,” but the addition of the Play Store, and now Linux apps, has made it a respectable operation system (no air quotes required). The Samsung Chromebook Plus now supports Linux apps on the Dev channel.

  • Linux app support arrives on the Samsung Chromebook Plus

    Google officially announced Linux app support on Chrome OS at I/O 2018, but until now, the only supported model has been the Pixelbook. The Linux VM requires a kernel version that many Chromebooks don't have, but with Google backporting the required functionality to earlier kernels, we can only speculate which models will actually be supported.

    There was mounting evidence that the Samsung Chromebook Plus would eventually have Linux apps, and now Google has confirmed that. Users on the Chrome OS Dev channel can now enable Linux app support on the Chromebook Plus, just as they would on the Pixelbook (full instructions here).

  • Google’s Pixelbook, the world’s best Chromebook, just dropped to its lowest price ever

    When it comes to Chromebooks, there’s the Google Pixelbook and then there’s everything else. People often think of dirt-cheap laptops when they think of Google’s Chrome OS and of Chromebooks. Entry-level models are fantastic for anyone looking for a low-cost computer for basic work and streaming, and that’s why they’re so popular in the education market. But what happens when you get older and you want a Chromebook with some kick? That’s where the Pixelbook comes in, and it has more than enough kick for anything you might want to throw at it.

  • What to look for in a used Chromebook

    One of the best Chromebook features often gets overlooked: over six years of operating system support direct from Google. That means you get all the new features that come to Chrome OS (provided your hardware allows) as well as security fixes and those tiny updates that make things just work better. That means a Chromebook you buy today will still be supported in 2024, and a Chromebook that sold new in 2016 still has four years of updates ahead of it.

  • Google Could Let Chromebook Users Manage All of Their Android Files in Chrome OS

    Chromium evangelist at Google François Beaufort revealed the fact that the Chrome OS team is planning to add support for managing all our Android files on Chromebook devices from within the Files app.

    Dubbed "Android Files," the new feature has been implemented in the Chrome OS Dev channel and promises to let Chromebook owners manage all of their Android files with the default Files app in the Chrome OS operating system. At the moment, Chromebook users can only access image, video and audio files from their Android devices, but this change could let them access all file types.

»

Security: Updates, Security Podcast and Google Groups Misconfiguration

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Tuesday 5th of June 2018 04:46:40 AM Filed under
Google
Security
»

​The Killer Chromebook: Google's i7 Pixelbook

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Monday 4th of June 2018 05:36:25 AM Filed under
GNU
Linux
Google

Now, I've liked Chromebooks since the experimental Cr-48 rolled out in late 2010. And, when Google released its first high-end Chromebook, 2013's Pixel, I was sold. I slowly but surely put away my Linux-powered Lenovo ThinkPads and started replacing them with Google's high-end Chromebooks. Why? Because they're better than any other laptop out there.

What's that? You can't do as much with a Chromebook that you can do with, say, a MacBook Pro 13 or a Lenovo Yoga 920. Oh please!

Read more

»

The Best Chromebooks You Can Buy, 2018 Edition

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Thursday 31st of May 2018 01:06:50 PM Filed under
GNU
Linux
Google

There has never been a better time to get into the Chromebook scene, so you’re in a great position to make the leap. If you’re having a hard time figure out which Chromebook to buy, we’re here to help.

Chrome OS has really matured over the last few years, with the addition of Android apps on pretty much all modern Chromebooks. This really opened the available applications to include many options that were previously lacking on Chrome OS—like image editors, for example.

With all the progress Google has been making on Chrome OS as a whole, it’s clear that the company is fully invested in this operating system and has a focused vision for the future. Chrome OS has broken out of the “just a browser” mold and is inching closer to the “full operating system” space.

Read more

»

Chrome 67 is Out

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Wednesday 30th of May 2018 08:25:17 AM Filed under
Google
Web
»

SD Times Open Source Project of the Week: Bazel

Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 18th of May 2018 05:16:47 PM Filed under
Google
OSS

The project is led by a core group of contributors and Googlers, and managed by the community. The group of core contributors is self-managing and added by two supporting votes from other core contributors.

According to Google, some parts of Bazel will never make it into open source because it integrates with Google-specific technology or the company plans to get rid of those features in the future.

The Angular team has announced plans to migrate its build scripts with Bazel to get faster and more reliable incremental builds. As of Angular 6, Angular itself is now built with Bazel, according to Stephen Fluin, developer advocate for Angular. “Bazel is the build system that Google and the Angular team use to keep incremental builds under 2 seconds,” the team wrote in a post.

Bazel is already being used by companies such as Asana, Ascend.io, Databricks, Dropbox, Etsy, Google, Huawei, LingoChamp, Pinterest and Uber. Open-source projects using Bazel include Angular, Deepmind Lab, GRPC, gVisor, Kubernetes, Sonnet, TensorFlow and Trunk.

Read more

»
Syndicate content

More in Tux Machines

RISC-V and NVIDIA

  • Open-Source RISC-V-Based SoC Platform Enlists Deep Learning Accelerator
    SiFive introduces what it’s calling the first open-source RISC-V-based SoC platform for edge inference applications based on NVIDIA's Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA) technology. A demo shown at the Hot Chips conference consists of NVDLA running on an FPGA connected via ChipLink to SiFive's HiFive Unleashed board powered by the Freedom U540, the first Linux-capable RISC-V processor. The complete SiFive implementation is suited for intelligence at the edge, where high-performance with improved power and area profiles are crucial. SiFive's silicon design capabilities and innovative business model enables a simplified path to building custom silicon on the RISC-V architecture with NVDLA.
  • SiFive Announces First Open-Source RISC-V-Based SoC Platform With NVIDIA Deep Learning Accelerator Technology
    SiFive, the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP, today announced the first open-source RISC-V-based SoC platform for edge inference applications based on NVIDIA's Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA) technology. The demo will be shown this week at the Hot Chips conference and consists of NVDLA running on an FPGA connected via ChipLink to SiFive's HiFive Unleashed board powered by the Freedom U540, the world's first Linux-capable RISC-V processor. The complete SiFive implementation is well suited for intelligence at the edge, where high-performance with improved power and area profiles are crucial. SiFive's silicon design capabilities and innovative business model enables a simplified path to building custom silicon on the RISC-V architecture with NVDLA.
  • SiFive Announces Open-Source RISC-V-Based SoC Platform with Nvidia Deep Learning Accelerator Technology
    SiFive, a leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP, today announced the first open-source RISC-V-based SoC platform for edge inference applications based on NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Accelerator (NVDLA) technology. The demo will be shown this week at the Hot Chips conference and consists of NVDLA running on an FPGA connected via ChipLink to SiFive’s HiFive Unleashed board powered by the Freedom U540, the world’s first Linux-capable RISC-V processor. The complete SiFive implementation is well suited for intelligence at the edge, where high-performance with improved power and area profiles are crucial. SiFive’s silicon design capabilities and innovative business model enables a simplified path to building custom silicon on the RISC-V architecture with NVDLA.
  • NVIDIA Unveils The GeForce RTX 20 Series, Linux Benchmarks Should Be Coming
    NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has just announced the GeForce RTX 2080 series from his keynote ahead of Gamescom 2018 this week in Cologne, Germany.
  • NVIDIA have officially announced the GeForce RTX 2000 series of GPUs, launching September
    The GPU race continues on once again, as NVIDIA have now officially announced the GeForce RTX 2000 series of GPUs and they're launching in September. This new series will be based on their Turing architecture and their RTX platform. These new RT Cores will "enable real-time ray tracing of objects and environments with physically accurate shadows, reflections, refractions and global illumination." which sounds rather fun.

today's leftovers

GNOME Shell, Mutter, and Ubuntu's GNOME Theme

Benchmarks on GNU/Linux

  • Linux vs. Windows Benchmark: Threadripper 2990WX vs. Core i9-7980XE Tested
    The last chess benchmark we’re going to look at is Crafty and again we’re measuring performance in nodes per second. Interestingly, the Core i9-7980XE wins out here and saw the biggest performance uplift when moving to Linux, a 5% performance increase was seen opposed to just 3% for the 2990WX and this made the Intel CPU 12% faster overall.
  • Which is faster, rsync or rdiff-backup?
    As our data grows (and some filesystems balloon to over 800GBs, with many small files) we have started seeing our night time backups continue through the morning, causing serious disk i/o problems as our users wake up and regular usage rises. For years we have implemented a conservative backup policy - each server runs the backup twice: once via rdiff-backup to the onsite server with 10 days of increments kept. A second is an rsync to our offsite backup servers for disaster recovery. Simple, I thought. I will change the rdiff-backup to the onsite server to use the ultra fast and simple rsync. Then, I'll use borgbackup to create an incremental backup from the onsite backup server to our off site backup servers. Piece of cake. And with each server only running one backup instead of two, they should complete in record time. Except, some how the rsync backup to the onsite backup server was taking almost as long as the original rdiff-backup to the onsite server and rsync backup to the offsite server combined. What? I thought nothing was faster than the awesome simplicity of rsync, especially compared to the ancient python-based rdiff-backup, which hasn't had an upstream release since 2009.

More on Tux Machines: About ● Gallery ● Forum ● Blogs ● Search ● News ● RSS Feed

Part of Bytes Media ● Sister sites below.

TechBytes Techrights button

Powered by Drupal, an open source content management system

Content available under CC-BY-SA CC

© by original authors

Powered by CentOS 6.5 (GNU/Linux), Varnish, and Drupal 6