Android Leftovers

• Mozilla launches a standalone VPN service for Android and Chromebook

• Android 11 makes it easy to check what audio codecs your Bluetooth headphones support

• Funky Android 11 experiment moves audio controls to quick settings

• Android 11 could bring a fix for our biggest Android dark mode gripe

• Google unleashes huge Android update to select few phones today, is YOUR device eligible?

• Best Android tablets for 2020

Supporting an open source operating system: a Q&A with the FreeBSD Foundation

When discussing alternative operating systems to Microsoft’s Windows or Apple’s macOS, Linux often comes to mind. However, while Linux is a recreation of UNIX, FreeBSD is more of a continuation. The free and open source operating system was initially developed by students at the University of California at Berkeley which is why the BSD in its name stands for Berkeley Software Distribution. FreeBSD runs on its own kernel and all of the operating system’s key components have been developed to be part of a single whole. This is where it differs the most from Linux because Linux is just the kernel and the other components are supplied by third parties. To learn more about FreeBSD and its ongoing development, TechRadar Pro spoke to the executive director of the FreeBSD Foundation, Deb Goodkin.

Linux-driven ADAS computer features 6x FAKRA cameras

VIA’s rugged “VIA Mobile360 M810” in-vehicle computer runs Linux on a Snapdragon 820E and offers 6x FAKRA camera ports plus software for ADAS, driver monitoring, surround view, and DVR. Taiwan-based VIA Technologies, which appears to be increasingly focused on automotive and other vision processing applications, has launched an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) computer primarily aimed at bus fleets, but also available for trucks and delivery vans. The VIA Mobile360 M810 follows earlier Mobile360 systems such as the VIA Mobile360 D700 Drive Recorder, which runs Linux on a dual -A53 Novatek NT96685T SoC, and the VIA Mobile360 Surround View Sample Kit, which runs Android 5.0 on an unnamed octa-core SoC.

KDE’s Plasma Mobile Is Shaping Up Nicely on the PinePhone

Last month, we took a closer look at how UBports’ Ubuntu Touch mobile OS progressed on the PinePhone, thanks to a video shared by developer Marius Gripsgård. Now, we have a sneak peek at another great system for the PinePhone, KDE’s Plasma Mobile. Unlike Ubuntu Touch, which is a full-fledged mobile operating system, Plasma Mobile is actually a user interface (UI) for mobile devices running on top of a GNU/Linux distribution, such as KDE neon or the Alpine Linux-based postmarketOS.