Hi all!
I continue to review the news of free and open source software (and some hardware). All the most important things about penguins and not only in Russia and the world.
In Issue #4 February 17-23, 2020:
- RedHat: Open Source research is pushing proprietary software out of the corporate segment.
- Great overview of Clear Linux from Intel.
- Big release of MyPaint 2.0.
- What's new in KDE apps in February 2020.
- The GARANT system is available for GNU/Linux.
- About the complex relationship between Amazon and Open Source.
- Instructions for starting an open source project.
- Commercialization of free software improvements under Copyleft licenses.
- What role does Open Source play in shaping 5G.
- 17 cool Arduino project ideas for DIY enthusiasts.
- Basalt SPO speaks on the topic of the necessary measures of state support for domestic software and hardware.
- The role of OpenShift in the evolution of organizational models in the transition to PaaS.
- Discussing the past, present and future of FreeBSD.
- How Kubernetes became the standard for building computing resources.
- KDE's GPG utilities are approved in Germany for transferring and processing sensitive information.
- GamePad is the announcement of a new FOSS gaming platform designed for GNU/Linux.
- A GNU/Linux version of the Microsoft Edge browser is planned.
- Security analysis of popular Open Source JavaScript and Java components.
- In the UK, parents have been advised to contact the police if their children use VirtualBox, Discord, Kali Linux and Tor.
RedHat study: Open Source is pushing proprietary software out of the corporate segment
Open source software is gradually conquering the corporate segment, such a conclusion was published by the RedHat team in their research report. The company came to these results after a survey of 950 IT executives around the world. Here are the summary results:
- 95% consider Open Source to be strategically important;
- the share of proprietary software in the corporate segment has been declining at a serious pace for several years, from 55% in 2019 to 42% now and, according to forecasts, to 32% by 2021;
- 77% believe that enterprise Open Source will continue to grow;
- The main advantage of Open Source is called “higher quality”, lower costs are only in second place;
- main areas of application: security, cloud infrastructure management tools, databases, big data and analytics;
- obstacles to use: code security, level of support, compatibility, lack of own support competencies.
Great review of Clear Linux from Intel
Ars Technica has published a great review of the Clear Linux GNU/Linux distribution, which even AMD recommends. Briefly:
Pros:
- Clear Linux is being developed by Intel, period;
- Clear Linux has a short and clear goal: to be secure, to be fast, to do things right;
- most things work with little or no additional tweaks;
- the fastest Linux, sorry Arch and Gentoo user.
Cons:
- although almost everything works without additional settings, many users will quickly want something else;
- the swupd package manager is clunky and doesn't seem to index packages correctly;
- very few users, difficult to find support;
- Clear Linux, at least for now, is much more suitable for a small set of repetitive tasks where execution speed is very critical than for a wide range of applications.
Big release of MyPaint 2.0
According to It's FOSS, a major release of MyPaint, one of the best Open Source alternatives to Microsoft Paint, came out recently. This is a handy little program for quick sketches and sketches. While there are more sophisticated tools for digital artists like Krita, MyPaint is still good for simple tasks. It can also be used on Wacom tablets without any problems. The new 2.0 release includes support for Python 3, a new layer mode, new brush options, and other changes.
What's New in KDE Apps in February 2020
The KDE community is posting an overview of the bug fixes and new features added to their apps in February. Important improvements appeared in the following applications:
- KDevelop Development Environment
- Zanshin task management
- Latte dock
- RKWard development environment
- Okteta hex editor
- Financial Accounting KMyMoney
The GARANT system is available for GNU/Linux
The Garant company offers for downloading a distribution kit of its proprietary electronic periodical legal reference book for OS GNU/Linux. It is stated that the system will work without the use of the (non) Wine emulator. Alt Linux and Astra Linux Common Edition distributions are supported. According to Linux.org.ru, the GARANT system is “this is a comprehensive information and legal software that includes more than 118 million documents that have undergone full legal processing, as well as dozens of useful services for lawyers, accountants, personnel officers, managers and other professional users».
On the complex relationship between Amazon and Open Source
Cloud giant Amazon has been repeatedly criticized for using Open Source software without giving anything in return. In the question of whether this is really so and what alternatives are, we tried to understand the large material from ZDNet. Lots of interesting links, lots of arguments. Intentionally I do not try to summarize somehow, it is necessary to read in full.
Instructions for starting an open source project
A translation of the OpenSource Guide project has been published on Habré, which contains a detailed introduction to how to launch your Open Source project. The instruction includes the following sections:
- Open source: what is it and why?
- Should I start my own open source project?
- Launching your own open source project
- Naming and branding your project
- Checklist before launch
Commercialization of free software improvements
Habré published an analysis of a question that probably worries any FOSS developer - how to get money doing your favorite project. The authors draw the following conclusions:
- the creation of any restrictions on the distribution of Free Software is always perceived with hostility by the community, even if these restrictions fully comply with the terms of the license, do not contradict the law and help the development of the free projects themselves;
- the lack of a normal way to commercialize code under the GPL significantly limits the attraction of investments and their development;
- developers are forced to either engage in non-core business or use GPL license circumvention techniques to make the business model of proprietary software based on exclusive ownership of the copyright object work.
What role does Open Source play in shaping 5G
SDxCentral central publishes an interview with telecom veteran and current director of telecom strategy at RedHat, Susan James. Susan shares her thoughts on how Open Source is transforming the service provider ecosystem.
Here is an important quote about the main place of Open Source in the modern world:
«In areas that require a lot of work, like in AI, Open Source is really important. If someone finds a great way to do something and closes the source if access is limited, then the reality is that in response, an Open Source community will assemble to do the same, even better, but in an open way. It will not take long for the Open Source community to seize the innovation initiative from a closed project»
17 Cool Arduino Project Ideas for DIY Enthusiasts
It's FOSS publishes a list of 17 cool project ideas that can be built with an Arduino and some additional components. The list includes projects of different levels of complexity, from a simple LED controller to a whole robot cat (by the way, he has sold with a complete assembly kit).
Basalt SPO speaks on the topic of the necessary measures of state support for domestic software and hardware
According to the ALT Linux VKontakte community, Basalt SPO is participating in the round table “On measures to stimulate the development, production and implementation of Russian digital products” in the Federation Council. You can watch the broadcast by following the link. Alexey Smirnov, CEO of the company, talks about the challenges facing developers and the support they need. The theme of the speech is “Necessary measures to support the development and wide distribution of domestic software and hardware platforms”.
The role of OpenShift in the evolution of organizational models in the transition to PaaS
RedHat in its blog on Habré publishes notes on how the OpenShift family of containerization software changes the organizational structure of an IT organization when switching to Paas. Quote - "the maximum return on investment in PaaS is often possible only if organizational roles, responsibilities (tasks) and relationship patterns change." The principles that lead to such changes are:
- break down work into small steps to get early feedback, mitigate risk, and avoid analysis paralysis;
- automate operations sufficiently to not create obstacles or bottlenecks in the process of deploying the application;
- knowledge sharing is the key to building trust;
- regularly pay technical debts, allocating a certain time in each cycle of work for systematic improvements.
Discussing the past, present and future of FreeBSD
Deb Goodkin, Executive Director of the FreeBSD Foundation, in an extensive interview with It's FOSS discusses the past, present and future of FreeBSD, an operating system that appeared 25 years ago and had great potential, but never grew to the level of GNU / Linux, although it took a certain place in the IT world.
How Kubernetes Became the Standard for Building Computing Resources
Linux.com briefly recounts the development path of Kubernetes, an open source software for automating the deployment, scaling and management of containerized applications, and writes about the role of large corporations in its development.
KDE's GPG utilities approved in Germany for transferring and processing sensitive information
According to the KDE VKontakte community, the German Federal Office for Information Security has approved the use of Gpg4KDE and Gpg4win to transmit and process nationally sensitive information. Gpg4KDE is the encryption engine that KMail uses to encrypt and sign emails. Gpg4win is a suite of file and email encryption tools for Windows that includes Kleopatra, a certificate manager from KDE.
GamePad - announcement of a new FOSS gaming platform designed for GNU/Linux
Forbes announces the possibility of the imminent appearance of a gaming platform specifically for GNU / Linux - GamePad. Launched in April 2019, the FOSS project opened a Kickstarter fundraiser with plans for $50. If everything goes well, the platform will start working in February 000, for now there is only a mockup. In the final version, the developers, judging by Kickstarter, promise:
- user-friendly interface;
- thorough check of published games;
- freedom from DRM;
- integration with third-party applications;
- good conditions for developers.
There is not much information yet, but it is intriguing, despite the criticism already received from individual members of the community.
GNU/Linux version of Microsoft Edge browser planned
Microsoft has published plans for the development of the Edge browser, now they include a version for GNU/Linux. However, a release date has not yet been set. Recall that the year before last, Microsoft began developing a new version of the Edge browser, translated to the Chromium engine. The company joined the Chromium development community and began to return improvements and fixes created for its version to the project.
Security Analysis of Popular Open Source JavaScript and Java Components
The Linux Foundation, in collaboration with the Core Infrastructure Initiative and the Harvard Innovation Science Lab, have published a report analyzing the most popular FOSS JavaScript and Java components used in production code, and suggesting actions to take to maintain the long-term security and health of FOSS code.
In the UK, parents were advised to contact the police if their children use VirtualBox, Discord, Kali Linux and Tor
In schools in the British county of the West Midlands, posters began to appear calling on parents and teachers to contact the police if any of the students use the Kali Linux OS, the Discord messenger, the Tor onion routing tool, the VirtualBox virtualization tool and some other software. The posters were allegedly commissioned by the local police. The publication of this information immediately met with a sharply negative reaction from many people, and the NCA (National Crime Agency of Great Britain), whose logo was placed on the poster, immediately hurried to disown the poster. In criticism, the main argument against such a poster was the technical incompetence of the authors and the fact that the listed software does not at all unambiguously indicate that the child is doing something suspicious. The local police, after criticism, also blamed third parties.
That's all, until next Sunday!
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Source: habr.com