December 2019 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Microsoft Teams is the First Office App For Linux
by Peter Reutemann 11 Dec '19

11 Dec '19

'Microsoft today launched Microsoft Teams for Linux in public preview. No, that's not a typo -- Microsoft Teams is indeed the first Office app that the company has ported to Linux. You can download Microsoft Teams as a native Linux package in .deb and .rpm formats from here.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/19/12/10/1715255 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Are You One Of Avast's 400 Million Users? This Is Why It Collects And Sells Your Web Habits.
by Peter Reutemann 11 Dec '19

11 Dec '19

'Avast, the multibillion-dollar Czech security company, doesn't just make money from protecting its 400 million users' information. It also profits in part because of sales of users' Web browsing habits and has been doing so since at least 2013. From a report: That's led to some labelling its tools "spyware," the very thing Avast is supposed to be protecting users from. Both Mozilla and Opera were concerned enough to remove some Avast tools from their add-on stores earlier this month, though the anti-virus provider says it's working with Mozilla to get its products back online. But recently appointed chief executive Ondrej Vlcek tells Forbes there's no privacy scandal here. All that user information that it sells cannot be traced back to individual users, he asserts. Here's how it works, according to Vlcek: Avast users have their Web activity harvested by the company's browser extensions. But before it lands on Avast servers, the data is stripped of anything that might expose an individual's identity, such as a name in the URL, as when a Facebook user is logged in. All that data is analysed by Jumpshot, a company that's 65%-owned by Avast, before being sold on as "insights" to customers. Those customers might be investors or brand managers. What do those customers get? Vlcek says Jumpshot, which was initially acquired in 2013, provides "insights on how cohorts of users on the internet use the web." For instance, it could show a percentage of visitors who went from one website to another. That could be useful to anyone monitoring an advertising campaign. "Typical customers would be, for example, investors, who would be interested in how online companies are doing in terms of their new campaigns," the new Avast chief explains. Say Amazon launches a new product -- Jumpshot could determine how much interest it's getting online.' -- source: https://it.slashdot.org/story/19/12/10/1922243 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Google Releases Chrome 79 With New Features Including an Option To Freeze Tabs and Back-Forward Caching
by Peter Reutemann 11 Dec '19

11 Dec '19

'Google today released Chrome 79 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and iOS users. This release comes with security and bug fixes, but also with new features such as built-in support for the Password Checkup tool, real-time blacklisting of malicious sites via the Safe Browsing API, general availability of Predictive Phishing protections, a ban on loading HTTPS "mixed content," support for tab freezing, a new UI for the Chrome Sync profile section, and support for a back-forward caching mechanism. ZDNet has outlined each new feature in-depth.' -- source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/19/12/10/1959205 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Microsoft Gets Dinged By IRD Over Transfer Pricing
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 10 Dec '19

10 Dec '19

Microsoft has been forced to cough up $25 million to the New Zealand tax authorities over its shifting around of profits between international subsidiaries <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/09/oracle_facing_kiwi_tax_probe/>, and now Oracle is facing scrutiny over similar tax fiddles.

1 0

Draft algorithm charter
by Roderick Aldridge 10 Dec '19

10 Dec '19

The Government is calling for feedback on the draft algorithm charter. May interest Peter, others? We want your feedback on a draft algorithm charter, an enduring commitment for government agencies to use algorithms in a fair, ethical and transparent way. Draft algorithm charter for consultation <https://data.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Draft-Algorithm-Charter-for-consultatio…> [PDF 255 KB] Draft algorithm charter for consultation <https://data.govt.nz/use-data/analyse-data/government-algorithm-transparenc…> [HTML] Algorithm assessment report <https://data.govt.nz/use-data/analyse-data/government-algorithm-transparenc…> Computer algorithms are now a fundamental element of data analytics. Algorithms support the services that government provides to people in New Zealand and to help deliver new, innovative, and well targeted policies to achieve government aims. https://data.govt.nz/use-data/analyse-data/government-algorithm-transparenc… Rod

3 4

Yahoo Groups Is Winding Down and All Content Will Be Permanently Removed
by Peter Reutemann 10 Dec '19

10 Dec '19

'Yahoo announced on Wednesday that it is winding down its long-running Yahoo Groups site. From a report: As of October 21, users will no longer be able to post new content to the site, and on December 14 Yahoo will permanently delete all previously posted content. "You'll have until that date to save anything you've uploaded," an announcement post reads. Yahoo Groups, launched in 2001, is a cross between a platform for mailing lists and internet forums. Groups can be interacted with on the Yahoo Groups site itself, or via email. In the 18 years that it existed, numerous niche communities made a home on the platform. Now, with the site's planned obsolescence, users are looking for ways to save their Groups history.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/19/10/16/1928228 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

2 1

WireGuard VPN is a step closer to mainstream adoption
by Peter Reutemann 10 Dec '19

10 Dec '19

'As of this morning, Linux network stack maintainer David Miller has committed the WireGuard VPN project into the Linux "net-next" source tree. Miller maintains both net and net-next—the source trees governing the current implementation of the Linux kernel networking stack and the implementation of the next Linux kernel's networking stack, respectively. This is a major step forward for the WireGuard VPN project. Net-next gets pulled into the new Linux kernel during its two-week merge window, where it becomes net. With WireGuard already a part of net-next, this means that—barring unexpected issues—there should be a Linux kernel 5.6 release candidate with built-in WireGuard in early 2020. Mainline kernel inclusion of WireGuard should lead to significantly higher uptake in projects and organizations requiring virtual private network capability. Normal, day-to-day Linux users probably won't see in-kernel WireGuard until late 2020. Ubuntu is one of the faster-moving mainstream distributions, and its next Long Term Support (LTS) release is in April 2020. But the Linux 5.6 kernel and Ubuntu 20.04 will likely be in release candidate status at the same time, so its inclusion in 20.04 seems unlikely. The interim 20.10 Ubuntu release seems like a much safer bet for Canonical's first use of a 5.6 or later kernel. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) inclusion will likely be a year or more beyond that; the current RHEL 8.1 shipped in May 2019 with the 4.18 kernel, which was already 9 months old. Although highly speculative, it's also possible that WireGuard could land in-kernel on Ubuntu 20.04 even without the 5.6 kernel—Donenfeld offered to do the work backporting WireGuard into earlier Ubuntu kernels directly. Donenfeld also stated today that a 1.0 WireGuard release is "on the horizon."' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/12/wireguard-vpn-is-a-step-closer-to-m… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Linux Users Can Now Use Disney+ After DRM Fix
by Peter Reutemann 09 Dec '19

09 Dec '19

'"Linux users can now stream shows and movies from the Disney+ streaming service after Disney lowered the level of their DRM requirements," reports Bleeping Computer: When Disney+ was first launched, Linux users who attempted to watch shows and movies were shown an error stating "Something went wrong. Please try again. If the problem persists, visit the Disney+ Help Center (Error Code 83)." As explained by Hans de Goede, this error was being caused by the Disney+ service using the highest level of security for the Widevine Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. As some Linux and Android devices did not support this higher DRM security level, they were unable to stream Disney+ shows in their browsers... Yesterday, Twitter users discovered that Disney+ had suddenly started working on Linux browsers after the streaming service tweaked their DRM security levels... Even with Disney+ lowering the DRM requirements, users must first make sure DRM is enabled in the browser. For example, Disney+ will not work with Firefox unless you enable the "Play DRM-controlled content" setting in the browser.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/19/12/08/169213 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Debian Begins Vote On Supporting Non-Systemd Init Options
by Peter Reutemann 09 Dec '19

09 Dec '19

"It's been five years already since the vote to transition to systemd in Debian over Upstart," reports Phoronix, noting that the Debian developer community has now begun a 20-day ranked-choice vote on eight different proposals for "'init system diversity' and just how much Debian developers care (or not) in supporting alternatives to systemd." -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/19/12/08/2131220 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0

Qualcomm To Offer GPU Driver Updates On Google Play Store For Some Snapdragon Chips
by Peter Reutemann 08 Dec '19

08 Dec '19

'At its Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii this week, Qualcomm unveiled the new Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform, which enable next year's flagship 5G Android phones with more performance, a stronger Tensor-based AI processor and a very interesting new forthcoming feature not yet offered for any smartphone platform to date. The company announced that it will eventually start delivering driver updates for its Adreno GPU engines on board the Snapdragon 865 as downloadable packages via the Google Play Store. This is big news for smartphones, as GPU drivers are rarely updated out of band, if ever, and typically have to wait for the next major Android release. And even then, many OEMs don't bother putting in the effort to ensure that mobile GPUs are running the most current graphics drivers from Qualcomm. The process, which would have to be pre-qualified by major OEMs as well, will be akin to what the PC GPU 3D graphics driver ecosystem has been benefiting from for a long time, for maximum performance and compatibility. Unfortunately, at least currently, GPU driver update support is limited to only the Adreno 650 core on board the new Snapdragon 865, which currently supports updating drivers in this fashion. Here's hoping this program is met with success and Qualcomm will begin to enable the feature for legacy and new midrange Snapdragon platforms as well.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/19/12/06/2132212 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

1 0