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Vivaldi 2.0 Desktop Browser Featuring Expanded Customization, Sync Across Devices and Privacy Tools Released [Q&A With Founder]
by Peter Reutemann 26 Sep '18

26 Sep '18

'Vivaldi announced Wednesday it has released a major update to its namesake desktop web browser, remaining as one of the rare companies that is still attempting to fight Google's monopoly in the space. Major features in Vivaldi 2.0 include: - Syncing browsers across computers:Version 2.0 allows users to sync data, including bookmarks, passwords, autofill information, and history. Vivaldi uses its own servers to store the data, which is all encrypted end-to-end. - Panels: These are expandable, multi-tasking dashboards that can be opened in the sidebar. - Tab management: Additional features are included that allow for better searching through tabs, stacking them, and even renaming them. - History: Offers new ways to track your usage, including generating statistics and a visual history feature. Vivaldi was founded by Jon von Tetzchner, who also co-founded Opera and served as its chief executive for a number of years. Jon has been vocal about what many find unfair tactics employed by Google and Microsoft to aggressively expand the user bases of their respective browsers.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/09/26/0713254 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/

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Fedora 29 Beta Now Available For Download With Improved Raspberry Pi Support
by Peter Reutemann 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

'The Fedora Project announced Tuesday the beta availability of Fedora 29 -- the latest version of the free and open-source Fedora OS. From a report: It features updated packages, improved support for Raspberry Pi, and more. "Highlighting Fedora 29 Beta is the addition of modularity across all Fedora editions. First delivered in Fedora 28 Server, modularity enables multiple versions of the same software (like Node.js) to be selected on a per-system basis, with parallel installation done through containers. This can provide some users the ability to use tried-and-true versions of software while enabling other users to work with just-released innovation without impacting the overall stability of the Fedora operating system," says Matthew Miller, Fedora Project Leader. Miller further says, "The importance of ARM to IoT has not been lost on Fedora, and Fedora 29 Beta aims to make the Fedora operating system a home for both ARM and IoT. These features start with enhanced ZRAM support for swap on ARMv7 and aarch64, which can improve the performance and reliability of Fedora 29 Beta on ARM Single Board Computers, like the Raspberry Pi. These devices are used by 'makers' and in developmental IoT solutions."' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/18/09/25/1939240 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/

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Firefox Monitor Will Inform You of Data Breaches
by Peter Reutemann 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

'Earlier this year, Mozilla announced Firefox Monitor, a service that will inform you if your online accounts were hacked in a recent data breach. It's now available to general public. A report adds: For the new security-focused tool, Mozilla partnered with Troy Hunt, the renowned security expert behind Have I Been Pwned? (HIBP), which is a database of data breaches that allows anyone to discover whether one of their online accounts has been compromised. The first iteration of Firefox Monitor is, for all intents and purposes, a clone of HIBP. After you enter your email address and hit the scan button, you're told which online services have leaked your personal details (if any). You can also sign up to be notified of any future data breaches involving one or more of your email addresses.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/09/25/1928234 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/

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Slack Buys and Shuts Down Intelligent Email App Astro
by Peter Reutemann 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

Since we discussed matrix.org at last night's meeting, this might be of interest: 'Slack has acquired email app company Astro to incorporate it into Slack channels. As a result, Astro is shutting down its Mac, iOS, Android, Alexa and Slack apps. They're no longer taking new users and existing ones will lose access on October 10th. Engadget reports: The company said that with over 50 million channels created to date, they're increasingly becoming the platform through which teams collaborate. "But we all know that email is still a very important tool in business communication," said Slack. "We've taken some steps to make it possible to integrate email into Slack, but now we're in a position to make that interoperability much simpler and much, much more powerful." Last year, Astro launched its Astrobot Slack app, which let users manage their emails and check their Office 365 or Google calendars from within Slack. It also allowed them to do one search to pull up results from both Slack and email. "As we explored with Slack how to bring together messaging, email and calendar, it became evident that we would have the biggest impact on workplace communications and realize our original vision by joining Slack," the company said. ' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/09/24/2051256 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/

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Sky TV Wants ISPs To Block Pirate Sites
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 25 Sep '18

25 Sep '18

From <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=121313…>: Sky says ISPs should introduce blocking, because other countries do it. But it doesn’t mention how effective such blocks actually are(n’t). Also, it appears 5% of NZers have discovered the usefulness of Kodi boxes. The article nicely points out one problem with trying to block some of these “pirate” sites: Sky has also taken at least a dozen cases against individuals who accessed illegal Facebook streams of Joseph Parker fights - although it only sought token costs, not damages. However, while Sky's action over illegal Parker fight streaming has been successful, it also illustrates the complications of Sky's website blocking request. It is unlikely any ISP would want to block Facebook.

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topic(s) for this month's meeting?
by Peter Reutemann 23 Sep '18

23 Sep '18

Hi everyone In all that Alexa excitement at the last meeting, I completely forgot to figure out topic/speaker for this month's meeting. Anybody keen on presenting or an interesting topic to discuss? Is actually anybody running the latest 4.19 kernel and noticed significant performance drops (thanks to specter/meltdown)? 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/

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Cloudflare Promotes The InterPlanetary File System
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 19 Sep '18

19 Sep '18

Content-distribution company Cloudflare is trying to encourage use of the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) as a way to do distributed hosting of static content <https://blog.cloudflare.com/distributed-web-gateway/>. Instead of using host-specific URLs to find what you want, you specify hashes for the items, and it finds them wherever they are, across all the available IPFS nodes. What Cloudflare is doing is offering an IPFS “gateway”, which means you put the hash into a URL pointing at a Cloudflare server to specify the item. That way you don’t have to set up an IPFS node yourself. Found from this news item <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/18/cloudflare_backs_interplanetary_fi…>.

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Ampere’s ARM Server Shipping At Last
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 18 Sep '18

18 Sep '18

A 32-core, 64-bit ARMv8 machine running at up to 3.3GHz in turbo mode is apparently now available <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/18/ampere_shipping/>. 125W sounds a pretty modest draw for such a grunty machine. And only a 3-figure price tag, too (OK, maybe 4 figures in NZD).

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A Property Owner Can Be Forced To Trim Trees That Block Wi-Fi
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 18 Sep '18

18 Sep '18

A recent High Court judgement <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=121272…> has ruled that a neighbour can force you to trim the trees on your property if they block their wireless Internet access. The article notes that this was more of an issue with the 2.6GHz frequency being used for this connection than it might have been for the 700MHz band employed by other providers.

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Amazon Plans To Release At Least 8 New Alexa-Powered Devices, Including A Microwave, Amplifier, and In-Car Gadget
by Peter Reutemann 18 Sep '18

18 Sep '18

'Amazon is planning to release at least 8 new voice-controlled hardware devices before the end of the year, according to CNBC. "The devices include, among others, a microwave oven, an amplifier, a receiver, a subwoofer, and an in-car gadget, people familiar with the matter said," reports CNBC. "All of the devices will be Alexa-enabled, meaning they can easily connect to the voice assistant. Some of the devices will also have Alexa built in." From the report: Amazon is expected to reveal some of these devices at an event later this month, according to an internal document describing the plans. The new devices reflect Amazon's ambition to make its Alexa voice technology ubiquitous by focusing on areas where people spend most of their time -- at home and in the car. Alexa was initially considered a geeky experiment at Amazon. Now it is now one of the most popular voice assistants, leading the growth of the burgeoning smart speaker market, which is expected to be worth $30 billion by 2024, according to Global Market Insights. ' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/09/17/2149214 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/

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