The Debian project has been voting on a general
resolution that would allow secret voting on future issues. The results have
been posted in unofficial form, and the winner was “proposal B”: “Hide identities of
Developers casting a particular vote and allow verification”. One might
think that closes the discussion, but Debian project leader candidate Felix
Lechner is questioning
the election and calling for it to be redone — something that the
Debian constitution lacks provisions for.
Source: LWN.net – Debian decides to allow secret votes
Monthly Archives: March 2022
Clean Your Flower Pots Before Reusing Them (Without Hurting Your Plants)
As many houseplants and flowers mature, they outgrow the original pots and containers they called home and need to move into something bigger. And while reusing the pot is a great, sustainable option, it’s important to make sure that it’s cleaned thoroughly before moving a new plant in and having it set down roots.…
Source: LifeHacker – Clean Your Flower Pots Before Reusing Them (Without Hurting Your Plants)
Patients With Covid and Flu Double the Risk of Dying, Say Scientists
Covid-19 patients who have been hospitalised should also be routinely tested for flu, researchers have said. The call was made after the publication of a paper in the medical journal the Lancet that revealed having both conditions more than doubles the risk of a patient dying. From a report: Scientists also discovered that individuals who had contracted both Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, and influenza viruses were more than four times more likely to require ventilation support and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they just had Covid-19. “We found that the combination of Covid-19 and flu viruses is particularly dangerous,” said Professor Kenneth Baillie of Edinburgh University. “We expect that Covid-19 will circulate with flu, increasing the chance of co-infections. That is why we should change our testing strategy for Covid-19 patients in hospital and test for flu much more widely.”
The study looked at more than 305,000 hospitalised patients with Covid-19 and involved researchers from Edinburgh University, Liverpool University, Imperial College London and Leiden University in the Netherlands. A total of 6,965 patients were found to have had Covid-19, while 227 also had the influenza virus. These individuals experienced significantly more severe outcomes, researchers found. “We were surprised that the risk of death more than doubled when people were infected by both flu and Covid-19 viruses,” said Professor Calum Semple of Liverpool University. “It is now very important that people get fully vaccinated and boosted against both viruses, and not leave it until it is too late.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Patients With Covid and Flu Double the Risk of Dying, Say Scientists
Phison Says Your Next-Gen PCIe 5 SSD Could Need An Active Cooler
Like practically every PC component, speed gains in solid state drive (SSD) storage come at the expense of heat output. And just like your CPU and GPU, that also means cooling plays a critical role in both peak and sustained performance. So far we’ve been able to get by with passive cooling solutions (heat shields), but some next generation
Source: Hot Hardware – Phison Says Your Next-Gen PCIe 5 SSD Could Need An Active Cooler
Scientists Detect Bizarre High-Frequency Waves Coming From The Sun's Surface
A new discovery of high-frequency-retrograde vorticity waves in the Sun defy all explanations. The discovery indicates that vortices on the surface of the Sun move at three times the speed as previously thought.
A group of researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) Center for Space Science recently published a paper detailing
Source: Hot Hardware – Scientists Detect Bizarre High-Frequency Waves Coming From The Sun’s Surface
How to Find and Report Asteroids Because Your Life Is Boring Otherwise
Along with puzzles, knitting, and baking banana bread, backyard astronomy was something a lot of people got into at the beginning of the pandemic. Two years later, there may not be the same enthusiasm for checking the weekly night-sky forecast and adding upcoming meteor showers to your calendar, but it’s an activity…
Source: LifeHacker – How to Find and Report Asteroids Because Your Life Is Boring Otherwise
HP buys Poly, the company formerly known as Plantronics
Plantronics’ (now Poly’s) long independent streak is coming to an end. Reutersreports HP is acquiring Poly in an all-cash deal worth $3.3 billion including debt. HP said the purchase would bolster its “hybrid work” offerings, such as headsets and videoconferencing hardware. The computing giant didn’t say if Poly would still operate as a distinct brand or retain its CEO (we’ve asked HP for comment), but the deal is expected to close by the end of 2022.
Don’t expect this to lead to HP-branded consumer headphones or earbuds. When Plantronics rebranded as Poly, the company was already transitioning from personal audio to work-oriented products like meeting room speakers and videoconferencing cameras. Only a handful of items (such as the Voyager headphone range) are designed with home use at least partly in mind. As it stands, HP already targets everyday users with its gaming-focused HyperX brand.
Whatever HP’s intentions, the buyout closes an important chapter in audio history. Plantronics was one of the first companies to produce Bluetooth headsets, and developed an early reputation as a go-to brand for hands-free calling. However, its attempts at competing with consumer heavyweights like Apple, Bose and Sony never really panned out. While Plantronics created well-made headphones and earbuds that sometimes undercut the competition on price, it never reached the level of hype that helped its rivals succeed. The 2018 acquisition of Polycom and the subsequent Poly rebrand was, in a sense, an acknowledgment that Plantronics’ strength was in the office rather than at home.
It’s also no secret that Poly had entertained buyers. In 2018, Plantronics had been in talks with Logitech about a possible deal. That fell through, but it was already clear the firm was open to a merger. The HP move might represent a happy ending in that light, even if Poly is losing its independence in the process.
Source: Engadget – HP buys Poly, the company formerly known as Plantronics
That Smiling LinkedIn Profile Face Might Be a Computer-generated Fake
An anonymous reader shares a report: That chance message launched DiResta and her colleague Josh Goldstein at the Stanford Internet Observatory on an investigation that uncovered more than 1,000 LinkedIn profiles using what appear to be faces created by artificial intelligence. Social media accounts using computer-generated faces have pushed Chinese disinformation; harassed activists; and masqueraded as Americans supporting former President Donald Trump and independent news outlets spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. NPR found that many of the LinkedIn profiles seem to have a far more mundane purpose: drumming up sales for companies big and small. Accounts like Keenan Ramsey’s send messages to potential customers. Anyone who takes the bait gets connected to a real salesperson who tries to close the deal. Think telemarketing for the digital age.
By using fake profiles, companies can cast a wide net online without beefing up their own sales staff or hitting LinkedIn’s limits on messages. Demand for online sales leads exploded during the pandemic as it became hard for sales teams to pitch their products in person. More than 70 businesses were listed as employers on these fake profiles. Several told NPR they had hired outside marketers to help with sales. They said they hadn’t authorized any use of computer-generated images, however, and many were surprised to learn about them when NPR asked.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – That Smiling LinkedIn Profile Face Might Be a Computer-generated Fake
Intel Launches 5.5GHz Alder Lake Core i9-12900KS, Claims It’s The World’s Fastest Desktop CPU
There’s no more mystery surrounding the release of Intel’s Core i9-12900KS Special Edition processor—the flagship Alder Lake CPU officially arrives on April 5, 2022. Intel confirmed the launch date today, and doubled down on its being the “world’s fastest desktop processor” and the “ultimate processor for enthusiasts and gamers.”
Intel
Source: Hot Hardware – Intel Launches 5.5GHz Alder Lake Core i9-12900KS, Claims It’s The World’s Fastest Desktop CPU
You Can Get Rid of Windows Bloatware With One Command
Windows has always had a bloatware problem (even if Samsung has recently claimed the crown in that department). Bloatware is an umbrella term for apps, services, and programs you don’t need, and never asked for, and Windows comes preinstalled with a boatload of them.
Source: LifeHacker – You Can Get Rid of Windows Bloatware With One Command
More Thor: Love and Thunder Merch Gives a Peek at Chris Hemsworth's New Look
Even more Teen Wolf stars are confirmed to return for the new movie. There’s somehow still hope Steven Spielberg’s Blackhawk DC movie could still happen. James Gunn teases major Marvel arrivals in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Plus, the battle for Riverdale’s soul begins. Spoilers, away!
Source: Gizmodo – More Thor: Love and Thunder Merch Gives a Peek at Chris Hemsworth’s New Look
Someone Made Rodney Dangerfield's Club-Launching Golf Bag From Caddyshack a Real Thing
One of the most entertaining trends YouTube makers have latched onto is turning contraptions from the movies into real gadgets. We’ve seen Spider-Man’s web shooters recreated with an impressive level of functionality, but Nick O’Hara’s club-launching golf bag is a near perfect recreation of an over-the-top gag from …
Source: Gizmodo – Someone Made Rodney Dangerfield’s Club-Launching Golf Bag From Caddyshack a Real Thing
Scheduling tasks with the Linux cron command
Cron is a daemon used to execute scheduled commands automatically. Learning how to use cron required some reading and experimenting, but soon I was using cron to shut down our email server, back up the data in a compressed tar file, then restart the email service at 3AM.
Source: LXer – Scheduling tasks with the Linux cron command
OnePlus as we knew it is dead, here's what next
OnePlus began life as a startup making smartphones with high-end specs aimed at enthusiasts. Its first phones were barebones devices that maximized value for money, while still retaining a sense of identity (remember those sandstone backs?). That’s something that’s not easy for any device, regardless of price. But now after 10 generations, it feels like the OnePlus we knew is gone, and it’s probably not coming back.
Now, I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom. It’s only natural that companies evolve over time. Just look at Nintendo, which started out making Hanafuda cards more than 130 years ago, or Nokia, which can trace its roots back to a single pulp mill built way back in 1865. So while OnePlus hasn’t been around nearly that long and its pivot isn’t nearly as drastic, ahead of the company’s next flagship phone’s arrival in the US, now feels like a good time to examine how a once sorta plucky smartphone upstart turned into mainstream OEM.
Carlo Allegri / reuters
Founded in 2013 by Carl Pei and Pete Lau, OnePlus started off as a subsidiary of BBK electronics alongside other well-known Chinese smartphone brands including Oppo, Vivo and, more recently, Realme. So right away there was a lot of shared DNA. But critically, even though OnePlus phones often had similar designs and specs compared to contemporary Oppo devices, the teams behind those phones were separate. (The old joke for years was that the latest Vivo phone would eventually become the next OnePlus device after a few months, but I digress.) This gave OnePlus the freedom to tweak things to suit its core audience: hardcore phone nerds, mostly in the US and western Europe before later expanding to India. Meanwhile, Oppo and Vivo focused more on the Chinese market and other regions in Asia.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, when a new OnePlus phone came out, it often launched first in the US. OnePlus phones also had features like its Alert Slider and OxygenOS that weren’t available on phones from its sister companies. And as early as 2015, 60 to 70 percent of the company’s sales came from overseas as growth in the west quickly outpaced gains in its home country. More recently in 2020, OnePlus sales in the US grew by 143 percent while practically every other phone maker saw shipments decline due to the pandemic and the silicon shortage that followed soon after. In contrast to Oppo and Vivo, OnePlus carved out its niche overseas, and in some ways, you could even think of OnePlus as a western company that just happened to be based in the east.
OnePlus
But everything changed last year when OnePlus announced that it was officially merging with Oppo. So now, instead of being an independent company (albeit with the same parent in BBK), OnePlus is being positioned as a sub-brand for its sister company run by Lau, who will jointly oversee both companies while serving as chief product officer.
From a business standpoint, the merger makes a lot of sense. Rather than having redundant teams working on similar projects at different companies, combining OnePlus and Oppo helps streamline research and development while also boosting the scale at which the company can produce (and sell) devices. And it’s a similar story for the OS powering these devices, because after years of independent development, OnePlus announced that OxygenOS and Oppo’s ColorOS would transition to a shared codebase.
That means while OxygenOS will still be around, it’s closer to being a tweaked and stripped-down skin of ColorOS designed to look OnePlus’ old platform. But under the hood, they’re the same. And if it wasn’t for backlash from fans, Oppo probably would have shelved OnePlus’ take on Android entirely in favor of Vivo’s platform.
OnePlus
Unfortunately, this change to the new codebase hasn’t been smooth. During a recent roundtable that took place during MWC late last month, OnePlus’ head of OS product Gary Chen admitted that the latest iteration of OxygenOS (version 12) “did not meet expectations.” On top of that, when asked why the OnePlus 10 Pro launched first in China months before becoming available in other regions, Lau said the OP10 Pro’s delayed availability wasn’t caused by the ongoing global chip crunch, but instead because “software development takes longer for non-China countries.” This is a very different approach to OnePlus’ global sales strategy compared to the past. And lest we forget, there still aren’t even any plans to make a non-pro OnePlus 10, which just seems odd after years of new phones landing in pairs.
Another important factor to consider is all the former employees who have left the company recently, most notably Carl Pei. Not long before the OnePlus/Oppo merger went down, Pei left the company he helped create to launch Nothing. According to Lau, “Pei’s departure did not have an impact on the development of OnePlus.” And while I understand the desire for a company to put on a stoic face during a major transition, allow me to reserve a bit of skepticism on that one.
Steve Jennings via Getty Images
Over the course of multiple generations, Pei was often the face of OnePlus, especially for customers in the west. He presented new flagship devices at launch events and regularly popped in to chat with customers or provide updates in the company’s forums. And after launching its first product last year (the Ear1 earbuds), Nothing is about to become one of OnePlus’ direct competitors now that the company is prepping to launch the Phone 1 sometime this summer. Without getting too deep into any interpersonal drama, I think it’s pretty clear that Pei is still very much interested in making gadgets, just not at OnePlus.
The brain drain hasn’t happened solely at the very top of the ladder either, with other longtime OnePlus execs like chief marketing officer Kyle Kiang having left the company last year in April. And then there are the countless numbers of OnePlus public relations, communication and support staff that have departed as well. Prior to 2020, I basically had the same two or three OnePlus contacts for five years running. And while my more recent contacts have been nothing short of professional, the amount of internal turnover I’ve seen feels very much like a changing of the guard.
Oppo
And then there are smaller moves like pushing Warp Charging to the back burner in favor of 150W SuperVooc charging, which is slated to arrive on an upcoming OnePlus phone sometime in 2022. Now, it’s hard to get too upset about getting even faster charging tech, but this is yet another example of how the Oppo side of the company is seeping into OnePlus.
But perhaps most importantly is how OnePlus views itself. After shipping more than 11 million phones last year, OnePlus set new sales records in 2021. And while the company says it will continue to support its core markets in the US, India, Europe and China, the company also has aggressive plans to expand its markets later this year to Canada, Mexico and South America (a first for OnePlus). And in the future, OnePlus is eyeing North Africa and the Middle East as well. In short, while longtime enthusiasts probably won’t be completely forgotten, 2022 feels like a massive push from OnePlus to become a truly mainstream name.
OnePlus
In some ways, OnePlus has kinda become the new LG, filling the void in the smartphone landscape left after Samsung’s cross-country rival shuttered its mobile business. And while this might seem like selling out (which, remember, is exactly what companies are made to do), there are a number of positive things that have come about as part of the company’s maturation. We’re talking about stuff like wider retail availability and improved carrier support throughout the US, not to mention a growing ecosystem of gadgets that includes wireless earbuds, smartwatches and more.
There’s also the company’s partnership with Hasselblad to improve its mobile photography, which for OnePlus has consistently lagged behind what you get on phones from Apple, Samsung and Google. OnePlus has even improved the everyday durability of its handsets in recent years thanks to support for IP68 dust and water resistance — even if the company’s unlocked models don’t explicitly mention this in their specs. And thanks to the Nord series, OnePlus has a larger lineup of affordable devices than ever before.
OnePlus
So has OnePlus finally turned its back on its longtime customers? Maybe, maybe not. That really depends on what you’re looking for in a phone. There’s no question that the company’s latest flagship devices are very different from what it used to make back in 2014. Heck for the first few year But at the same time, people’s preferences and expectations about what makes a good handset have changed a lot during the last eight years too. In its quest for a worldwide presence, OnePlus left a lot of its past behind. And in its place, we’re left with a global brand that ranks as the fourth-largest smartphone maker on the planet (and that’s not even counting Vivo) that’s very hungry to climb even higher. So say goodbye to the old OnePlus and say hello to the rapidly expanding behemoth that’s taken its place.
Source: Engadget – OnePlus as we knew it is dead, here’s what next
Make Your PC Games Easier (or Harder) With Cheat Engine
Cheat codes were once an ubiquitous video game feature, but these days they’re rarely included—and if they are, it’s usually as little more than a nostalgic wink to classic games. However, there’s a way to add helpful effects like invincibility mode to some games using Cheat Engine.
Source: LifeHacker – Make Your PC Games Easier (or Harder) With Cheat Engine
Intel Launches The Core i9 12900KS At Up To 5.5GHz Alder Lake
Intel today announced the Core i9 12900KS as “the world’s fastest desktop processor” with a 5.5GHz maximum turbo frequency…
Source: Phoronix – Intel Launches The Core i9 12900KS At Up To 5.5GHz Alder Lake
An Age-by-Age Guide to Why Kids Lie (and What to Do About It)
Everyone lies sometimes. Toddlers, kindergarteners, fourth graders, tweens, teens, and yes, even us—the mature, sage adults. We’ve all sugarcoated the truth at one time or another to spare someone’s feelings, get out of an onerous task, or save face while bailing on previously laid social plans.
Source: LifeHacker – An Age-by-Age Guide to Why Kids Lie (and What to Do About It)
Open-Source Radeon Vulkan Driver Ray-Tracing Gets A Bit Further Along For Doom Eternal
While last year saw initial Radeon Vulkan ray-tracing merged into Mesa’s “RADV” driver, the work remains experimental but bit by bit is becoming more mature and capable…
Source: Phoronix – Open-Source Radeon Vulkan Driver Ray-Tracing Gets A Bit Further Along For Doom Eternal
Amazon Games chief Mike Frazzini is leaving the company
Amazon Game Studio head and longtime employee Mike Frazzini is stepping down, he announced in a LinkedIn post. Frazzini cited the desire to spend more time with family and the fact that the studio is finally having some success. “While there’s never really a perfect time to step away from a great role, now is a good time,” he wrote. “We’ve launched two top 10 games in the past six months, and have a growing portfolio of promising new games in the pipeline.”
Amazon Games has struggled over the past few years, notably with the cancellation of its Lord of the Rings MMO and fiasco with its first AAA game, Crucible. The company was also criticized for its policy of claiming ownership of employees’ personal games that one engineer called “draconian.” One former Game Studios manager said some of Amazon’s issues may have come about because Frazzini had no previous experience in gaming, according to the same Bloomberg report.
However, the company has had hits of late with New World, one of 2021’s biggest money makers on Steam. It has also had ongoing success as the publisher of Lost Ark, made by South Korean developer Smilegate RPG. Frazzini didn’t say what he planned to do next.
Source: Engadget – Amazon Games chief Mike Frazzini is leaving the company
Why AlmaLinux Is the Distro to Beat in the CentOS Linux Replacement Arena
As AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux vie for dominance in the free RHEL replacement space that was abandoned by CentOS Linux, Alma appears to be making deeper inroads on several fronts.
The post Why AlmaLinux Is the Distro to Beat in the CentOS Linux Replacement Arena appeared first on FOSS Force.
Source: FOSS Force – Why AlmaLinux Is the Distro to Beat in the CentOS Linux Replacement Arena