open source

The folks at AdGuard created a service called AdGuard Home, a bit of software that creates a DNS server for your home network to block ad tracking. This is for the people who aren't comfortable with every website using their browsing information to serve ads without asking. This isn't just to block advertisements, it's to block companies like Facebook from watching your every move, using your movements without your permission.

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Today, eBay made an announcement most probably wouldn't expect: it's been working behind the scenes on AI-powered assistive technology. In a broad sense, the open-source HeadGaze project, as it's called, uses the front-facing camera on the iPhone X and 3D information from Apple ARKit to allow users to navigate apps by moving their head. eBay has also created an app called HeadSwipe using HeadGaze technology.

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Very few crowdfunded projects have ever shipped on time. That’s especially true for ones that promise to create a device that has never existed yet so far. So it’s not exactly surprising when Purism, after a long status report, revealed they were now looking at an April 2019 launch date for the Librem 5. Despite that unforeseen setback, the company is confident that it’s still on track to deliver what will be the industry’s first non-Android, fully Linux, fully free and open source software, privacy and security respecting user-friendly smartphone.

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Thanks to the antics of some of your favorite, and not so favorite, tech companies, there has been a lot of focus and frenzy shed on privacy. If you really think about it, no one and nothing is safe from these corporate giants, from always-listening and sometimes-recording smart speakers to even your supposedly silent and deaf smartphone. There has never been a more opportune time for products that champion privacy and the user to come out of hiding. And, if all goes well, one such product will be available for purchase at the start of 2019: the privacy-focused, freedom-loving, Linux-based open source Purism Librem 5.

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Over the weekend, we heard rumors which claimed that Microsoft was looking to add GitHub, a big name in the coding and open-source spaces, to its portfolio. It didn't take very long for the truth of the matter to come out, as less than 24 hours later, Microsoft has confirmed that it is indeed buying the company. It's paying a significant sum to make GitHub a Microsoft brand, too.

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Microsoft has reportedly inked a deal to acquire GitHub, in a huge purchase that could be announced as soon as Monday. The acquisition would be an unexpected twist in the story of the popular code version control system, with GitHub the largest host of source code worldwide.

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Wear OS by Google, the wearable platform formerly known as Android Wear, is based on Android and, therefore, technically and legally open source. But just like Android itself, development doesn't exactly happen in the open completely and there are some parts that are proprietary to Google. That is especially frustrating for smartwatch believers, especially when their wearables get abandoned and outdated. Now they might have a choice with the first stable release of AsteroidOS, a completely open source operating system designed not just to run on Wear OS smartwatches but also to give the community a hand in its development.

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Huawei may have seen the writing on the wall long before trouble started brewing. Either that or it already knew what it was in for, perhaps because of some actions that it knows will upset some powers. Either way, the Chinese OEM, which is now the world's third largest smartphone company and the second largest Android device maker, was recently reported to have been developing its own OS since 2012 as a fallback should its Android venture fail. It didn't but, thanks to recent political events, it might have to use that Plan B. However, Huawei shouldn't have to switch away from Android and, in fact, it might actually be suicide for it to push through with its own "Huawei OS".

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Steam Machines have failed, at least commercially. There’s hardly any argument there. Even Valve itself admits as much. Valve, however, would not concede defeat and promises to remain committed to pushing Linux gaming forward. Some might see it as simple lip service to calm SteamOS fans. Others might see it as a pointless endeavor and business suicide. And yet, if Valve’s dreams are to become reality, it really doesn’t have much choice to stick to its Linux guns for the long term and these are the reasons why.

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The 90s called and want their file manager back. File managers have become de-emphasized thanks to the more app-centric world of mobile devices, but once upon a time, they were pretty much the center of a user's computing world. Perhaps timed to commemorate the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update and it’s "uncluttered" File Explorer, Microsoft has just released Windows 3.0's File Manager as open source software for both developers and users to look at. And, yes, it runs on Windows 10 too.

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There’s no arguing that Facebook made a massive blunder in the way it handled the Cambridge Analytica situation. It has caused many big names in many industries, ranging from tech to advertising, to pull out their support or chide the social networking giant. Apple, who has been painted as the poster boy for protecting customer privacy, naturally criticized Facebook’s behavior. But in explaining how Apple would have done it differently, Tim Cook pit the company’s practices and philosophy against those of more “open” app and content markets, like Android’s Google Play Store. But which strategy is the right one to take, especially in this day of rampant privacy violations? As you might expect, the answer isn’t clear-cut.

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To consumers, and probably even to some businesses, there are really only a handful of operating systems in the world. There’s Windows, Mac, and Linux for desktops and Android and iOS for mobile. Of course, the reality isn’t as simple as that and there are a lot more than you can count, like Google’s Chrome OS, the Linux Foundation’s (really Samsung’s) Tizen, Jolla’s Sailfish, the discontinued Mozilla Firefox OS, and LG’s webOS. That last one is trying to grow out of its niche status and become a serious contender, and LG is open sourcing part of it in order to help it become a global platform.

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