Storj Labs has released the beta of its open source namesake decentralized cloud object storage software alongside opening up beta access to its own implementation of that software with its decentralized cloud storage service Tardigrade. Originally the brainchild of founder Shawn Wilkinson, Storj has gone through two other implementations before arriving at version 3 (V3). (Source: The New Stack)
City-Led Open Mobility Foundation Uses Open Source To Manage Transportation
Seleta Reynolds runs the Los Angeles Department of Transportation with 7,500 miles of streets, 5,000 traffic signals, 37,000 parking meters and if that’s not enough one year ago the latest innovation in transportation arrived – dockless bikes also known as e-scooters. On a recent Friday in early July, there were 52,000 trips taken in L.A. on those scooters. Reynolds and the LA DOT created the Mobility Data Specification (MDS) as a set of data specifications and data sharing requirements for dockless e-scooters and bicycles, which it shared on GitHub. Today, about 80 cities worldwide are using the MDS. (TFIR)
GNOME Wants to Make Linux Firmware Updates Easier to Deploy with New Tool
Long-time GNOME developer Richard Hughes is looking at a new tool for the GNOME desktop environment to make deployments of firmware updates easier for all users. At the moment, the GNOME Software Center only displays devices when firmware updates are pending, but Hughes and Andrew Schwenn, an intern from Dell, have been working lately on a new tool that would be integrated as a panel into GNOME Control Center, which promises to make it easier for users to install new firmware versions for their hardware. (Source: Softpedia)
Microsoft readies exFAT patents for Linux
Microsoft has announced that it would make the technical specification for exFAT publicly available to facilitate the development of conformant, interoperable implementations. Microsoft said it also supports the eventual inclusion of a Linux kernel with exFAT support in a future revision of the Open Invention Network’s Linux System Definition, where, once accepted, the code will benefit from the defensive patent commitments of OIN’s 3040+ members and licensees. When the next edition of the Linux System Definition is released in the first quarter of 2020, any member of the OIN will be able to use exFAT without paying a patent royalty. (Source: ZDNet)
OrangeCrab, An Open Source Lattice ECP5 FPGA Board
Lattice ECP5 FPGA powered OrangeCrab is the work of Greg Davill who designed the Adafruit Feather-compatible board in KiCAD, crowdsourced schematics/PCB checking and published his progress on Twitter, and published the files of the open source hardware board on Github. (Source: CNX-Software)
Chrome OS Gets First Chromebook Enterprise Devices
Google today announced a slew of Chrome Enterprise updates, including a faster Google Admin console and managed Linux environments. The company also unveiled the first Chromebook Enterprise laptops: Dell’s Latitude 5300 for $819 and Latitude 5400 for $699. (Source: Venture Beat)
Deep Learning Reference Stack v4.0 Now Available
Intel’s Clear Linux project has announced the Deep Learning Reference Stack that enables developers to quickly prototype and deploy DL workloads, reducing complexity while maintaining the flexibility for developers to customize solutions. Among the features added in this release: TensorFlow 1.14; Intel OpenVINO model server; Intel Deep Learning Boost (DL Boost) and Deep Learning Compilers (TVM* 0.6). (Source: Clear Linux)
VMware CEO Sets Lofty Open Source Goals
VMware hasn’t traditionally had the best reputation in the open source community, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger admits. In fact, he sums it up in one word: “Bad.” But VMware’s on a mission to change that. “I would hope that over the next couple of years you will see VMware emerge as one of the most open source friendly companies in the enterprise space in the industry,” Gelsinger said during a press briefing at VMworld. (Source: SDX Central)
Interview With The The FreeBSD Foundation Executive Director
The Linux Foundation hosted the executive director of the FreeBSD Foundation, Deb Goodkin, at the Open Source Summit in San Diego. In this episode of Let’s Talk, TFiR sat down with Goodkin to talk about the FreeBSD project and the foundation. (TFIR)
VMware Enters Agreements To Acquire Pivotal Software And Carbon Black
VMware and Pivotal Software announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which VMware will acquire Pivotal for a blended price per share of $11.71, comprised of $15 per share in cash to Class A stockholders, and the exchange of shares of VMware’s Class B common stock for shares of Pivotal Class B common stock held by Dell Technologies, at an exchange ratio of 0.0550 shares of VMware Class B stock for each share of Pivotal Class B stock. In total, the merger consideration represents an enterprise value for Pivotal of $2.7 billion. Following the close of the transaction, VMware will be positioned to deliver a comprehensive enterprise-grade Kubernetes-based portfolio for modern applications. (Arcweb)