MindForger is a modern, free, open-source, privacy-focused and performance-driven Markdown IDE for creating, editing, and managing all types of notes.
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Microsoft has ported Windows 10 and Linux to E2, its homegrown processor architecture it has spent years working on mostly in secret.
As well as the two operating systems, the US giant's researchers say they have also ported Busybox and FreeRTOS, plus a collection of toolkits for developing and building applications for the processor: the standard C/C++ and .NET Core runtime libraries, the Windows kernel debugger, Visual C++ 2017's command line tools, and .NET's just-in-time compiler RyuJIT.
Microsoft has also ported the widely used LLVM C/C++ compiler and debugger, and related C/C++ runtime libraries. The team wanted to demonstrate that programmers do not need to rewrite their software for the experimental chipset, and that instead programs just need to be recompiled - then they are ready to roll on the new technology.
I had no idea Microsoft was working on its own instruction set - even if only for research purposes. The Register has some more information on what E2 is like.
The Register understands from people familiar with its development that prototype E2 processors exist in the form of FPGAs - chips with reprogrammable circuitry that are typically used during the development of chips. For example, a dual-core implementation on Xilinx FPGAs exists, clocked at 50MHz. The team has also developed a cycle-accurate simulator capable of booting Windows and Linux, and running applications.
Qualcomm researchers were evaluating two EDGE chip designs with Microsoft: a small R0 core, and an R1 core running up to 2GHz fabricated using a 10nm process. The project, we must stress, is very much a work in progress.
It seems to be a radical departure from the norm, and I'm very interested to see where this will lead.
Tuesday, June 19th, 2018 :: 12:01 am
Given the recent advancements of the EXT4 file-system with its native file-system encryption support provided by the fscrypt framework, here are benchmarks comparing the performance of an EXT4 file-system with no encryption, fscrypt-based encryption, eCryptfs-based encryption, and a LUKS dm-crypt encrypted volume.
For those wondering how these different file-system encryption options compare for performance, I ran some fresh benchmarks using a Linux 4.18 development kernel as of 14 June from the Linux Git tree. The options tested were EXT4, fscrypt, eCryptfs, and LUKS dm-crypt encryption with the EXT4 file-system and tested with the defaults unless otherwise noted. A Toshiba TR150 SATA 3.0 SSD was used as the drive under test for all of the benchmarking. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was the basis for this benchmarking aside from the Linux kernel upgrade.
All of thes Linux file-system encryption benchmarks were carried out in a standardized and fully reproducible manner using the open-source Phoronix Test Suite benchmarking software.
Flash-Friendly File-System (F2FS) maintainer Jaegeuk Kim has submitted the file-system updates intended for the Linux 4.18 kernel.
This flash storage optimized file-system has improvements around its discard/fstrim support, including the splitting of large discard commands for better responsiveness. There is also a new
fsync_mode=nobarriermount option available for reducing the number of cache flushes.
F2FS for Linux 4.18 also has improved sanity checks, various code clean-ups, and at least six known bug fixes.
The complete list of F2FS file-system changes for Linux 4.18 can be found via
the kernel mailing list.
This guide shows how to install LineageOS without GApps with the help of signature spoofing and microG, so that you can have Push Notifications, Location Services and the like, without needing to have Google Play Services installed (without Google-anything for that matter).
It was made possible by the hard work of creators, maintainers and community around LineageOS, microG, XPosedFramework, F-Droid, Yalp Store and many others.
Exactly what it says on the tin.
It wasn't all that long ago the idea of binary packages were seen as salvation from having to compile software packages for one's Linux system.
In 2018, we've jumped ahead even further, with distro independent package installation solutions. In this article, we're going to look into three rising stars in this area: Snappy, Flatpak and AppImage.
I'm a huge fan of AppImage as you simply make the individual application you wish to run executable, then double click it. AppImages are just that simple. According to their website, the idea is that you get the software directly from the author of said program. Using the AppImage format, installing an application can feel similar to how one might do it with Windows.
The advantage of running an AppImage is that there is no need for sudo, root or even the need to be bothered with system dependencies. You're basically mounting a disk image, similar to how one might mount disk images in OS X.
Perhaps the biggest advantage to running AppImages is that you're running an application that can be removed by simply deleting a single file. This single file/disk image approach is both great and a hardship depending on how you look at it. AppImages are great in that they're easily distributed and simple to run.
The downside of AppImages are that even when you get the software directly from the author's website, you still don't really know if the application has been tampered with. This problem of trusting software is best demonstrated with what happened to OS X users and the application known as Transmission. This application allowed ransomware to infect those individuals who ran the application on their Macs.
So as much as I like AppImages, I take issue with the bold print statement that AppImages are to be trusted absolutely. Fact is, they're just disk images and instead we need to trust the distributor of each individual AppImage. Thankfully if one chooses to run an AppImage within a sandbox, this prevents things from getting out of hand should the downloaded AppImage become exploited on the source website.
Updates and applications installed by Flatpak are handled by individual runtimes. The idea is that this provides more streamlined package handling than running typical Linux package updates. Now here's where Flatpak shines - it's designed for desktop Linux distros. So the applications that are distributed with Flatpaks are going to be designed for desktop Linux users. This is a characteristic also found with AppImages, however Flatpaks differ in that they allow for individual application updates.
Flatpaks share similarities with Ubuntu PPAs in that they're using individual repositories for application installation and updates. I'll be first to admit that I honestly don't love this element of Flatpaks as it's time consuming to have to chase down individual repos. On the positive side, however, it does provide a better system for installation/updates as it's distro independent.
Another consideration is that installing the framework for Flatpaks requires the installation of needed components to make the Flatpak available software installable. The irony takes place with distros such as Ubuntu whereas you must add an Ubuntu PPA for the Flatpak framework. In short, install a PPA repository to install a framework to install Flatpak repositories. While it's not difficult to do this, it is a bit redundant.
The benefit of running Flatpak installed applications is that you can run the latest software on any distro you choose. Additionally, to curb the headache of seeking out individual Flatpak repos, Flathub's Application section makes finding software easy.
Flathub provides the ability locate software in one location, even though historically Flatpaks aren't located in a singular location. It's actually a great idea and it makes using Flatpaks a lot more appealing. Perhaps most importantly, Flathub's software categories are packed full of tons of software to choose from.
To repeat an item from above: Like AppImages, Flatpaks are designed for Linux desktops. This is an important consideration as we roll into the next section of this article.
Snap packages are a packaging concept created by Canonical and designed for Linux and IoT (internet of things). When you arrive at the Snapcraft website the first impression you find yourself with is that Snaps put the developer ahead of the end user. I don't mean that as a negative statement, however the Snaps web presence backs up my statement completely. The two buttons on the front page are "Build your first snap" and "Get started using Github."
Both button links mentioned above assume you're a developer. This differs substantially from the front page of the Flatpak. The Flatpak front page is dedicated to getting Flatpak software onto the PCs of end users. Snaps only offers end user solutions if you look to the very top navigation bar and click on store. Once you click the store link, you're presented with available Snaps to install onto target PCs and servers.
Snaps also share similarities with AppImage in that you're mounting a software image vs installing software. Another benefit with Snaps is being able to roll back to an earlier version of software. Additionally, updates are made easy since Snaps share a single repository.
The biggest downside some people find with Snaps is the fact it provides a centralized packaging format that Canonical controls. Granted, Snaps are available across multiple distros, but the control of available Snaps remains in a single location. It's also worth noting that notable open and closed source software is welcome in Snap's repository.
One last important point with Snaps is that they're not limited to the Linux desktop as I mentioned previously. They're also designed to provide packaging solutions for IoT (internet of things). This is the biggest difference between Snaps and both Flatpak and AppImage. Snaps are heavily focused on IoT with Linux being an added bonus.
After looking at the differences and advantages of each packaging type mentioned above, we're left wondering which one is best. In terms of simplicity, I'd argue that AppImage wins this one. But if you want to be able to update your software using one of these packaging formats, then Flatpak or Snaps make more sense.
One approach might be to try out each of them and see which packaging type has the user experience and the software titles you're looking for.
What say you? Do you have a preference? If so, what is your rationale as to your choice of software packaging. Hit the Comments, let's hear your perspective.
Greg Kroah-Hartman has begun submitting the v4.18 pull requests for the multiple subsystems he maintains within the Linux kernel.
First up are the
USB updatesfor Linux 4.18. With the USB updates there is continued work on bettering the Linux kernel USB Type-C support, namely around the
Type-C Port Manager(TCPM) that was merged to the mainline kernel last year. Greg KH noted that the Type-C code is almost ready to leave the staging area of the Linux kernel.
Also queued as part of the Linux 4.18 kernel are
some early bits for USB 3.2 supportthough it doesn't look like any USB 3.2 controller support is ready for Linux 4.18, this is just the infrastructure prepping around this USB specification published last year.
Greg also sent out the
char/misc updates. On that front there are more updates to
SoundWire, the new simple audio stream subsystem that is a MIPI specification and added back into Linux 4.16. There is now support for SoundWire stream management, port management, master/slave port programming, stream configuration APIs, and other additions.
A new driver that is part of the char/misc pull request is the IBM Virtual Management Channel Driver (VMC). The IBM VMC driver is for POWER hardware and is used as a virtual adapter with the PowerVM platform for message passing.
Greg also sent out the
driver coreand
TTY/serialpatches, but nothing too exciting on that front for Linux 4.18. He hasn't yet sent out the staging subsystem updates.
Alongside the launch of Intel's first 5 GHz processor, the 6-core Core i7-8086K, Intel today also showcased a 28-core single socket machine also running at 5 GHz. The system on display scored 7334 in Cinebench R15, and Gregory Bryant (SVP and GM of Intel Client Computing Group) explicitly stated that it would be coming in Q4 this year.
No other details were provided, however for it to exist in a current platform, this new processor would likely be in LGA2066 (X299) or LGA3647 (the server socket). Intel technically already makes 28-core monolithic designs in the Intel Xeon Scalable Platform with the Xeon Platinum 8180, which is a $10k processor, which runs a lot slower than 5.0 GHz.
This sounds like an absolutely insane processor few of us will ever get to enjoy.
La conferma è arrivata direttamente dal presidente dell’organo di governo sportivo, Jean Todt, in occasione dell’ultima FIA Sport Conference che si sta svolgendo in questi giorni a Manila. Il numero uno della Federazione ha dato l’ufficialità dell’approdo dei kart elettrici ai giochi che si terranno nel paese sudamericano nell’autunno 2018. “L’e-kart rappresenta non solo una nuova opportunità in termini di sviluppo degli sport motoristici, ma dimostra anche che il mondo sta cambiando e che dobbiamo essere leader di questo cambiamento” – ha dichiarato il transalpino – “Il karting sarà presente anche in occasione delle Olimpiadi della Gioventù a Buenos Aires, in Argentina, il prossimo ottobre”.
Todt ha poi aggiunto che si tratta indubbiamente di un “significativo passo avanti per la FIA” nel suo processo di riconoscimento, iniziato nel 2012, da parte del Comitato Olimpico Internazionale. Il vice presidente della Federazione, Graham Stoker, che tramite l’opera del suo sottocomitato per l’innovazione si è prodigato per fare includere il kart ai prossimi giochi olimpici riservati ai giovani ha fatto notare che grazie a questa mossa, la FIA – “ha un’opportunità per cambiare completamente l’approccio al motorsport in tutto il mondo in qualità di Federazione Internazionale”.
A guidare per una prima dimostrazione il mezzo elettrico che scenderà in pista alle olimpiadi argentine sarà l’attuale presidente della Commissione Kart della FIA, Felipe Massa, che si cimenterà in un test a margine della conferenza in corso a Manila. Il veicolo è stato sviluppato dalla Bosch insieme costruttore tedesco specializzato in telai di kart Mach1, i quali hanno interagito con la Federazione nella messa a punto. Le caratteristiche tecniche riferiscono di un powertrain dotato di 20KW di potenza e che sviluppa 300Nm di coppia servendosi di una batteria da 48V.
Lin Clark strikes again with her ridiculously well done code cartoons. This time, she's taking on the task of explaining why Mozilla is championing DNS over HTTPS.
(Curious about Lin, her teaching efforts, and her work at Mozilla? GOTO 294.)
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Huawei's Gao Xiang has announced the EROFS open-source Linux file-system intended for Android devices, but still at its very early stages of development.
EROFS is the company's new approach for a read-only file-system that would work well for Android devices. EROFS is short for the Extendable Read-Only File-System and they began developing it with being unsatisfied with other read-only file-system alternatives.
EROFS is designed to offer better performance than other read-only alternatives while still focusing upon saving storage space. As part of EROFS is also a compression mode pursuing a different design approach than other file-systems: the compression numbers shared in today's announcement on both server hardware and a Kirin 970 are compelling for being in the early stages of development.
EROFS is still very much a work-in-progress and the on-disk layout format has yet to be finalized. It will likely take several months at a minimum before Huawei potentially seeks the inclusion of the code into the mainline Linux kernel.
Don't look for EROFS appearing on Android devices in the immediate future, it's still in the very early stages of development.
The user-space bits for making a EROFS file-system will be published once they clear their internal review, but for now the initial five thousand lines of kernel code making up this read-only file-system driver can be found for review and discussion on the
kernel mailing list.
Try not to get burned
The newest update for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is here and it’s bringing a few big improvements to items most people don’t use often, as well as some much needed performance upgrades.
The biggest change with this update — called patch 1.0 update 14 — are tweaks to several different types of grenades. Frag grenades are getting a little buff to their damage, as well as a radius around them that does damage based on how close a player is to the explosion. Meanwhile, stun grenades will now prevent players from seeing, hearing or being able to shoot accurately if they are hit by the grenade’s flash. Finally, Molotovs are getting a whole lot more dangerous with a bigger area of effect and fire that will spread across wood surfaces for a limited amount of time. According to developer PUBG Corp., these changes were made to help keep frag grenades strong, while making stun grenades and Molotovs a little more appealing to use.
But grenades aren’t all that’s changing in this update. PUBG Corp. has also done some work to the game’s back end to improve performance. A few of these changes are aimed at improving the game’s frame rate, but the most meaningful improves its network performance and, according to some players, may have almost doubled the server tick rate. What all this means in practice is that PUBG should feel a lot better to play after this patch with everything moving smoother and with significantly less lag.
For a full look at what’s changed in PUBG update 14, you can check out the official patch notes.
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