boot13The previous release of Opera caused crashes on some platforms. Version 40.0.2308.62 addresses that problem.
All posts by jrivett
Vivaldi 1.4.589.29
This morning when I fired up Vivaldi (I still use it for social media), it popped up an update message. Luckily, I actually read the change notes in the message, so I can tell you that Vivaldi 1.4.589.29 consists of an engine (Chromium) update, plus a few bugfixes.
I say ‘luckily’, because as I’m writing this, there’s no announcement of the new version on the Vivaldi blog, and no release notes of any kind. Sheesh.
Let’s Encrypt’s finances
I’m a big fan of Let’s Encrypt, an organization committed to encrypting all web traffic by proving free security certificates.
I’m also a big fan of transparency, so when LE published a summary of their financial information recently, my regard for their efforts clicked up another notch.
Highlights from LE’s financial information post:
- Let’s Encrypt will require about $2.9M USD to operate in 2017.
- The majority of LE’s funding comes from corporate sponsorships.
- You can donate to Let’s Encrypt using PayPal.
For the record, this web site (boot13.com) and all my other secure sites now use Let’s Encrypt certificates.
Firefox 49
I’m getting better at parsing Mozilla blog posts. I only had to read a few paragraphs of the latest post (“Latest Firefox Expands Multi-Process Support and Delivers New Features for Desktop and Android”) to be fairly certain that it’s talking about a new, just-released version of Firefox. The new version number (49) isn’t mentioned, and neither is there any definite indication of when the new version was released. But there is a link to the version 49 release notes, way down at the bottom of the post.
Why is that bad? Because the Mozilla blog also routinely includes posts that are not related to new versions of Firefox, and those posts are almost indistinguishable from posts about new Firefox versions. Of course, if your goal is to confuse and obfuscate, well, nice work, Mozilla.
According to the release notes, Firefox 49 enables multi-process tabs for even more users. After installing, you can determine whether your Firefox is using multi-process tabs by entering ‘about:support‘ in Firefox’s address bar and looking for the ‘Multiprocess Windows’ entry. In my case, that entry shows as 0/1 (Disabled by add-ons). I’m using add-ons that Mozilla hasn’t tested, I guess.
Also in Firefox 49, Reader Mode has been improved, and offline page viewing has been enabled for Android users.
Opera 40
Version 40 of alternative web browser Opera includes several major enhancements. Most notable among the changes are:
- free, unlimited, no-log browser VPN service: when turned on, the browser VPN creates a secure connection to one of Opera’s five server locations around the world;
- automatic battery saving features for mobile device users;
- Chromecast support via the Chrome extension;
- improvements to the video pop-out feature;
- the newsreader feature now supports RSS feeds;
- updated browser engine (Blink, aka WebKit).
Sadly, the folks behind Opera seem to be taking a (rather dysfunctional) page from Mozilla – at least in the way changes are reported. Release announcements for Opera are still in the same place on the Opera Desktop blog. But whereas changes in previous versions were reported in changelog posts on the desktop blog (such as this one for version 39), on a page on the Opera documentation site (which stops at version 37), and on the Opera history page (which also stops at version 37), there doesn’t seem to be anything like a change log for Opera 40. Hopefully this is a temporary issue, and something better is on the way. But I’m not holding my breath. This trend toward a general reduction in (and dumbing-down of) information provided to users is not helpful, in my opinion.
How to make an operating system better
With Microsoft taking Windows in a direction that’s distinctly unappealing, it’s a pleasure to write about an operating system that’s actually being improved and enhanced in useful ways: Apple ProDOS.
You read that right: ProDOS. It’s a decades old system that runs on hardware nobody uses any more (Apple IIs), but with the dedicated efforts of a single developer, a new, greatly improved version of ProDOS was recently released as version 2.4.
Why am I so excited about this? Because operating systems are important. They form the core of all the computer systems we use daily. I want to use an O/S that’s reliable, fast, and mostly invisible. A good O/S provides this critical underpinning without compromising our privacy or trying to sell us anything.
As reported by Jason Scott on his ASCII blog, ProDOS 2.4 was a labour of love for its developer. He says:
“The current mainstream OS environment is, frankly, horrifying, and to see a pure note, a trumpet of clear-minded attention to efficiency, functionality and improvement, stands in testament to the fact that it is still possible to achieve this, albeit a smaller, slower-moving target. Either way, it’s an inspiration.”
I agree completely. There’s no reason for a new version of an operating system to ever get worse. This really applies to all software, but it’s especially important for operating systems. Microsoft would do well to look at this project and learn from it.
If you happen to have an old Apple II lying around (as I do), you can run ProDOS 2.4 on it. Otherwise, you’ll need to use an Apple II emulator like AppleWin.
Someone out there is testing the Internet’s breaking point
Security analyst Bruce Schneier reports on the recent increase in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against critical Internet infrastructure. He’s unable to go into details about exactly which companies and resources are involved, but the attacks are real. Someone is engaged in a series of DDoS probes that are clearly meant to test the Internet’s ability to cope with extreme stress.
Most DDoS attacks are perpetrated by angry hackers against web sites they don’t like, or simply to demonstrate their skills. Underground DDoS attack services are available for those not possessing the requisite skills. But the attacks Schneier is talking about stand out: they’re much more calculated and methodical than usual.
Assuming that Schneier is correct, and someone is gathering information about the Internet’s potential breaking point, one can only wonder what they have in mind. If the perpetrators are – as Schneier suggests – a state actor like China, the possibilities are the stuff of nightmares.
Microsoft’s latest tactic for keeping us in line
I’m no longer in the Windows 10 Insider Preview program, but I still see Microsoft’s preview build announcements. The latest is for build 14926.
The announcement for build 14926 reveals yet another reminder that we are just pawns in Microsoft’s overall strategy. Anyone participating in the Preview program must allow Microsoft to update their Windows 10 computer, and if they don’t cooperate, the computer will stop working. Specifically, it will start rebooting itself every three hours, and if that doesn’t force your cooperation, eventually the computer will stop booting altogether.
Update 2016Sep22: The announcement for Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14931 confirms that this is Microsoft’s new policy. No explanation is provided, although if pressed, I’m sure Microsoft would bloviate about ‘user experience’, ‘reliability’ and other things that sound good but deflect attention away from what’s actually going on, which is that Microsoft really wants to control what happens on your computer.
A few minor fixes for Chrome
Another new version of Chrome was released yesterday. Very little has changed in version 53.0.2785.116. The full change log lists six changes related to actual functionality, and they all seem to be related to appearance and stability. There are no security fixes in this release.
Windows 10 anniversary update will take months to complete
It’s been a month since the anniversary update was released, which has some people wondering why their Windows 10 computers haven’t yet been updated.
It turns out that Microsoft is being extraordinarily cautious, and doesn’t expect the rollout to be complete until November. Thankfully, the update can be installed manually using the Windows 10 Upgrade Tool.
Microsoft’s caution makes sense when you consider what they are doing with Windows testing. It appears that Microsoft is doing a lot less testing in-house, and pinning its hopes on user feedback. The anniversary update is being rolled out first to computers that – based on their hardware and configuration – are least likely to experience problems. This only confirms Microsoft’s disdain for power users, because they are much more likely to encounter problems.
If Microsoft hates power users so much, why don’t they just come out and say it. Then we can all just move to Linux and forget about Windows, except as an object of ridicule.