Open source wins concessions in new EU cyber law

The European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) has undergone substantial revisions, bringing relief to the open-source community.

Back in April, the Python Software Foundation (PSF) had expressed concerns about potential repercussions for CPython and PyPI if the initial form of CRA were to be enacted.

The primary worry was that, in the course of providing open-source software, the PSF and the Python community might assume legal responsibility for security issues in products...

15 January 2024 | Open Source

AOUSD unveils roadmap towards OpenUSD standardisation

The Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) has unveiled a roadmap outlining its journey towards establishing OpenUSD (Universal Scene Description) as an international standard.

AOUSD's two-year roadmap is a strategic plan to make OpenUSD an international standard for interoperability in describing 3D scenes and environments.

The Core Specification working group, a key component of this roadmap, will lay the foundation for OpenUSD by defining the structure and interpretation of...

13 December 2023 | Gaming

Checkmarx uncovers persistent Python package threat

Checkmarx has uncovered a threat actor that has been quietly infiltrating the open-source ecosystem for nearly six months, planting malicious Python packages with a focus on deception and financial gain.

The malicious actor employed a systematic approach, disguising their packages with names closely resembling popular legitimate Python packages. These decoy packages, camouflaged to blend in, successfully garnered thousands of downloads. The malicious payload, embedded within the...

16 November 2023 | Developer

Google prepares Android for the RISC-V era

Google is bolstering its support for the RISC-V open instruction set architecture (ISA) in Android.

RISC-V – developed a decade ago at the University of California, Berkeley – has rapidly gained popularity in various spaces, from embedded systems to servers and mobile computing. Google's move towards integrating RISC-V into Android signals a new era of collaboration and innovation in the hardware ecosystem.

At the RISC-V Summit in 2022, Google revealed that it had...

1 November 2023 | Android

Lightning AI becomes a PyTorch Foundation premier member

The PyTorch Foundation, a neutral hub facilitating collaboration within the deep learning community, has announced that Lightning AI has become a premier member.

Lightning AI is the driving force behind PyTorch Lightning, an open-source framework and platform empowering companies to construct and deploy cutting-edge AI products employing the latest generative AI models.

Luca Antiga, CTO of Lightning AI, expressed the importance of this collaboration:

“By...

18 October 2023 | Artificial Intelligence

Python Developers Survey: Python 2 clings on for certain use cases

A new survey from the Python Software Foundation has found that while Python 3 remains dominant both for work and play, usage of Python 2 crept up from the previous year.

The study, in association with JetBrains which polled more than 23,000 Python developers, found 93% of respondents had already implemented Python 3, based on responses from the end of 2022. Yet this was down on the 95% cited from the previous year.

To find a reason why, there are a few small clues based...

5 October 2023 | Languages

Ruby on Rails creator deplores ‘open-source hooliganism’

Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson has expressed his concerns about what he called "open-source hooliganism."

Hansson recounted a recent incident involving the TypeScript community and their reaction to a decision made by the team behind Turbo.

Hansson began by acknowledging the passion that many developers have for their preferred programming languages and tools. He noted that the enthusiasm displayed by these individuals is a testament to their dedication...

8 September 2023 | Developer

Software Freedom Conservancy calls on FOSS contributors to ‘exit Zoom’

In the wake of the revelation that Zoom has been repurposing private user data to train machine learning models, the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) has taken a stand to emphasise the importance of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) alternatives.

The SFC, an advocate for software rights and freedom, is extending its efforts to provide ethical technology choices and promote FOSS solutions for various needs.

The pandemic-driven shift towards digital technologies –...

16 August 2023 | Open Source

Mozilla is launching Android support for Firefox extensions

Mozilla has announced its plans to introduce an open ecosystem of extensions for Firefox on Android, offering a range of possibilities for developers to optimise their desktop extensions for mobile usage.

The exact launch date is set to be revealed in early September, with expectations of the rollout occurring before the close of this year. Firefox will then become the sole major Android browser to support an open extension ecosystem.

While Firefox for Android has been...

14 August 2023 | Android

Intel joins PyTorch Foundation as a ‘Premier’ member

Intel has become a ‘Premier’ member of the PyTorch Foundation in a move aimed at propelling the advancement of AI.

PyTorch is a popular open-source framework that accelerates AI application development and facilitates experimentation that can lead to creative breakthroughs in the field. The framework was originally developed by Meta AI and is now part of the Linux Foundation.

Intel's involvement with PyTorch dates back to 2018, with a clear vision to democratise AI...

11 August 2023 | Artificial Intelligence