Ubuntu 18.10 "Cosmic Cuttlefish" Due Out Today, Arm Launches IoT-Focused Mbed Linux, GitHub's New Security Features, MongoDB Announces New Server Side License and Google to Charge for Apps on Android Handsets Sold in Europe

on October 18, 2018

News briefs for October 18, 2018.

Ubuntu 18.10 "Cosmic Cuttlefish" expected to be released today. According to Phoronix, the biggest change for users will be the revised default theme for the GNOME Shell experience, now known as "Yaru". Ubuntu 18.10 will also have the Linux 4.18 kernel, "which means better hardware support, various performance improvements, and other optimizations compared to Ubuntu 18.04's Linux 4.15".

Arm launches the IoT-focused Mbed Linux OS and also extends Pelion IoT Platform services. According to Linux.com, Mbed Linux "combines the Linux kernel with tools and recipes from the Intel-backed Yocto Project. The distro also integrates security and IoT connectivity code from its open source Mbed RTOS". In addition, the Pelion IoT Platform "will align with Intel's Secure Device Onboard (SDO) provisioning technology to make it easier for IoT vendors and customers to onboard both x86 and Arm-based devices using a common Pelion platform. Arm also announced Pelion related partnerships with myDevices and Arduino."

GitHub updated its platform this week, which included many developer-centric changes and security features, but the most notable change is the "expansion of the Security Alerts feature, which also now supports Java and .NET projects, on top of the original JavaScript, Ruby and Python", ZDNet reports.

MongoDB recently announced it will be released under the new Server Side Public License: "The SSPL clarifies the conditions for making MongoDB publicly available as a service, to ensure we can continue to invest in building MongoDB for our users rather than in costly litigation over enforcing the AGPL. All subsequent versions and patch releases to prior versions of MongoDB made after October 16th, 2018 will be issued under the new SSPL."

Google plans to charge smartphone makers to pre-install apps like Gmail and YouTube on Android handsets sold in Europe. The Verge quotes Android leader Hiroshi Lockheimer, "Since the pre-installation of Google Search and Chrome together with our other apps helped us fund the development and free distribution of Android, we will introduce a new paid licensing agreement for smartphones and tablets shipped into the [European Economic Area]."

Jill Franklin is an editorial professional with more than 17 years experience in technical and scientific publishing, both print and digital. As Executive Editor of Linux Journal, she wrangles writers, develops content, manages projects, meets deadlines and makes sentences sparkle. She also was Managing Editor for TUX and Embedded Linux Journal, and the book Linux in the Workplace. Before entering the Linux and open-source realm, she was Managing Editor of several scientific and scholarly journals, including Veterinary Pathology, The Journal of Mammalogy, Toxicologic Pathology and The Journal of Scientific Exploration. In a previous life, she taught English literature and composition, managed a bookstore and tended bar. When she’s not bugging writers about deadlines or editing copy, she throws pots, gardens and reads.