News briefs for March 21, 2019.

The Document Foundation announces the release of LibreOffice 6.2.2. This version "provides over 50 bug and regression fixes over the previous version". You can view the changelog for details, and go here to download. Note that "LibreOffice 6.2.2 represents the bleeding edge in term of features for open source office suites, and as such is not optimized for enterprise class deployments, where features are less important than robustness. Users wanting a more mature version can download LibreOffice 6.1.5, which includes some months of back-ported fixes."

The new PocketBeagle Linux computer is now available for $29.95 from Adafruit. According to Geeky Gadgets, the PocketBeagle "offers a powerful 1GHz AM3358 powered Linux single board computer with a tiny form factor and open source architecture". The article quotes Adafruit on the new SBC: "what differentiates the BeagleBone is that it has multiple I2C, SPI and UART peripherals (many boards only have one of each), built in hardware PWMs, analog inputs, and two separate 200MHz microcontroller system called the PRU that can handle real-time tasks like displaying to RGB matrix displays or NeoPixels. It's not too much larger than our Feathers, but comes with 72 expansion pin headers, high-speed USB, 8 analog pins, 44 digital I/Os, and plenty of digital interface peripherals. You can also add a USB host connection by wiring a USB A socket to the broken out USB host connections labeled VI, D+, D-, ID and GND. Then plug in any USB Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi device with available Linux drivers."

Google has started enforcing new permissions rules on applications' ability to access a phone's call and text logs. The Register reports that "Developers have been forced to remove features or in some cases change the fundamental nature of the application. One example is BlackBerry's Hub, an email client which also aggregated notifications from a variety of apps and presented them chronologically in a timeline. This application has lost its ability to includes calls and texts in that timeline." In addition, "Exceptions created by Google don't seem to be honoured, developers complained. One said that an enterprise archiving app—a category specifically exempt from the clampdown—has been broken."

OpenShot 2.4.4 was released yesterday. From the OpenShot Blog: "This release brings huge performance and stability improvements, along with some major bug fixes, lots of polish, and many new features." Improvements to the video editor include keyframe scaling, timeline and preview performance, SVG rendering, docking and tracks and much more. You can download OpenShot 2.4.4 from here.

Datapractices.org has joined The Linux Foundation and is publishing a "free open courseware platform for data teamwork. From the press release: "The goal of the Data Practices movement was to start movement similar to 'Agile for Data' that could help offer direction and improved data literacy across the ecosystem. The Data Practices Manifesto has had more signatories in its first year than the Agile manifesto."