Lilbits: The death of CentOS Linux, the rise of RISC-V, and last call for the F(x)Tec Pro1 X

Most major smartphone makers have stopped shipping handsets with physical keyboards, opting instead for touchscreen-only phones with thin and light designs. But the F(x)Tec Pro1 is a phone custom made for fans of physical keyboards. It’s one of the only modern smartphones to feature a QWERTY keyboard that slides out from behind the screen.

While the standard version of the Pro1 ships with a custom version of Google Android, the folks at F(x)tec partnered with xda-developers to make a limited edition F(x)tec Pro1-X that will have the xda logo on the back, optional support for more RAM and storage than you get from the standard memory, and support for the Android-based LineageOS or Linux-based Ubuntu Touch operating systems.

The Pro1-X has been up for pre-order through Indiegogo since late October, but the crowdfunding campaign ends Saturday. And that means time is running out to reserve on — when the campaign ends, the F(x)tec Pro1-X won’t be available for purchase through any other channels.

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

• F(x)Tec Pro1 X smartphone with keyboard and Ubuntu Touch or LineageOS [Indiegogo]
  With less than two days left to go in this crowdfunding campaign, this is your last chance to reserve a special edition version of this unusual phone. 
• RISC-V hardware & software ecosystem highlights in 2020 [CNX Software]
  The RISC-V open standards ISA has seen an uptick in activity over the past year, and with the RISC-V Summit 2020 taking place this week, here’s an overview of some recent updates in terms of tech, adoption, and growth of the community.
• CentOS Linux is dead—and Red Hat says Stream is “not a replacement” [Ars Technica]
  CentOS Linux is dead(ish). The current release is the last. CentOS Stream lives on, but the newer distro a basically a dev branch of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and less well suited for folks looking for a stable operating system.
• Orange Pi R1 Plus router SBC features Rockchip RK3328, Dual GbE [CNX Software]
  The Orange Pi R1 Plus is a 2.2″ x 2.2″ single-board PC designed for DIY routers, speakers, and other applications. It has a RK3328 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, 1GB of RAM, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, USB 2.0 and USB-C ports, and a microSD card reader.

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