After shipping five different PinePhone Community Edition models, each with a different operating system and/or user interface pre-installed, Pine64 ended the Community Edition program this month. So what’s next? A few things: Pine64 has announced that future PinePhones will ship with Manjaro Linux and the KDE Plasma Mobile user interface pre-installed. If you already have […]
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Comments Off on Hackers develop open source firmware for the PinePhone modem, use it to make phone calls
Hackers develop open source firmware for the PinePhone modem, use it to make phone calls
Comments Off on Hackers develop open source firmware for the PinePhone modem, use it to make phone callsThe PinePhone is an inexpensive smartphone designed to run free and open source operating systems like Manjaro, postmarketOS, Mobian, or Ubuntu Touch. But the phone isn’t 100-percent open hardware: its modem ships relies on proprietary, closed-source firmware. A team of independent developers are working to provide an alternative – and it looks like they’re getting […]
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Installing Windows 10 on a Lumia 950 XL smartphone just got a lot easier
Now that there’s a desktop version of Windows 10 designed to run on laptops and tablets with ARM processors, it’s unsurprising that a handful of hackers have found ways to shoehorn Windows 10 onto old smartphones that had originally shipped with Windows Mobile software. But up until now it’s been pretty tough to follow along […]
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OpenWrt 18.06 released (Linux OS for your router, first major update in years)
OpenWrt is an open source, Linux-based operating system designed to run on hundreds of routers and other embedded devices. It can add new features to your networking gear and give you more control over the software running on the hardware in your home. This week the developers released OpenWrt 18.06, which is a big step […]
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Huawei is killing its bootloader unlocking service
Huawei has been selling a somewhat popular line of mid-range phones under its Honor sub-brand for the past few years. And while they tend to offer decent specs at a decent price, there’s been another selling point for some folks: Honor has offered an official method for unlocking the bootloader and partnered with xda-developers to encourage […]
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Rebble aims to make your Pebble watch keep working after Fitbit pulls the plug this summer
5 Comments on Rebble aims to make your Pebble watch keep working after Fitbit pulls the plug this summerPebble was one of the early players in the smartwatch space, and the company’s low-power devices with long battery life, support for third-party apps, and sunlight readable displays still have a loyal fan base… even though Pebble hasn’t released a new watch since the company was acquired by Fitbit at the end of 2016. At […]
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System76 will disable Intel Management engine on its Linux laptops
System76 is one a handful of companies that sells computers that run Linux software out of the box. But like most PCs that have shipped with Intel’s Core processors in the past few years, System76 laptops include Intel’s Management Engine firmware. Intel recently confirmed a major security vulnerability affecting those chips and it’s working with […]
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Some Linksys 802.11ac WiFi routers now officially support DD-WRT open source firmware
Comments Off on Some Linksys 802.11ac WiFi routers now officially support DD-WRT open source firmwareDD-WRT is an open source, Linux-based replacement for the firmware that comes with many WiFi routers. It has a reputation for giving users more control over their router’s performance and security. But historically the companies that produce networking hardware haven’t really encouraged you to replace their firmware. So it’s always nice to see a company […]
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Libreboot ported to Asus Chromebook C201 (free software bootloader)
There are plenty of open source operating systems available for laptop and desktop computers. But in order to run Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, or other Linux-based software on most computers, you’ll need to rely on some proprietary, closed-source firmware for the bootloader, WiFi card, graphics, or other hardware. Libreboot is a project that takes aim at […]
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Chinese tablet makers begin offering Windows 8.1 firmware for Android tablets
Now that a growing number of Chinese tablets are shipping with Intel processors, a funny thing is happening. Some tablet makers are starting to offer customers a chance to swap the operating system on their tablets from Android to Windows free of charge. For instance, CnGadget has instructions for downloading and installing Windows 8.1 on […]