Hacking and Linux Go Together Like 2 Keys in a Key Pair

Ever since taking an interest Linux, with the specific aim of better understanding and enhancing my personal digital security, I have been fascinated by hacker conferences. As soon as I learned of their existence, I made a point of keeping tabs on the major conferences so I could browse through the latest videos in their archive once each one wraps up. I thought that was the closest I would get to such an event, but a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to attend one for the first time: Chicago's THOTCON.

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Android Creator Launches a Phone of His Own

Essential, a company founded by Andy Rubin, the "father of Android," has pulled off the wraps on a new high-end smartphone. The Essential Phone, priced at $699, includes radios for connecting to all major U.S. carriers. The unit has an almost edge-to-edge display that wraps around the 8-MP selfie camera at the front. Built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the Essential Phone comes with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. For durability, the phone has a titanium and ceramic body, which allows it to survive drops with nary a blemish.

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MariaDB Offers a Bigger Box of Transactional Tools

MariaDB last week announced the availability of MariaDB TX 2.0, a fully functional open source transactional database solution for modern application development and enterprise use cases. MariaDB TX offers a comprehensive package of technology and services, including feature-rich new releases of MariaDB Server and MariaDB MaxScale, which close the functional gap between open source and proprietary offerings. It is part of a MariaDB's larger effort to offer complete solutions to support specific workload needs, whether transactional, analytical or developer-focused.

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A Better World President MarySue Hansell: Getting Real With a Virtual Do-Good Game

"We saw that there was a lack of kindness, a lack of empathy ... and we thought it would be nice if we could use technology to do something about it," said A Better World President MarySue Hansell. "We thought Facebook offered a wonderful opportunity to use a large technical platform to create a virtual world that would have a big impact, with a game that emphasizes positive thinking and good habits. Basically, we wanted to combine the popularity of video games and the Facebook platform, and we were all avid followers of positive psychology."

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Will Future Autonomous Cars Fly Like Birds or Tunnel Like Moles?

It is kind of amazing how much advancement is going on in the autonomous car space. A year ago, we were mostly talking about cars that seemed comparatively boring, because they just drove on the surface. How quaint -- how 2016. Now when we mention "boring," we may be talking about Elon Musk's new underground tunneling idea. However, a little company called "Airbus" disagrees. It plans to start testing its autonomous flying car this year in Silicon Valley -- I expect so it can buzz Musk's Tesla plant there.

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Kaspersky to US: Check Our Source Code

Cybersecurity expert Eugene Kaspersky reportedly has volunteered to turn over his company's software source code to allay fears about possible ties with the Russian government. Kaspersky made the offer public at CeBIT Australia last week. Some U.S. officials have expressed concerns that Kaspersky Lab might have a close working relationship with the Russian government. Kaspersky five years ago replaced a number of high-level managers with people who had ties to Russia's military or intelligence services, according to reports.

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Microsoft's Mixer Could Shake Up the Streaming Game

Microsoft on Thursday announced Mixer, a rebranded version of its game-streaming service previously known as "Beam." In addition to the name change, the service will include a number of new features designed to attract more gamers. The added features will unlock new possibilities for social streaming, while also helping viewers find specific content across the service, according to Microsoft. New co-streaming functionality will allow four PC streamers to combine their respective broadcasts into a single split-screen stream.

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New GitHub Marketplace Showcases Integrators, Speeds Development

GitHub earlier this week launched GitHub Marketplace, featuring apps from more than a dozen integrators, at the GitHub Satellite conference. The platform allows developers to review and purchase new tools that do everything from helping to manage projects, to automating code building, testing code quality, or monitoring the impact of code changes. The marketplace allows developers to start using the tools collected there without setting up multiple accounts or multiple payment methods. Launch partners include Waffle.io, CircleCi and others.

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Main Surface Pro Improvements Are Beneath the Surface

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a refresh of its Surface Pro tablet-laptop computer. Although Microsoft said the fifth generation of the unit has been redesigned from the inside out with more than 800 new custom parts, the Surface Pro looks similar to its predecessor. "If you were looking for a major redesign of Surface, this isn't it," said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research. Nevertheless, Microsoft has made some significant improvements in the tablet cum laptop. Battery life has been boosted to 13.5 hours.

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Getting Serious About Teen Smartphone Addiction

Parents don't need a poll to tell them their teenagers are addicted to smartphones. After all, smartphones are a permanent fixture rather than accessories for kids of all ages these days. Even so, polls move these everyday observances from anecdotal to official problem when the numbers tilt in that direction -- and a Common Sense Media poll hit full tilt. The fact that 59 percent of parents said their teens were addicted to mobile devices was not surprising. However, the fact that 50 percent of teens admitted they were addicted was shocking.

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