Synapse, an open-source Matrix homeserver developed and maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation, has announced the release of its first release candidate (rc1) for v1.94.0. Synapse has been under development since 2014 and reached version 1.0.0 in 2019.

The release candidate, v1.94.0rc1, introduces several features, improvements, and documentation updates. Here is a summary of the key changes:

Features

• Inline rendering of plain, CSS, CSV, JSON, and common image formats in the browser when requested through the /download endpoint.
• Experimental support for MSC4028, which pushes all encrypted events to clients.
• Minor performance improvements when sending presence to federated servers.
• Minor performance improvement by caching server ACL checking.

Improved Documentation

• Developer documentation on gradual schema migrations with column alterations.
• Improved documentation of the user directory search algorithm.
• Fixed rendering of user admin API documentation related to deactivation.
• Updated documentation on message retention policies.
• Clarification note added to the federation_domain_whitelist config option.
• Improved legacy release notes.

Deprecations and Removals

• Removed Python version from /_synapse/admin/v1/server_version endpoint.

Internal Changes

• Avoid running CI steps when the checked files have not been changed.
• Improved type hints.
• Added support for pydantic v2 in addition to pydantic v1.
• CI now checks that PRs have been signed-off.
• Added missing license header.
• Improved comments in StateGroupBackgroundUpdateStore.
• Updated maturin configuration.
• Downgraded replication stream time out error log lines to warning.

Updates to locked dependencies

• Bumped actions/checkout from 3 to 4.
• Bumped cryptography from 41.0.3 to 41.0.4.
• Bumped various other dependencies such as dawidd6/action-download-artifact, docker/setup-buildx-action, gitpython, msgpack, phonenumbers, psycopg2, pydantic, regex, sentry-sdk, types-netaddr, and urllib3.

This release candidate of Synapse brings various new features, improvements, and documentation updates to the Matrix homeserver. Users and developers can now test and provide feedback on the release candidate to help ensure a stable and reliable final release of v1.94.0.

The HAMMER2 file-system from DragonFlyBSD continues to see new improvements and developments, according to Phoronix. Known for its support of online deduplication, clustering, multiple mountable file-system roots, snapshots, compression, encryption, extensive checksumming, and other features, HAMMER2 has evolved over the past decade and recently received further enhancements.

Matthew Dillon, the lead developer of DragonFlyBSD, has been working on refining HAMMER2 for the next release of the operating system. In the past few days, there have been notable updates to HAMMER2, including improvements to its CPU performance and the addition of a new “hammer2 recover” directive. This recover support allows for the recovery or undoing of single files and provides preliminary support for recovering entire directory structures.

Overall, it’s interesting to see development of alternative file-systems such as HAMMER2.

Source: Phoronix.

GL.iNet has released the Flint2 (also known as GL-MT6000), a new AX6000 router based on the MediaTek MT7986 (Filogic 830) ARM SoC. This router supports VPN speeds of up to 900 Mbps using WireGuard and 190 Mbps with OpenVPN. Compared to previous GL.iNet routers like the Spitz AX and the Beryl AX, which were based on the Filogic 820 (MT7981B) CPU with transfer rates of up to 300 Mbps using WireGuard, the Flint2 is expected to triple the VPN performance.

The GL.iNet Flint2 router comes with the following specifications:

• SoC – MediaTek MT7986 (Filogic 830) quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 2.0 GHz with hardware acceleration engines for Wi-Fi offloading and networking
• System Memory – 1GB DDR4
• Storage – 8GB eMMC flash
• Networking:
  • 2x 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports
  • 4x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
  • 802.11b/g/n/ac/ax WiFi 6 with 4x external Wi-Fi antennas
    • Up to 1,148 Mbps @ 2.4 GHz
    • Up to 4,804 Mbps @ 5 GHz
    • DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) support
  • VPN – OpenVPN server/client tested up to 190 Mbps, and WireGuard server/client tested up to 900 Mbps (tests over Ethernet in client mode)
• USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port
• Dimensions – 233 x 137 x 57mm

The GL.iNet Flint2 router comes pre-installed with OpenWrt 23.05 (or a fork) with Linux 5.15 and the GL.Inet Admin Panel, which is common to all GL.iNet routers. It supports four different network modes: router, access point, extender, and WDS. The router also includes features such as AdGuard Home, parental controls, and Cloud remote management.

The significant improvement in WireGuard performance, tripling the previous model’s speed, is noteworthy. While the upgrade from a 1.3 GHz dual-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU to a 2.0 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU partially explains the increase, the main reason is likely the switch from Linux 5.4 to Linux 5.15. The Filogic 830-based router benefits from in-kernel WireGuard support introduced in Linux 5.6. As a point of comparison, the first Flint router achieves speeds of up to 500 Mbps with WireGuard.

The Filogic 830 SoC used in the Flint2 is also found in other devices, such as the Banana Pi BPI-R3 and BPI-R3 Mini router SBCs.

Source: CNX Software – Embedded Systems News.

Redox OS, the open-source Rust-written operating system, has announced its plans for the future, and among these are a server version, reports Phoronix.

The project is shifting focus to develop a server version, prioritizing it over the desktop edition due to its smaller scope. The team is working on optimizing drivers, especially network drivers, to improve performance. They aim to host the Redox website on Redox using virtual machines, with recent advancements making it feasible. This could potentially lead to Redox running on cloud platforms. Ongoing efforts in virtual machine support and device virtualization are expected to drive further progress.

Source: Phoronix.

Simply NUC has introduced the Zircon, a new compact desktop computer that is not only one of the company’s cheapest offerings but also a highly configurable option. Priced at $199 and up, the Zircon is equipped with a 15-watt Intel N95 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor, support for up to three 4K displays, and a 2.5 GbE Ethernet port.

The Zircon stands out among other mini PCs with Alder Lake-N chips due to its SO-DIMM slot that supports DDR4-3200 memory. The base model, priced at $199, comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SATA SSD, but both of these can be upgraded. The system can support up to 32GB of RAM and includes an M.2 2280 slot for PCIe Gen 3 NVMe or SATA solid-state drives, as well as a 2.5-inch bay for a hard drive or SSD.

In terms of connectivity, the Zircon features an Intel AC7265 wireless card that supports WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. The system has a variety of ports, including 2 HDMI 2.0, 1 USB 3.0 Type-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode, 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 2.5 GbE Ethernet (Intel i225-V), 1 3.5mm headset jack, and 1 microSD card reader.

Overall, the Simply NUC Zircon offers a compelling option for those seeking a mini PC with a QuickSync enabled processor and 2.5 GbE Ethernet interface, making it suitable for applications such as media servers.

Source: Liliputing.

The Linux Foundation, BastionZero, and Docker have collaborated to launch the OpenPubkey project. OpenPubkey is an open-source cryptographic protocol that aims to enhance the security of the open-source software ecosystem through zero-trust passwordless authentication.

OpenPubkey was developed as part of BastionZero’s secure infrastructure access product. It allows users to securely bind cryptographic keys to users and workloads by transforming an OpenID Connect Identity Provider (IdP) into a Certificate Authority (CA). In conjunction with the launch of OpenPubkey, BastionZero has integrated it for Docker container signing, further strengthening the security of the software supply chain. Developers can leverage OpenPubkey to build software supply chain or security applications. By augmenting OpenID Connect, OpenPubkey enables users and workloads to sign artifacts under their OpenID identity. These cryptographic keys can be used for secure remote access, as well as signed builds, deployments, and code commits for software supply chain security.

For more information about OpenPubkey, including how to get involved, contribute, and join the community, visit the GitHub page.