Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Lilbits: KDE Plasma 6.1, Google Android 15 Beta 3, and Kobo firmware on a NOOK eReader – Liliputing

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The latest version of the KDE Plasma Desktop environment has arrived for Linux-based operating systems. The next version of Google’s Android operating system is inching closer to release. And if you’ve ever found yourself wishing that you could use an eReader that has Barnes & Noble’s NOOK hardware but Kobo’s software, well… maybe you can?

Plasma 6.1: Your Future Desktop is Ready [KDE]

KDE Plasma 6.1 desktop makes it easy to set up remote desktops from the Settings, the ability to remember and restore windows from your previous session upon startup, and support for synchronizing RGB keyboard colors to your Plasma desktop accent color.

Kobo firmware on a NOOK Glowlight Plus 7.8 [MobileRead]

Someone figured out how to run Kobo software on a B&N NOOK GlowLight Plus 7.8 tablet from 2019. Why? Beats me, but it’s still pretty impressive. 

image credit: rexjoe / MobileRead Forum

The MobileRead Forum member hasn’t posted details, so it’s unclear how they got this up and running or whether it’s something that’s safe to try at home. 

Here’s everything new in Android 15 Beta 3 [9to5Google]

This week Google released the third beta of Android 15, which is the first “platform stability” release. That means that all of the developer APIs have been finalized, but there may still be some bugs to squash or other changes before the final release this fall.

As usual, Google only spells out some developer-facing features in its official blog post (this time focusing on an update that will let you use a passkey to sign into an app using facial recognition, a fingerprint, or screen lock), but folks who’ve been digging in have found a bunch of other changes.

For example, there’s a new Adaptive Timeout feature for automatically turning off your screen when you’re not using the device, an “Android Safe Browsing” option that sends some app or website data to Google for live threat detection,” and a number of small settings and UI changes.

 

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