Bonus Notifications (recent releases of free stuff)

Advisory:

- alpha releases have new features; crashes and bugs are to be expected
- beta releases have new features; they may contain bugs or crash
- release candidate software may contain minor bugs; crashes are rare

NOTE: I had an argument with Microsoft. I thought I owned my computer, they thought they did. Microsoft won the battle by cheating: they clobbered my sys admin settings. Microsoft lost the war. If I can't trust a company to do an update, how can I trust it at all? All future updates of Windows-only software will no longer be listed here.

Activestate
cross-platform distributions of programming languages: Go, Lua, Node.js, Perl, Python, Ruby, TCL
- added new ActiveGo page
- added new ActiveLua page
- added new ActiveNode.js page
- added new ActiveRuby page
http://www.activestate.com

AdBlock 3.5.0
Google Chrome extension to block ads, thereby preventing malware infections
- not related to AdBlock Plus
http://www.getadblock.com/

Adobe Flash Player 23.0.0.207
free cross-platform flash video player for browsers
- Flash is in undisputed first-place as the most common avenue of infection
- Adobe bundles unwanted 3rd party crapware, beware!
- this release fixes a dangerous zero-day vulnerability
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Alpine 3.4.6
independent Linux distro; XFCE desktop; #41 in popularity
http://www.alpinelinux.org/

Atom 1.12.3
open source web-based programming editor/IDE runs as a desktop app
- lots of plugins and extensions, and language bindings
https://github.com/atom/atom/releases
https://atom.io/

Austrumi 3.5.5
Linux distro based on Slackware; FVWM desktop; #78 in popularity
- OS & all applications run in RAM, making it fast
http://cyti.latgola.lv/ruuni/

Black Lab Linux 8.0
Linux distro based on Ubuntu (LTS); GNOME, KDE, MATE, Xfce desktops; #29 in popularity
http://www.blacklablinux.org/

CMake 3.7.0
cross-platform, open-source build system for C/C++
https://cmake.org/

Firefox 50.0
popular, free, open source browser
http://www.mozilla.com/ (homepage)

Geany 1.29
open source cross-platform programmer's editor & lightweight IDE
supports more than 50 programming languages
http://www.geany.org/ (homepage)
http://wiki.geany.org/ (wiki)

GeckoLinux 999.161031.0 "Rolling"
Linux distro based on openSUSE; all common desktops; openSUSE is #4 in popularity
- no different than openSUSE except for customizations for out-of-the-box usability
- there are three editions: stable (openSUSE Leap), rolling (Tumbleweed) & NEXT (Leap + extra repositories)
http://geckolinux.github.io/

Google Chrome 54.0.2840.99
Google Chromium 54.0.2840.99
popular cross-platform web browser
- Chromium is fully open-source, Chrome has propietary extensions to enhance Google profits
https://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium (Chromium)
https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/? (Chrome)

ImageMagick 7.0.3-7
cross-platform, open-source program to manipulate images
- create, edit, compose, or convert images files (200+ formats)
- bmp, png, jpg, gif, tiff, svg, etc.
- resize, flip, mirror, rotate, distort, shear and transform
- adjust image, apply special effects,
- draw text, lines, polygons, ellipses & Bézier curves
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php

Jenkins 2.31
cross-platform, open source, continuous integration server for developers
- automates the building/testing process
http://jenkins-ci.org/

KaOS 2016.11
independent Linux distro; KDE desktop; #34 in popularity
http://kaosx.us/

Linux Kernel 4.8.8
- the Linux kernel has been updated
http://www.kernel.org/

MariaDB 10.1.19 Stable
open source fork of MySQL; completely compatible w/MySQL; w/extra DB engines & extra features
"MariaDB is a binary drop-in replacement for MySQL"
MariaDB restores several significant features that Oracle has dropped from MySQL
- gaining popularity from MySQL, a work-alike competitor with fewer features
- 5.x version stays in sync with MySQL 5.x; version 10 is an improved version of it
http://kb.askmonty.org/ (homepage)
http://kb.askmonty.org/v/mariadb-versus-mysql-features (extra features vs MySQL)
http://kb.askmonty.org/en/what-is-mariadb-100 (What is MariaDB 10?)

Maui Linux 2
Linux distro based on Debian; KDE Plasma desktop; #109 in popularity
- formerly known as NetRunner and formerly Kubuntu-based
https://mauilinux.org/

Objeck 3.5.0
gemeral-purpose object-oriented programming language with functional features
- language reminiscent of Java, Scheme and UML
- all data types, except for higher-order functions, are treated as objects
- mix of virtual machine & compiled code; seems to run jitted
http://www.objeck.org/

OpenIndiana 2016.10
based on Solaris, OpenSolaris; Enlightnment & GNOME desktops; #138 in popularity
- open-source community alternative to dead commercial Solaris OS
http://openindiana.org/

PeaZip 6.2.0
open source cross-platform file and archive manager; available as portable app also
- this is an important security bugfix release
- create 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, PAQ/ZPAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, ZIP
- extract 150+ archive types: ACE, ARJ, CAB, DMG, ISO, LHA, RAR, UDF, etc.
http://peazip.sourceforge.net/ (homepage)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/peazip/files/6.1.0/ (6.1.0 downloads)

PHP 7.0.13
PHP 5.6.28
PHP is a very popular and practical general-purpose open source scripting language; it is primarily used for web applications
- security fix
- latest version is PHP 7.0.13
http://php.net/

PMD 5.5.2
source code analyser for Java, JavaScript, Salesforce.com Apex, PLSQL, Apache Velocity, XML & XSL
finds duplicated code in Java, C, C++, C#, Groovy, PHP, Ruby, Fortran, JavaScript, PLSQL, Apache Velocity, Ruby, Scala, Objective C, Matlab, Python, Go, Swift, & Salesforce.com Apex
- plugins available for IDEs: Eclipse, NetBeans, JBuilder, JDeveloper, & IntelliJ IDE
- requires Java runtime
https://pmd.github.io/

Puppy Linux -- Quirky 8.1.1
Puppy is a popular (#21) and easy-to-learn, easy-to-use Linux distribution
Open source, boots from a CD (your Windows installation is unchanged) w/ simple instruction manual
old, slow computers run very well using Puppy's all-in-memory Linux kernel
There are many versions of Puppy available, each with a specific purpose
You don't necessarily use the latest release, you use the version with the software you want
You will need to know how to burn a disk from an ISO image
- Fatdog64 is a 64-bit Puppy distro; it is larger and more complete than most other Puppys
- Precise Puppy is binary-compatible with Ubuntu LTS
- Wary Puppy is intended to run on older hardware
- Racy Puppy is a mod of Wary Puppy, supporting the newest machines
- Slacko Puppy can use Puppy, Slackware, Salix, or Slacky software repositories; Slacko seems to be the flagship version
- Tahrpup is built from Ubuntu Trusty Tahr
- Quirky is built from Ubuntu and is intended for full installs
- Puppy is based on Slackware; available in 32- and 64-bit
http://puppylinuxnews.org/ (news)
http://puppylinux.org/ (PuppyLinux homepage)
http://barryk.org/news/?viewDetailed=00344 (announcement)

PyPy2.7 v5.6.0
PyPy3.3 v5.5
cross-platform, open source Python implementation; choose JIT (default), no JIT, stackless, or sandboxed;
also available: back ends for .NET and Java (see: 'Features' page);
other languages that run in the JIT: Prolog (incomplete), Smalltalk, JavaScript, Io, Scheme and Gameboy
for Win32, Linux 32/64, Mac64, & ARM
- PyPy 2.7 is syntax-compatible with Python 2.7.12, but there are some subtle differences
- PyPy2 is approximately 7.6 times faster than plain, old CPython 2.7.2
- PyPy3.3 is syntax-compatible with Python 3.3.5, but there are some subtle differences
- PyPy3.3 is not well supported compared to the PyPy2 version, with no speed comparisons vs CPython3
http://pypy.org/ (homepage)

Q4OS 1.8.1
Linux distro based on Debian (Stable); Trinity desktop; #50 in popularity
http://q4os.org/

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3
independent commercial Linux distro; all popular desktops; #43 in popularity
- stable branch
- available free for developers
http://developers.redhat.com/ (developers page)
http://developers.redhat.com/blog/2016/03/31/no-cost-rhel-developer-subscription-now-available/

Ruby 2.3.2
popular general-purpose scripting language, often used with Rails library
http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/ (homepage)

SQLite 3.15.1
open source SQL database for programmers; small and fast
- "this is is a bug-fix patch release that fixes some minor issues in the 3.15.0 release"
http://www.sqlite.org/ (homepage)
http://www.sqlite.org/news.html (update info)
http://www.sqlite.org/releaselog/3_15_1.html (changelog)

SQLiteStudio 3.1.1
cross-platform, open source, portable SQLite 2.x and 3.x database management tool
- edits database content and schemes, views and triggers with syntax checks
- exports/imports into various serialization/database formats, and provides for plugins and scripting capabilities
http://sqlitestudio.pl/

SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP2
independent commercial distro; GNOME, KDE, IceWM, WMaker desktops; #139 in popularity
- available as SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED), or as SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
http://www.suse.com/

Tails 2.7
Debian-based Linux32 distro; GNOME desktop; #27 in popularity
distro has the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the user
- Tails is your protection against government/ISP overreach into your privacy
https://tails.boum.org/

Tor Browser 6.0.6
cross-platform browser that provides some Internet anonymity for the user
- best privacy is achieved using it under Tails operating system
https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en
https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en

VMware Player 12.5.2
free open source, cross-platform virtual machine emulator, similar to VirtualBox
run multiple operating systems at the same time on your PC
- the free version has some limitations
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/overview.html

Whiley 0.4.6
open-source, cross-platform, general-purpose programming language for the jvm
http://whiley.org/

Wine 1.9.23 Development
a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems
such as Linux, Mac OSX, & BSD
https://www.winehq.org/ (homepage)
https://www.winehq.org/announce/1.9 (announcement)

Meaning of Colors

Red = New or Warning
Green = Updated
Gray = Info Only

Engine List: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_engine_list
Chess News: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_news_list

NOTE: If you want me to track a website for you, please email me and I will add it.
ron _at_ computer-chess _dot_ org