Technology
In the latest move against WP Engine, WordPress is taking control of the ACF plugin
The dispute between WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and hosting provider WP Engine continues, with Mullenweg announcing that WordPress “forks” a plugin developed by WP Engine.
Specifically, Advanced Custom Fields — a plugin that makes it easier for WordPress users to customize edit screens — is being taken out of WP Engine’s hands and updated as a brand new plugin called Secure Custom Fields.
Mullenweg wrote that this step was obligatory “to remove commercial add-ons and fix a security issue.”
Advanced custom fields team replied on X daydescribing it as a situation where a plugin “in active development” was “unilaterally and forcibly taken away from its creator without consent”, which he claims has never happened “in WordPress’ 21-year history.”
“This important community promise has been violated, and we ask everyone to consider the ethics of this action and the setting of a new precedent,” the ACF team wrote.
Both the Mullenweg blog post and answer from WordPress claims that similar situations have occurred before, although Mullenweg added: “This is a rare and unusual situation caused by WP Engine legal attacks. We don’t anticipate this will happen with other plugins.”
They also pointed to the WordPress plugin guidelineswhich provides WordPress the right to disable or remove any plugin, remove developer access, or change a plugin “without developer consent, in the name of public safety.”
A bit of background: WordPress is a free, open-source content management system utilized by many web sites (including TechCrunch), while corporations like Mullenweg’s WP Engine and Automattic moreover offer hosting and other industrial services.
Last month, Mullenweg published a blog entry criticizing WP Engine as “WordPress cancer”. His criticisms included the whole lot from WP Engine’s lack of version history support to its Silver Lake investor, but he also suggested that its “WP” branding confuses customers by making it appear as if the company is officially connected to WordPress.
Cease and desist letters went each ways, with WP Engine claiming that Mullenweg threatened to take a “nuclear scorched earth approach” if the company didn’t pay for the WordPress trademark license.
WordPress blocked WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org, briefly lifted the ban, after which re-imposed it. This essentially prevents WP Engine from updating the plugin via WordPress.org – so it might probably’t offer automatic updates to handle security issues.
WP Engine does, nonetheless posted a workaround for users who need to update the plugin and proceed using ACF. (It says this workaround is only obligatory without spending a dime ACF users, as skilled users will proceed to receive updates through the ACF website.)
Going forward, Mullenweg wrote that Secure Custom Fields can be available as a non-commercial plugin: “If any developers want to get involved in maintaining and improving it, please contact us.”
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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