News briefs for February 20, 2019.
KDE announces it's adding Matrix to its instant messaging infrastructure[1]. Matrix "is an open protocol and network for decentralised communication, backed by an open standard and open source reference implementations for servers, clients, client SDKs, bridges, bots and more. It provides all the features you'd expect from a modern chat system: infinite scrollback, file transfer, typing notifications, read receipts, presence, search, push notifications, stickers, VoIP calling and conferencing, etc. It even provides end-to-end encryption (based on Signal's double ratchet algorithm) for when you want some privacy." For more information and how to get started, see the wiki page[2].
E3D, the UK hot-end manufacturer, has officially launched a beta of its new 3D printing slicer. Make reports[3] that the new slicer named Pathio features 3D offsetting for perfect shells, logical grouped model settings, a good UI and scripting for power users. See the Pathio website[4] to try out the beta.
digiKam 6.0.0 was released[5] recently. This major release follows two years of intensive development and lots of work from students during the Summer of Code. New features include full support of video file management, raw file decoding engine supporting new cameras, simplified web service authentication using OAuth, new export tools and much more. Go here[6] to download.
Google yesterday announced it intends to acquire Alooma[7], which "helps enterprise companies streamline database migration in the cloud". According to the announcement, "the addition of Alooma, subject to closing conditions, is a natural fit that allows us to offer customers a streamlined, automated migration experience to Google Cloud, and give them access to our full range of database services, from managed open source database offerings to solutions like Cloud Spanner and Cloud Bigtable".