Miscellaneous
How do you solve a problem like MariaDB? Cozy up to the community, says new CEO
MariaDB, an open-source database company, is looking to strengthen collaboration with the MariaDB Foundation after a turbulent few years. The company, which was created in 2009 as a community-driven fork of MySQL, struggled following its public listing via a SPAC in 2022, leading to a dramatic decline and eventual acquisition by K1 Investment Management. With the backing of private equity and new CEO Rohit De Souza, MariaDB aims to rebuild and align with the Foundation, focusing on community growth and open-source development. De Souza believes the company is now on a stable path and sees renewed cooperation with the Foundation as key to future success. Historically, MariaDB Foundation has worked independently to protect the project’s open-source mission, while the company has pursued commercial goals.
The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained
A heated controversy has emerged within the WordPress community between Matt Mullenweg, WordPress founder and CEO of Automattic, and WP Engine, a major WordPress hosting provider. WordPress, an open-source platform powering around 40% of websites, can be self-hosted or managed by services like Automattic or WP Engine. In mid-September, Mullenweg criticized WP Engine for disabling post revision history, calling it a violation of WordPress's core principles, and accused the host of misleading customers by using the "WP" brand. WP Engine responded with a cease-and-desist letter, leading to legal battles over trademark use. Mullenweg then blocked WP Engine's access to WordPress.org, disrupting services for many websites, sparking further tension within the community.
UPchieve, an online tutor app for low-income students, launches a free tool for teachers
UPchieve, a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 to provide free online tutoring and college counseling for low-income students, has launched a new tool called "UPchieve for Teachers." This feature enables teachers in Title 1 middle and high schools to offer personalized academic support by inviting students to tutoring sessions and monitoring their engagement. Previously, students had to sign up for services independently, but this change aims to enhance access for those who may be unaware of available resources. UPchieve has successfully matched over 190,000 tutoring requests and utilizes volunteer tutors, many of whom are students themselves, to cover over 30 subjects. The organization operates on donations and partnerships, with recent funding of over $4 million in 2023.
Patreon launches features to automate away creators’ administrative workload and help them make more money
Patreon is a membership platform that allows creators to earn a recurring income by offering exclusive content to paying subscribers. Recently, Patreon introduced new features to help creators convert free members into paid subscribers, including an Autopilot tool that predicts which users are likely to upgrade and offers them discounts. This tool has already improved free-to-paid conversions by 19% in testing. Additionally, Patreon is exploring one-time payment options for posts or bundles, which have attracted over 45% of new buyers. While monthly memberships remain crucial for stable income, these new features aim to increase creators' earnings while aligning with Patreon's financial interests.
These two friends built a simple tool to transfer playlists between Apple Music and Spotify, and it works great
Apple Music introduced a playlist transfer tool via the Data Transfer Initiative (DTI), but it doesn't work with Spotify. The DTI tool only transfers playlists between Apple Music and YouTube Music. Chris Riley, DTI’s executive director, advocates for better portability tools across more platforms. Soundiiz, a third-party tool, allows seamless playlist transfers across over 25 music streaming services. Soundiiz was founded in 2013 by two French friends, Thomas Magnano and Benoit Herbreteau. Originally, Soundiiz was a music search tool, but its playlist transfer feature became the main product. Soundiiz gained traction after partnering with Tidal in 2015 for playlist transfers. The free version of Soundiiz limits playlist transfers to 200 songs and requires manual one-by-one transfers. Soundiiz’s premium plan ($4.50/month) lifts these limitations for faster, larger transfers. Soundiiz has transferred 220 million playlists and remains independently run by its two founders.
Google to pay up to $250,000 to find bugs in Chrome
Google has updated its Chrome Vulnerability Rewards Program (VRP) to better reward security researchers who find and report software bugs, offering prizes up to $250,000. The new structure categorizes bugs by severity: **Remote Code Execution (RCE)** bugs that allow harmful code to be run remotely can earn up to $250,000; **Controlled Write** bugs allowing data to be written anywhere in memory can earn up to $90,000; **Memory Corruption** bugs affecting memory handling can earn up to $35,000; and **Basic Reports** of memory corruption without detailed exploitation can earn up to $25,000. Other categories include **High Impact** bugs (up to $30,000), **Moderate Impact** bugs (up to $20,000), and **Lower Impact** bugs (up to $10,000). Specialized bugs, like bypassing the MiraclePtr security feature, can earn up to $250,128. This update encourages deeper exploration of vulnerabilities and offers higher rewards for more detailed reports.
Should other tech bosses worry after Durov's arrest?
Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, was charged by France for not stopping illegal activity on his platform. Durov's arrest has raised concerns among other tech executives about potential legal risks in Europe. Experts note that chat apps like Telegram often host illegal content without the founders' knowledge. Durov's case is unprecedented, marking the first time a tech executive has been criminally charged for user actions. Lawyers suggest that similar charges against figures like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg are unlikely. Durov's French citizenship made him a more likely target for arrest in France. Unlike other platforms, Telegram is known for refusing to cooperate with government takedown requests. Telegram's lack of legal representation in France contrasts with platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which comply more readily. Some experts worry that this case could set a precedent affecting other encrypted services like WhatsApp and Signal. The charges are controversial, with critics arguing that holding Telegram accountable for user actions is legally questionable.