Month: November 2019

Leaves are turning. Temperatures have dipped. These are sure signs—if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, at least—that Canonical's Autumn release is upon us. Things are a bit different in 2019, however. Not only is Ubuntu 19.10 nicknamed Eoan Ermine (no, I don't know how you pronounce it either), but it's the best non-LTS Ubuntu release Canonical has ever put out.

I should qualify that statement somewhat, because really, as the newest version, it had damn well better be the best Ubuntu ever. But there's more than recency bias behind the sentiment. I've been reviewing Ubuntu for 10 years now, and I was using and interacting with this distro in some form or another for another three or four years before that. After spending recent weeks with Ubuntu 19.10, I can say confidently it is quite simply the best Ubuntu Canonical has ever released.

The first reason I like 19.10 so much is that it feels insanely fast. Everyday tasks like opening applications, dragging windows, activating the search interface, and even just moving the cursor around are all noticeably faster than in 19.04. The speed boost is immediately noticeable from the minute you pop in the live CD, and it's even faster once you have 19.10 installed.

Enlarge / Don't abandon the Internet yet! (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty)

Eric Goldman is a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and co-director of the High-Tech Law Institute. Jess Miers is an Internet Law & Policy Foundry fellow and a second year Tech Edge J.D. student at Santa Clara University School of Law. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Ars Technica.

For the first two decades of the commercial Internet, we celebrated the Internet as one of society's greatest inventions. After all, the Internet has led to truly remarkable outcomes: it has helped overthrow repressive political regimes, made economic markets more efficient, created safe spaces for otherwise marginalized communities to find their voices, and led to the most exquisite cat videos ever seen.

But in the last few years, public perceptions of the Internet have plummeted. We've lost trust in the Internet giants, who seem to have too much power and make missteps daily. We also are constantly reminded of all of the awful and antisocial ways that people interact with each other over the Internet. We are addicted to the Internet—but we don't really love it any more.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty)

If you're in the United States, chances are that you're looking forward to a long weekend with family, friends, food, and football in some order. As we pause for Thanksgiving, we at Ars are thankful for the smartest and most insightful audience on the Internet. (Seriously, we've seen the comments at other sites...) To show our appreciation, we're teaming up with YubiKey once again.

Since launching Ars Pro last year, we've seen one request above all from readers and subscribers: a YubiKey two-factor authentication device that supports USB-C. We've heard your feedback loud and clear, and today we're proud to announce that new Ars Pro++ subscribers can choose from either the YubiKey 5c or the YubiKey 5 NFC.

As you might have guessed from the name, the YubiKey 5c plugs into the USB-C ports that are ubiquitous on newer hardware. The $45 YubiKey 5 NFC works with NFC-enabled iOS, Android, and Windows 10 devices, allowing you to authenticate just by tapping the YubiKey against your device. And if your laptop or PC is rocking old-school USB-A ports, the YubiKey 5 NFC will slide right in.