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Edward Snowden's OS of choice, the Linux-based Tails, is now out of beta
Edward Snowden knows better than most how effectively the NSA can scope us online, so that's why he used the Amnesiac Incognito Live System (Tails) to cover his own whistleblowing. That OS is now out of beta as version 1.0, letting you surf on most PCs while leaving zero trace of your activities. Its anonymizing apps include email and IM clients, an office suite, a web browser, image and sound editors and the infamous Tor anonymity network system. There's no need for an installation, as it can run from a USB key, DVD or SD card independently of your existing OS, without touching your hard drives. If you've used the app before, the (anonymous) developers are advising you to grab the new release, as there are a host of security and bug fixes.
Motorola rumored to have acquired Azingo, part of some grander OS plans?
This one isn't official just yet, but if some changes in employment status on LinkedIn is any indication, it looks like Motorola may have recently acquired mobile Linux OS company Azingo. It may not exactly be a major player in the mobile OS field, but its Linux-based Azingo Mobile OS does look to be capable enough (complete with a Webkit-based browser and Flash runtime), and the acquisition is especially interesting in light of some recent comments made by Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha. Back during Moto's Q1 earnings call, he said that he has "always felt that owning your OS is important, provided you have an ecosystem, you have all the services and you have an ability and the scale to execute on keeping that OS at the leading edge," adding that he continues to believe "that at some point, if we have all of those attributes, that owning our own OS will be a very important thing." Is Azingo Mobile that OS? Probably not, but it'll certainly be interesting to see where this leads -- as long as it doesn't lead to something called MOTOZINGO.
