Opinion: Dropping Scientific Linux May Have Been the Wrong Call

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A blog post published on melashri.net argues that the discontinuation of Scientific Linux was a mistake for the scientific computing community. Scientific Linux was a Linux distribution maintained by Fermilab and CERN, designed specifically for high-energy physics and research environments. The author contends that abandoning the project left a gap that alternatives have not fully filled. The post has sparked discussion on Hacker News, where it received points and community comments. The piece raises broader questions about the sustainability and governance of community-driven scientific software projects.

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Solo Developer Builds Yield, a Free Offline-First Android Task Management App

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

Android 17 Adds Native Certificate Transparency: What Developers Must Do Now

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

Ranex Targets Evidence Quality Where GitHub Rulesets Control Channel Access

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

Android 17 enforces Certificate Transparency, requiring app updates for Play Store compliance

Google's Android 17 introduces native Certificate Transparency (CT) validation, meaning the OS will verify that every TLS certificate is logged in public CT registries before allowing a secure connection. Each certificate must contain at least one valid Signed Certificate Timestamp (SCT) from recognized logs such as Google CT Log, DigiCert, or Let's Encrypt. Apps that are not updated to support CT risk being rejected on Google Play, making compliance a practical necessity for developers. Developers can enable CT support by updating the Network Security Config XML file and referencing it in the AndroidManifest, with optional runtime verification available through the new CertificateTransparency API in Kotlin or Java. The change also helps apps align with regulatory frameworks including eIDAS and PCI-DSS, strengthening the overall TLS trust chain on Android devices.

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