2.6.12-8.13 uploaded, preX,14 ready, and other things

[Ben Collins]

Now that I'm finally sub'd to this list, I'll start posting more status
here. I'll also start updating the wiki page with relevant bits.

Yesterday, 2.6.12-8.13 was uploaded. There were a lot of driver updates in
order to fix bugs. Lots of ACPI fixes (thanks mjg59) aswell.

We also introduced the sky2 driver, which should support Yukon2 based
cards (the ones that sk98lin supported buy skge doesn't). However, this
driver has already proven broken. I have a patch that mjg59 pointed me to
which should help, but it wont fix it completely.

So far, other than sky2, nothing seems to have become more broken than it
already was. In fact, all of the fixes I placed seem to have done exactly
what they were intended to do, and that is fix bugs :)

My goal for the next release is to get sky2 working, fix some outstanding
major issues (P1 in my bug list, more on that later).

I am right now considering this an ABI freeze until after breezy. Nothing,
unless absolutely major, will be put in that will cause an ABI change.


=== 2.6.13 ===

I hope to start a 2.6.13 branch soon, in order to get a head start on
integrating all of our patches from 2.6.12. 2.6.13 will also start some
changes in the build process.

- ABI files will be included with the kernel .deb. This is mainly to help
  me. When the ABI changes, I need to be able to get all of the files in
  order to have for the next release. Chasing around manual builds for all
  arch's is just a PITA.

- Restructure the patches/ directory. Right now, we have a naming scheme
  for the patches, which makes them somewhat hierarchial. I want to carry
  that over to making the hierarchy real as directories and
  subdirectories, so it's easier to manage the long list of patches.


=== My bug maint ===

As you all probably know, there are a shit load of bugs in bugzilla. I'm
trying to get a handle on them. So far, I've just been struggling to
handle the new bugs, and I think I have a hold on them. Right now, I have
trying to prioritize the bugs (not by severity, but by the chances that I
will be able to fix it). My severity levels are like this:

 - P1: Most important, need immediate attention. These are the bugs I will
   try to work on, on a daily basis. Right now, only Matt and I put bugs
   here. If you think a bug should be at this priority, shoot me an email,
   and I'll review it.

 - P2: Very important, should be addressed in the very near future. These
   are the bugs I will look at when I get burned out on P1, or when there
   are no P1 bugs left to work on. I may move bugs from here to P1 as that
   level starts to clear out. Feel free to promote a bug to P2 to catch my
   attention.

 - P3: These are the bugs I'm hoping to get help with from others that
   have extra time.

P4 and P5 are pretty much junk on my radar :) Wishlist sort of stuff, I
haven't decided what to do with that stuff.


-- 
   Ben Collins <ben.collins at ubuntu.com>
   Developer
   Ubuntu Linux