Ubuntu Weekly News: Issue #34
Martin Albisetti
beuno at ubuntu.com
Mon Apr 2 09:54:26 BST 2007
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #34 for the week March
25th - March 31st, 2007. In this issue we cover Canonical's quest to
find a new User Interface Designer, the long awaited and newly born
Xubuntu team and the general buzz going around about Ubuntu.
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== In This Issue ==
* Canonical Looking to Hire User Interface Developer
* New Way to Ask for a Program to be Packaged
* Ubuntu Receives PC Welt Editor's Choice Award
* Easy-to-install Codec Wizards
== General Community News ==
=== Canonical Looking to Hire User Interface Developer ===
Canonical is looking for someone with excellent user interface design
skills. No previous Linux experience is required. Anyone from Linux
experts to computer game developers could be suitable for this role.
You can read the full announcement at
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2007-March/023443.html
=== New Xubuntu Marketing Team ===
In a recent meeting of the Xubuntu developers, Freddy Martinez was
named the head of the Xubuntu Marketing efforts. The process will
begin by building a solid community around marketing Xubuntu and
updating the website to match the new Drupal used by Ubuntu.
=== Lionel Le Folgocto Joins MOTU ===
Lionel Le Folgocto has joined the ranks of MOTUs. He primarily works
on packaging, Medibuntu, and makes an effort to help with reviewing
and sponsoring packages. You can read the full announcement at
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2007-March/023477.html
== LoCo News ==
The UWN needs you! We at the UWN would love to write more about what
your LoCo team is doing, but we can't if you don't tell us what's in
the works. Email the loco-contacts or ubuntu-marketing lists, find
somebody in #ubuntu-marketing on IRC to add it for you, or just add it
yourself.
== New in Feisty Fawn ==
With Feisty getting closer to release and the Beta release out at the
end of last week, there haven't been many changes in Feisty this week,
except for the new OpenOffice.org 2.2, which includes a new Human
theme. For the confused, Human is the default Ubuntu theme.
=== Feisty Release Bug Status ===
Tollef Fog Heen, Ubuntu Release Manager, recently posted a list of
bugs which must be fixed before release. As of press, the email
announcing this was not available, but you can see the list of bugs at
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+milestone/ubuntu-7.04
=== Automatic Crash Reporting for Final Release ===
There has been a vigorous discussion over the past week about how to
handle the new bug and crash reporting software in Feisty, called
apport. (Apport has existed in previous releases of Ubuntu, but this
is first time the crash reporting side is fully available). While a
final decision on the menu item has not yet been made, Martin Pitt has
raised the issue of the handling of automatic crashes, due to problems
with scalability, privacy concerns and ability to fix the actual
crasher. No decision has been made yet and you can follow the
discussion on the ubuntu-devel list. (Due to issues with mail
archiving, a link is not yet available)
=== Call for Testing of HPLIP 1.7.3 ===
Till Kamppeter, maintainer of all printed things in Ubuntu, is trying
to get the latest HPLIP, the driver for HP multifunction printers,
into Feisty. However, he needs testers of the 1.7.3 version to make
certain it still works. You can read more about his call for testers
at https://beta.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/hplip/+bug/98520 - See
the 1st comment about "CALL FOR TESTING" on how to help with this.
== Development News ==
=== Informal Policy on Bugs in Binary Packages ===
Responding to a community question about bugs in binary packages such
as the Nvidia/ATI drivers, Matt Zimmerman has stated, "We take
responsibility for kernel bugs where we do not believe that a binary
driver is to blame, and we will work with hardware vendors to share
bug
tracking information. What we cannot do is take responsibility for
analyzing or fixing bugs which are the fault of a binary driver."
=== New Way to Ask for a Program to be Packaged ===
Following the latest MOTU meeting, a replacement for the
http://wiki.ubuntu.com/UniverseCandidates page was decided upon.
Following the tradition of Debian, packaging requests should now be
filed as bugs. You can read the whole procedure and followups at
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2007-March/023445.html
=== Change in Freeze Exception Procedures ===
Tollef Fog Heen, Ubuntu release manager, has announced a change in the
way maintainers ask for freeze exceptions for their packages. With the
new procedure, a bug against the relevant package should now be filed
with the ubuntu-release team subscribed to the bug. However, if the
request is urgent, contacting the release team directly via IRC or
email is still acceptable.
== In The Press ==
OminiNerd has a 2006 Operating System Vulnerability Summary which
discusses security issues of many popular OSs including Vista
Ultimate, OS X, and Ubuntu. The report concluded that out of the box,
Windows and OS X are remotely vulnerable without diligence: "owners of
Windows and OS X systems are the most susceptible to quick and
thorough remote violations by hackers." On the other hand, Unix and
Linux "generally maintained its integrity against remote attacks."
Read the full article: http://www.omninerd.com/2007/03/26/articles/74
Ubuntu Receives Editor's Choice Award from PC Welt. Editor in chief,
Andreas Perband, says "Within the Open Source category there was one
clear winner, Ubuntu. I congratulate them on getting this well
deserved award. We chose Ubuntu because of its dedication to releasing
every six months - bringing the best of Open Source to its users, its
ease of installation and its 'just works' philosophy." Read the full
article: http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/84097/
Peter Newton at PC World writes about Feisty and features like Beryl,
Compiz, Gnome, and Xfce. Newton is impressed with the dearth of
options available for Beryl. Read the full article:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130110-c,linux/article.html
Linux.com reviews [http://system76.com/ System 76's] Ubuntu-certified
Darter laptop recently and found that it has a few flaws, but overall
provides a decent system for Linux users clamoring for a
Linux-friendly vendor. Read the full article:
http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1328237
At Windows IT Pro, Mark Joseph Edwards reviewed Debian and Ubuntu. He
was impressed by Ubuntu when his Orinoco network card, nVidia video
card, sound card, and DVD drive all worked without any configuration.
Read the full article:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Article/ArticleID/95628/95628.html
== In The Blogosphere ==
"Only Ubuntu Linux" discusses new features in Feisty, like the
migration tool, help centre, and codec wizards. Screenshots of the new
tools are included as well.
http://onlyubuntu.blogspot.com/2007/03/ubuntu-704-feisty-fawn-beta-preview.html
Connie Veneracion, a wife and mom in the Philippines, writes about
replacing a desktop with a laptop and installing Ubuntu. Read more:
http://houseonahill.net/2007/03/28/ubuntu-on-sams-msi-s425/
Xcerion, a Swedish start-up, has created an XML-based "Internet OS"
and corresponding back-end software infrastructure that looks and
mimicks any regular desktop OS. The back-end servers run Ubuntu. Read
more: http://gigaom.com/2007/03/31/xcerion/#more-8592
In Free Market News, David Bond writes about being fed up with paying
Microsoft for constant upgrades of Windows and Office. He is
introduced to OSS with Firefox and eventually moves on to Open Office
and Ubuntu. Read more:
http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/39/7137/free.asp?nid=7137&wid=39
Steve at Seopher.com is "impressed with how simple Ubuntu makes
things." He discusses that Feisty easily downloads and installs the
appropriate codecs to play videos and "how generally the whole look
and feel of Ubuntu give across a well-rounded feel." Read more:
http://www.seopher.com/articles/review_of_ubuntu_feisty_fawn_alpha_5_for_new_users
Melissa Draper, a philosophical geekess, talks about four Feisty
features that will 'sell' Ubuntu: codec grabbing, migration assistant,
network manager, and desktop effects. Read more:
http://www.geekosophical.net/?p=81
== Meetings and Events ==
=== Sunday, April 01, 2007 ===
==== Marketing Team Meeting ====
* Start: 20:00
* End: 21:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarketingTeam/Meetings
=== Monday, April 02, 2007 ===
==== Community Question Time ====
* Start: 15:00
* End: 16:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting, #ubuntu-meeting-questions
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BuildingCommunity/CommunityQuestionTime
=== Tuesday, April 03, 2007 ===
==== Community Council Meeting ====
* Start: 11:00
* End: 14:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda
==== Kernel Team Meeting ====
* Start: 15:00
* End: 16:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/Meeting
==== Mozilla Team Meeting ====
* Start: 18:00
* End: 20:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MozillaTeam/Meetings
=== Wednesday, April 04, 2007 ===
==== Edubuntu Meeting ====
* Start: 12:00
* End: 14:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.edubuntu.org/EdubuntuMeetingAgenda
=== Thursday, April 05, 2007 ===
==== Ubuntu Development Team Meeting ====
* Start: 16:00
* End: 18:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
== Community Spotlight ==
=== Ubuntu Easy-to-install Codec Wizards ===
The upcoming Feisty release will include a new guided wizard for
installing codecs not shipped with Ubuntu. It gives users a safe way
of installing codecs they can legally use to view multimedia content.
When a user tries to view a video without having the appropriate
codecs, the application will suggest installing the correct codecs. If
the appropriate repositories are not active, the wizard will set them
up, then auto-detect and install the needed packages. The video will
start playing without the need to restart the application. This wizard
will prevent the need for users to follow complex instructions on
installing codecs and using unknown repositories.
== Updates and security for 6.06 and 6.10 ==
=== Security Updates ===
* USN-447-1: KDE library vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-447-1
* USN-446-1: NAS vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-446-1
* USN-445-1: XMMS vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-445-1
* USN-444-1: OpenOffice.org vulnerabilities -
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-444-1
* USN-443-1: Firefox vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-443-1
* USN-442-1: Evolution vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-442-1
* USN-441-1: Squid vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-441-1
=== Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates ===
* libwpd 0.8.4-2ubuntu0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012382.html
* inkscape 0.43-4ubuntu3.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012383.html
* mysql-dfsg-5.0 5.0.22-0ubuntu6.06.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012384.html
* asterisk 1:1.2.7.1.dfsg-2ubuntu3.4 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012385.html
* evolution-data-server 1.6.1-0ubuntu7 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012386.html
* evolution 2.6.1-0ubuntu7.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012387.html
* firefox 1.5.dfsg+1.5.0.11-0ubuntu0.6.06.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012388.html
* ia32-libs-openoffice.org 11.0.2 (source) -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012389.html
* openoffice.org-amd64 2.0.2-2ubuntu12.3-1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012390.html
* openoffice.org 2.0.2-2ubuntu12.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012391.html
* xmms 1.2.10+cvs20050809-4ubuntu5.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012392.html
* nas 1.7-3ubuntu3.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-March/012393.html
=== Ubuntu 6.10 Updates ===
* asterisk 1:1.2.12.1.dfsg-1ubuntu1.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008274.html
* evolution-data-server 1.8.1-0ubuntu5 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008275.html
* squid 2.6.1-3ubuntu1.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008276.html
* evolution 2.8.1-0ubuntu4.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008277.html
* firefox 2.0.0.3+0dfsg-0ubuntu0.6.10 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008278.html
* openoffice.org 2.0.4-0ubuntu5 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008279.html
* xmms 1.2.10+cvs20060429-1ubuntu2.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008280.html
* nas 1.8-2ubuntu0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-March/008281.html
== Bug Stats ==
* Open (25783) +858 # over last week
* Critical (19) +1 # over last week
* Unconfirmed (12166) +483 # over last week
* Unassigned (18491) +690 # over last week
* All bugs ever reported (88561) +2901 # over last week
As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started,
please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HelpingWithBugs
Check out the bug statistics: http://people.ubuntu-in.org/~carthik/bugstats/
== Archives and RSS Feed ==
You can always find older Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter issues at:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter
You can subscribe to the Ubuntu Weekly News via RSS at:
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== Additional Ubuntu News ==
As always you can find more news and announcements at:
http://www.ubuntu.com/news
and
http://fridge.ubuntu.com/
== Conclusion ==
Thank you for reading the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter.
See you next week!
== Credits ==
The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:
* Martin Albisetti
* Nick Ali
* Corey Burger
* Audrey Deutschmann
* anyone else that contributes
* And many others
== Feedback ==
This document is maintained by the Ubuntu Marketing Team. Please feel
free to contact us regarding any concerns or suggestions by either
sending an email to ubuntu-marketing at lists.ubuntu.com or by using any
of the other methods on the Ubuntu Marketing Team Contact Information
Page (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarketingTeam). If you'd like to
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