Ubuntu Weekly News: Issue #47
Martin Albisetti
beuno at ubuntu.com
Mon Jul 9 01:59:01 BST 2007
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 47 for the week(s) June
24th - July 7th, 2007 features a two weeks of news packed into one
great issue. Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 has passed the second alpha release,
and is starting to look like we're going to have another amazing
release. We have quiet some new members and LoCo teams joining us, an
ambitious set of features announced for the next Launchpad milestones,
and the security updates and bug stats you all have learned to love.
* Deutsch - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue47/De
* Español - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue47/Es
* Français - Start one!
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue47/Fr
* Italiano - http://wiki.ubuntu-it.org/NewsletterItaliana
* Português - Start one!
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue47/Pt
== In This Issue ==
* New MOTUs
* Welcome our newly approved members
* Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 2 Released
* Newly Approved LoCos
* New Launchpad Features in development
* Ubuntu in the News and Blogs
* Meetings and Events
* Security Updates
== General Community News ==
=== MOTU ===
Richard Johnson (https://launchpad.net/~nixternal) and Chris Cheney
(https://launchpad.net/~ccheney) joined the ranks of the MOTUs. Both
bring lots of KDE experience. Richard worked a lot on Kubuntu and
Chris will work on OpenOffice.org
=== Newly Approved Members ===
* Aruther Loiret is active packaging and is one of the maintainers
of Medibuntu. He has been helping review the work of new packagers and
working translating Ubunt documention to French. Arthur plans on being
a MOTU in the future. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ArthurLoiret
* Mathieu Rousseau is a French team administrator and maintains the
French documentation for ubuntu-ppc. He is actively involved in
#ubuntu-fr-classroom which teaches packaging and everything related to
Ubuntu and OSS. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MathieuRousseau
* John Crawford is the team leader of the Ubuntu Arizona LoCo. He is
an Ubuntu US Team Mentor and started the Arizona Team Newsletter. John
plans to refine and develop the structure and goals of the Arizona
Team and help it become an approved LoCo.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Johnc4510
* Jacob Peddicord created the LoCo Support System as a module for
Drupal that enables LoCo teams to easily integrate a callback-based
support system into their websites. He the leader of the Unanswered
Posts Team on the Ubuntu Forums and an active member of the Ohio LoCo.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JacobPeddicord
* Joe Terranova is the team leader of the New Jersey LoCo. He has
given several presentations and been involved in install fests. Joe
plans on helping get the New Jersey team approved in the near future.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JoeTerranova
* Chris Cheney is an employee of Canonical. He maintains various
packages for KDE in Debian and is the new Ubuntu OpenOffice
maintainer. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ChrisCheney
== New in Gutsy Gibbon ==
=== Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 2 Released ===
Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 2 is the second alpha release of Ubuntu 7.10, and
with this new alpha release comes a whole host of excellent new
features.
==== GNOME 2.19.4 ====
Barrelling towards GNOME 2.20 - planned right before the final Ubuntu
7.10 - Tribe 2 provides the GNOME unstable branch for testing and
perfecting.
==== Gnash ====
The long awaited free flash implementation currently being developed
by GNU just got easier to install. Simply follow the instructions on
this email: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2007-June/023825.html
Gnash features better security, ability to play youtube and other
flash videos, and is mostly SWF 7 compliant with v8 and v9 soon to
come.
==== XDG-user-directories ====
Creates a standard set of default directories in your home folder that
users and applications can utilize to make user experience more
consistent and convenient across sessions, and avoid file cluttering.
==== Firefox 3 Alpha ====
For users looking to experience the cutting edge in browser
technology, "Gran Paradiso" (alpha release of firefox 3) is now
available from the universe repository.
==== Compiz Fusion ====
Compiz Fusion is enabled by default and will bring 3D desktop visual
effects that improve the usability and visual appeal of the system.
The Gutsy Gibbon automatically detects whether the hardware is capable
of running compiz; if not, it falls back to the "metacity" window
manager. Additional effects can be enabled in
"System/Preferences/Appearance" under the "Desktop Effects" tab.
==== Improved Restricted Manager ====
restricted-manager can now handle drivers which are free in themselves
but which require non-free firmware. In particular, it can now fetch
and install firmware for the bcm43xx driver (for Broadcom wireless
cards) - with just three clicks by the user.
==== Crash Reporting ====
Apport has been re-enabled by default for this Tribe, so that crashes
will again be reported and (if the user agrees) sent to the bug
tracking system. The bug reprocessing machinery now attempts to detect
multiple reports of the same bug and marks these as such
automatically.
Download Tribe 2
ISOs and torrents are available at:
* http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/gutsy/tribe-2/ (Ubuntu)
* http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/gutsy/tribe-2/ (Kubuntu)
* http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/gutsy/tribe-2/ (Edubuntu)
* http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/gutsy/tribe-2/ (Xubuntu)
See the announcement:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2007-June/000311.html
=== UbuntuStats Project ===
The Ubuntu Live Stats project (http://ubuntustats.com/) has been
launched in beta phase by Martin Albisetti and Felipe Lerena, from the
Ubuntu Marketing Team. The project currently shows in a very "web 2.0"
way much of the activity going on all the time in the Ubuntu world. It
now features 2 different ways to visualize activity, personalization
of the feeds, and has many new features in development. You can
request for new features via Launchpad:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-stats/
== LoCo News ==
=== Newly Approved LoCos ===
* The Serbian Team has close to 1000 members. Articles written by the
team have appeared in several magazines and a member was on a TV show
with national coverage and gave away CDs to the audience. The team has
held an install fest and participated in the Free Software Network
Serbia festival. 85 members of the team are also part of the Serbian
translation team. The forum is very active and has been successful in
attracting new users and supporting them.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SerbianTeam
* The Brazilian Team was started two and half years ago. Since then,
the team has grown to over 150 members and has 16 Ubuntu members.
There are 16 regional teams that cover different states and provide
local support by holding installfests, FLOSS events, and discussion
meetings. The Brazilian Documentation Team creates new documentation
in Portuguese and organizes the Ubuntu Brazilian Wiki. With over 30
bloggers, the Planet Ubuntu Brazil provides Ubuntu news, tips and
tricks, and promotes Ubuntu to new users.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BrazilianTeam
* The US-Pennsylvania Lo``Co Team has recently held and install fest
with a local LUG and their own install fest, while working with
non-profits to help underprivileged people benefit from technology and
free software. The team is working on participating in Free Software
Day by providing a speaker and
demonstrations.https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PennsylvaniaTeam
== Launchpad News ==
=== Coming Features ===
A set of features have been announced for the next two Launchpad milestones:
==== General Launchpad ====
* Launchpad users will be able to close their accounts themselves.
* Frequent contributors to a project will be represented by a new
icon to help other Launchpad users judge their experience level within
that project.
* Trusted project members will be indicated by a badge next to their
name, if selected by the project's owners.
==== Answer Tracker ====
* Frequently asked questions occur in every project. A new feature in
the Answer Tracker will help users to find the best answer to a
project's most commonly asked questions. Answer contacts will be able
to identify FAQ and provide the canonical answer, meaning that users
can get straight to the information they need. FAQ will be searchable
in their own right and will also be offered as a possible answer when
a user asks a matching question.
* Question attachments will allow people to post screenshots and log
files that describe their problem.
==== Blueprint Tracker ====
* Adding a dependency will now be easier, especially for projects
with large numbers of blueprints.
* When registering a new blueprint, you'll be able to propose a
sprint at which to discuss it. The sprint will be automatically
populated if you register the blueprint from a sprint page.
* Project group pages will have a ''Register blueprint'' link.
==== Bug Tracker ====
* Support for upstreams who don't have bug trackers will enable
users to send bugs upstream by sending an email from within Launchpad.
* Importing Debian bugs: and having them searchable from within
Launchpad will make life easier for the Ubuntu team. Each day,
Launchpad will import any new bugs and update previously imported
bugs, bringing in as much information as possible.
* Soon, you'll be able add bug tags by email.
* Old ''Incomplete/Needs Info'' bugs will expire automatically.
==== Code Hosting ====
* Code Hosting will use the Bazaar Smart Server.
* Server-side branching will make it much quicker to create a new
Launchpad-hosted branch of a branch already hosted on Launchpad.
==== Translations ====
* Separate import queues for products and distributions will make it
easier for maintainers and translation administrators to track the
status of imports.
* Translation credit strings will automatically credit both the
Launchpad translators and any upstream translators.
* A new "Closed" translation mode will help upstreams who want to
pre-approve everyone who does any work on their translations,
including making suggestions. The previous "Closed" mode will be
renamed "Restricted".
* A single download of all a project's translations files will be
especially useful to projects with several translation templates.
* Searchable translations will make it easier for translators to find
where a string has already been similarly translated.
Announced at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/launchpad-users/2007-June/001664.html
== In The News ==
* Andy Ihnatko, at the Chicago Sun-Times, thinks folks should "try
the free (free free free) Linux OS at some point in your life." Andy
describes what Linux is, saying "spending $400 for legit copies of
Windows and commercial apps can be overkill." Ubuntu is Andy's
favorite distro and he likes the huge, active support forum at
ubuntuforums.org. The ease of installing restricted drivers with
Synaptic is discussed along with trying Live CDs. Read the full
article at http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/437301,CST-FIN-Andy21.article
* The Times of India talks about installation, features, virus
threats, and multimedia options of Kubuntu. Once getting a CD from
Ship It and experiencing Kubuntu, "the world of your old OS will look
increasingly bad, increasingly archaic, and a environment that makes
living life hard." Katapult and Adept``Manager are mentioned as "nifty
features" and help users avoid viruses, Trojans, and dangerous code.
Amarok is described as a limitless music player that "is in a
different league by itself." Read the full article at
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/City_Supplements/Bombay_Times/Time_for_a_switch_/articleshow/2162152.cms
* Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, at Desktop``Linux.com, writes that Dell
is making Ubuntu available on more computers, specifically the
Inspiron 1420 laptop and Inspiron 530 desktop. The base 1420 comes
with a 1.5Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 80GB hard drive, and 1GB of
memory, along with a 14.1 inch widescreen display. The laptop will
also be available in various colors like Midnight Blue, Espresso
Brown, and Flamingo Pink and is priced at $774 USD. The 530 is a
mini-tower that will include an Intel 1.6Ghz dual-core processor,
160GB hard drive, and 512MB of RAM. A 17 inch LCD monitor is included
in the $449 base price. Read the full article at
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS6756576859.html
* Mike Butcher, at Telegraph, discusses ways of running his laptop
for free. Linux was the obvious choice and "one of the simplest to use
is Ubuntu." He thinks the UI is a combination of Microsoft and Apple
operating systems, "but it has an intuitive interface and comes
bundled with essentials such as a word processor, spreadsheet
application and presentation software, and is fully compatible with
Microsoft document formats for viewing and editing." Since Ubuntu is
open source, "with an active developer community, people are always
collaborating on programs and techniques that will allow you to run as
many gadgets as possible." Read the full article at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2007/07/07/dlfree07.xml
* Rodney Gedda, at Network World, writes about Mark Shuttleworth's
keynote address at the aKademy KDE conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Mark suggests "KDE move to a more predictable, preferably six-month,
release schedule." While the KDE project is committed to the six-month
release cycle, Mark's comments has prompted an on going discussion
within the KDE community. Rodney says Ubuntu "has become renowned for
delivering a new version of its operating system every six months, a
schedule which resulted in a lot of publicity for it in April with the
release of 7.04." Read the full article at
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/070307-joint-releases-to-jolt-open.html
* Richard Hillesly, at ITPRo, speaks with Mark Shuttleworth about the
future for Ubuntu and Linux as a platform. A background of Ubuntu is
provided, describing Mark's plan to "promote education and the use of
free software in his native South Africa." Mark describes how the use
of Ubuntu progresses through organizations, like starting on developer
machines and then migrating the infrastructure of production systems.
Joost, which distributes television content over the Web using P2P
technology, "employs 150 developers and uses Ubuntu as both the
developer and server platform for its media distribution
infrastructure." Read the full article at
http://www.itpro.co.uk/features/118738/is-ubuntu-the-way-forward-for-linux.html
== In The Blogosphere ==
* On the Dell blog, Lionel Menchaca says that Dell has confirmed
plans to offer Linux outside of the United States. More details will
be released later this summer. Dell is also considering selling Linux
to small business customers. The blog also details the new Inspiron
machines that will have Ubuntu pre-loaded.Read more at
http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/06/27/19470.aspx
* Jason Klee, at tech.blorge.com, asks if Ubuntu Linux really ready
for the big time. While many think that Linux is too complex for the
average user, "Dell's involvement, however, much of the learning curve
has been reduced or eliminated." The Dell computers work well out of
the box and users will never have to go through the installation
process themselves. Vista's new design may seem impressive, but Beryl
challenges those notions. Jason provides links to You``Tube and Google
videos showing Beryl in action. To the original question he poses,
"the answer is a resounding YES, Yes it is!" Read more at
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/07/06/is-ubuntu-linux-really-ready-for-the-big-time/
* Sheehan Alam describes his reasons for choosing Ubuntu over Vista.
Ubuntu performs well on existing hardware and provides many
applications after a new installation. The ability to batch install
many applications from the repositories using a package manager is
superior to downloading applications off the Internet. The lack of
viruses and spyware frees up the computer since no scanning software
is needed. A six month release cycle for improved features is better
compared to the Microsoft timetable. Read more at
http://sheehantu.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/9-reasons-why-i-choose-ubuntu-over-windows/
== Meetings and Events ==
=== Monday, July 9, 2007 ===
==== REVU Day ====
* Start: 00:00
* End: 23:59
* Location: #ubuntu-motu
=== Tuesday, July 10, 2007 ===
==== Kernel Team Meeting ====
* Start: 15:00
* End: 16:00
* Location: #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelTeam/Meeting
=== Wednesday, July 11, 2007 ===
==== Edubuntu Meeting ====
* Start: 12:00
* End: 14:00
* Location: #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.edubuntu.org/EdubuntuMeetingAgenda
=== Thursday, July 12, 2007 ===
==== MOTU Q&A ====
* Start: 00:00
* Location: #ubuntu-motu
==== MOTU Q&A ====
* Start: 12:00
* End: 13:00
* Location: #ubuntu-motu
==== Ubuntu Development Team Meeting ====
* Start: 15:00
* End: 17:00
* Location: #ubuntu-meeting
=== Saturday, July 14, 2007 ===
==== MOTU Team Meeting ====
* Start: 00:00
* End: 02:00
* Location: #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Meetings
==== Xubuntu Developers Meeting ====
* Start: 17:00
* End: 19:00
* Location: #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Xubuntu/Meetings
=== Monday, July 16, 2007 ===
==== Ubuntu Server Team meeting ====
* Start: 15:00
* End: 16:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/Meeting
==== Technical Board Meeting ====
* Start: 19:00
* End: 21:00
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TechnicalBoardAgenda
== Updates and security for 6.06, 6.10, and 7.04 ==
=== Security Updates ===
* USN-480-1: Gimp vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-480-1
* USN-479-1: Mad``Wifi vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-479-1
* USN-478-1: libexif vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-478-1
* USN-477-1: krb5 vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-477-1
=== Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates ===
* krb5 1.4.3-5ubuntu0.4 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-June/012441.html
* libexif 0.6.12-2ubuntu0.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-June/012442.html
* linux-restricted-modules-2.6.15 2.6.15.12-28.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-June/012443.html
* kvirc 2:3.2.0-5ubuntu1.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-July/012444.html
* gimp 2.2.11-1ubuntu3.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-July/012445.html
* iptables 1.3.3-2ubuntu4.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-July/012446.html
=== Ubuntu 6.10 Updates ===
* krb5 1.4.3-9ubuntu1.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-June/008349.html
* libexif 0.6.13-4ubuntu0.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-June/008350.html
* linux-restricted-modules-2.6.17 2.6.17.8-11.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-June/008351.html
* kvirc 2:3.2.4-3ubuntu1.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-July/008352.html
* gimp 2.2.13-1ubuntu3.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-July/008353.html
* iptables 1.3.5.0debian1-1ubuntu2.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-July/008354.html
=== Ubuntu 7.04 Updates ===
* krb5 1.4.4-5ubuntu3.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-June/008641.html
* libexif 0.6.13-5ubuntu0.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-June/008642.html
* linux-restricted-modules-2.6.20 2.6.20.5-16.29 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-June/008643.html
* python-fam 1.1.1-2.1ubuntu0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-June/008644.html
* nautilus-cd-burner 2.18.1-0ubuntu1.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-June/008645.html
* kvirc 2:3.2.4-5ubuntu1.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-July/008646.html
* gimp 2.2.13-1ubuntu4.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-July/008647.html
* iptables 1.3.6.0debian1-5ubuntu2.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-July/008648.html
* gnochm 0.9.9-0ubuntu1.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-July/008649.html
== Bug Stats ==
* Open (30365) +231 # over last week
* Critical (23) -5 # over last week
* Unconfirmed (14983) +59 # over last week
* Unassigned (22602) +113 # over last week
* All bugs ever reported (107823) +1175 # 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:
http://fridge.ubuntu.com/uwn/feed
== 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:
* Nick Ali
* Martin Albisetti
* And many others
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