Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #67

John Crawford johnc4510-cox at ubuntu.com
Mon Nov 26 01:07:14 GMT 2007


Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #67 for the week November 
18th - November, 24th, 2007. In this issue we cover: Macedonia Students 
Use Ubuntu, New MOTU's, Azureaus Gets Fix, Launchpad News, Ubuntu Forum 
News, and much, much more.

'''UWN Translations'''

* Deutsch - Start one! 
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* Español - Start one! 
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* Français - Start one! 
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* Italiano - http://wiki.ubuntu-it.org/NewsletterItaliana
* Português - Start one! 
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== In This Issue ==

* Every Macedonian Student To Use Ubuntu
* MOTU
* Azureus Gets Fix
* Launchpad News
* Ubuntu Forum News
* In The Press
* In The Blogosphere
* Meetings & Events
* Updates & Sercurity
* Bug & Translation Stats

== General Community News ==

=== Every Macedonian Student to Use Ubuntu-Powered Computer Workstations ===
LONDON, November 20th, 2007 - The Macedonia Ministry of Education and 
Science will deploy more than 180,000 workstations running Canonical’s 
Edubuntu 7.04 as part of its "Computer for Every Child" project. The 
Macedonia "Computer for Every Child" project is one of the largest known 
thin client and desktop Linux deployments ever undertaken. Half of 
elementary and secondary Macedonia students attend school in the 
morning, and half attend in the afternoon, so 180,000 workstations will 
allow for one classroom computing device per student for the entire 
Republic's public school population. The first 7000 computers 
pre-installed with Ubuntu were shipped on September 4th 2007. The 
project will enable a range of innovative educational programs, 
including interactive web-based classes in which specialized experts 
teach lessons in such areas as mathematics, biology, chemistry and 
physics to multiple schools and classrooms around the country. 
http://www.ubuntu.com/news/macedonia-school-computers

=== MOTU ===

[http://launchpad.net/~jdong John Dong] is a MOTU! After years of work 
in Ubuntu (the Backports team, MOTU team, Forums administration, etc.) 
John finally became part of the team!

== New in Gutsy Gibbon ==

=== Azureus Gets Fix ===

Over the past several weeks [http://launchpad.net/~jdong John Dong] has 
been working in 
[https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/azureus/+bug/57875 bug 57875] 
to make Azureus packages work again. Thanks to the help of countless 
package testers, this week the archive managers approved the updated 
package (2.5.0.4-1ubuntu3~gutsy1) for both the Backports and Updates 
repositories. We encourage torrenters to give Azureus another try -- you 
will find it faster, lighter, and more stable than you may expect.

== Launchpad News ==

=== Personal Package Archives 101 ===

Personal Package Archives 101 session: join Jordan Mantha (Laserjock) 
and Launchpad developer Celso Providelo (cprov) to learn the basics of 
using Launchpad's PPA to build and host your own Ubuntu packages.

Where: #ubuntu-classroom on Freenode.
When: 15.00 - 16.00 UTC Wednesday 28th November.

=== Inkscape Joins Launchpad ===

Inkscape switching to Launchpad: Inkscape is switching its bug tracking 
to Launchpad. Right now the Launchpad team are importing Inkscape's bug 
history from their current tracker. Read project founder Bryce 
Harrington's comments on the Launchpad News blog: 
http://news.launchpad.net/general/inkscape-moving-to-launchpad

If you have a project and wish to choose Launchpad for your bug tracking 
system, please send an email to feedback at launchpad.net.

== Ubuntu Forum News ==

=== This Weeks Interviews & Observations ===

Quite a funny timing, this week's interviews features jdong, one of the 
Forums administrators and FC member. He is also our unofficial security 
“expert”, and a collector interested in, hum, odd items... Discover the 
full interview here: 
http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/11/23/an-interview-with-jdong/

Additional forum spaming with malicious code that could corrupt user 
systems has unfortunately taken place once again this week. It got 
quickly handled, and a global banner has been set up to warn members: 
http://ubuntuforums.org/announcement.php?a=54. Next Forum Council 
meeting (date and time to be set up) will examine the different 
processes we can implement to deal with this new situation.

== In The Press ==

* Linux desktops grow and grow and grow - The Linux Foundation annual 
survey really runs till the end of the month but entries are drying up, 
and they've already received 20,000 responses, so they've started 
crunching the numbers. Just over half of respondents were from Europe 
and 35.8 per cent from the US. The majority, 68.4 per cent, of Linux 
desktops are in small and home office set-ups or small businesses with 
less than 100 machines. Medium businesses of between 101 and 500 PCs 
account for 9.7 per cent and companies with between 1,001 and 5,000 
account for 6.2 per cent of Linux desktops. In terms of flavors of Linux 
the "Ubuntu family" accounts for 54.1 per cent followed by Red Hat 
versions with 50.2 per cent, while Novell SUSE picks up 35.2 per cent. 
Ubuntu scores slightly higher with personal users at 55.4 per cent, 
followed by Debian at 22.2 per cent and Gentoo 10.2 per cent, then 
Knoppix at 7.1 per cent. 
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/23/linux_desktop_survey/

* NComputing PC virtualization now comes in Ubuntu - NComputing, the 
company that has allowed cash-strapped schools and community 
organizations around the world to harness the untapped power of their 
PCs, has launched a virtual PC version for open-source Ubuntu Linux 
operating systems. The US-based company says it can reduce desktop 
computing costs by over 50 per cent, simply by using the up-to 90 per 
cent of computing power that commonly lies idle in every PC. This is 
achieved by hooking as many as 30 users up to one PC via a range of 
access terminals. Each user still has a monitor, keyboard, mouse and 
speakers, but instead of each running a desktop or laptop PC, they 
connect to a single machine. "NComputing has dramatically reduced the 
cost of PC computing to empower a new generation of users in 
under-served markets worldwide," said Stephen Dukker, CEO and Chairman 
of NComputing. "Our virtual PC solutions, when combined with open-source 
software such as Ubuntu Linux and OpenOffice.org, are hard to beat." 
http://m-net.net.nz/2071/latest-news/latest-news/ncomputing-pc-virtualisation-now-comes-in-ubu.php

* Ubuntu Server: Good Concept, Flawed Execution - Carla Schroder 
continues her examination of the Ubuntu Server in this article. First 
the good stuff: It's an easy, one-CD installation. Some users might have 
an expectation that Ubuntu Server will be all shiny and easy like Ubuntu 
Desktop. It's not—you need to know what you're doing, because it doesn't 
do any hand-holding. The bad stuff: Poor documentation on the 
Ubuntu-specific customizations. Bleeding-edge package versions are scary 
for servers, and she questions the effectiveness of putting something 
like App-Armor on a system that is already security-questionable. LAMP 
security is famously difficult even with conservative package choices, 
and careful attention to security patching. Quality control seems in 
need of some quality control. The concept behind Ubuntu Server is 
wonderful— a lean, carefully-selected batch of packages that gets you up 
and running quickly, and that you can easily add to as you need. She can 
see using Ubuntu Server as a LAN server, and as a training server, but 
she thinks opening it up to the Internet is asking for trouble. 
http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netos/article.php/3712031

* Rice Technology Solutions to Distribute Ubuntu Based Linux Exclusively 
- Rice Technology Solutions (RTS), a southern Nevada based IT solutions 
provider, and subcontracting firm today announced that it will 
exclusively distribute Ubuntu for all future linux deployments. Ubuntu 
was selected in large part because of the company's technical savvy and 
business acumen. The partnership will provide Canonical Ltd with a local 
point of presence on the sales side, as well as hardware and software 
installation, service and support. When asked why should companies 
consider a Linux solutions opposed to a traditional Windows based 
solution, Rice said: "Linux is the future of the desktop and server, 
unlike its main competitor Windows, the software is constantly updated 
and improved upon. There are many features that make it a superior 
choice, those being security, scalability, reliability." 
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/26394/

* Ubuntu Scores First Major Pre-installed Server Win - Dell is expected 
to announce in the first quarter of 2008 that it has certified Ubuntu 
Linux for its server lines. In an interview with Rick Becker, Dell 
Product Group's vice president of solutions, Becker said that Dell is 
currently in the process of certifying Ubuntu for all its server lines. 
"But we are still several months away from announcing a certification. 
I'd say it'll be announced in Q1 next year." Dell, however, is already 
selling pre-loaded Ubuntu on its servers. "At the moment, if a Dell 
customer asks us to pre-load Ubuntu on a server, we'll do it for them. 
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2217530,00.asp

== In The Blogosphere ==

* Linux United. No more Distro Wars - Justin Breithaupt thinks it's time 
to put the distro wars to an end. "One thing I’ve learned the hard way 
through several business deals and by trying to release my own distro is 
that you should not bash other distro's, people, or companies that do 
you wrong." The distro war that has been holding the Linux community 
back. Ubuntu is a prime example of this war. "Their community has made 
it clear to me several times that they should be the only distro for 
desktop users to clear up confusion between distro's, because their 
distro is the best one, and it’s the easiest to use. This is the kind of 
attitude that will bring us all down." 
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/96277/

== Meetings and Events ==

=== Tuesday, November 27, 2007 ===

==== New York Loco Meeting ====

* Start: 18:00 America/New York
* End: 19:30 America/New York
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-newyork
* Agenda: https://wiki.kubuntu.org/NewYorkTeam

=== Wednesday, November 28, 2007 ===

==== Personal Package Archives 101 ====

* Start: 15:00 UTC
* End: 16:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-classroom
* Agenda: Basics of Personal Package Archives and, if there’s time, 
questions.

=== Thursday, November 29, 2007 ===

==== Desktop Team Development Meeting ====

* Start: 14:00 UTC
* End: 15:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: No agenda listed as of the publication

== Updates and security for 6.06, 6.10, 7.04, and 7.10 ==

=== Security Updates ===

* None Reported

=== Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates ===

* Accepted: langpack-locales 2.3.18.6 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-November/012567.html
* Accepted: cupsys 1.2.2-0ubuntu0.6.06.5 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2007-November/012568.html

=== Ubuntu 6.10 Updates ===

* Accepted: tzdata 2007i-0ubuntu0.6.10 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-November/008449.html
* Accepted: foo2zjs 20060625dfsg-2ubuntu0.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2007-November/008450.html

=== Ubuntu 7.04 Updates ===

* Accepted: tzdata 2007i-0ubuntu0.7.04 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008780.html
* Accepted: 915resolution 0.5.2-10ubuntu3 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008781.html
* Accepted: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:1.9.94-1ubuntu5 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008782.html
* Accepted: firehol 1.231-7ubuntu0.7.04 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008783.html
* Accepted: libfilesys-df-perl 0.92-2ubuntu0.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008784.html
* Accepted: vmware-server 1.0.4-1feisty3 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008785.html
* Accepted: strigi 0.3.11-1ubuntu1.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008786.html
* Accepted: apache2 2.2.3-3.2ubuntu2 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008787.html
* Accepted: foo2zjs 20061224-0ubuntu3.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008788.html

=== Ubuntu 7.10 Updates ===

* Accepted: tzdata 2007i-0ubuntu0.7.10 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010022.html
* Accepted: mythtv 0.20.2-0ubuntu10.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010023.html
* Accepted: ubufox 0.4~beta1-0ubuntu6 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010024.html
* Accepted: tagtool 0.12.3-2ubuntu0.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010025.html
* Accepted: firehol 1.231-7ubuntu0.7.10 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010026.html
* Accepted: gtkpod-aac 0.99.10-2ubuntu1.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010027.html
* Accepted: mono-addins 0.2-2ubuntu0.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010028.html
* Accepted: docbook2odf 0.211-1ubuntu0.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010029.html
* Accepted: dspam 3.6.8-5ubuntu1.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010030.html
* Accepted: foo2zjs 20070625-0ubuntu1.1 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010031.html
* Accepted: rutilt 0.15-0ubuntu5.2 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010032.html
* Accepted: linux-backports-modules-2.6.22 2.6.22-14.11 (source) - 
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010033.html


== Bug Stats ==

* Open (37590) +220 # over last week
* Critical (16) +/-0 # over last week
* Unconfirmed (20263) +114 # over last week
* Unassigned (28805) +181 # over last week
* All bugs ever reported (136906) +1048 # over last week

As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started, 
please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BugSquad

== Translation Stats ==

1. Spanish (14902) -164 # over last week
2. French (38688) +/-0 # over last week
3. Swedish (49226) -16 # over last week
4. English-UK (45941) -5642 # over last week
5. German (66535) +/-0 # over last week

Remaining string to translate in Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon", see more 
at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/

== 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:

* Your Name Here
* Isabelle Duchatelle
* John Crawford
* Craig Eddy
* And many others

== RSS ==

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== Glossary ==

* UWN - 
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter?action=show&redirect=UWN
* MOTU - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU?highlight=%28MOTU%29
* Loco - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeams?action=show&redirect=LoCo
* App Armor - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AppArmor
* LAMP - http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/serveredition

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