Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #99
Nick Ali
nali at ubuntu.com
Sun Jul 13 23:09:02 BST 2008
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #99 for the week July
6th - July 12th, 2008. In this issue we cover: special 100th issue of
the UWN next week, Intrepid Alpha 2 released, MOTU news and videos,
new Universe contributor, summary of UDS discussions, new Kubuntu
website, Ubuntu Venezuela 2 year anniversary, Launchpod episode #7,
Tutorial of the week, Technical Update, Ubuntu in US retailers, and
much, much more!
== UWN Translations ==
* Note to translators and our readers: We are trying a new way of
linking to our translations pages. Please follow the link below for
the information you need.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Translations
== In This Issue ==
* Special 100th Issue of the UWN Next Week
* Intrepid Alpha 2 Released
* New MOTU
* New Universe Contributor
* MOTU Videos - "This is how I fix a bug"
* Summary of UDS Discussions
* New Kubuntu Website
* Ubuntu Stats
* Ubuntu-Venezuela Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
* Launchpod Episode #7
* Ubuntu Forums Tutorial
* Technical Update
* In the Press & Blogosphere
* Canonical & Valusoft bring Ubuntu Support to US Retailer
* Upcoming Meetings & Events
* Updates & Security
== General Community News ==
=== Special 100th Issue of the UWN Coming Next Week ===
Don't miss the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter next week as we celebrate our
100th issue with the Ubuntu community. There will be interviews with
community members, a retrospect, and insights from past and present
UWN staffers. You definitely won't want to miss this issue, so make
sure your RSS feed[1] is up to date, your email subscription is
current[2], or the wiki[3] bookmarked for a very special anniversary
issue of the UWN.
[1] - http://fridge.ubuntu.com/uwn/feed
[2] - https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-news
[3] - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Current
=== Intrepid Alpha 2 released ===
Alpha 2 is the second in a series of milestone CD images that will be
released throughout the Intrepid development cycle. The Alpha images
are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer
bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Intrepid. You can
download it here:
* Ubuntu: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/intrepid/alpha-2/
* Kubuntu: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/intrepid/alpha-2/
* Edubuntu: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/intrepid/alpha-2/
* Xubuntu: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/intrepid/alpha-2/
Pre-releases of Intrepid are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a
stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into
occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended
for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing,
reporting, and fixing bugs.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-July/000451.html
=== New MOTU ===
* Working with the Security Team for several months and a clear focus
on other security-related activities got Emanuele Gentili a good
reputation and lots of sponsors weighed in on his application. We're
happy to have him on the MOTU team. Launchpad:
https://launchpad.net/~emgent Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/emgent
*Steve Stalcup has done amazing work and got amazingly good feedback
during his MOTU application. Please welcome him to the MOTU team.
Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/~vorian Wiki:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/StephenStalcup
You can find the MOTU Team here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU
=== New Universe Contributor ===
Nathan Handler(nhandler) has spent the last few months tackling merges
and syncs with Intrepid as well as patching and triaging bugs. He has
even provided some online training for MOTU-development.
Congratulations Nathan, and keep up the great work!
* Nathan Handler's application:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/motu-council/2008-July/001280.html
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/motu-council/2008-July/001291.html
=== MOTU Video - "This is how I fix a bug" ===
There was a lot of good feedback about the MOTU Videos [1] & [2], and
work is underway to translate these videos into Spanish. If you have
more ideas for MOTU Videos, please add them to [3]. On that page you
will also find information on how to do a screencast and mix in your
voice. If you're fixing bugs for Ubuntu anyway, why not have a go at
it and make a cool video? If you do, please add it to:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Videos.
* [1] http://youtube.com/ubuntudevelopers
* [2] http://videos.ubuntu.com/motuvideos
* [3] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Videos
The processes to fix bugs in Ubuntu are really straight-forward. Some
great videos would just underline that fact, and easily show what to
do and which tools to use.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2008-July/025760.html
=== Summary of UDS Discussions ===
The track leads have collated all their reports from the Ubuntu
Developer Summit discussions, and Jorge Castro has made a summary of
them that's available here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UDS-Intrepid/Report/Summary Please note that
this report is a general overview of the discussions, and mostly
highlights key areas. There is no guarantee any features mentioned
will be in Intrepid, but it should give you a good understanding of
where the different areas of Ubuntu are headed during the Intrepid
release cycle. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2008-July/025751.html
Track-specific reports with more detail are available here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UDS-Intrepid/Report/
=== New Kubuntu Website ===
Everyone should drop by the Kubuntu website and take a look at its new
design. It's clean, spiffy, and of course blue. Congrats to the
Kubuntu folks on a well thought out webpage! http://www.kubuntu.org/
== Ubuntu Stats ==
=== Bug Stats ===
* Open (47103) -125 # over last week
* Critical (30) +1 # over last week
* Unconfirmed (23560) +162 # over last week
* Unassigned (37865) -58 # over last week
* All bugs ever reported (194779) +1306 # 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 Hardy ===
This is the top 5, not specific languages, so the languages might
change week to week.
* Spanish (12117)
* French (39132)
* English (United Kingdom) (49609)
* Swedish (52861)
* Brazilian Portuguese (54512)
Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron," see more
at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy/
== LoCo News ==
The Ubuntu Venezuela LoCo team just celebrated their 2 year
anniversary with a big get together. The pictures at the link show a
big group having a great time, so check them out.
http://effiejayx.velugmaracaibo.org.ve/?p=129
== Launchpad News ==
=== Launchpod episode #7 available ===
Matthew Revell, Joey Stanford and Barry Warsaw host the latest edition
of Launchpod.
In this episode:
* Barry Warsaw, Mailman maintainer, Python release manager and
Launchpad team member temporarily replaces Elliot Murphy, who is
taking a break. Different Launchpad members will be co-hosting over
the next few weeks in a "Launchpod Idol" type setting.
* Matthew Paul Thomas, Launchpad's UI guy, talks about the upcoming
changes to Launchpad's interface. Users can follow the progress here:
https://edge.launchpad.net/
* Joey's number of the week!
* Joey and Barry discuss Community-Agile, a process framework that
re-factors agile software development to incorporate the lessons
learned from open source. http://launchpad.net/community-agile
Send us your ideas and questions to feedback at launchpad.net!
== Ubuntu Forums News ==
=== Tutorial of the Week ===
This week's tutorial pick is a crowd-pleaser. It's "HowTo: Install
skype and sms with skype in ubuntu 8.04", by grobar.
If you're a Skype fan and want to install it, grobar has links and
easy steps for putting it in place, with the added SMS package as a
bonus. If you've never used it, this will probably be a good way to
try it out. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=778691
Enjoy!
== Technical Update ==
=== Did we really release 8.04? ===
What follows is an exert from a recent discussion on the developer
mailing list about the LTS release schedule:
For some users, Ubuntu 8.04 did not live up to expectations in terms
of bugs and regressions. Here are thoughts and questions that posters
had: Do we need to reconsider how we approach getting to a release?
For an LTS release should we add 2 months to the schedule? The problem
is that even with all the alpha/beta/RC testing, the majority of tests
really occur when users upgrade or install the release. So, it is
better to release and fix afterwards, focusing on the bug fixing, as
has been done, and not focusing on the next release immediately.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/2008-July/004743.html
In response, Matt Zimmerman tells us that while there is always room
for improvement, Ubuntu is constantly revisiting processes to meet the
expanding expectations of Ubuntu. No one likes regressions, and a loss
of functionality can be a crippling setback for a casual user.
However, casual users should have no need to upgrade their operating
system every six months, and this is one reason why we offer multiple
maintenance cycles. Firefox 2 may have been more mature, but it was
close to two years old, and scheduled for mothballing in December.
With Ubuntu Desktop LTS scheduled for three years of maintenance,
Firefox 3 was the only reasonable choice. OpenOffice.org 2.4.x was
tested for months before this bug,
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/openoffice.org/+bug/210204
was reported, and it was then fixed for the 8.04.1 update.
Ubuntu thrives on the efforts of open source developers, and their
attention is very focused on the latest code. Most new releases fix
many more problems than they create, and the aim is to provide users
with the best experience we can. While it is easy to insist that
Ubuntu should stop being on the bleeding edge of software and
features, in order to achieve this, we would need to rigorously
specify every feature in Ubuntu and how it should work. This is almost
an impossible task. Instead, we focus on defining a subset of
functionality which can be tested in practice. Test plans are here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing along with instructions for how you
can participate in the testing effort.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-discuss/2008-July/004777.html
== In The Press ==
* Move Your Business From Windows to Linux - If have a business and
you're tired of the high cost of software, the questionable licensing,
the difficulty of upgrading and installing, then Scott Spanbauer of PC
World has some suggestions. Linux can be purchased in boxed sets, or
downloaded from the internet and burned to disk. And one disk can be
installed on as many machines as you like, due to the Gnu General
Public License. Installations are user friendly, and various
distributions serve specific needs and desires, such as fitting within
the confines of older equipment or being used on a server. There are
also many ways to work around the problem of applications that are
locked to a particular operating system.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/147879/move_your_business_from_windows_to_linux.html
* Mark Shuttleworth on Ubuntu and the Linux Desktop - James Maguire
asks Mark Shuttleworth a number of questions in an interview,
including:
* What is happening with Ubuntu Mobile?
* What is Ubuntu doing with the small, ultra portable laptops?
* What fundamental changes are planned for Ubuntu?
* What is the future of the deal with Dell?
* Is Ubuntu making a profit?
* What are your feelings about the Microsoft/Novell deal?
* What about Canonical and Microsoft?
* How do you feel about proprietary drivers?
* Does Ubuntu weaken Debian?
The answers are at:
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/12068_3757246_1
* Introducing the Linux user interface - Michael Horowitz compares
the Linux interface (with screenshots) to the Microsoft Windows and
Mac experiences in a step-by-step almost tutorial. He looks at menu
bars, task bars, start menu, control panel, keyboard shortcuts,
quitting programs, maximizing windows, switching programs, right
clicking, and adjusting the screen. Conclusion: Linux has more than
it's share of annoyances, but on the subjects that Mossberg chooses to
focus on, Ubuntu offers a more familiar environment for people
switching from Windows.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13554_3-9985154-33.html
* Debian GNU/Linux: the new "Number One" distribution - Interesting
statistics emerged from last month's web logs on DistroWatch.com.
Ubuntu, formerly the most widely-used Linux distribution among the
visitors of DistroWatch, has lost its number one position to no other
than its parent - Debian GNU/Linux. This is of course largely due to
the fact that, as of Ubuntu 8.04, the distribution's Firefox browser
no longer provides an identifiable user-agent string:
* Ubuntu 7.10: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.11)
Gecko/20071204 Ubuntu/7.10 (gutsy) Firefox/2.0.0.11
* Ubuntu 8.04: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9)
Gecko/2008060309 Firefox/3.0
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20080707#statistics
== In The Blogosphere ==
* Desktop Linux compared: Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9.0 - The recent
releases of Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9.0, two top Linux distributions,
mark another step forward in the evolution of the Linux desktop. Since
the release of version 5.10 (aka Breezy Badger) in 2005, Ubuntu Linux
has stood apart from hundreds of other Linux distributions, capturing
the attention of penguin heads and of users seeking a free, stable,
usable alternative to Microsoft Windows. Ubuntu 8.04 is the
best-assembled, and most polished Linux distribution Robert Strohmeyer
has ever used. It performs well where Windows XP and Vista screech to
a halt, particularly on older hardware. Since it comes with
OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Evolution Mail, and a host of other apps
right out of the box, it may be the best way to breathe new life into
a seemingly moribund PC.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=13691&pn=1
* Ubuntu goes with newspaper model in consumer market - Newspapers
are free, and the price you pay for a newspaper has nothing to do with
the cost of production, including its editorial costs. By selling
disks of its free software for $19.99, Ubuntu is doing the same thing.
The money pays for Best Buy to deliver it to stores, for shelf space,
and for tracking sales. What Ubuntu is trying to do is find an
audience which has hardware but lacks regular Internet access or
knowledge. The key here will be whether Ubuntu stays with the program
or not. http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2643
== In Other News ==
=== Canonical and Valusoft bring Ubuntu plus support to Best Buy ===
Canonical has teamed up with ValueSoft to provide an alternative way
of getting Ubuntu. The boxed set that has been developed includes the
Ubuntu 8.04 LiveCD, a quick start guide, and 60 days of support
provided by the Canonical trained ValueSoft personnel. ValueSoft will
be placing the boxed set with Best Buy[1], a large electronics
retailer in the United States, where it will be available in stores or
can be shipped. These sets are specially packaged to show that there
are programs for web browsing, productivity and email.
http://blog.canonical.com/?p=18
[1] http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8888563&st=ubuntu&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1211587312374
== Upcoming Meetings and Events ==
==== Community Council Meeting ====
* Start: 11:00 UTC
* End: 13:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda
==== Server Team Meeting ====
* Start: 15:00 UTC
* End: 16:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/Meeting
=== Wednesday, July 16, 2008 ===
==== QA Team Meeting ====
* Start: 17:00 UTC
* End: 18:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Meetings/
==== Platform Team Meeting ====
* Start: 22:00 UTC
* End: 23:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: Not Listed as of Publication
=== Thursday, July 17, 2008 ===
==== Desktop Team Meeting ====
* Start: 13:00 UTC
* End: 14:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/Meeting
==== Java Team Meeting ====
* Start: 14:00 UTC
* End: 15:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: Not Listed as of Publication
==== Ubuntu Mobile Meeting ====
* Start: 16:00 UTC
* End: 17:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: Not Listed as of Publication
== Updates and Security for 6.06, 7.04, 7.10, and 8.04 ==
=== Security Updates ===
* [USN-622-1] Bind vulnerability -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2008-July/000726.html
=== Ubuntu 6.06 Updates ===
* bind9 1:9.3.2-2ubuntu1.5 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2008-July/012722.html
* atokx 1.0-16ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2008-July/012723.html
=== Ubuntu 7.04 Updates ===
* bind9 1:9.3.4-2ubuntu2.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2008-July/008967.html
* imq 1.0.0-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2008-July/008968.html
* glassfish 1.0.0-0ubuntu2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2008-July/008969.html
=== Ubuntu 7.10 Updates ===
* bind9 1:9.4.1-P1-3ubuntu2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2008-July/010268.html
* imq 1.0.0-0ubuntu2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2008-July/010270.html
* glassfish 1.0.0-0ubuntu3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2008-July/010269.html
=== Ubuntu 8.04 Updates ===
* linux-restricted-modules-envy-2.6.24 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011797.html
* bind9 1:9.4.2-10ubuntu0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011798.html
* informix-license 11.50.UC1DE-6hardy1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011799.html
* soundtouch 1.3.0-2.2ubuntu0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011800.html
* trousers 0.3.1-4ubuntu0.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011813.html
* deskbar-applet 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011812.html
* gvfs 0.2.5-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011804.html
* evolution-data-server 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011803.html
* libwnck 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011802.html
* gtksourceview2 2.2.2-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011801.html
* evolution 2.22.3.1-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011805.html
* glib2.0 2.16.4-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011806.html
* gnome-desktop 1:2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011807.html
* pygobject 2.14.2-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011808.html
* evolution-exchange 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011809.html
* pango1.0 1.20.5-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011815.html
* gnome-system-monitor 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011814.html
* gtk2-engines 1:2.14.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011810.html
* epiphany-browser 2.22.2-0ubuntu0.8.04.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011811.html
* update-manager 1:0.87.29 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011816.html
* eog 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011817.html
* gdm 2.20.7-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011818.html
* libgweather 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011819.html
* gnome-games 1:2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011820.html
* kvm 1:62+dfsg-0ubuntu8 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011821.html
* linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011822.html
* iproute 20071016-2ubuntu2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011823.html
* cheese 2.22.3-0ubuntu1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011824.html
* procps 1:3.2.7-5ubuntu3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011825.html
* mysql-dfsg-5.0 5.0.51a-3ubuntu5.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011826.html
* nss 3.12.0.3-0ubuntu0.8.04.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011828.html
* nspr 4.7.1+1.9-0ubuntu0.8.04.3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011827.html
* ntfs-3g 1:1.2216-1ubuntu3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011829.html
* xulrunner-1.9 1.9.0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011830.html
* firefox-3.0 3.0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-July/011831.html
== 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
* John Crawford
* Craig A. Eddy
* Isabelle Duchatelle
* And many others
== Feedback ==
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