Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #181
John Crawford
johnc4510 at ubuntu.com
Sun Feb 21 23:30:18 GMT 2010
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #181 for the week
February 14th - February 20th, 2010. In this issue we cover: Debian
Import Freeze in effect, Feature Freeze in place - Alpha 3 freeze ahead,
New MOTU, Ubuntu single sign on service launched, Meet Jelmer Vernooij,
Sikuli — scripting your use of GUIs, Global Bug Jam, Taking Lucid for a
test spin, Opportunistic Developer Update, Ubuntu One Music Store, One
Hundred Paper Cuts, Mark Shuttleworth to give keynote at PyCon 2010,
Ubuntu UK Podcast returns, Ubuntu torrents are now IPv6 enabled, 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 ==
* Debian Import Freeze in effect
* Feature Freeze in place - Alpha 3 freeze ahead
* New MOTU
* Ubuntu single sign on service launched
* Ubuntu Stats
* Meet Jelmer Vernooij
* Sikuli — scripting your use of GUIs
* The Planet: Daniel, Dustin, Jono, Alan, David, & Robert
* In the Press & Blogosphere
* Mark Shuttleworth to give keynote at PyCon 2010
* Ubuntu UK Podcast returns
* Ubuntu UK podcast returns
* Ubuntu torrents are now IPv6 enabled
* Upcoming Meetings & Events
* Updates & Security
== General Community News ==
=== Debian Import Freeze in effect ===
We are now in Debian Import Freeze. This means that there are no more
automatic syncs from Debian testing. If you require a package to be
synced from Debian please file a bug in the normal way.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SyncRequestProcess
Please ensure that syncing the package will help us with the goal of
having a rock-solid remarkable release of Ubuntu, and that you test the
new version of the package in the environment they are destined for.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2010-February/000676.html
=== Feature Freeze in place - Alpha 3 freeze ahead ===
The Feature Freeze is now in effect for Lucid. The focus from here until
release is on fixing bugs and polishing.
If you believe that a new package, a new upstream version of a package,
or a new feature is needed for the release and will not introduce more
problems than it fixes, please follow the Freeze Exception Process by
filing bugs and subscribing ubuntu-release or motu-release as appropriate.
* https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FreezeExceptionProcess
Please also make sure that specs assigned to you for Lucid are updated
to their current status (which should be at least Beta Available if not
Deferred, or unless granted a freeze exception).
* https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/lucid/
Our next testing milestone, Lucid Alpha 3, is scheduled for Thursday,
February 25. Lucid Alpha 3 will use a "soft freeze" for main.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-January/000363.html
This means that developers are asked to refrain from uploading packages
between Tuesday and Thursday which don't bring us closer to releasing
the alpha, so that these days can be used for settling the archive and
fixing any remaining showstoppers.
The list of bugs targeted for alpha-3 can be found at:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/lucid/+bugs?field.milestone=21445
For more information on bug targeting policies, or if you one of the
group who have milestone bugs assigned to you, please visit the link below.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2010-February/000678.html
=== New MOTU ===
Chow Loong Jin
* MOTU application: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/hyperair/MOTUApplication
* Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/~hyperair
* Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/hyperair
We are happy to announce that Chow Loong Jin (hyperair) has joined the
ranks of MOTU. Loong Jin has been working extensively with Geany,
general plg-CLI stuff, and miscellaneous other bugs. He is looking
forward to helping with patch review and developer training. Please
welcome him to the team!
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2010-February/030272.html
=== Ubuntu single sign on service launched ===
We are pleased to announce the launch of the brand new Ubuntu single
sign on service: https://login.ubuntu.com/
The goal of this service is to provide a single, central login service
for all Ubuntu-related sites, thus making it more convenient for Ubuntu
users and community members to access information, communicate, and
contribute. This service will replace the existing Launchpad login
service that is currently in use for many Ubuntu-related sites, although
existing Launchpad accounts will continue to work in the new service.
Over the next few months we will be moving all of the Ubuntu and
Canonical related sites that currently use the Launchpad service to
Ubuntu single sign on, starting with sites we manage directly and then
working with community site owners to move the community-managed sites.
Because of the number of existing Ubuntu users who have created accounts
in Launchpad for the purpose of logging into other sites, we have set
the Ubuntu and Launchpad services to share account data during the
transition. Launchpad is in the process of enabling users to log in
with an Ubuntu account and, once completed, this sharing will be
removed. This does mean that you will be able to log into both services
with the same credentials for a while. We realise this is something
internet users have been encouraged to not do but it is a necessary
side-effect of the transition. Doing this ensures you won’t lose access
to services you’ve purchased from us in the past or your account
histories in the sites you’ve previously visited, as long as you use
your existing Launchpad credentials on Ubuntu single sign on.
Ubuntu single sign on is built on OpenID so, once all the sites we know
about have moved over, we will also be opening up the OpenID service to
enable you to log in to any site which accepts standard OpenIDs.
* Why replace the Launchpad login service?
The Launchpad login service has served us well for several years but
Launchpad is not a familiar brand for many Ubuntu users. As Ubuntu
grows, we’ll see more and more users who don’t understand the connection
between Launchpad and Ubuntu and the new Ubuntu login service is
intended to overcome this problem. It will also enable us to develop
features which are more oriented to Ubuntu users.
* How does the new service differ from the old one?
For now, not much apart from the appearance of the site. We have many
plans for great new features, however, and hope to roll these out once
the service is established. If you have ideas for other features you’d
like to see in Ubuntu single sign on, we’d love to hear about them
* Is the new service Open Source?
No, it’s not. It is, however, built and hosted on open source
technologies (python, django, apache and postgres amongst others).
* I have a problem with the new service. Where can I get help?
We have an email support channel. You can submit your support requests
using our support form. https://forms.canonical.com/sso-support/ If you
have found a bug, please take a few minutes to tell us about it on
Launchpad. https://bugs.launchpad.net/canonical-identity-provider
We’re sure you have more questions. Please submit them and we’ll do our
best to respond to them all.
https://answers.launchpad.net/canonical-identity-provider
http://blog.canonical.com/?p=330
== Ubuntu Stats ==
=== Bug Stats ===
* Open (76691) +39 # over last week
* Critical (26) +11 # over last week
* Unconfirmed (39002) −74 # 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 Karmic ===
1. Spanish (10614) −95 # over last week
2. English (United Kingdom) (20053) −12032 # over last week
3. French (40290) −144 # over last week
4. Brazilian Portuguese (41688) −1235 # over last week
5. Swedish (66185) −7 # over last week
Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala", see more
at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/karmic/
=== Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week ===
* A vendor-neutral name for the 64bit versions of Ubuntu -
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23732/
* A way to open windows which were accidentally closed -
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23737/
* Icon Theme building - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23705/
* Context menu is too fat - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23693/
* Large is better for touchscreen -
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23695/
Ubuntu Brainstorm is a community site geared toward letting you add your
ideas for Ubuntu. You can submit your own idea, or vote for or against
another idea. http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/
== Launchpad News ==
=== Meet Jelmer Vernooij ===
Jelmer Vernooij recently joined the Launchpad team at Canonical, so
Matthew Revell caught up with him to get the usual Meet the developers
interview. Some of the questions to Jelmer are as follows:
* What do you do on the Launchpad team?
* Can we see something in Launchpad that you’ve worked on?
* What did you do before working at Canonical?
* How did you get into free software?
* Do you/have you contribute(d) to any free software projects?
* Tell us something really cool about Launchpad that not enough people
know about.
* Is there one developer who has been an inspiration to you? If so, why?
You can read Jalmer answers to these and other questions at the link below.
http://blog.launchpad.net/meet-the-devs/meet-jelmer-vernooij
=== Sikuli — scripting your use of GUIs ===
The Sikuli project recently switched to using Launchpad, and Matthew
Revell asked Tsung-Hsiang Chang to tell us more about the project. From
the interview we learn that the current release of Sikuli is called
Sikuli Script, which focuses on only automation using screenshots of GUI
widgets. We have another project called Sikuli Search, which queries a
search engine using screenshots instead of keywords. Although Sikuli
Script is supposed to be able to “search” buttons or text on the screen,
it isn’t good at scraping or analyzing information from screenshots yet.
Follow this link to learn more about Sikuli:
http://blog.launchpad.net/projects/sikuli
== The Planet ==
=== Daniel Holbach: Ubuntu Global Jam – preparations ===
I’m very excited about Ubuntu Global Jam this time around because for
many people around the globe it will probably be the first time they get
their hands dirty with doing actual work on Ubuntu and actually make
Ubuntu itself better. In addition to that Lucid is going to be an LTS,
so this time it’s personal!
Definitely Going!
Definitely Going!
The great thing is we have a number of sessions lined up to share tips
and advice about holding jams. We will meet on IRC in #ubuntu-locoteams
and try to answer questions and think of creative ways to get more
people together, have more fun and make Ubuntu even better. Stay tuned
for more!
* 26 Feb – 2100 UTC How to run a jam (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams)
* 03 Mar – 1500 UTC How to run a translations jam
(https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Translations)
* 04 Mar – 1500 UTC How to run a packaging jam
(https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Packaging)
* 06 Mar – 1900 UTC How to run a jam (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams)
* 10 Mar – 2100 UTC How to run a jam (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams)
* 11 Mar – 0900 UTC How to run a translations jam
(https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Translations)
* 12 Mar – 0900 UTC How to run a packaging jam
(https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Packaging)
http://daniel.holba.ch/blog/?p=610
=== Dustin Kirkland: Have you taken Lucid for a test drive yet? ===
Ubuntu Lucid Lynx is in Feature Freeze, and Alpha3 is right around the
corner, releasing next week. If you're running Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10, or
10.04, it's trivial to test-drive Lucid in a virtual machine, without
modifying your current installation! http://launchpad.net/testdrive
If you're already running Lucid, congrats! All you need to do is add the
testdrive ppa, and install testdrive, and either kvm or virtualbox-ose.
Just pop open a terminal and run:
* sudo add-apt-repository ppa:testdrive/ppa && \
* sudo apt-get update && \
* sudo apt-get install testdrive
Then you can either run testdrive from the command line, or use the
menu, Applications -> System Tools -> Testdrive. A menu will pop up,
with a listing of the Lucid daily images. If you have previously
downloaded any of these, you should see a timestamp of the cached file.
If you run testdrive everyday, your cache will stay up-to-date, and the
incremental download will be much faster! Select one of the offered
ISOs, or enter a URL to another one of your choosing, and you should be
off and running. Help us make Lucid Lynx the best Ubuntu to date!
Screenshots at the link below.
http://blog.dustinkirkland.com/2010/02/have-you-taken-lucid-for-testrive-yet.html
=== Jono Bacon: Some Opportunistic Developer Updates ===
A few awesome opportunistic developer updates:
* Firstly, I have been adding some parties every day during Ubuntu
Opportunistic Developer Week. These include a couple of hacking parties
in which you should come and join us and hack on your new apps and be
around folks to ask for help, answer questions and share progress.
* Secondly, given the interest brewing around opportunistic
developers on Ubuntu, I have created a new IRC channel called
#ubuntu-app-devel where you can go to hang out with others writing apps,
you can ask questions there, share progress and talk about how we can
make Ubuntu a rocking system for harnessing the creative inclinations of
opportunistic developers.
Rock and roll, my friends.
http://www.jonobacon.org/2010/02/15/some-opportunistic-developer-updates/
=== Alan Pope: Ubuntu One Music Store Sneak Peek ===
It looks like 7digital are providing the back-end for the Ubuntu One
Music Store which is due to land in Ubuntu Lucid at Alpha 3 – very soon
now. I've included some screen shots that originate from my browser.
Before too long, the store can be reached from the Rhythmbox
application. The landing page clearly has the Ubuntu One branding. As
you’d expect you can easily search for music....to find your favourite
artist or album, or download tracks. The store supports Credit/Debit
cards, Click&Buy and Paypal..You can also track your existing downloads.
Of course this isn’t ready yet, so we can’t see it in Rhythmbox on
Ubuntu yet, but it’s clearly getting there. There are screen shots at
the link below to give you a better idea of how this new feature will look.
http://popey.com/blog/2010/02/19/ubuntu-one-music-store-sneak-peek/
* Update: After the post I made about the Ubuntu One Music Store, I’ve
noticed a couple of things which might indicate what’s coming. First, as
we know Rhythmbox is the music player of choice in Ubuntu, and we can
already see the place holder for the music store in the app. I noticed
something new today though, the “Music” category has a little [+]
expander, and when we open that up we can see two options “Music” and
“musicstore”. A new Rhythmbox plugin added called “umusicstore” is now
showing. More screenshots of this feature are at the link below along
with more detailed information. Get ready to rock on with the Ubuntu One
Music Store!
http://popey.com/blog/2010/02/20/u1-music-store-store-music-in-u1/
=== David Siegel: One Hundred Paper Cuts for Lucid, Round 10 ===
Time flies like an arrow! This week marks the final round of paper cuts
for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS “Lucid Lynx.” We’ve done an outstanding job so far
but we still have work ahead of us. Here are some paper cuts that need
attention this round:
“Create Document” Templates difficult to use
* Right-clicking on the Desktop and choosing “Create Document” still
shows a menu with only “No templates installed” and “Empty File.” Let’s
at least put some OpenOffice Document templates in there.
Shutdown/restart dialogs make it unclear whether people should wait
* Users often mistakenly believe they have to wait through the
60-second countdown on Shut Down and Restart dialogs.
Opening a deleted ‘recent document’ results in a new file.
* Deleted files shouldn’t be displayed in the Recent Documents menu.
Default setting for remembering password should be remember until logout
* “When accessing a windows file share (or other network resource)
that requires a password, the radio button defaults to “Forget password
immediately”. While this is understandable for security reasons, it is a
usability “paper cut” because one will typically be confronted with the
same password prompt again in very short order (without even closing the
nautilus window). Just yesterday this got a smirk out of a Windows user
looking over my shoulder that I had to enter the password “again.” This
has also been an annoyance for me for quite a few years.”
Context menu for an USB pen-drive shows “Unmount”, “Eject” and “Safely
Remove Drive”
* Which one do I choose?!
OpenOffice menus still have icons which should be removed
* enough said.
In the file operation dialog, the file count and the size count change
in opposite direction.
* File count decreases while copy size increases, causing users to go
cross-eyed.
In Help, Table of Contents switches from left to right when user selects
topic
* Eww.
Unfriendly message upon typing incorrect password (Policykit-GNOME)
* “AUTHENTICATION FAILURE” is a severe message to confront users with,
especially users who sometimes make mistakes when typing into password
fields. When a user makes a mistake while typing his password, we should
be understanding, supportive, and encouraging rather than alarming,
accusatory, or even perfunctory.
http://davidsiegel.org/100papercuts-lucid-round-10/
=== Robert Collins: Yay Dell-with-Ubuntu down under ===
Dell has been offering Ubuntu on selected models for a while. I had
however nearly given up hope on being able to buy one, because they
hadn’t started doing that in Australia. I am very glad to see this has
changed though – check out their notebook page.[1] Not all models yet,
but a reasonable number have Ubuntu as an option.
Yay!
[1]
http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=rbtcollins.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww1.ap.dell.com%2Fcontent%2Fproducts%2Fresults.aspx%2Fnotebooks
http://rbtcollins.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/yay-dell-with-ubuntu-down-under/
== In The Press ==
=== Ubuntu 10.04's Nouveau Stack Gets Ready ===
Phoronix's Michael Larabel states that one of the slated features for
Ubuntu 10.04 early on in its development cycle was support for the
Nouveau graphics driver on NVIDIA hardware since it's much better than
the xf86-video-nv driver mess and has a much brighter future, which is
especially important with 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" being a Long-Term Support
(LTS) release. This was prior to Nouveau going mainline with Linux
2.6.33, but Ubuntu Lucid is running with the Linux 2.6.32 kernel so as a
result Nouveau's DRM was back-ported. Canonical's Bryce Harrington
describes this Nouveau stack as being "nearly ready" for Lucid and is
requesting a final test among those interested in the open-source NVIDIA
graphics hardware support. If you are interested in testing out Ubuntu
10.04's Nouveau stack you can do so by following this call [1] for
testing thread and checking out the Nouveau evaluation Wiki page. [2]
[1]
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2010-February/030231.html
[2] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Testing/NouveauEvaluation
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Nzk3OQ
=== EXT3, EXT4, Btrfs Ubuntu Netbook Benchmarks ===
Phoronix's Michael Larabel reminds us that last month he published
benchmarks of EXT4 comparing this file-system's performance when it was
first marked stable in the mainline kernel and then where it is at now
in the Linux kernel while testing every major release in between. This
article was followed up by a Btrfs versus EXT4 comparison using the
Linux 2.6.33 kernel to see how the two most talked about Linux
file-systems are battling it out with the latest kernel. After those
Linux file-system benchmarks were published, he received a request from
Canonical to look at the EXT3 performance too. With that said, we have
done just that and have published EXT3, EXT4, and Btrfs benchmarks from
Ubuntu 9.10 and a Ubuntu 10.04 development snapshot from an Intel Atom
netbook. Under Ubuntu 9.10, the Intel Atom N270 netbook did the best
with Btrfs and its numbers even improved with Ubuntu 10.04, but the EXT4
file-system had a much stronger boost that led it to a first place
finish. The performance between EXT3 and EXT4 was close at unpacking the
Linux kernel linux-2.6.32.tar.bz2 file, but Btrfs was a bit slower. More
Linux file-system tests are on the way!
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_netbook_fs&num=1
=== Ubuntu One Music Store Pushed In Rhythmbox ===
Michael Larabel of Phoronix tells us that one of the features that was
talked about and proposed a few months back was a music store for Ubuntu
where one could easily purchase music and somewhat fits in with
Canonical's plans for the Ubuntu Software Store. Plans were laid out for
an Ubuntu One Music Store and the first packages to support this in
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS are now available. The Lucid specifications for the
Ubuntu One Music Store on the Ubuntu Wiki mention "The Lucid music store
project aims to deliver the ability to purchase music from within a
desktop music player. Look for more on Canonical's Ubuntu One Music
Store as the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS release approaches in April.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Nzk5Ng
=== The Linux Box to Market Ubuntu OS in the U.S. ===
eWeek's Darryl K. Taft reports that the Linux Box has announced a
partnership with Canonical whereby it will market the Ubuntu Linux
operating system in the United States. As a Canonical Silver Solution
Provider Partner, The Linux Box will sell, install and support
customized Ubuntu-based solutions to organizations running Linux
systems. It will also provide businesses with large-scale migration
deployment support and training services for cloud computing
infrastructures and enterprise desktop alternatives. "Combining forces
with The Linux Box enables many more U.S. businesses in every industry
to embrace Ubuntu as their end-to-end open-source data center solution,"
said Steve George, director of corporate services at Canonical, in a
statement. "We look forward to Ubuntu being The Linux Box's
best-of-breed open-source solution."
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Linux-and-Open-Source/The-Linux-Box-to-Market-Ubuntu-OS-in-the-US-568799/?kc=rss&utm_source=fee
=== Ubuntu Optimizes its OS for ARM CPUs ===
Ryan Whitwam of Maximum PC believes that an ARM-based netbook running
Ubuntu could be in your future with the newest version of Ubuntu
Netbook Edition. Much like Windows, the popular Linux distro did not
previously have support for ARM processors. With the anticipated flood
of ARM packing “smartbooks” expected to materialize, the Ubuntu devs got
to work rewriting Ubuntu. According to Ubuntu’s Jamie Bennet, the
problem was that Ubuntu Netbook Edition required 3D graphics drivers
that didn’t exist for ARM chips. They got around this by employing 2D
Enlightenment Foundation Libraries to fake a 3D interface. We’re hearing
that you won’t be able to tell the difference in the interface. That’s a
big win for smartbooks and Ubuntu. This may be the space that Ubuntu
specifically, and Linux in general, can succeed in.
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/ubuntu_optimizes_its_os_arm_cpus
=== Five Ubuntu Features You Didn't Know About ===
Ken Hess of Linux Magazine knows that the quest to discover something
new and fresh about Ubuntu, which is arguably the world’s most popular
and best documented Linux distribution, is an almost ridiculous one to
accept and an almost impossible one to fulfill. Hess says he felt like
the Mission Impossible character, Jim Phelps, as I read the request from
my editor to come up with five Ubuntu features you didn’t know about.
Here's what he came up with:
* Byobu: A Better Screen
* Dynamic MOTD
* UEC Scheduling
* Over Provisioning
* PowerNap
Hess does think that Ubuntu has many secrets left but these five, until
now, were perhaps the last of their kind. He also gives special thanks
to Dustin Kirkland, Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud Developer for his assistance
and information with this material. Follow this link for more
information on each of these the five features:
http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7704/1.html
== In The Blogosphere ==
=== Are smartbooks and Linux meant for each other? ===
Smartbooks are an upcoming mobile computing device category built around
ARM’s Cortex A8 and A9 line of processors. These devices are awaited
with great anticipation because they promise a mixture between
smartphone features, and the functionality of netbooks/laptops at a
price point lower than that of current netbooks. The biggest question
according to this blogger is, will widen Linux adoption and erode the
often criticized monopoly of Windows on pc-like computing devices.
Windows CE can be used on ARM, however the 6.5 version does not support
multi-core processors. Android is another possibility, but the author
believes it would be better suited for smartbook tablets. laptop-like
smartbooks with keyboards are better served with a full-desktop Linux
like Ubuntu due to the fact, that on these devices, buyers will expect
full-fledged applications like OpenOffice, Thunderbird, Firefox…etc. His
conclusion is that every kind of smartbook device can be put to its full
potential with a properly customized Linux variant like Ubuntu.
http://soltesza.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/are-smartbooks-and-linux-meant-for-each-other/
=== 5 New Things about Windows 8 and Ubuntu 10.04 ===
This blogger acknowledges that Windows 8 won't be out until late 2011 or
early 2012, but goes ahead to list 5 things the development team
finalized as key scenarios. But what should be expected of Ubuntu? How
can they one-up themselves, after the hat-trick they pulled with 9.10?
According to the author, Gautham Raj, you can expect a new look, more
speed, a GUI at startup, and the ability to install updates at shutdown,
and Ubuntu Software Center as the core application installation tool.
Gautham believes this could be the Ubuntu release that the public would
have a hard time turning down as its desktop OS. Not only will it have a
very solid foundation, the overlaying structure will be much more modern
looking.
http://linuxtree.blogspot.com/2010/02/5-new-things-about-windows-8-and-ubuntu.html
=== Canonical Launches Ubuntu Single Sign On ===
Canonical has launched a new service, dubbed Ubuntu Single Sign On. The
effort seeks to simplify and unify all login services for all
Ubuntu-related sites. Sound like a good idea? Here’s the deal. The plan
is to make it more “convenient for Ubuntu users and community members to
access information, communicate, and contribute.” It’ll replace the
Launchpad login service, but don’t worry — existing Launchpad accounts
will still work with the single sign-on service. Over the next few
months Canonical plans on shifting the entirety of Ubuntu and Canonical
related sites running Launchpad and migrating them to Ubuntu single sign
on. Ubuntu single sign-on is build on the OpenID standard. That means
any site that accepts the standard will let you pop on with that account
name.
http://www.workswithu.com/2010/02/18/canonical-launches-ubuntu-single-sign-on/
=== Lubuntu: Not Just for Lusers ===
The Lubuntu project, which was established a year ago as a community
endeavor, aims to create a lightweight Linux distribution based on
Ubuntu. Towards this end, it uses the LXDE desktop environment in
combination with the Openbox window manager to keep the demand on system
resources low. This author downloaded the Lucid Alpha 2 version of
Lubuntu for testing. What he found was a clean desktop and a relatively
attractive interface. Most of the software that comes installed by
default diverges from that of regular Ubuntu. Lubuntu ships with
Firefox, Pidgin, Transmission and Synaptic, but the similarities end
there. The obvious competitor for Lubuntu’s niche is Xubuntu, an
official Ubuntu flavor based on the Xfce desktop environment and
designed for less powerful or older hardware. The bottom line? A lot of
work remains to be done on Lubuntu to make it stable and bring it up to
speed with the other Ubuntu flavors. But so far, it’s looking very
impressive and may finally provide the truly modern and functional, yet
lightweight, distribution that many Ubuntu users have been looking for
for years.
http://www.workswithu.com/2010/02/16/lubuntu-not-just-for-lusers/
=== Product Spotlight: Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud ===
According to Jack Wallen, if you are even remotely considering cloud
computing, you owe it to yourself to begin with the Ubuntu Enterprise
Cloud (UEC) open source cloud software. There are many reasons for this.
Not only is this tool feature-rich, it is also free. If you are only
just now trying to decide if you want to deploy a cloud environment,
then you do not want to shell out your entire IT budget only to find out
if cloud computing is for you (or your company). That is where UEC comes
in. The Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud is for anyone (personal, SMB,
enterprise) needing to either test or deploy a cloud environment. The
biggest problem UEC solves is the determining if a cloud environment is
suitable for your needs. By deploying UEC you will only be spending
budget on hardware (unless you already have the hardware available) and
not on software. This gives your administration a certain freedom they
won’t have by using a commercial solution. If you are not sure about
deploying a cloud, and want to give it a try without breaking your IT
budget, Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud is the way to go.
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/products/?p=1133
== In Other News ==
=== Mark Shuttleworth to give keynote address at PyCon ===
Mark Shuttleworth and Antonio Rodriguez are to be the keynote speakers
at PyCon 2010, the world's largest conference of the Python programming
community. Over 1,000 Python programmers are gathering now at the Hyatt
Regency in downtown Atlanta for eight days of intensive education,
cooperation, and networking.
Mark Shuttleworth is the founder of the Ubuntu Project, which produces a
Linux distribution enormously popular among software developers and end
users alike for its utility and ease of use. The Ubuntu Project is often
cited as an example of a well-run cooperative programming effort; it
relies heavily on highly-readable Python programs which make
collaboration between developers easy. Many Python programmers, in turn,
benefit from the powerful, no-fuss Linux development platform provided
by Ubuntu.
http://www.prlog.org/10537095-shuttleworth-rodriguez-keynote-at-pycon-2010.html
* About PyCon 2010: http://us.pycon.org/2010/about/
* Mark being interviewed by The Bit Source at PyCon:
http://www.thebitsource.com/people/mark-shuttleworth-at-pycon-cadence-quality-and-design/
=== Ubuntu UK Podcast returns ===
Ciemon Dunville, Alan Pope, Dave Walker, Tony Whitmore and Laura Cowen
are back with an all new first episode of 3rd season of the Ubuntu
Podcast from the UK LoCo Team. Highlights of this podcast include:
* What we’ve been doing since the last episode all those months ago
including running, playing with new laptops, yet more packaging and
talks for our LUG, setting up an etherpad service and lots more fun
packed frolics.
* In the wake of a recent ReadWriteWeb article we discuss the news
that many Facebook users can’t tell the logon screen from a hole in the
ground and what that means for us.
* In the News this week
* Interviews of Kyrill and Artyom Zorin, who have created some
interesting Ubuntu derivatives – yes, more than one!
* Upcoming events
* News discussions
* And finally, tweets and dents and voicemail since our last show
Comments and suggestions are welcomed to: podcast at ubuntu-uk.org
Visit the link below to download or stream the latest edition of the
Ubuntu UK Podcast!
http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/2010/02/17/s03e01-the-golden-web/
=== Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 gets ported onto Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 ===
Engadget's Darren Murph comments that not even a fortnight after we saw
Android 2.0.1 slapped onto Sony Ericsson's all-but-forgotten Xperia X1,
along comes a port that makes the other look like child's play. A
dedicated coder over at XDA Developers has managed to stuff Ubuntu Hardy
Heron 8.04 onto an X1, and while the functionality is limited, the
amount of fun to be had is restrained only by your imagination. Go on
and peek that source link[1] to join the discussion.
[1] http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=631437
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/17/ubuntu-hardy-heron-8-04-gets-ported-onto-sony-ericssons-xperia/
=== Ubuntu torrents are now IPv6 enabled ===
Since February third, the official Ubuntu torrents found on
releases.ubuntu.com include an IPv6-enabled tracker in the announce
list. This means that we are one step further in getting Ubuntu
downloadable over IPv6.
Clients connected only via IPv6 (which are unfortunately rare, but
still) can download the torrent from the IPv6 enabled
releases.ubuntu.com and start downloading the iso via IPv6. There are a
few (fast connected) IPv6 enabled seeders around, so downloading should
work great.
Stats over the last two weeks show reasonable usage, although we expect
more and more users switching to IPv6.
All we need now, is an IPv6 address for www.ubuntu.com. :)
For more information about IPv6, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipv6
== Upcoming Meetings and Events ==
=== Monday, February 22, 2010 ===
==== PyCon ====
* Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
* Agenda: Main annual conference of the Python programming community.
==== Security Team Catch-up ====
* Start: 18:00 UTC
* End: 18:30 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: nothing formal, just a weekly catch-up.
=== Tuesday, February 23, 2010 ===
==== PyCon ====
* Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
* Agenda: Main annual conference of the Python programming community.
==== Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting ====
* Start: 13:00 UTC
* End: 14:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MobileTeam/Meeting
==== Technical Board Meeting ====
* Start: 15:00 UTC
* End: 16:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
==== Desktop Team Meeting ====
* Start: 16:30 UTC
* End: 17:30 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-desktop
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/Meeting
==== Kernel Team Meeting ====
* Start: 17:00 UTC
* End: 18:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: Not listed as of publication
==== Global Jam Meeting ====
* Start: 20:00 UTC
* End: 21:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: Not listed as of publication
=== Wednesday, February 24, 2010 ===
==== PyCon ====
* Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
* Agenda: Main annual conference of the Python programming community.
==== Server Team Meeting ====
* Start: 14:00 UTC
* End: 15:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/Meeting
==== Foundation Team Meeting ====
* Start: 16:00 UTC
* End: 17:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
==== QA Team Meeting ====
* Start: 17:00 UTC
* End: 18:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Meetings/
==== Edubuntu Meeting ====
* Start: 19:00 UTC
* End: 20:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/Meetings/Agenda
=== Thursday, February 25, 2010 ===
==== PyCon ====
* Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
* Agenda: Main annual conference of the Python programming community.
==== Ubuntu Java Meeting ====
* Start: 14:00 UTC
* End: 15:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
==== MC Meeting ====
* Start: 17:00 UTC
* End: 18:00 UTC
* Location: None listed as of publication
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
==== Regional Membership Board - Americas ====
* Start: 23:00 UTC
* End: 01:00 UTC Friday, February 26, 2010
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Membership/RegionalBoards/Americas
=== Friday, February 26, 2010 ===
==== Lucid Weekly Release Meeting ====
* Start: 16:00 UTC
* End: 17:30 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReleaseTeam/Meeting/2010-02-26
==== How to Run a Jam ====
* Start: 21:00 UTC
* End: 22:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-locoteams
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGlobalJam
=== Saturday, February 27, 2010 ===
==== BugJam ====
* Start: 21:00 UTC
* End: 23:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-us-dc and IRC channel #ubuntu-bugs
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
==== DC Loco IRC meeting ====
* Start: 23:00 UTC
* End: 24:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-us-dc
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
=== Sunday, February 28, 2010 ===
==== Ubuntu IRC Council Meeting ====
* Start: 18:00 UTC
* End: 19:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IrcTeam/IrcCouncil/MeetingAgenda
==== Ubuntu Gaming Team Meeting ====
* Start: 20:00 UTC
* End: 22:00 UTC
* Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
* Agenda: None listed as of publication
== Updates and Security for 6.06, 8.04, 8.10, 9.04 and 9.10 ==
=== Security Updates ===
* USN-893-1: Samba vulnerability- http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-893-1
* USN-892-1: FUSE vulnerability- http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-892-1
* USN-894-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities-
http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-894-1
* USN-897-1: MySQL vulnerabilities- http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-897-1
* USN-898-1: gnome-screensaver vulnerability-
http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-898-1
* USN-899-1: Tomcat vulnerabilities- http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-899-1
* USN-900-1: Ruby vulnerabilities- http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-900-1
* USN-901-1: Squid vulnerabilities- http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-901-1
* USN-895-1: Firefox 3.0 and Xulrunner 1.9 vulnerabilities-
http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-895-1
* USN-896-1: Firefox 3.5 and Xulrunner 1.9.1 vulnerabilities-
http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-896-1
* USN-890-5: XML-RPC for C and C++ vulnerabilities-
http://www.ubuntu.com//usn/USN-890-5
=== Ubuntu 6.06 Updates ===
* squid_2.5.12-4ubuntu2.5_i386_translations.tar.gz-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2010-February/012816.html
=== Ubuntu 8.04 Updates ===
* flashplugin-nonfree-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012391.html
* squid_2.6.18-1ubuntu3.1_powerpc_translations.tar.gz-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012392.html
* mozplugger 1.10.1-2ubuntu2.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012393.html
* virtualbox-ose-modules 24.0.13 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012394.html
* php5 5.2.4-2ubuntu5.11 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012396.html
* evolution-data-server 2.22.3-0ubuntu4 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012395.html
* hybserv (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012397.html
* chrony (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2010-February/012398.html
=== Ubuntu 8.10 Updates ===
* flashplugin-nonfree-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2010-February/009839.html
* ruby1.9-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2010-February/009840.html
* squid_2.7.STABLE3-1ubuntu2.2_hppa_translations.tar.gz-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2010-February/009841.html
* landscape-client 1.4.4-0ubuntu0.8.10 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2010-February/009842.html
* hybserv (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2010-February/009843.html
=== Ubuntu 9.04 Updates ===
* flashplugin-nonfree-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2010-February/010003.html
* ruby1.9-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2010-February/010004.html
* squid_2.7.STABLE3-4.1ubuntu1.1_sparc_translations.tar.gz (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2010-February/010005.html
* landscape-client 1.4.4-0ubuntu0.9.04 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2010-February/010006.html
* hybserv (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2010-February/010007.html
* chrony (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2010-February/010008.html
=== Ubuntu 9.10 Updates ===
* flashplugin-nonfree-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012239.html
* ruby1.9-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012240.html
* squid_2.7.STABLE6-2ubuntu2.1_sparc_translations.tar.gz (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012241.html
* landscape-client 1.4.4-0ubuntu0.9.10 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012242.html
* samba 2:3.4.0-3ubuntu5.5 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012243.html
* eucalyptus 1.6~bzr931-0ubuntu7.5 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012244.html
* libapache2-mod-authz-unixgroup 1.0.1+svn67-1ubuntu0.1 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012245.html
* foomatic-filters 4.0.3-0ubuntu2.2 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012246.html
* linux-ec2 2.6.31-304.11 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012247.html
* linux-fsl-imx51 2.6.31-108.22 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012248.html
* hybserv (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012250.html
* chrony (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012249.html
* gnome-games 1:2.28.0-0ubuntu3 -
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012251.html
* xmlrpc-c (delayed)-
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2010-February/012252.html
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See you next week!
== Credits ==
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* And many others
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