Hello all, I wanted to take a little time to post an update to the -user mailing list about Ubuntu Studio and the project lead position in particular. During this cycle (Maverick) I have assumed the responsibilities for the project lead position. However, the transition really began during Lucid and to this end I would like to thank Cory, Luke, Luis, Emmet, Jussi and Eric for their support and advice. As project lead I hope to provide active, direct leadership in a transparent manner. Examples of this should already be evident and can be found in the -user and -dev mailing lists and on the #ubuntu-studio-devel IRC channel. Also, all users are encouraged to attend the developer meetings as your input is valuable. You can find more information about the meetings at: <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/Meetings">https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/Meetings</a> In addition, I would like make communication with the users a defining hallmark of this project. Not only will we be asking for your opinions but also querying you for information about your needs. Therefore, please expect further emails to this list soliciting your input. Furthermore, anyone can also email me directly with questions or comments at: <a href="mailto:scottalavender@gmail.com">scottalavender@gmail.com</a> I encourage you to contact me as you feel necessary. Also, I have a blog where you can keep up with any of my musings regarding Ubuntu Studio at: <a href="http://dullass.blogspot.com/">http://dullass.blogspot.com/</a> Oftentimes I will post about my thoughts before decisions are made or about things before they happen elsewhere. Moving on, Ubuntu Studio 10.10 Maverick Meerkat is seeing improvements that I would like to mention. We are working on JACK and Pulse Audio integration via dbus and the Alpha 1 ISO is available for all to begin testing. Obviously finding stable integration between JACK and Pulse Audio would be a marked improvement in usability. The goal is to have this implemented during Maverick which would pave the way for other improvements. We are also attempting to address the gnome-network-admin bug which prevents configuration of network connections, as I posted previously to this list. Finding a solution to this bug would obviously have a large impact to usability. LV2 plugins are another area of improvement. We began packaging these last cycle and continue this cycle. An updated website is also in the works, although the time table is not quite as fixed as the Maverick's release cycle. Lastly, we are evaluating whether we would implement a backports PPA for applications included in Ubuntu Studio. Quality is important, so there would be some caveats regarding what we would or wouldn't package but I personally would love to hear your feedback on this item in particular. That's all that I have at this moment, although I should be writing again or posting in the near future. Please let us know how we can improve Ubuntu Studio for you, just remember that we work within the Ubuntu paradigm, so all improvements must comply with those systemic restrictions (e.g. all applications in the official repositories). Regards, ScottL