Issue111
WORK IN PROGRESS
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue ## for the week MONTH DAY - DAY, YEAR. In this issue we cover ...
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
General Community News
Ubuntu 8.10 Beta released
The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop and Server. Codenamed "Intrepid Ibex", 8.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.
Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition delivers the features you need for an increasingly mobile digital life, including 3G wireless support and guest sessions that lets users temporarily share computers without compromising security.
Ubuntu 8.10 Server consolidates its support for virtualization with an integrated Virtual Machine builder, and brings with it a fully-supported Java stack and support for per-user directory encryption.
The Ubuntu 8.10 family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, and Mythbuntu, also reach beta status today. Feature of the different variants, and the information about local downloading mirrors can be found at the link.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2008-October/000114.html
Intrepid Countdown Banner - Help spread the news!
Adding the Ubuntu countdown timer to your website is easy! Just copy and paste the following lines into your webpage and each day the image will update showing the days remaining before the release. There are two options this time around, one dark and one light, so one or the other should fit nicely with your website theme. Thanks to Thorsten Wilms(thorwil), the Ubuntu community member who created these beautiful banners, and to the Ubuntu Web Presence team for all their hard work in bringing this project to life. Get the scripts at the link.
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/countdown
Intrepid CDs for Approved LoCo's
Approved LoCo teams can now submit their request for their bulk shipment of assorted Ubuntu CDs. By placing you order before October 27th, you can insure delivery of your shippment within two weeks after the Intrepid release date.
The prepackaged shipment contains:
- Ubuntu: PC: 230
- Kubuntu: PC: 50
- Server PC: PC: 50
- Server 64bit: PC: 20
One of the perks of being an "Approved Ubuntu LoCo is the ability to receive bulk shippments of assorted Ubuntu variants. Officially approved LoCo teams can find the ordering information at the link.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoGettingCds
Monday October 6th: Ubuntu Testing Day!
Ubuntu Testing day is a special day where the Ubuntu Community comes together with a shared goal of testing an specific set of ISO images (Alpha, Beta, RC, Gold or Point releases). Taking the idea from the Ubuntu Bug Day, the idea is to apply the same concepts to ISO testing.
- Who can join in: Everyone, you don't need to be a developer, or know how to code.
- Where to join in: Come to #ubuntu-testing on freenode IRC. They will be there day and night resolving your testing questions you might have.
- Which release will they be testing: Apart from testing the beta ISOs, they will be focusing on testing distribution upgrades. If you want to upgrade your Hardy system (*buntu 8.04) to Intrepid (*buntu 8.10) this is a great way to help get you on your way.
Marc Tardiff(cr3) will be giving a session in #ubuntu-classroom IRC channel (15:00 UTC), about the testing infrastructure, giving an overview on the tools available to make Ubuntu testing easier and funnier. Please, join in next Monday and help to make Ubuntu even better!
http://ubuntutesting.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/monday-6th-october-a-new-ubuntu-testing-day/
Kernel Hug Day - Tues Oct. 7th
The next Ubuntu Hug Day target will be . . . The Kernel! With the Intrepid Ibex 8.10 Beta just being released it's important that we be aware of any new bugs introduced as well as any existing ones that get resolved. So please add the date to your calender.
- Where: #ubuntu-bugs (freenode)
- When: Tuesday, October 7th
For first timers: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/HelpingWithBugs
You'll find plenty of people in #ubuntu-bugs ready to answer your questions and help you out. It can't stress enough that anyone can help. Whether you choose to blog about it, triage a few bugs, or help answer questions, every little bit helps, and is much appreciated.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2008-October/000208.html
PackageKit: Call for testing
The APT backend for PackageKit has made a lot of progress recently in the 0.3.x series. It nearly supports all features of PackageKit.
Highlights of the 0.3.x series are:
- Search for codecs and mime type handlers
- Local file installation
- Change log for updates
- Group support
- Repository handling
- Notification of new distro releases
- A lot of bug fixes
Currently in use is a quite outdated 0.2.4 version in Intrepid. So if you are interested in this piece of software, and want to push packagekit forward please, test it on your system and report bugs that you may encounter. Details on how to get this version from the PPA at the link.
Ubuntu 8.10 Release Party: San Francisco
Jono Bacon will be in San Francisco when Ubuntu 8.10, the glorious Intrepid Ibex is released, and it would be remiss to not organise a bit of a knees up (translation for my American friends: “drinks in a bar“). So, in conjunction with partner in crime Tom Haddon, they are organising the Ubuntu San Francisco Release Party. Yes!
Here are the details:
- WHEN? - Thursday 30th October : 7.30pm
- WHERE? - The lower bar as you walk in on the left, The Thirsty Bear, 661 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94105 : Tel: (415) 974-0905
HOW TO FIND IT? - Google Maps: http://tinyurl.com/3t8ey2
Get ready Frisco!! http://www.jonobacon.org/?p=1309
MOTU
We're very pleased to announce that James Westby just became MOTU. Some of you might know him from his work in the bzr project, some for his great work on coordinating MOTU School, some for the fixes he worked on and others might just know him as the helpful guy who gave you the right answer.
Ubuntu Stats
Bug Stats
- Open (#) +/- # over last week
- Critical (#) +/- # over last week
- Unconfirmed (#) +/- # over last week
- Unassigned (#) +/- # over last week
- All bugs ever reported (#) +/- # over last week
As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started, please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BugSquad
Infamous Bugs
Translation Stats Hardy
- Language (#) +/- # over last week
- Language (#) +/- # over last week
- Language (#) +/- # over last week
- Language (#) +/- # over last week
- Language (#) +/- # over last week
Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron," see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy/
***Also mention that some have moved onto translating Ibex instead of concentrating on Hardy***
LoCo News
Ubuntu-IN LoCo has new forum site
The Ubuntu-IN forums (Ubuntu India Forums) are up! The forum is maintained by lut4rp (Pratul Kalia) and the Ubuntu-IN administrators. Ubuntu-IN Wiki: http://ubuntu-in.info/wiki/index.php/Documents Forum link: http://forum.ubuntu-in.info/
http://sayakb.blogspot.com/2008/10/ubuntu-indian-loco.html
Ubuntu-ES announces weekly translation sprints
Leandro Gomez has announced that because of the success of the Spanish speaking LoCo Teams Intrepid Translation Sprint, the ubuntu-l10n-es team, (https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-l10n-es) has decided to hold regular translation sprints every Saturday of the month. The team can be found in #ubuntu-es-locos at irc.freenode.net, and anyone is welcome to stop by and give us a hand (even if you don’t speak Spanish). http://leogg.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/regular-ubuntu-translation-sprints-kicks-off/
Ubuntu-DK at Open Source Days 2008
The Ubuntu Danish team is scheduled to participate at Open Source Days 2008 (http://www.opensourcedays.org/). Open Source Days is the largest open source conference in the nordic area. It's your opportunity to meet, share, experience and learn from professional open source experts. Help make the Danish team's Ubuntu booth a success by stopping by, it will be on the second floor of the event venue.
http://compadre.dk/blog/2008/10/02/open-source-days-i-got-my-ticket/
New in Hardy Heron
Launchpad News
Launchpad Code down-time Monday 6th October 2008
On October 6th Launchpad’s code hosting and browsing will be unavailable for around four hours from 22.00 UTC.
- Going offline: 22.00 UTC 6th October
- Expected back before: 02.00 UTC 7th October
During this down-time, the following services will be unavailable:
- pushing to, pulling and branching from Launchpad-hosted branches
- code browsing
- code review
- mirroring from externally hosted Bazaar branches
- imports from CVS and Subversion repositories.
Mirrors and imports will return to their normal schedule following the down-time. Non-code hosting parts of Launchpad should be unaffected.
http://news.launchpad.net/notifications/launchpad-code-down-time-monday-6th-october-2008
Launchpod episode #10 - API and bug plugins
Launchpod: the Launchpad team podcast! Hosts: Matthew Revell, Graham Binns and Joey Stanford. Theme: Obscurity by Barry Warsaw.
- 02.32: Leonard Richardson talks about the progress and scope of the Launchpad API.
13.45: Graham Binns talks about Launchpad’s plugins for Bugzilla and Trac, which allow bug comment history sharing across bug trackers>/li>
Send your ideas and questions to feedback@launchpad.net!
Download ogg vorbis file: http://www.archive.org/download/LaunchpodEpisode10/launchpod-e10-20081003.ogg
Podcast feed: http://news.launchpad.net/category/podcast/feed
Ubuntu Forums News
In The Press
Ubuntu 8.10 Beta Released - Get your Internet connections warmed up Ubuntu fans, Canonical has just released the beta for the next version of Ubuntu 8.10. This is the first real look at what will be a major Ubuntu upgrade. There’s a whole laundry list of new features, but I see four major improvements for most users. The first are the combination of the new GNOME 2.24 desktop interface and X.org 7.4 windows system. This pairing should give users a faster graphical interface. Next up is the encrypted private directory feature, which provides an encrypted folder in every users home directory. Next, many of you may not know about DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support), but you’re going to enjoy the improvements it brings to Ubuntu. DKMS will make it easier for you to get up-to-the-minute drivers without hand compiling device drivers. Finally, this latest distribution includes Samba 3.2. This is a major step-forward in getting Ubuntu to work closer with Windows clients and servers file systems. http://practical-tech.com/operating-system/ubuntu-810-beta-released/
Ubuntu Server: Canonical's Third Way to the Enterprise - You’ll find servers carrying out these sorts of tasks on every network, but why should anyone pick Ubuntu? Enterprises usually have to make a choice between the commercial model, or the community driven model. The third way allows organizations to use fully tested and guaranteed software that Canonical stands behind, without having to pay a subscription. Steve George, Canonical’s Director of Corporate Services says that Ubuntu allows customers to select and pay for exactly the options they want. With RHEL or SLES you effectively have to pay for security updates, but Ubuntu says that you only have to pay for support, and only if you want it. http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netos/article.php/3775026
Gameloft moves 1,000 desktops to Ubuntu Linux - Businesses are catching on to Ubuntu. The latest example: Gameloft, a major mobile games developer, has moved more than 1,000 desktops to Ubuntu, according to a source who reached out to The VAR Guy. Gameloft’s move to Ubuntu is noteworthy for several reasons. First, Gameloft is publicly held and its stock is traded on the Paris Stock Exchange. In other words, Ubuntu has pushed beyond the hacker crowd and is now gaining traction in profit-driven businesses. Second, Gameloft has nearly 4,000 employees, placing its somewhere between a midsize and large enterprise. Gameloft has been profitable since 2003, and sales are growing 25 to 30 percent annually. Translation: Big Business is starting to take Ubuntu seriously. Finally, Gameloft creates games for mobile devices. And cranking out all that code requires a stable development environment. Hello, Ubuntu. http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/10/03/gameloft-moves-1000-desktops-to-ubuntu-linux/
How often do we need GNU/Linux releases? - Of what use is an operating system if all it does is to make you look forward to the next release? For years, Microsoft thrived on just such a strategy, adding features to Windows as though they were going out of style and not caring about anything apart from market share. What has been the end result? Windows is a widespread but highly insecure and buggy operating system which everyone is forced to use simply because it has become some kind of de facto standard. Sam Varghese, of itwire, fears that GNU/Linux - or at least some distributions - are following in its wake. Ubuntu releases every six months, but do we really need release cycles where features are added at breakneck speed? Sam thinks a release once every 18 months is more than enough. Given that interval, there is time to properly test software, there is time to incorporate packages that will really make a difference. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20969/1090/
Ubuntu: Not A Small Business Server Replacement (Yet) - One market that Ubuntu has yet to crack is that of the SoHo server. Millions of office workers all over the world send email via, print through and save documents to a Microsoft Windows Small Business Server. But is Ubuntu ready to compete head-on against SBS? The current answer may not thrill Ubuntu fans. Many SoHos have a physical host in their office with enough space for storing documents from their desktop, a simple backup solution and net connectivity including a firewall and access controls. Some use external hosted services providing similar features. This sounds like an ideal market opportunity for Ubuntu Server Edition. But is it? Most of these small businesses have no dedicated IT personnel and minimal computing expertise. For many the graphical administration tools and integrated nature of SBS are essential for them to use the computer as a tools in their businesses. http://www.workswithu.com/2008/09/30/ubuntu-not-a-small-business-server-replacement-yet/
In The Blogosphere
http://lifehacker.com/5058730/first-look-at-ubuntu-810-intrepid-ibex-beta#c8143006
http://www.workswithu.com/2008/09/30/ubuntu-not-a-small-business-server-replacement-yet/
http://www.insidesocal.com/click/2008/10/in-ubuntu-less-is-more.html
http://computingtech.blogspot.com/2008/10/obtaining-ubuntu-installer.html
In Other News
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2008-September/000203.html
http://lkml.org/lkml/2008/10/1/368(new patch from intel for e1000e bug)
Meeting Summaries
Upcoming Meetings and Events
Community Spotlight
Updates and Security for 6.06, 7.04, 7.10, and 8.04
Security Updates
Ubuntu 6.06 Updates
Ubuntu 7.04 Updates
Ubuntu 7.04 will reach the end of its support period on Sunday, October 19, 2008. After that date, no further listing for it will be posted here. You are encouraged to upgrade to Ubuntu 7.10.
Ubuntu 7.10 Updates
Ubuntu 8.04 Updates
UWN #: A sneak peek
Archives and RSS Feed
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Additional Ubuntu News
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Conclusion
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Credits
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Glossary of Terms
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