Issue119

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http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/edu/l-dw-linux-harden-desktop-i.html

Using Ubuntu as for the tutorial (registration required)
Jeffrey Orloff has developed a 2 hour tutorial posted on the developerWorks section of IBM.com. The tutorial covers: protection from malware attacks, firewall configuration, system backup, updates, and password protecting the bootloader. Registration is required to access this information. http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/edu/l-dw-linux-harden-desktop-i.html
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techradar.com brings us some hints how to speed up our Ubuntu 8.10 installation. 50 ideas in total will let you quite a choice what you might need or not. techradar.com brings us some hints on how to speed up your Ubuntu 8.10 installation. 50 ideas will let you quite a choice what you might need or not.

Contents

newspaper-icon.jpg

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 Free Culture Showcase II

Jono Bacon has announced the Second Free Culture Showcase, your opportunity to show off your creativity in Jaunty Jackalope. The winning entries will be available in the Examples/ folder in the home directory of shipped CDs and download images of the Ubuntu 9.04 release. Entering the showcase is simple:

  • Your submission must be one of the following:
    • o Audio Entries - no larger than 1MB in size - made available in Ogg Vorbis format. o Video Entries - no larger than 2.5MB in size - made available in Ogg Theora format. o Photo/Graphic Entries - no larger than 0.5MB in size - made available in PNG or JPG formats.
  • All entries must be licensed and distributable under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license.

  • Upload your submission somewhere online (there are lots of free hosting solutions available such as archive.org). Do not email any of the organizers or judges with your submissions.
  • Add your entry to one of the submission tables at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuFreeCultureShowcase.

  • When the deadline for submissions closes, our panel of judges will pick a shortlist, and the Community Council will then pick the final winners from the shortlist.

The deadline is February 6, 2009. http://www.jonobacon.org/?p=1427

Interview (maybe move this to ION)

Matthew Helmke interviewed Nicolas Valcárcel Scerpella for the Ubuntu Community Interviews. From an early start with computers at the age of 4, Nicolas has gone on to become a Security Engineer in the OEM Solutions Group for Canonical. A part of the Peruvian LoCo team council and MOTU, he is focusing on bringing more people into packaging. He would like to see more hardware manufacturers writing drivers for Linux and more proprietary software migrating to Linux. http://matthewhelmke.net/wordpress/2008/11/26/an-interview-with-nicolas-valcarcel/

Archive of Interviews

Daniel Holbach has started an archive of Developer Interviews[1]. He feels that it is great to read about the exciting things that people have done. This can be seen as a "work in progress". He would like to have more interviews of Ubuntu members added to it, and is thinking of adding a box with the latest interviews to the Hall of Fame[2].

New MOTU: Onkar Shinde

We're very pleased to announce that Onkar Shinde (slytherin) joined the MOTU team. His outstanding work in the area of Java packaging and maintenance made our choice easy.

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (48693)+237 over last week
  • Critical (18)-1 over last week
  • Unconfirmed (19667)-186 over last week
  • Unassigned (40549)+250 over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (233877)+1639 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 Intrepid

  • Spanish (18544)-365 over last week
  • French (61913)-21 over last week
  • Swedish (76522)-10 over last week
  • English (UK) (81459) +/-0 over last week
  • Brazilian Portuguese (82142)-375 over last week

Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex," see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/intrepid/

5-a-day bug stats

Top 5 contributors for the past 7 days

  • crimsun (550)
  • jibel (297)
  • Chrisccoulson (85)
  • alessandro-ghersi (55)
  • hew (47)

Top 5 teams for the past 7 days

  • dcteam (552)
  • ubuntu-berlin (55)
  • ubuntu-de-locoteam (55)
  • ubuntu-au (47)
  • ubuntu-chicago (23)

5-A-Day stats provided by Daniel Holbach. See http://daniel.holba.ch/5-a-day-stats/

LoCo News

Ubuntu Tamil Team

Tiruppur, Nov 22. The Textile Town of TamilNadu, India - Tiruppur[1] witnessed Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex release by its IT Association - TITA[2]. Members of Tiruppur IT Association demonstrated Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex and its various features starting from Tamil Language support, Multimedia Capabilities, Office Suites, Package Management techniques, Wine etc.,

Ubuntu Tamil Team put forth the idea, that a one day Monthly Training program be organized for people who purchase computers through the Association Members, on Ubuntu by the Association itself. This will motivate people to switch over to Free Software with confidence.

Sri Ramadoss and Siva from Ubuntu Tamil Team conducted the event. The second day event explored the Ubuntu Server capabilities for the TITA members. More demand were made on the Server segment.

It was a memorable event and Special Thanks for Tiruppur IT Association for providing us this opportunity. Our heart felt gratitude to Mr. Ravichadran, President of IT association, Mr. Babu, Mr. Thiyagu, Mr. Senthil and others for backing and helping us in conducting this event.

Photos soon at: http://amachu.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/tiruppur-intrepid-lauch/

Tunisia Team

The Tunisian Team held an install party and conferences on November 15 at Multimedia and Computer Science Institut of Sfax, Tunisia, in conjunction with the local cell of the Tunisian Association Young and Sciences. They started their day with a booth of about 10 laptops powered by Ubuntu, UbuntuStudio and Ubuntu Muslim Edition. There, they distributed about 40 CDs, as well as burning iso images and USB installations. They also made 2 presentations, one to introduce FOSS and Ubuntu and the other to talk about UbuntuStudio. http://rafiiik.blogspot.com/2008/11/ubuntu-install-party-et-confrences.html

Ubuntu-NL release party

http://dev.osso.nl/herman/blog/2008/11/27/report-ubuntu-releaseparty-groningen/ (Dutch language version here: http://prikbord.ubuntu-nl.org/blog/2008/11/27/verslag-releaseparty-groningen-door-laacque/)

New in Intrepid Ibex

Launchpad News

Launchpad 2.1.11 and Open ID support

http://news.launchpad.net/releases/launchpad-2111-openid-support-and-now-easier-to-contact-other-people

Ubuntu Forums News

RSS Feeds for Ubuntuforums

bapoumba has a solution for those looking for RSS feeds of the Ubuntuforums. The dedicated page for the feeds was lost in the last big upgrade of the Ubuntuforums software. It may come back, but in the meantime here is a work-around. By clicking on a sub-forum thread in the Ubuntuforums front page and looking at the address bar, you will see a number at the very end. This is the forumid number. So, for example, the URL for Absolute Beginner's Talk (ABT) would be http://ubuntuforums.org/external.php?forumids=326. And this one for the whole gear would be http://ubuntuforums.org/external.php.

In The Press

  • Local hero: Stefan Lesicnik on Linux and Ubuntu - South Africa’s Stefan Lesicnik was this week confirmed as an Ubuntu contributing developer. South African web site Tectonic interviewed Stefan on various aspects of how he got involved with Linux and Ubuntu. Stefan points out that Ubuntu contributing developers are contributors to Ubuntu that do so on a more technical level. Ubuntu contributors typically handle more complicated tasks such as merging new packages from Debian that have local Ubuntu changes, debug software or package software from scratch. Stefan has been working with the security team, and part of his responsibilities will be to merge security fixes from vendors or the community into supported versions of Ubuntu. Congratulations Stefan! http://www.tectonic.co.za/?p=3692

  • Ubuntu vs. OpenSolaris vs. FreeBSD Benchmarks - Over the past few weeks Phoronix has been providing several in-depth articles looking at the performance of Ubuntu Linux. They first compared Ubuntu 7.04 to 8.10 benchmarks, then Mac OS X 10.5 vs. Ubuntu 8.10 benchmarks, and in this article they compared the 64-bit performance of Ubuntu 8.10 against the latest test releases of OpenSolaris 2008.11 and FreeBSD 7.1. The tests included LAME MP3 encoding, 7-Zip Compression, Gzip compression, GnuPG, BYTE Unix Benchmark, Tandem XML, Bork File Encryption, Java SciMark, Bonnie++, OpenSSL, and Sunflow Rendering System. The Phoronix Test Suite, which is Phoronix's advanced GPLv3 testing software that is compatible with Linux, BSD, OpenSolaris, and Mac OS X platforms, powered all of these tests. In the end if simply counting which operating system was in first place most frequently, it would be Ubuntu. Ubuntu 8.10 x86_64 was in first place eight times, OpenSolaris 2008.11 RC2 was in first place seven times, and FreeBSD 7.1 Beta 2 AMD64 was in first just three tests. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=os_threeway_2008&num=8

  • Fedora 10 vs. Ubuntu 8.10 Benchmarks - With Fedora 10 finally entering the world earlier this week, Phoronix has performed benchmarks comparing the performance of Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 10. In their testing they used both the 32-bit and 64-bit builds of each distribution and then ran a series of automated tests through the Phoronix Test Suite. After testing both the x86 and x86_64 editions had performed nearly identical. In fact, the results are so close that it's hard to call a winner in any of the benchmarks. There's a few slight deviations in tests like the timed Gzip compression and BYTE Unix Benchmark, but nothing conclusive, at least with the hardware configuration Phoronix had used and the real-world tests conducted. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_810_vs_fedora_10&num=6

  • First Jaunty Jackalope (Ubuntu 9.04) alpha hops into view - Ubuntu developers have announced the availability of Ubuntu 9.04 alpha 1, the first prerelease for this version. Ubuntu 9.04 is codenamed Jaunty Jackalope and is scheduled for official release in April. In addition to the ongoing long-term usability enhancement efforts, Canonical and the Ubuntu development community are focusing on several specific technical goals for 9.04, including improving performance and boot time and integrating web services more tightly with the desktop. Ubuntu 9.04 alpha 1 is available for download from the Ubuntu web site, although only the server CD image and the text-based "alternate" CD image were built for the release. If you want an installable Live CD, you can get the latest daily image. The next major alpha release is scheduled for December 18, shortly after the developer summit. The final Debian package import freeze for 9.04 will be on Christmas day. Additional prereleases will follow until the final release arrives on April 23. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081124-first-jaunty-jackalope-ubuntu-9-04-alpha-hops-into-view.html

In The Blogosphere

  • When Ubuntu Breaks, Who’s to Blame? - Blogger Christopher Tozzi tells us that as a regular participant in support threads on ubuntuforums.org, he's exposed frequently to people who might be fairly characterized as ‘dissatisfied customers’ of the Ubuntu experience. Something doesn’t work as well as it’s supposed to—no out-of-the-box wireless or dual-monitor support are two of the most popular complaints—and these new users condemn Ubuntu and Linux in their entirety as a result. But are these charges justified, and how should Ubuntu respond? Canonical has to assume responsibility for shortcomings in software beyond its control. Microsoft and Apple may not have to answer for the problems of third-party applications, but if Ubuntu really aspires to become a Linux for the masses, its developers and community members need to understand the point-of-view of ordinary users and stop placing blame elsewhere, even when it does rightly lie elsewhere. Accepting blame for someone else’s faults is neither pleasant nor fair. But it’s a reality that Ubuntu has to accept if it truly aspires to bring desktop Linux to the masses. http://www.workswithu.com/2008/11/22/when-ubuntu-breaks-whos-to-blame/

  • More Ubuntu Kung Fu - Keir Thomas, author of the new book Ubuntu Kung Fu, who stopped by lifehacker to share some more of the best material from the book, in a follow-up to his post, Some Productive Ubuntu Kung Fu. Tips in this article include how to optimize startup for faster boot times by reducing the boot menu delay, running boot-time scripts in parallel, building a readahead profile personalized to your computer, and trimming the gnome startup programs. He also shows you how to ensure Ubuntu always knows the time with the network time protocol, get more data onto CD-R discs through overburning, installing all the multimedia playback codecs you’ll ever need, getting better dvd movie playback, creating zip files using maximum compression, how to get a high-quality (and free) command-line word processor with Microsoft word, adding drop shadows to screenshots, stopping the cursor from blinking, how to play MP3/OGG files at the command line, and adding RAR file compression support to Ubuntu. http://lifehacker.com/5098369/more-ubuntu-kung-fu

In Other News

Xavier School Deploys 600 Ubuntu Linux Desktops

Joe Panettieri of WorksWithU reports that Xavier School in San Juan, Phillipines has deployed more than 600 Ubuntu desktops. The switch from Windows was brought about due to a budget issue based on Microsoft's base licenses and subscription licenses. Ubuntu was chosen because of its ease of use as a desktop, and because of the availability of Edubuntu. http://www.workswithu.com/2008/11/25/xavier-school-deploys-600-ubuntu-linux-desktops/

Ubuntu Podcast #13

Josh Chase and Nick Ali from the Georgia US LoCo released episode #13. Some topics covered:

  • Release of Jaunty Alpha 1
  • Ubuntu US shop is open for business
  • Ubuntu Hall of Fame
  • New theme on help.ubuntu.com
  • Lots of LoCos had 8.10 release parties

  • Linux Identity magazine covering Ubuntu 8.10
  • Ubuntu onto the ARM architecture
  • Aaron Seigo, a KDE developer, has a podcast on UStream

    http://ubuntupodcast.net/2008/11/25/ubuntu-podcast-episode-13/

Hardening the Linux Desktop

Jeffrey Orloff has developed a 2 hour tutorial posted on the developerWorks section of IBM.com. The tutorial covers: protection from malware attacks, firewall configuration, system backup, updates, and password protecting the bootloader. Registration is required to access this information. http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/edu/l-dw-linux-harden-desktop-i.html

Coming soon: Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference

Due to be released in mid-January, the Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference is a succinct, yet comprehensive guide allowing readers to understand core competencies without wading through volumes. Available from Amazon or a free PDF version will be also be available. http://www.ubuntukungfu.org/blog/2008/11/coming-soon-ubuntu-pocket-guide-and-reference/

Speed up your Ubuntu

techradar.com brings us some hints on how to speed up your Ubuntu 8.10 installation. 50 ideas will let you quite a choice what you might need or not. http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/50-amazing-ubuntu-time-saving-tips-482714

Collection of the 50 Best Looking Linux Gnome/Ubuntu Themes

Follow the link to 50 great looking themes brought to us by the guys at TechieSouls.com http://www.techiesouls.com/2008/11/27/collection-of-50-best-looking-linux-gnomeubuntu-themes-to-download/

Meeting Summaries

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Server Team Meeting

Kernel Team Meeting

  • Start: 17:00 UTC
  • End: 18:00 UTC (Tuesday, December 2, 2008)
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not listed as of publication

Community Council Meeting

Forum Council Meeting

  • Start: 23:00 UTC
  • End: 00:00 UTC (Wednesday, December 3, 2008)
  • Location: #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not listed as of publication

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Ubuntu Classroom Meeting

Ubuntu-us-pa LoCo team Meeting

  • Start: 12:30 UTC
  • End: 13:30 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-us-pa
  • Agenda: None as of publication

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

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Maryland LoCo IRC Meeting

  • Start: 00:00 UTC
  • End: 01:00 UTC
  • Location: #ubuntu-us-md
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting

  • Start: 12:00 UTC
  • End: 13:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Desktop Team Meeting

Ubuntu Java Meeting

  • Start: 14:00 UTC
  • End: 15:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Community Spotlight

Updates and Security for 6.06, 7.10, 8.04, and 8.10

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 7.10 Updates

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

Ubuntu 8.10 Updates

UWN #: A sneak peek

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:

and

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
  • Arlan Vennefron
  • Kenny McHenry

  • Dave Bush
  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

Feedback

This document is maintained by the Ubuntu Weekly News Team. If you have a story idea or suggestions for the Weekly Newsletter, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list at https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/Ubuntu-news-team and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Ideas. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, please feel free to edit the appropriate wiki page. If you have any technical support questions, please send them to ubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com.

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Creative Commons License 3.0 BY SA

UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue119 (last edited 2008-12-01 05:11:50 by client-200)