Issue126

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## This document contains numerous comments to help make getting
## involved with the UWN easy and to help set some guidelines/standards.

## By contributing, you understand that your contribution may be appended to,
## modified, deleted, moved, copied, and redistributed without further
## consultation. Please feel free to add comments to help explain changes
## and/or additions to the UWN to other editors.

## Final revision will be approved and mailed by Corey Burger (Burgundavia),
## Martin Albisetti (beuno) or Cody Somerville (somerville32).

## For more information, please contact ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com or
## visit #ubuntu-marketing on irc.freenode.net

## Good Luck from Cody Somerville, Corey Burger, Melissa Draper and Martin Albisetti.

{{{
WORK IN PROGRESS
}}}

## Edit the following to include issue number, date info, and a short list
## of the top articles in this release.

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #126 for the week January 18th - January 24th, 2009. In this issue we cover ...


## Translations are welcome by anyone. Once you've finished yours, please remove the "Start one!" text.
## Feel free to add any other languages.		 Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #126 for the week January 18th - January 24th, 2009. In this issue we cover: Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released, Ubuntu Developer Week, Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions, Developer application process changes, Technical Board run-off results, Ubuntu Developer News: issue #1, Ubuntu on Italian TV, Japanese Lo``Co holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo," Nordic Ubuntu Lo``Co team working together, Ubuntu Podcast #18, Meeting summaries, and much, much more!
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## In this section, list major topics of interest using bullets.
## Format: * <Topic name>
## Ex: * Ubuntu overtakes Microsoft with 90% market share		  * Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released
 * Ubuntu Developer Week
 * Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions
 * Developer application process changes
 * Technical Board run-off results
 * Ubuntu Developer News: issue #1
 * Ubuntu Stats
 * Ubuntu on Italian TV
 * Japanese Lo``Co holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo"
 * Nordic Ubuntu Lo``Co teams working together
 * In the Press & Blogosphere
 * Ubuntu Podcast #18
 * Meeting Summaries: January 2009
 * Upcoming Meetings & Events
 * Updates & Security
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=== Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released ===

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS, the second maintenance update to Ubuntu's 8.04 LTS release. This release includes updated server, desktop, and alternate installation CDs for the i386 and amd64 architectures.

In all, over 200 updates have been integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Release Notes: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/804

Post release update list: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyReleaseNotes/ChangeSummary/8.04.2
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=== Some sort of wrap up from Ubuntu Developer Week === === Ubuntu Developer Week ===

It was a very exciting Ubuntu Developer Week. There were lots and lots of attendees and it was surprising how many really great questions there were, and how awesome the atmosphere was. Everybody was really thrilled about getting started with Ubuntu Development.

It all started off with a two hour session called "Getting Started." For the first time there were sessions in English, Finnish, French, German, Italian and Spanish, and it was a roaring success. Day one also included Packaging 101, Working with Debian, and Understanding Gnome technologies.

Day Two was another jam packed day of sessions and answers that included Launchpad Bug Tracking, QA Tools, Launchpad Web Service API, High-quality Updates. One session that had to be cancelled on day two was Martin Pitt's talk on Debugging Program Crashes due to a misplaced keystroke that deleted his presentation. Look for a rescheduling of his talk here: http://martinpitt.wordpress.com/

With the community primed after two days of sessions, Day Three didn't fail to grab everyones attention. Talks on: Pushing out Gnome releases, Fixing Bugs in Ubuntu, Bazaar for Packaging, Kubuntu Bug Squishing, and Using VMBuilder to create test environments made the day a rousing success for all who attended.

After three solid days of exceptional sessions you'd think the Ubuntu Developers would be running out of topics for discussion, but think again, developing a first class distro like Ubuntu takes endless work. Day Four included topics covering: Automated Desktop Testing, Ubuntu Netbook Remix Q&A, Boot Performance, Kubuntu Ninjas in Unicorn mode, and Packaging software for Mono.

The sessions ended up on Friday, but Day 5 was anything but dull. Talks included the following titles: Testing your .deb with piuparts, Fun with python-apt, Bazaar and Launchpad - How to do it, packaging Kernel modules with DKMS, and Xubuntu.

If you missed any of the sessions, or just want a refresher, you can visit the link and click on any title to follow along with the log of the session. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDeveloperWeek

Ubuntu Developer Week was a huge success. Thanks to all the developers for their hard work putting on this great event, and to the Ubuntu Community for their enthusiastic participation.

http://daniel.holba.ch/blog/?p=340

=== Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions ===

"Bug Jam" is coming. And for those who are interested in learning how to run one the Ubuntu-Classroom Team has put together some classes.

 * 30 Jan 2009 @1200 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Daniel Holbach
 * 31 Jan 2009 @ 0000 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Jorge Castro
 * 13 Feb 2009 @1200 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Daniel Holbach
 * 14 Feb 2009 @ 0000 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Jorge Castro

The classes will be held in IRC channel #ubuntu-classroom. Mark your calendars now to attend and learn more about squishing bugs. More information can be seen at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Classroom

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-classroom/2009-January/000139.html

=== Developer application process changes ===

Here's how future applications will be handled for:

 * Ubuntu Contributing Developers
 * Ubuntu Developers (MOTU)
 * Ubuntu Core Developers (core-dev)

1. Set up a personal wiki page for your application. Please make use of https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment/DeveloperApplicationTemplate. (Talk to your sponsors beforehand and ask them to add some information to the wiki page. In a regular application your will have 3-5 sponsors.)

2. Add your application details to MOTU/Council/Meeting, give the motu-council list a quick heads-up and pick a meeting time you'll be able to attend. Please allow at least one week of time for the MOTU Council members to review your application. (If you can't make it to one of the meetings, please email motu-council at lists.ubuntu.com for either a different meeting time or to process the application on the mailing list.)

3. Attend the meeting.

The MOTU Council will have prepared for the meeting (reviewed the application details, checked a few examples of your work, talked to sponsors, etc.) and ask questions to make sure the applicant qualifies for the team. During the meeting the MC members will cast their votes and if quorum is reached (3 of 5 currently), will add the applicant to the team (in case of Contributing Developer and MOTU, or speak out a recommendation for the Technical Board) or ask to re-apply in due time.


They have just updated https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopers with the new process, added MOTU Council meeting pages, and the new template for applications. If there's still anything that needs clarification, please let them know. Also the MOTU Council will make sure to have the current applications sorted out until the first meeting.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-January/000526.html

=== Technical Board run-off results ===

The votes are in and Colin Watson is the newest member of the Technical board. Developers were encouraged to vote in a run-off for the board position between Colin and Kees Cook. The developers and the Ubuntu Community congratulate both candidates on their interest in the position. https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-dev/+poll/2009-01-tb-nominees

=== Ubuntu Developer News Issue 1 ===

Welcome to the first edition of Ubuntu Developer News (a.k.a the Keybuk-repeater). For past items or to submit your own please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment/News
More submissions for the developer news would be very much appreciated.

In this issue

  * Jaunty Developer Week logs available
  * Colin Watson elected to the Technical Board
  * Package bug reporting guidelines in launchpad
  * Testing Days
  * New D-Bus Uploaded
  * Launchpadlib support in ubuntu-dev-tools
  * The removal of /dev/.static/dev
  * udevadm, and why you should stop what you're doing
  * Developer changes

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-January/000527.html
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## Bug stats only take a second to do.
## Data can be found at: http://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bugs
## See last week's UWN to calculate change over last week.
## NOTE: To be done ONLY on the release date of the UWN (or latter if late).

    * Open (#) +/- # over last week
    * Critical (#) +/- # over last week
    * Unconfirmed (#) +/- # over last week
    * Unassigned (#) +/- # over last week
    * All bugs ever reported (#) +/- # over last week		  * Open (46680) -55 over last week
 * Critical (23) -1 over last week
 * Unconfirmed (18381) -337 over last week
 * Unassigned (39291) -120 over last week
 * All bugs ever reported (244768) +1781 over last week
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=== Infamous Bugs ===

## Delete if no infamous/funny bugs for this week.
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## Translation stats only take a second to do.
## Data can be found at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy (or current release)
## See last week's UWN to calculate change over last week.
## NOTE: To be done ONLY on the release date of the UWN (or latter if late).
## List the top 5 untranslated languages.

 1. Language (#) +/- # over last week
 2. Language (#) +/- # over last week
 3. Language (#) +/- # over last week
 4. Language (#) +/- # over last week
 5. Language (#) +/- # over last week		  * Spanish (15904) +6 over last week
 * French (61592) -26 over last week
 * Swedish (72562) +6 over last week
 * Brazilian Portuguese (76004) -839 over last week
 * English (UK) (81173) -147 over last week
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   * person (#)
   * person (#)
   * person (#)
   * person (#)
   * person (#)		  * mrkanister (395)
 * pvillavi (136)
 * crimsun (116)
 * dantrevino (66)
 * charlie-tca (60)
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   * team (#)
   * team (#)
   * team (#)
   * team (#)
   * team (#)		  * ubuntu-cl (136)
 * dcteam (118)
 * ubuntu-us-florida (98)
 * ubuntu-berlin (55)
 * ubuntu-de-locoteam (53)
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## These come from http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/. Click on the link on the left that says "most popular this week" then put the title for the most popular 5.

 * heading
 * heading
 * heading
 * heading
 * heading		  * Program to alert when it is low disk space
 * Make the Update Manager more informative
 * Remove "Don't care" option from brainstorm
 * Never lose focus while typing a password
 * Redesign ubuntu for 2010
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=== Ubuntu on Italian TV ===

Fabio Marzocca of the Ubuntu Italian team had the opportunity to appear on Italian television and give a talk about Ubuntu. A short transcript of the interview is also available in English.

 * Short clip (in Italian): http://fabiomarzocca.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/ubuntu-e-open-source-in-diretta-su-romauno-sky/
 * Full show - 21 minutes (in Italian): http://www.ubuntu-it.org/media/romauno.avi
 * Transcript in English: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/attachments/20090119/e83405cb/attachment-0001.odt
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=== Japanese LoCo held the "Offline Meeting Tokyo" ===
Ubuntu Japanese Team held the "Ubuntu Offline Meeting Tokyo" on January 17th at Hirose Building, Akihabara. This event, organized by the Ubuntu Japanese Team and Hirose Electric Works, Ltd. included install party and troubleshooting, and several advanced sessions. There were over 40 attendees.

More information: https://wiki.ubuntulinux.jp/Offline200901Report/En

== New in Intrepid Ibex ==

## This list is pulled by Corey Burger and dumped here in raw form for parsing.
## Choose a something you wish to write about a write a short piece about what
## has changed since the last version in Ubuntu. This might mean several upstream
## releases. To find this data, use the changelog in the package and look on the web.
## If you cannot find a usable changelog, simply drop that package. Try and group packages
## together logically, such as X, the kernel or GNOME.

## After all the package sections are written, organize them logically, based
## on desktop or server, GNOME, KDE, or Xfce4, etc.

## Sometimes bigger changes, such as a new development policy or a major new
## thing will be mentioned under a seperate heading

== Launchpad News ==

== Ubuntu Forums News ==

## This section is provided to include any interesting updates from the Ubuntu Forums.
 === Japanese LoCo holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo" ===
Ubuntu Japanese Team held the "Ubuntu Offline Meeting Tokyo" on January 17th at Hirose Building, Akihabara. This event, organized by the Ubuntu Japanese Team and Hirose Electric Works, Ltd. included install party and troubleshooting, and several advanced sessions. There were over 40 attendees. https://wiki.ubuntulinux.jp/Offline200901Report/En

=== Nordic Ubuntu LoCo teams working together ===

Martin Pihl reports on the creation of a cooperative effort for the Nordic Lo``Co Teams. In his blog post[1] he includes links to the Planet Ubuntu Nordic, Ubuntu Nordic Mailinglist, Ubuntu Nordic wiki page, and the Launchpad Ubuntu Nordic group. Also available is the IRC channel #ubuntu-nordic.

 [1] http://martinpihl.dk/words/the-birth-of-a-new-planet

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-January/000379.html
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## Things Ubuntu-specific are great, but general Linux goings-on are good to, to an extent.
## We don't need to replicate Digg & Slashdot, but certain things are of special interest.
## Just pulling one example from my memory, the story about Indiana schools piloting
## a classroom Linux deployment, a portion of which was Ubuntu, are good. Ubuntu
## release reviews are also common items in this section.		  * Move over GNOME, Ubuntu Mobile looks at Qt, other desktop environments - Rodney Gedda of Computerworld tells us that the Ubuntu Mobile operating system is undergoing its most radical change with a port to the ARM processor for Internet devices and netbooks, and may use Nokia's LGPL Qt development environment as an alternative to GNOME. During a presentation at this year's linux.conf.au conference in Hobart, Canonical's David Mandala said Ubuntu Mobile has changed a lot over the past year in that it now includes netbook devices in addition to MIDs and the ARM port. Mandala said that one of the biggest challenges is reminding developers to write applications for 800 by 600 screen resolutions found in smaller devices. Ubuntu Mobile uses the GNOME Mobile (Hildon framework) instead of a full GNOME desktop, but since Nokia open sourced Qt under the LGPL it may consider this as an alternative. Ubuntu Mobile for netbooks will also get its own distribution in line with the release of Jaunty Jackalope in April 2009. According to Mandala, Jaunty will have a full image for netbook devices, and Jaunty netbook edition will have a cut-down set of applications as compared with the Ubuntu desktop, but apt-get works and you can install what you like. Mandala says he's working very hard with system vendors to get these devices to market at reasonable prices. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/273605/move_over_gnome_ubuntu_mobile_looks_qt_other_desktop_environments

 * Ubuntu 9.04's blazing boot times - According to IT Wire's David M Williams, the results of the latest alpha release of Ubuntu's Jaunty Jackalope are spectacular. The next major release of Ubuntu will be out this April and Ubuntu’s engineers have, as always, included the latest Linux kernel to come out of Linus Torvalds’ hands. While the kernel always includes more drivers, better performance and various bug fixes, often times these go under the radar because they are obscure, or only of niche interest. The Linux kernel 2.6.28 delivers a stable implementation of the ext4 file system. It’s this file system which is getting geeks worldwide all steamy under the collar. ext4 looks set to offer greater file performance along with greater reliability and stability. What’s more, while ext3 was designed well before the advent of SSDs, ext4 is fully aware of such drives. ext4 includes the ability to maximize the lifetime of solid state drives and thus should theoretically offer a boost to netbooks without any corresponding fear of a shortened lifetime. Here's to Ubuntu 9.04 and better disk speed! http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22671/1141/

 * Don't Fear the Penguin: A Newbie's Guide to Linux - Neil Mc``Allister of PC World says that getting started with Linux can be an intimidating task, particularly for people who have never tried any operating system besides Windows. In truth, however, very little about Linux is actually difficult to use. It's little wonder why Ubuntu is one of the leading Linux distributions for desktop PCs - it makes installing Linux simple. But once you have Ubuntu installed on your PC, what next? The short answer is: Whatever you like. Ubuntu may be free, but it's hardly a toy OS. If you can do something with Windows or Mac OS X, you can do the same thing with Ubuntu. The great thing about Linux distributions such as Ubuntu is that they include not only the OS but also a whole bundle of practical, full-featured applications. If you're having difficulty, your best option for further assistance is the Ubuntu forums, where beginners and advanced users gather to troubleshoot their favorite OS. Above all, have a good time. Linux's greatest strength is the community around it, and by choosing Ubuntu you have joined a thriving, growing community of users of one of the most powerful and exciting operating systems available today. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/158059-1/dont_fear_the_penguin_a_newbies_guide_to_linux.html
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 * French Lawmakers Hope to Inspire Linux Revolution - Blogger Ashlee Vance says that, "about 18 months ago, the [French National Assembly] shifted from running Windows on the 1,100 computers of its members and their assistants to running a version of Linux called Ubuntu." They are doing this not only for financial reasons, but for political reasons. They have expect to save about 500,000 euros, or 648,750 dollars over the next 5 years. They also hope to create more local jobs by giving local companies the chance to offer services to install and manage Linux for businesses. "A survey polling members of the French Assembly foudn taht 80 percent of the members were happy with the new software, which included new e-mail and office applications, while 14 percent felt Windows should return." http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/french-lawmakers-hope-to-inspire-linux-revolution/

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/19/techcrunch-tablet-update-prototype-b/		  * French Lawmakers Hope to Inspire Linux Revolution - Blogger Ashlee Vance tells us that about 18 months ago, the French National Assembly shifted from running Windows on the 1,100 computers of its members and their assistants, to running a version of Linux called Ubuntu. They are doing this not only for financial reasons, but for political reasons. They expect to save about 500,000 euros, or 648,750 dollars over the next 5 years. They also hope to create more local jobs by giving local companies the chance to offer services to install and manage Linux for businesses. A survey polling members of the French Assembly found that 80 percent of the members were happy with the new software, which included new e-mail and office applications, while only 14 percent felt Windows should return. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/french-lawmakers-hope-to-inspire-linux-revolution/

 * Tech``Crunch Tablet Update: Prototype B - Blogger Michael Arrington of Tech``Crunch goes over their prototype of a small and cheap tablet for web surfing. Their goal was to make it so that it would cost around $200, but he goes on to say that $299 is a more realistic price. It has a 12-inch touchscreen with a 1024x768 resolution, which will make it easy to view full webpages without scrolling. It's powered by a Via Nano processor, with 1 GB of ram and a 4 GB flashdrive to store the OS and browser. Other features include: wifi, an accelerometer, camera and a 4 cell battery. For the OS they are using Ubuntu with a custom browser, drivers and a virtual keyboard. The software was created by Fusion Garage. So far they have not decided whether they will start making production units. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/19/techcrunch-tablet-update-prototype-b/

 * Ubuntu's Shuttleworth praises Windows 7, welcomes fight - Blogger Gavin Clarke reports on Mark Shuttleworth's reaction to Windows 7. Shuttleworth states he is looking forward to a good, clean netbook fight with Microsoft following the release of Windows 7. He believes that with Microsoft having to sell Windows 7 to OEMs instead of giving Windows XP away to them, it will improve Ubuntu's place in the market. Shuttleworth thinks that a good version of Windows will end the current phony war between Windows and Linux in the high-growth netbook market, and reignite the fight on features and capabilities. Even with the new features that Windows 7 is coming out with, the plans for Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope, will up it's game to keep pace. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/22/shuttleworth_windows_7/

 * Woman Quits College, Blames Ubuntu, Is Flamed by Overzealous Fanboys - Katherine Noyes of Linux``Insider's Linux Blog Safari tells us of how some members of the Linux community relentlessly flamed a woman who dropped out of college after finding her laptop, which was running Ubuntu, didn't work as expected. Others came to her defense, but not before she was dismissed as "stupid" and "ignorant." The result? Nothing short of mayhem. The Linux community can get upset when those on the Windows side of the fence complain about smaller things they view as deficiencies in our favorite operating system, but when someone says it's so bad they had to drop out of college, you can just imagine the situation in the blogosphere. More than 3,000 Diggs and 1,000 comments greeted the original story within a day of its posting on Digg on Thursday, not to mention more than 1,500 comments on Slashdot. WKOW posted a follow-up to report on the overwhelming -- and overwhelmingly negative -- response both the station and the young woman in question had received. Unfortunately, Linux and Ubuntu get the ding here, but neither deserves it. http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/65877.html

 * HP Mini 1000 now with Ubuntu 8.10! - HP now has the right idea. Ubuntu is (there is debate) the leading open soure OS out there in the world at the moment. HP is making a Mini computer that is suppose to be cheaper and faster so that you could do the daily tasks that you need to without bringing along your Desktop Computer, or a large laptop. This makes perfect sense because Ubuntu can run on very little specs, and would be better then Windows any day. This netbook is equipped with an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) processor, with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and 8GB SSD drive. http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do?storeName=computer_store&landing=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Mini Prices start out at $330 which is really affordable and is a great decision by HP and Canonical! http://www.ubuntuforyou.com/node/16

 * Ubuntu Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs): Still Coming Soon? - With Canonical announcing plans to develop Mobile Internet devices in mid 2007, author Panettieri expected to be testing or buying an Ubuntu MID sometime in 2008. As we enter 2009, the MID effort doesn't seem to be paying dividends for Canonical yet. Panettieri asked Canonical Marketing Manager Gerr Carr for an update on the MID and was told that while they continue to maintain and improve the version for MIDs, Netbooks is in a different category and requires more customization, causing it to be slower to get into the market. However with Moblin 2.0 adding to the number of available applications, many more MID success stories should be in store for Ubuntu in 2009. http://www.workswithu.com/2009/01/20/ubuntu-mobile-internet-devices-mids-still-coming-soon/
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## Any news or links that don't fit neatly into other sections.

== Meeting Summaries ==

## Any news from any Ubuntu Team listed here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TeamReports/January2008 be sure to udate to current month.		 === Ubuntu Podcast #18 ===

Josh Chase and Nick Ali from the Georgia US Lo``Co released episode #18. Some of the topics covered in this episode include:

 * The Dell and college student story
 * Ubuntu hard drive “killer” bug gets fixed
 * Differences between Ubuntu and Debian users
 * An interview with Jorge Castro

Jorge covers a lot of areas, like the upcoming Global Bug Jam, Ubuntu and social networking, and Ubuntu and Debian getting along.

http://ubuntupodcast.net/2009/01/23/ubuntu-podcast-episode-18/

== Meeting Summaries: January 2009 ==

=== Mobile Team ===

 * Seed changes to move ubuntu-umpc to ubuntu-netbook-remix are now complete, as part of the absorbtion of the Netbook remix into Ubuntu.
 * Daily images for both MID and netbook-remix are available, and ready for testing
 * evtouch package updated to new X API
 * Mobile-interesting TODO list provided to kernel-team
 * backend started for Ubuntu``Spec off-``line installer: https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/offline-installer

=== Japanese Team ===

 * We held "Ubuntu Offline Meeting Tokyo" on January 17th at Hirose Building, Akihabara. This event, organized by Ubuntu Japanese Team and Hirose Electric Works, ltd. had install party and trouble shooting, three advanced session. We recived more 40 visitors.
 * Website of Japanese Team was updated to Ubuntu 8.04.
 * "Ubuntu Weekly Topics and Recipe" which is online Japanese magazine was renewed system and author.
 * Wrote an article "Install Ubuntu to your second homebuilt computer" for Nikkei WinPC which is a Japanese computer magazine published by Nikkei BP.

=== Colombian Team ===

 * Andrés Mujica has become the fourth Ubuntu Member of Ubuntu-Colombia. Congratulations Andres!!! https://launchpad.net/~andres.mujica

=== Irish Team ===

 * ubuntu-ie had the 1st 2009 IRC meeting Irish Team IRC Meeting: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IrishTeam/IRCMeetings/2009-01-11
 * Organizing Ubuntu Global Bug Jam event in Dublin: http://www.ubuntu-ie.org/node/22
 * Bug Jam Practice session to take place on the 31st January: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-ie/2009-January/000160.html

=== Romanian Team ===

 * The Romanian documentation website is ready. It contains the translations of Ubuntu Docs for 8.04 and 8.10 together with a dedicate wiki a la help.ubuntu.com - http://www.ubuntu.ro/documentatie/comunitate
 * Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop Course is available în Romanian language, in PDF (instructor and student) and HTML format. More info here: http://www.ubuntu.ro/documentatie/comunitate

=== Full Circle Magazine ===

 * Issue 19, and 20, of FCM released.
 * Thus far nearly 17,000 downloads of FCM#20. Over 26,000 downloads of #19.
 * Translation of FCM#18 to: Chinese and Italian online.
 * Translations of FCM#19 to: Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Chinese and Italian all online.
 * Issue #21 almost complete.
 * Donations button added to: http://fullcirclemagazine.org/, all donations are handled through Dreamhost and go towards paying for the FCM hosting, which Rob Kerfia has been paying for nearly two years. What a guy.
 * First competition result announced in FCM#20, second result coming in #21, prizes will be sent out shortly. When I get off my lazy back side that is...
 * Survey results will be in FCM#21, if anyone wishes to use the raw text of the results, they are at: http://fullcirclemagazine.org/docs/pmwiki.php?n=Issue21.SurveyResults.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TeamReports/January2009
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## Data pulled from mailing lists and http://fridge.ubuntu.com
## Either use bullets or sub-headings to organize content.
## Format:
##
## === Friday, March 16, 2007 ===
##
## ==== MOTU Meeting ====
## * Start: 10:00
## * End: 12:00
## * Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
## * Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Meetings

== Community Spotlight ==

## Specification Spotlight

## This section highlights an approved specification that is going to be implemented
## in Feisty. See the list at https://blueprints.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/feisty
## In general, choose user visible features, as the audience are mostly end users.
## Also try and group specs together that belong together, such as network or X.

## Feature of the week

## Pick a feature, piece of software, or package that you'd like to feature.
## Give a brief description, whats so special about it, who works on it,
## where to find it/install it, etc.

## Team of the week

## Pick a team (a ubuntu team) that you'd like to feature.
## Give a brief description of the team, what they work on, what they've
## accomplished, who is involved, how to get involved/join, etc.		 === Tuesday, January 27, 2009 ===

==== Server Team Meeting ====

 * Start: 16:00 UTC
 * End: 17:00 UTC
 * Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
 * Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/Meeting

==== 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

=== Wednesday, January 28, 2009 ===

==== 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/

==== Kubuntu Developers Meeting ====

 * Start: 22:00 UTC
 * End: 00:00 UTC
 * Location: #ubuntu-meeting
 * Agenda: https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Kubuntu/Meetings

=== Thursday, January 29, 2009 ===

==== 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 ====

 * Start: 13:00 UTC
 * End: 14:00 UTC
 * Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
 * Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/Meeting

==== Ubuntu Java Meeting ====

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

=== Friday, January 30, 2009 ===

==== Jaunty Weekly Release Meeting ====

 * Start: 15:00 UTC
 * End: 16:30 UTC
 * Location: #ubuntu-meeting
 * Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReleaseTeam/Meeting/2009-01-30
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## http://www.ubuntu.com/usn
## List all security advisories since last UWN.
## Format: * USN-###-#: <package name> vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-###-#
## Ex: * USN-389-1: GnuPG vulnerability - [WWW] http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-389-1		  * None Reported
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## https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes
## List all uploads since last UWN.
## Format: * <packagename> - <link to mailing list message>
## Ex: * postgresql-8.1_8.1.11-0ubuntu0.6.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/edgy-changes/2008-January/008478.html		  * None Reported
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## https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes
## List all uploads since last UWN.
## Format: * <packagename> - <link to mailing list message>
## Ex: * tzdata 2007h-0ubuntu0.7.10 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-October/009951.html		  * None Reported
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## https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/
## List all uploads since last UWN.
## Format: * <packagename> - <link to mailing list message>
## Ex: * tzdata 2007h-0ubuntu0.8.04 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2008-May/009951.html		  * readahead-list 1:0.20050517.0220-0ubuntu14.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012161.html
 * ufw 0.16.2.4 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012162.html
 * sysvinit 2.86.ds1-14.1ubuntu45.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012163.html
 * gnutls13 2.0.4-1ubuntu2.4 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012164.html
 * totem 2.22.1-0ubuntu3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012165.html
 * xaos 3.2-7ubuntu2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012166.html
 * nut 2.2.1-2.1ubuntu7.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012167.html
 * linux 2.6.24-23.47 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-January/012168.html
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## https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/
## List all uploads since last UWN.
## Format: * <packagename> - <link to mailing list message>

== UWN #: A sneak peek ==

## Articles that should have made it into this release but have been deferred should be listed here.
## Delete if unnecessary.		  * tomcat6 6.0.18-0ubuntu3.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009627.html
 * xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.4.1-1ubuntu10.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009628.html
 * xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.4.1-1ubuntu10.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009629.html
 * gnome-power-manager 2.24.0-0ubuntu8.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009630.html
 * lxml 2.1.1-1ubuntu1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009631.html
 * qt4-x11 4.4.3-0ubuntu1.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009632.html
 * liferea 1.4.18-0ubuntu2.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009633.html
 * ufw 0.23.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009634.html
 * pulseaudio 0.9.10-2ubuntu9.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009635.html
 * kdebase-workspace 4:4.1.4-0ubuntu1~intrepid2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009636.html
 * kdebase-workspace 4:4.1.4-0ubuntu1~intrepid3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009637.html
 * kdebluetooth 1:0.3-0ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009638.html
 * linux 2.6.27-11.25 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009639.html
 * cups 1.3.9-2ubuntu7 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009640.html
 * foomatic-filters 4.0.0-0ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009641.html
 * gcc-4.3 4.3.2-1ubuntu12 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009642.html
 * samba 2:3.2.3-1ubuntu3.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009643.html
 * ghostscript 8.63.dfsg.1-0ubuntu6.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009644.html
 * busybox 1:1.10.2-1ubuntu7 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009645.html
 * multipath-tools 0.4.8-10ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009646.html
 * gvfs 1.0.2-0ubuntu2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009647.html
 * nautilus 1:2.24.1-0ubuntu2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009648.html
 * debian-installer 20080522ubuntu26 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-January/009649.html
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## The following list is in chronological order.
Line 280: Line 442:
 * Your Name Here  * Kenny Mc``Henry
 * Dave Bush
 * Liraz Siri
Line 285: Line 449:
## Common acronyms  1. API - Application Programming Interface
 1. LGPL - Lesser General Public License
 1. LTS - Long Term Support
 1. MID - Mobile Internet Device
 1. MOTU - Master Of The Universe - Developers responsible for the Universe and Multiverse repositories.
 1. QA - Quality Assurance
 1. SSD - Solid State Drive

Contents

Contents

  1. UWN Translations
  2. In This Issue
  3. General Community News
    1. Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released
    2. Ubuntu Developer Week
    3. Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions
    4. Developer application process changes
    5. Technical Board run-off results
    6. Ubuntu Developer News Issue 1
  4. Ubuntu Stats
    1. Bug Stats
    2. Translation Stats Intrepid
    3. 5-a-day bug stats
      1. Top 5 contributors for the past 7 days
      2. Top 5 teams for the past 7 days
    4. Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week
  5. LoCo News
    1. Ubuntu on Italian TV
    2. Japanese LoCo holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo"
    3. Nordic Ubuntu LoCo teams working together
  6. In The Press
  7. In The Blogosphere
  8. In Other News
    1. Ubuntu Podcast #18
  9. Meeting Summaries: January 2009
    1. Mobile Team
    2. Japanese Team
    3. Colombian Team
    4. Irish Team
    5. Romanian Team
    6. Full Circle Magazine
  10. Upcoming Meetings and Events
    1. Tuesday, January 27, 2009
      1. Server Team Meeting
      2. Desktop Team Meeting
      3. Kernel Team Meeting
    2. Wednesday, January 28, 2009
      1. Foundation Team Meeting
      2. QA Team Meeting
      3. Kubuntu Developers Meeting
    3. Thursday, January 29, 2009
      1. Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting
      2. Desktop Team Meeting
      3. Ubuntu Java Meeting
    4. Friday, January 30, 2009
      1. Jaunty Weekly Release Meeting
  11. Updates and Security for 6.06, 7.10, 8.04, and 8.10
    1. Security Updates
    2. Ubuntu 6.06 Updates
    3. Ubuntu 7.10 Updates
    4. Ubuntu 8.04 Updates
    5. Ubuntu 8.10 Updates
  12. Archives and RSS Feed
  13. Additional Ubuntu News
  14. Conclusion
  15. Credits
  16. Glossary of Terms
  17. Ubuntu - Get Involved
  18. Feedback

newspaper-icon.jpg

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #126 for the week January 18th - January 24th, 2009. In this issue we cover: Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released, Ubuntu Developer Week, Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions, Developer application process changes, Technical Board run-off results, Ubuntu Developer News: issue #1, Ubuntu on Italian TV, Japanese LoCo holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo," Nordic Ubuntu LoCo team working together, Ubuntu Podcast #18, Meeting summaries, 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

  • Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released
  • Ubuntu Developer Week
  • Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions
  • Developer application process changes
  • Technical Board run-off results
  • Ubuntu Developer News: issue #1
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • Ubuntu on Italian TV

  • Japanese LoCo holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo"

  • Nordic Ubuntu LoCo teams working together

  • In the Press & Blogosphere

  • Ubuntu Podcast #18
  • Meeting Summaries: January 2009

  • Upcoming Meetings & Events

  • Updates & Security

General Community News

Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS released

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS, the second maintenance update to Ubuntu's 8.04 LTS release. This release includes updated server, desktop, and alternate installation CDs for the i386 and amd64 architectures.

In all, over 200 updates have been integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

Ubuntu 8.04.2 LTS: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Release Notes: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/804

Post release update list: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyReleaseNotes/ChangeSummary/8.04.2

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2009-January/000117.html

Ubuntu Developer Week

It was a very exciting Ubuntu Developer Week. There were lots and lots of attendees and it was surprising how many really great questions there were, and how awesome the atmosphere was. Everybody was really thrilled about getting started with Ubuntu Development.

It all started off with a two hour session called "Getting Started." For the first time there were sessions in English, Finnish, French, German, Italian and Spanish, and it was a roaring success. Day one also included Packaging 101, Working with Debian, and Understanding Gnome technologies.

Day Two was another jam packed day of sessions and answers that included Launchpad Bug Tracking, QA Tools, Launchpad Web Service API, High-quality Updates. One session that had to be cancelled on day two was Martin Pitt's talk on Debugging Program Crashes due to a misplaced keystroke that deleted his presentation. Look for a rescheduling of his talk here: http://martinpitt.wordpress.com/

With the community primed after two days of sessions, Day Three didn't fail to grab everyones attention. Talks on: Pushing out Gnome releases, Fixing Bugs in Ubuntu, Bazaar for Packaging, Kubuntu Bug Squishing, and Using VMBuilder to create test environments made the day a rousing success for all who attended.

After three solid days of exceptional sessions you'd think the Ubuntu Developers would be running out of topics for discussion, but think again, developing a first class distro like Ubuntu takes endless work. Day Four included topics covering: Automated Desktop Testing, Ubuntu Netbook Remix Q&A, Boot Performance, Kubuntu Ninjas in Unicorn mode, and Packaging software for Mono.

The sessions ended up on Friday, but Day 5 was anything but dull. Talks included the following titles: Testing your .deb with piuparts, Fun with python-apt, Bazaar and Launchpad - How to do it, packaging Kernel modules with DKMS, and Xubuntu.

If you missed any of the sessions, or just want a refresher, you can visit the link and click on any title to follow along with the log of the session. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDeveloperWeek

Ubuntu Developer Week was a huge success. Thanks to all the developers for their hard work putting on this great event, and to the Ubuntu Community for their enthusiastic participation.

http://daniel.holba.ch/blog/?p=340

Ubuntu Classroom upcoming sessions

"Bug Jam" is coming. And for those who are interested in learning how to run one the Ubuntu-Classroom Team has put together some classes.

  • 30 Jan 2009 @1200 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Daniel Holbach
  • 31 Jan 2009 @ 0000 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Jorge Castro
  • 13 Feb 2009 @1200 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Daniel Holbach
  • 14 Feb 2009 @ 0000 UTC: How to Run a Bug Jam presented by Jorge Castro

The classes will be held in IRC channel #ubuntu-classroom. Mark your calendars now to attend and learn more about squishing bugs. More information can be seen at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Classroom

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-classroom/2009-January/000139.html

Developer application process changes

Here's how future applications will be handled for:

  • Ubuntu Contributing Developers
  • Ubuntu Developers (MOTU)
  • Ubuntu Core Developers (core-dev)

1. Set up a personal wiki page for your application. Please make use of https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment/DeveloperApplicationTemplate. (Talk to your sponsors beforehand and ask them to add some information to the wiki page. In a regular application your will have 3-5 sponsors.)

2. Add your application details to MOTU/Council/Meeting, give the motu-council list a quick heads-up and pick a meeting time you'll be able to attend. Please allow at least one week of time for the MOTU Council members to review your application. (If you can't make it to one of the meetings, please email motu-council at lists.ubuntu.com for either a different meeting time or to process the application on the mailing list.)

3. Attend the meeting.

The MOTU Council will have prepared for the meeting (reviewed the application details, checked a few examples of your work, talked to sponsors, etc.) and ask questions to make sure the applicant qualifies for the team. During the meeting the MC members will cast their votes and if quorum is reached (3 of 5 currently), will add the applicant to the team (in case of Contributing Developer and MOTU, or speak out a recommendation for the Technical Board) or ask to re-apply in due time.

They have just updated https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopers with the new process, added MOTU Council meeting pages, and the new template for applications. If there's still anything that needs clarification, please let them know. Also the MOTU Council will make sure to have the current applications sorted out until the first meeting.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-January/000526.html

Technical Board run-off results

The votes are in and Colin Watson is the newest member of the Technical board. Developers were encouraged to vote in a run-off for the board position between Colin and Kees Cook. The developers and the Ubuntu Community congratulate both candidates on their interest in the position. https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-dev/+poll/2009-01-tb-nominees

Ubuntu Developer News Issue 1

Welcome to the first edition of Ubuntu Developer News (a.k.a the Keybuk-repeater). For past items or to submit your own please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment/News More submissions for the developer news would be very much appreciated.

In this issue

  • Jaunty Developer Week logs available
  • Colin Watson elected to the Technical Board
  • Package bug reporting guidelines in launchpad
  • Testing Days
  • New D-Bus Uploaded
  • Launchpadlib support in ubuntu-dev-tools
  • The removal of /dev/.static/dev
  • udevadm, and why you should stop what you're doing
  • Developer changes

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-January/000527.html

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (46680) -55 over last week
  • Critical (23) -1 over last week
  • Unconfirmed (18381) -337 over last week
  • Unassigned (39291) -120 over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (244768) +1781 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 Intrepid

  • Spanish (15904) +6 over last week
  • French (61592) -26 over last week
  • Swedish (72562) +6 over last week
  • Brazilian Portuguese (76004) -839 over last week
  • English (UK) (81173) -147 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

  • mrkanister (395)
  • pvillavi (136)
  • crimsun (116)
  • dantrevino (66)
  • charlie-tca (60)

Top 5 teams for the past 7 days

  • ubuntu-cl (136)
  • dcteam (118)
  • ubuntu-us-florida (98)
  • ubuntu-berlin (55)
  • ubuntu-de-locoteam (53)

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

Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week

  • Program to alert when it is low disk space
  • Make the Update Manager more informative
  • Remove "Don't care" option from brainstorm
  • Never lose focus while typing a password
  • Redesign ubuntu for 2010

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/

LoCo News

Ubuntu on Italian TV

Fabio Marzocca of the Ubuntu Italian team had the opportunity to appear on Italian television and give a talk about Ubuntu. A short transcript of the interview is also available in English.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-January/000369.html

Japanese LoCo holds "Offline Meeting Tokyo"

Ubuntu Japanese Team held the "Ubuntu Offline Meeting Tokyo" on January 17th at Hirose Building, Akihabara. This event, organized by the Ubuntu Japanese Team and Hirose Electric Works, Ltd. included install party and troubleshooting, and several advanced sessions. There were over 40 attendees. https://wiki.ubuntulinux.jp/Offline200901Report/En

Nordic Ubuntu LoCo teams working together

Martin Pihl reports on the creation of a cooperative effort for the Nordic LoCo Teams. In his blog post[1] he includes links to the Planet Ubuntu Nordic, Ubuntu Nordic Mailinglist, Ubuntu Nordic wiki page, and the Launchpad Ubuntu Nordic group. Also available is the IRC channel #ubuntu-nordic.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-January/000379.html

In The Press

  • Move over GNOME, Ubuntu Mobile looks at Qt, other desktop environments - Rodney Gedda of Computerworld tells us that the Ubuntu Mobile operating system is undergoing its most radical change with a port to the ARM processor for Internet devices and netbooks, and may use Nokia's LGPL Qt development environment as an alternative to GNOME. During a presentation at this year's linux.conf.au conference in Hobart, Canonical's David Mandala said Ubuntu Mobile has changed a lot over the past year in that it now includes netbook devices in addition to MIDs and the ARM port. Mandala said that one of the biggest challenges is reminding developers to write applications for 800 by 600 screen resolutions found in smaller devices. Ubuntu Mobile uses the GNOME Mobile (Hildon framework) instead of a full GNOME desktop, but since Nokia open sourced Qt under the LGPL it may consider this as an alternative. Ubuntu Mobile for netbooks will also get its own distribution in line with the release of Jaunty Jackalope in April 2009. According to Mandala, Jaunty will have a full image for netbook devices, and Jaunty netbook edition will have a cut-down set of applications as compared with the Ubuntu desktop, but apt-get works and you can install what you like. Mandala says he's working very hard with system vendors to get these devices to market at reasonable prices. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/273605/move_over_gnome_ubuntu_mobile_looks_qt_other_desktop_environments

  • Ubuntu 9.04's blazing boot times - According to IT Wire's David M Williams, the results of the latest alpha release of Ubuntu's Jaunty Jackalope are spectacular. The next major release of Ubuntu will be out this April and Ubuntu’s engineers have, as always, included the latest Linux kernel to come out of Linus Torvalds’ hands. While the kernel always includes more drivers, better performance and various bug fixes, often times these go under the radar because they are obscure, or only of niche interest. The Linux kernel 2.6.28 delivers a stable implementation of the ext4 file system. It’s this file system which is getting geeks worldwide all steamy under the collar. ext4 looks set to offer greater file performance along with greater reliability and stability. What’s more, while ext3 was designed well before the advent of SSDs, ext4 is fully aware of such drives. ext4 includes the ability to maximize the lifetime of solid state drives and thus should theoretically offer a boost to netbooks without any corresponding fear of a shortened lifetime. Here's to Ubuntu 9.04 and better disk speed! http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22671/1141/

  • Don't Fear the Penguin: A Newbie's Guide to Linux - Neil McAllister of PC World says that getting started with Linux can be an intimidating task, particularly for people who have never tried any operating system besides Windows. In truth, however, very little about Linux is actually difficult to use. It's little wonder why Ubuntu is one of the leading Linux distributions for desktop PCs - it makes installing Linux simple. But once you have Ubuntu installed on your PC, what next? The short answer is: Whatever you like. Ubuntu may be free, but it's hardly a toy OS. If you can do something with Windows or Mac OS X, you can do the same thing with Ubuntu. The great thing about Linux distributions such as Ubuntu is that they include not only the OS but also a whole bundle of practical, full-featured applications. If you're having difficulty, your best option for further assistance is the Ubuntu forums, where beginners and advanced users gather to troubleshoot their favorite OS. Above all, have a good time. Linux's greatest strength is the community around it, and by choosing Ubuntu you have joined a thriving, growing community of users of one of the most powerful and exciting operating systems available today. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/158059-1/dont_fear_the_penguin_a_newbies_guide_to_linux.html

In The Blogosphere

  • French Lawmakers Hope to Inspire Linux Revolution - Blogger Ashlee Vance tells us that about 18 months ago, the French National Assembly shifted from running Windows on the 1,100 computers of its members and their assistants, to running a version of Linux called Ubuntu. They are doing this not only for financial reasons, but for political reasons. They expect to save about 500,000 euros, or 648,750 dollars over the next 5 years. They also hope to create more local jobs by giving local companies the chance to offer services to install and manage Linux for businesses. A survey polling members of the French Assembly found that 80 percent of the members were happy with the new software, which included new e-mail and office applications, while only 14 percent felt Windows should return. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/french-lawmakers-hope-to-inspire-linux-revolution/

  • TechCrunch Tablet Update: Prototype B - Blogger Michael Arrington of TechCrunch goes over their prototype of a small and cheap tablet for web surfing. Their goal was to make it so that it would cost around $200, but he goes on to say that $299 is a more realistic price. It has a 12-inch touchscreen with a 1024x768 resolution, which will make it easy to view full webpages without scrolling. It's powered by a Via Nano processor, with 1 GB of ram and a 4 GB flashdrive to store the OS and browser. Other features include: wifi, an accelerometer, camera and a 4 cell battery. For the OS they are using Ubuntu with a custom browser, drivers and a virtual keyboard. The software was created by Fusion Garage. So far they have not decided whether they will start making production units. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/19/techcrunch-tablet-update-prototype-b/

  • Ubuntu's Shuttleworth praises Windows 7, welcomes fight - Blogger Gavin Clarke reports on Mark Shuttleworth's reaction to Windows 7. Shuttleworth states he is looking forward to a good, clean netbook fight with Microsoft following the release of Windows 7. He believes that with Microsoft having to sell Windows 7 to OEMs instead of giving Windows XP away to them, it will improve Ubuntu's place in the market. Shuttleworth thinks that a good version of Windows will end the current phony war between Windows and Linux in the high-growth netbook market, and reignite the fight on features and capabilities. Even with the new features that Windows 7 is coming out with, the plans for Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope, will up it's game to keep pace. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/22/shuttleworth_windows_7/

  • Woman Quits College, Blames Ubuntu, Is Flamed by Overzealous Fanboys - Katherine Noyes of LinuxInsider's Linux Blog Safari tells us of how some members of the Linux community relentlessly flamed a woman who dropped out of college after finding her laptop, which was running Ubuntu, didn't work as expected. Others came to her defense, but not before she was dismissed as "stupid" and "ignorant." The result? Nothing short of mayhem. The Linux community can get upset when those on the Windows side of the fence complain about smaller things they view as deficiencies in our favorite operating system, but when someone says it's so bad they had to drop out of college, you can just imagine the situation in the blogosphere. More than 3,000 Diggs and 1,000 comments greeted the original story within a day of its posting on Digg on Thursday, not to mention more than 1,500 comments on Slashdot. WKOW posted a follow-up to report on the overwhelming -- and overwhelmingly negative -- response both the station and the young woman in question had received. Unfortunately, Linux and Ubuntu get the ding here, but neither deserves it. http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/65877.html

  • HP Mini 1000 now with Ubuntu 8.10! - HP now has the right idea. Ubuntu is (there is debate) the leading open soure OS out there in the world at the moment. HP is making a Mini computer that is suppose to be cheaper and faster so that you could do the daily tasks that you need to without bringing along your Desktop Computer, or a large laptop. This makes perfect sense because Ubuntu can run on very little specs, and would be better then Windows any day. This netbook is equipped with an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz) processor, with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and 8GB SSD drive. http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do?storeName=computer_store&landing=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Mini Prices start out at $330 which is really affordable and is a great decision by HP and Canonical! http://www.ubuntuforyou.com/node/16

  • Ubuntu Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs): Still Coming Soon? - With Canonical announcing plans to develop Mobile Internet devices in mid 2007, author Panettieri expected to be testing or buying an Ubuntu MID sometime in 2008. As we enter 2009, the MID effort doesn't seem to be paying dividends for Canonical yet. Panettieri asked Canonical Marketing Manager Gerr Carr for an update on the MID and was told that while they continue to maintain and improve the version for MIDs, Netbooks is in a different category and requires more customization, causing it to be slower to get into the market. However with Moblin 2.0 adding to the number of available applications, many more MID success stories should be in store for Ubuntu in 2009. http://www.workswithu.com/2009/01/20/ubuntu-mobile-internet-devices-mids-still-coming-soon/

In Other News

Ubuntu Podcast #18

Josh Chase and Nick Ali from the Georgia US LoCo released episode #18. Some of the topics covered in this episode include:

  • The Dell and college student story
  • Ubuntu hard drive “killer” bug gets fixed
  • Differences between Ubuntu and Debian users
  • An interview with Jorge Castro

Jorge covers a lot of areas, like the upcoming Global Bug Jam, Ubuntu and social networking, and Ubuntu and Debian getting along.

http://ubuntupodcast.net/2009/01/23/ubuntu-podcast-episode-18/

Meeting Summaries: January 2009

Mobile Team

  • Seed changes to move ubuntu-umpc to ubuntu-netbook-remix are now complete, as part of the absorbtion of the Netbook remix into Ubuntu.
  • Daily images for both MID and netbook-remix are available, and ready for testing
  • evtouch package updated to new X API
  • Mobile-interesting TODO list provided to kernel-team

  • backend started for UbuntuSpec off-line installer: https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/offline-installer

Japanese Team

  • We held "Ubuntu Offline Meeting Tokyo" on January 17th at Hirose Building, Akihabara. This event, organized by Ubuntu Japanese Team and Hirose Electric Works, ltd. had install party and trouble shooting, three advanced session. We recived more 40 visitors.
  • Website of Japanese Team was updated to Ubuntu 8.04.
  • "Ubuntu Weekly Topics and Recipe" which is online Japanese magazine was renewed system and author.
  • Wrote an article "Install Ubuntu to your second homebuilt computer" for Nikkei WinPC which is a Japanese computer magazine published by Nikkei BP.

Colombian Team

Irish Team

Romanian Team

Full Circle Magazine

  • Issue 19, and 20, of FCM released.
  • Thus far nearly 17,000 downloads of FCM#20. Over 26,000 downloads of #19.
  • Translation of FCM#18 to: Chinese and Italian online.
  • Translations of FCM#19 to: Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Chinese and Italian all online.
  • Issue #21 almost complete.

  • Donations button added to: http://fullcirclemagazine.org/, all donations are handled through Dreamhost and go towards paying for the FCM hosting, which Rob Kerfia has been paying for nearly two years. What a guy.

  • First competition result announced in FCM#20, second result coming in #21, prizes will be sent out shortly. When I get off my lazy back side that is...

  • Survey results will be in FCM#21, if anyone wishes to use the raw text of the results, they are at: http://fullcirclemagazine.org/docs/pmwiki.php?n=Issue21.SurveyResults.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TeamReports/January2009

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Server Team Meeting

Desktop Team Meeting

Kernel Team Meeting

  • Start: 17:00 UTC
  • End: 18:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not listed as of publication

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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

Kubuntu Developers Meeting

Thursday, January 29, 2009

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

Friday, January 30, 2009

Jaunty Weekly Release Meeting

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

Security Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 7.10 Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

Ubuntu 8.10 Updates

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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

  • Kenny McHenry

  • Dave Bush
  • Liraz Siri
  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

  1. API - Application Programming Interface
  2. LGPL - Lesser General Public License
  3. LTS - Long Term Support
  4. MID - Mobile Internet Device
  5. MOTU - Master Of The Universe - Developers responsible for the Universe and Multiverse repositories.
  6. QA - Quality Assurance
  7. SSD - Solid State Drive

Ubuntu - Get Involved

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UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue126 (last edited 2009-01-25 22:33:00 by ip68-0-181-84)