Issue160

Contents

Contents

  1. UWN Translations
  2. In This Issue
  3. General Community News
    1. Karmic Alpha 6 released
    2. Mark Shuttleworth Announces via video Ubuntu 10.04: Lucid Lynx
    3. Countdown Banner Deadline
    4. UDS Update
    5. Ubuntu Screencasts: Reporting Bugs
  4. Ubuntu Stats
    1. Bug Stats
    2. Translation Stats Jaunty
    3. Translation Stats Karmic
    4. Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week
  5. LoCo News
    1. The first Ubuntu-dk podcast
    2. Swedish LoCo Bug Jam: Linköping
    3. Ubuntu-NH SFD '09 Report
  6. Launchpad News
    1. Launchpad 3.0
    2. Launchpad Bug Filing Changes for Ubuntu
  7. Ubuntu Forums News
    1. Ubuntu Tutorial of the Week
    2. Ubuntu Community Interviews
  8. The Planet
    1. Martin Pitt: PostgreSQL security/bug fix update, please test
    2. Ubuntu Packaging: Fixing FTBFS
    3. Martin Owens: Launchpad Nautilus Preview
  9. In The Press
    1. Ubuntu Version 10.04 to be Code Named Lucid Lynx
    2. Ubuntu releases last 9.10 Alpha
    3. The New Ubuntu Netbook Remix is Totally Karmic
  10. In The Blogosphere
    1. Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 arrives
    2. Ubuntu 9.10 Installer Screenshots
    3. Ubuntu Artwork team starts delivering
    4. Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 adds software store, improves boot speed
    5. Cave Dwellers Give Ubuntu Two Thumbs Up
    6. My thoughts on Ubuntu
    7. Ubuntu help: Finding answers fast
    8. Pidgin vs. Empathy: Feature Comparison
  11. In Other News
    1. Ubuntu-UK podcast: The Tribe of Gum
    2. Linux-ready mini-PC powers up
    3. The Art of Community Available For Free Download
  12. Upcoming Meetings and Events
    1. Monday, September 21, 2009
      1. Security Team Catch-up
    2. Tuesday, September 22, 2009
      1. Ubuntu Community Learning Project - Moodle Q&A
      2. Asia Oceania Membership Board Meeting
      3. Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting
      4. Technical Board Meeting
      5. Server Team Meeting
      6. Desktop Team Meeting
      7. Kernel Team Meeting
      8. Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting
    3. Wednesday, September 23, 2009
      1. Foundation Team Meeting
      2. QA Team Meeting
      3. Americas Membership Board Meeting
    4. Thursday, September 24, 2009
      1. Karmic BetaFreeze
      2. Ubuntu Java Meeting
      3. Ubuntu Translations Meeting
      4. MC Meeting
    5. Friday, September 25, 2009
      1. Karmic Weekly Release Meeting
      2. Edubuntu Meeting
    6. Saturday, September 26, 2009
    7. Sunday, September 27, 2009
      1. Ubuntu Gaming Team Meeting
  13. Updates and Security for 6.06, 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04
    1. Security Updates
    2. Ubuntu 6.06 Updates
    3. Ubuntu 8.04 Updates
    4. Ubuntu 8.10 Updates
    5. Ubuntu 9.04 Updates
  14. Archives and RSS Feed
  15. Additional Ubuntu News
  16. Conclusion
  17. Credits
  18. Glossary of Terms
  19. Ubuntu - Get Involved
  20. Feedback

newspaper-icon3.jpg

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #160 for the week September 13th - September 19th, 2009. In this issue we cover: Karmic Alpha 6 released, Mark Shuttleworth Announces via video Ubuntu 10.04: Lucid Lynx, Countdown Banner Deadline, UDS Update, Ubuntu Screencasts: Reporting Bugs, The first Ubuntu-DK podcast, Swedish LoCo Bug Jam: Linköping, Ubuntu-NH SFD '09 Report, Launchpad 3.0 & Bug Filing changes, Ubuntu Forums tutorial of the week & Community interview, PostgreSQL security/bug fix testers needed, Ubuntu Packaging: Fixing FTBFS, Launchpad Nautilus Preview, In the Press & Blogosphere, Ubuntu-UK podcast: The Tribe of Gum, Linux-ready mini PC powers up, The Art of Community available for free download, 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

  • Karmic Alpha 6 released
  • Mark Shuttleworth Announces via video Ubuntu 10.04: Lucid Lynx
  • Countdown Banner Deadline
  • UDS Update
  • Ubuntu Screencasts: Reporting Bugs
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • LoCo News: Ubuntu Denmark, Sweden & New Hampshire

  • Ubuntu Forums News: Tutorial of the week & Community Interview

  • The Planet: Martin Pitt, Ubuntu Packaging & Martin Owens

  • In the Press & Blogosphere

  • Ubuntu-UK podcast: The Tribe of Gum
  • Linux-ready mini pc powers up
  • The Art of Community available for free download
  • Upcoming Meetings & Events

  • Updates & Security

General Community News

Karmic Alpha 6 released

Welcome to Karmic Koala Alpha 6, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.10. Pre-releases of Karmic are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Alpha 6 is the sixth in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Karmic development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Karmic. You can download it here:

Information on Mirrors, bug reporting, changes, and development announcements is available at the link below.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-September/000618.html

Mark Shuttleworth Announces via video Ubuntu 10.04: Lucid Lynx

Speaking via video to UbuCon at the Atlanta Linuxfest, Mark Shuttleworth announced that the code name for the 10.04 Ubuntu release would be "Lucid Lynx". It will be an LTS version featuring 3 years support for the desktop version and 5 years for the server version. This will be the 3rd LTS version, proving that Ubuntu can not only deliver a new version every 6 months, but also an LTS version every 2nd year, something Mark is very proud of. Speaking briefly of what we can expect to see in the Lucid Lynx, Mark talks of cloud computing and Gnome. Mentioning our relationship with Debian, Mark hopes to continue expanding that relationship in the hope of bettering both distributions. In closing Mark asks our community to search out those who put in so much work delivering a quality Ubuntu product to us, and to give them all a big thanks. We think a big thanks is also deserved by Mark for his oversight and tireless work on our behalf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l02bhwofEqw

Countdown Banner Deadline

You can make a highly visible contribution to Ubuntu 9.10 by helping to create the release countdown banner… but only if you get your submission in soon! By noon UTC on Sept 22nd you need to post your concept to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Website/KarmicCountdownBanners so that a banner can be chosen. You do not have to complete your banner by the 22nd but you do have to submit a design for review. Anyone is welcome to participate. Discussions will take place on the Ubuntu Web Presence team’s mailing list and chat room at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Website#Mailing%20List

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-September/000691.html

UDS Update

The twice-annual Ubuntu Developer Summit is the event in which the devs get together to design, discuss and plan the next version of Ubuntu. It is a critical event in the Ubuntu calendar not only for assessing what they would like put into the next release, but also getting many facets of our community together to bond, share ideas and thoughts and have some valuable face-time for a community so thoroughly distributed.

The organizational wheels are now in motion for the next UDS, and while some details are still yet to be finalized, but we wanted to give you an update on where we are. So, let’s cut to the chase:

  • The next UDS will take place from Monday 16 Nov 2009 – Friday 20 Nov 2009 in a location that is yet to be confirmed but will certainly be in the USA.
  • This will be the L release and while Mark has picked the name, it has not been announced yet. I will wait for him to get that juicy nugget of information out for you.
  • Each year we (Canonical) provide travel and accommodation assistance for a limited number of community members. Again, I want to remind the many Ubuntu community rock-stars that we can only sponsor some community rock-stars due to limited resources. If you have a lot to offer the next UDS, go and find out details of how to apply here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UDS-L/Sponsorship

  • Details as they emerge will appear on the UDS wiki pages: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UDS

More details will be forthcoming.

http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/09/15/uds-update/

Ubuntu Screencasts: Reporting Bugs

In this new screencast, Daniel Holbach explains how to file a bug in Ubuntu to Launchpad in just a few minutes using very simple tools provided with Ubuntu.

Download the format of your choice here:

Comments/feedback/requests welcome!

http://screencasts.ubuntu.com/2009/09/16/Reporting_Bugs

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (62905) +888 over last week
  • Critical (30) +1 over last week
  • Unconfirmed (29364) +716 over last week
  • Unassigned (54386) +846 over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (314693) +2847 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 Jaunty

  • Spanish (11125) -146 over last week
  • French (37191) -217 over last week
  • Brazilian Portuguese (47962) -221 over last week
  • Swedish (53358) -55 over last week
  • English (United Kingdom) (53470) -93 over last week

Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope," see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/jaunty/

Translation Stats Karmic

  • Spanish (18257) +1064 over last week
  • French (61256) +2609 over last week
  • Swedish (70260) +1412 over last week
  • Brazilian Portuguese (74131) +2736 over last week
  • English (Uk) (88554) +3982 over last week

Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala", see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/karmic/

Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week

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

The first Ubuntu-dk podcast

After much work, and many delayed meetings, the Danish podcast team finally released their first episode.

It is all in Danish, so you properly won’t be able to make much of it, if you don’t speak Danish, but it is a good episode, and hopefully is the first of a long line of fabulous podcasts. Besides a podcast in Danish with a focus on the legal aspects of software licenses and immaterial rights, this seems to be the first Danish podcast about free and open source software, and the ambition of the podcast team is clearly to be larger than just Ubuntu. Hopefully this can become a podcast for the entire free software (and free culture?) movement in Denmark.

http://compadre.dk/blog/2009/09/16/the-first-ubuntu-dk-podcast/

Swedish LoCo Bug Jam: Linköping

The 3rd of October the Swedish Ubuntu LoCo will arrange a Bug Jam at Linköping University. This in correspondence with the Ubuntu Global Jam happening that weekend. See http://ubuntu-se.org/wiki/Global_Jam for more information.

http://www.andreasolsson.se/2009/09/19/ubuntu-bug-jam-in-linkoping/

Ubuntu-NH SFD '09 Report

The New Hampshire LoCo Team has a great SFD day. They setup a tent, some tables, lots of carnival looking decorations, and balloons. They handed out between 40 and 50 CDs to individuals. A few examples of who showed up are:

  • a local teacher who had heard of Ubuntu and was very interested in it
  • a local librarian that took about 50 CDs to distribute at the library and talked about Ubuntu on the kiosks
  • a parent who attended SFD'07 and his daughter was wearing her SFD'07 shirt to celebrate the day
  • roughly 6 people who were already using Ubuntu and just randomly walked by, not hearing about the SFD event before, and got to pick our brains about what's in store for 9.10, when the next LTS is coming out, how to upgrade from 8.04, etc.

Just as important, it gave a few newer LoCo members a chance to meet others of the group in person, as well as members of GNHLUG who were handing out flyers and really chatting people up as well.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-us-nh/2009-September/000095.html

Launchpad News

Launchpad 3.0

The newest version of Launchpad will be launched the week of 20th of September. Launchpad 3.0 introduces a new user interface and, clearly, that will affect many in the Ubuntu community. While the new UI itself is straightforward and not a million miles from what we have now, we wanted to get the word out to the Ubuntu community about the new LP version. Please check the Launchpad blog for the exact date of the release starting Monday the 21st. http://blog.launchpad.net/

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-September/000693.html

Launchpad Bug Filing Changes for Ubuntu

As a part of the Increase Apport Adoption specification we are going to kick off an experiment and redirect all of Ubuntu’s /+filebug links in Launchpad to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs. This change has been tested on staging.launchpad.net already and will be landing shortly on edge.launchpad.net (There will be a +filebug?no-redirect if you really really need it).

If you review the specification and the documentation bug reporters will be redirected to, you will notice that we spent a lot of time and energy on ensuring that we improve the quality of bugs when they are reported. The time many of us spend on triaging very incomplete bugs is not sustainable given the volume of bug reports. Having reporters use ubuntu-bug (apport more specifically) to report bugs will reduce many of these problems for us.

In order to make the transition for our users smoother, we’d like to ask you to help out with a few things:

By helping us receive higher quality bug reports, we will help to make Ubuntu even better!

Ubuntu Forums News

Ubuntu Tutorial of the Week

DSDT (Differentiated System Description Table) is in the BIOS and this is where the OS looks for hardware and configuration info. It sometimes needs to be adjusted, in particular regarding ACPI. 67GTA (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=231204) has written a comprehensive tutorial for Ubuntu and Linux Mint: "HOWTO Fix A Buggy DSDT File" which currently works only up to Jaunty 9.04 release. I'm not sure I understand all the details, but reading through the thread, members seem to be able to fix a large range of ACPI related issues.

Credits to unutbu (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=518895) who suggested the tutorial. As unutbu puts it: "It is kind of amazing (at least to me) that fixing one file can solve such a variety of problems."

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1036051

Ubuntu Community Interviews

joeb454 has taken over the UF interview series and started out with Elizabeth (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=10746), who is also pleia2 on IRC. Elizabeth is a debian sysadmin, runs the Philadelphia LUG and is much involved in the ubuntu-women, ubuntu-classroom, ubuntu-learning and ubuntu-beginners projects. Wow!

http://blog.joeb454.com/2009/08/an-interview-with-pleia2/

The second interview is with nhandler (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=148906), from Chicago. He is part of the ubuntuforums Beginners and Unanswered Posts Teams. He currently serves on the Ubuntu Beginners Team Council. He's also a MOTU and serves on the MOTU Council. Nathan is one of these members who make the forums and the community a better and friendly place.

http://blog.joeb454.com/2009/09/an-interview-with-nhandler/

Enjoy!

The Planet

Martin Pitt: PostgreSQL security/bug fix update, please test

Martin is asking for testing help. PostgreSQL recently published new point releases which fix the usual range of important bugs (data loss/wrong results, etc.) and additionally fix another case of insecure “security definer” functions (the analogon to setuid programs in file system space for SQL functions) (CVE-2007-6600). Please see the complete changes for 8.1.18 (Ubuntu 6.06 LTS), 8.3.8 (Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, 8.10, and 9.04), and 8.4.1 (Ubuntu 9.10).

8.4.1 is already in Ubuntu 9.10 and in my PostgreSQL Backports PPA for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and 9.04. Updates for the other supported Ubuntu releases are currently in -proposed, waiting for testing feedback.

If you use PostgreSQL, please give the -proposed packages some testing and report back in Ubuntu bug #430544. https://launchpad.net/bugs/430544

http://www.piware.de/2009/09/postgresql-securitybug-fix-update-please-test/

Ubuntu Packaging: Fixing FTBFS

Michael Bienia and Stefan Potyra held an Ubuntu Classroom Session on Sept. 18th about fixing FTBFS's. Some of you might know it already, others might have to consult the glossary to find out what FTBFS means. They are talking about packages that fail to build from source. If you are an Ubuntu developer you will sometimes notice that suddenly packages don’t build any more because some library changed, something in the toolchain changed or whatever other crazy reason. If you missed the session, you can find the logs here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Packaging/Training/Logs/2009-09-18

http://ubuntupackaging.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/fixing-ftbfs/

Martin Owens: Launchpad Nautilus Preview

Martin wants everyone to know that he is working on developing a way to help non-developers contribute to projects in Launchpad and bzr. He feels the best way to do that is to increase the usability of the tools that are available. His main focus here is not on replicating the functionality of bzr or launchpad at any fundamental level, it’s about producing functionality which follows a prescribed workflow. Those who need a different workflow will obviously use the command line tools, but for all other people, this kind of integration will be useful. He has included a video of how it will work: http://blip.tv/file/get/Doctormo-LaunchpadIntergrationExperiment375.ogv Be sure to let Martin know your thoughts after seeing the video.

http://doctormo.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/launchpad-naultius-sneak-preview/

In The Press

Ubuntu Version 10.04 to be Code Named Lucid Lynx

Attendees at Atlanta Linux Fest's breakout session UbuCon were among the first to hear straight from Mark Shuttleworth that the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu's next release -- version 10.04 -- will be named Lucid Lynx. This codename is the next in a long line of clever choices that designate versions of Ubuntu releases. Past names include Hardy Heron, Dapper Drake, Breezy Badger, and the most recent, Karmic Koala.

http://ostatic.com/blog/ubuntu-version-9-10-code-named-lucid-lynx

Ubuntu releases last 9.10 Alpha

Ubuntu's crew of developers has just released the sixth and expected last alpha version of the next Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala version of its Linux OS. The first thing that Ubuntu users will notice is that there is no more Usplash. The boot splash screen has disappeared as part of a cunning plan to speed up boot times. The GNOME desktop environment has been updated to version 2.28 RC1 (2.27.92), the Linux kernel packages are now at version 2.6.31-10.34 and they are based on the final version of Linux kernel 2.6.31. AppArmor has also been greatly improved and new profiles are available.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1534043/ubuntu-releases-alpha

The New Ubuntu Netbook Remix is Totally Karmic

Linux Magazine says: If you’ve been looking for a lean, sleek, well supported operating system for your netbook then look no further. Due out next month, Karmic Koala Netbook Remix has a cleaner interface, complete hardware support and numerous other improvements. Unlike Moblin, Ubuntu Netbook Remix does not introduce a brand new desktop environment, but rather a new interface which sits on top of GNOME. The upcoming version of Ubuntu Remix will ship with the 2.6.31 Linux kernel which boasts a range of new features. The current release has had numerous issues with the Intel graphics driver, but the good news is that this should be solved in Karmic as this release will include the latest version of the driver. The custom interface is becoming more refined making better use of the desktop and small amount of screen real estate. A full size screenshot is available at the link along with the rest of the article.

http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7527/1.html

In The Blogosphere

Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 arrives

The Ubuntu developers have released the sixth alpha version of Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala. The latest version of the operating system, due for release at the end of October, now incorporates an X-based splash screen as part of the faster booting enhancements and sees the first release of the Ubuntu Software Store application. The Ubuntu One file synchronisation service is also built in to this release. On the desktop, which has been updated to GNOME 2.28 RC1, the indicator applet on the desktop now supports opening Empathy instant messaging and Evolution mail clients by clicking on it. The kernel has been updated to version 2.6.31-10.34 and is now based on the final version of the recently released Linux kernel 2.6.31.

http://www.h-online.com/open/Ubuntu-9-10-Alpha-6-arrives--/news/114267

Ubuntu 9.10 Installer Screenshots

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala now includes an installer slideshow. This blogger has always liked the idea of rotating slides of information about the OS while it’s installing to give the users something to do. No matter what you put on the slides this is going to be more entertaining for users than staring at the progress bar. After entering information into the installer and clicking the Install button, users will see a slideshow of highlights, tips, and featured applications one after another. The one thing that sets that Ubuntu installer slideshow apart from others is it only plays through once, a nice touch. Screenshots of the slideshow at the link below.

http://beginlinux.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/ubuntu-9-10-installer-screenshots/

Ubuntu Artwork team starts delivering

Although Ubuntu has been the most popular distro for a pretty long time now, it really need to put in a lot of work on enhancing look and feel. Though a number of high quality third party themes are available like the bisigi-project, one thing where Ubuntu lacked was the absence of good quality themes by default. That is all going to change now. While most of the new themes are variations of brown, even they are starting to look good! Four cool themes and two icon sets! Check them out for yourself.

http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/244/ubuntu-artwork-team-starts-delivering-four-cool-themes-and-two-icon-sets-to-start-with

Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 adds software store, improves boot speed

Canonical has some pretty ambitious goals for Karmic Koala: faster startup times, tight cloud integration, an improved experience for netbooks, a Ubuntu software store, and much more. Some of these changes in recent alpha builds and yesterday's 9.10 alpha 6 continues to bring things into focus. The old usplash boot animation has been replaced by xsplash which (unsurprisingly) uses X to draw the screens. In the demo, the full desktop is loaded around the 21 second mark - a very respectable time. Also making its debut this go-ground is the Software Store. It's been added to the system menu and brings a more user-friendly program installation experience to Ubuntu. Sure, Synaptic and Ubuntu's own add/remove system are good, but the Software Store is a nice gesture to new Linux converts and less computer-savy users.

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/18/ubuntu-9-10-alpha-6-adds-software-store-improves-boot-speed/

Cave Dwellers Give Ubuntu Two Thumbs Up

What happens when two boys are given a laptop with Ubuntu on it (instead of that "other OS")? Ken Hess tells us about the experience of his sons, the Cave Dwellers (their room, with TV), and how difficult it was for them to make the switch: i.e. not at all difficult. The only question he got was how to install Flash. Other than also showing them how to log on, he gave them no further instruction. According to him, his printer comes on and "prints homework and their occasional "wows" and "cools" have let me know that the laptop is serving them well so far."

http://www.daniweb.com/news/story223037.html

My thoughts on Ubuntu

Trent Isaacson, on his blog "The Linux Critic", talks about his Ubuntu experience on his laptop from the standpoint of a long time Slackware user. His experiences, of course, are colored by the way he uses a computer, and how he likes things to be. He tried GNOME first, but felt it was too slow and restrictive so he went to Fluxbox, then finally Openbox where he finally settled. He was very happy with Apt, and the ability to get new software without having to struggle through dependencies. And he was quite taken with the Ubuntu community, and how easy it was to find work-arounds for some of the teething problems he came up against. In all, he likes it well enough that he might install it on his desktop, and it may become his new favorite Linux distribution.

http://linuxcritic.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/my-thoughts-on-ubuntu/

Ubuntu help: Finding answers fast

ITWorld tells us that for Ubuntu users who need a bit of help, there is a wealth of knowledge easily available. Beginning with the installed help files, you can also turn to the wiki, the Ubuntu forums and, lastly, the greater Internet. Every program that Ubuntu ships with, and nearly every program from the repositories, comes with some sort of help. If the offline help files can't help you, the next place to try is help.ubuntu.com. Beyond an online copy of all the offline documentation for each supported version of Ubuntu, there is also the community contributed documentation wiki. If that doesn't work or you want to try another venue, the official Ubuntu forums await. Found at ubuntuforums.org, the fastest way to get help is to post your question. Finally, the Official Ubuntu Book, or the Official Ubuntu Server Book are just two of dozens of books about Ubuntu on the market.

http://www.itworld.com/open-source/77646/ubuntu-help-finding-answers-fast/

Pidgin vs. Empathy: Feature Comparison

Christopher Tozzi, writing in Works With U, examines the differences between Pidgin and Empathy and discovers that, due to them both being based on libpurple, there is really little difference between the core functionality. With Empathy replacing Pidgin in Ubuntu 9.10, there has been some controversy. But there are only some minor differences in the supported protocols of the two clients, for example Empathy doesn't support Bonjour, Google Talk, YaHoo JAPAN or Skype, but does support all the rest of the protocols. Likewise, there is a difference in features offered. Empathy doesn't support Network Proxy or Off The Record, but does support Video Chat (which is only theoretically supported in Pidgin). Further, Pidgin doesn't support desktop sharing but Empathy does. He feels that, due to the similarity of the two clients, that the differences are a non-issue.

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/09/15/pidgin-vs-empathy-feature-comparison/

In Other News

Ubuntu-UK podcast: The Tribe of Gum

Laura Cowen, Alan Pope, Tony Whitmore and Ciemon Dunville are back once more from ‘Studio B’ sadly without Dave Walker, but with a crowning episode of the Ubuntu Podcast from the UK Local Community Support Team.

  • What we've been up to this week
  • Neil Wallace interview about OpenMolar

  • A leaner more svelte news segment
  • What's coming up "real" soon
  • OggCamp

  • Getting involved in documentation
  • First "Just a Moment" submission
  • The Ecosphere
  • Your email, tweets & dents

http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/2009/09/17/s02e13-the-tribe-of-gum/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Linux-ready mini-PC powers up

Eric Brown writes for LinuxDevices.com about a Desktop computer that has no fan and uses less than 20 watts of power. French manufacturer Linutop has come out with the third in a series of mini-PCs that is suitable for standalone PC use, terminal use, kiosks, or digital signage. This latest, the largest of the series, is only 9.3 x 9.3 x 2.2 inches in size, and comes with VGA and DVI ports, 1 GIG of memory (upgradeable to 2 GIG), and 2 GIG of flash storage. The operating system is Linutop OS 2.2 (based on Ubuntu Linux 8.04) The unit is available for about 340 Euros (about $497 U.S.). A complete breakdown of the device is available at: http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Linutop-3/

The Art of Community Available For Free Download

When Jono started work on The Art of Community he was really keen that it should be a body of work that all communities have access to. He also wanted to write a book that covered the major areas of community leadership, distilling a set of best practices and experiences, and illustrated by countless stories, anecdotes and tales. But to give this book real value, he was keen to ensure the book could be freely accessed and shared. Jono is pleased to announce the general availability of The Art Of Community under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. With this license that the book is under you have the following freedoms with the entire content:

  • to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to Remix — to adapt the work…with a few requirements:
  • Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
  • Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
  • Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

While the book is ready to download right now, the book is available to buy in print, on Kindle, and other electronic book formats and I would like to encourage you to buy a printed copy of the book for a few reasons:

  • Firstly, buying a copy sends a tremendous message to O’Reilly that they should continue to publish books (a) about community and (b) under a Creative Commons license.
  • Secondly, it will encourage O’Reilly to invest in a second edition of the book down the line, which will in turn mean that communities around the world will have a refreshed and updated edition that is available to them.
  • Thirdly, aside from the voting-with-your-feet side of things, it is just a really nice book to own in print. It is really well made, looks stunning and feels great to curl up with in a coffee shop or on the couch.

The book is available to buy on all the major Amazon sites:

You can download your free copy of the The Art of Community here: http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/downloads/jonobacon-theartofcommunity-1ed.pdf

http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/09/18/the-art-of-community-available-for-free-download/

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Monday, September 21, 2009

Security Team Catch-up

  • Start: 17:00 UTC
  • End: 17:30 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: nothing formal, just a weekly catch-up.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ubuntu Community Learning Project - Moodle Q&A

Asia Oceania Membership Board Meeting

Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting

Technical Board Meeting

  • Start: 14:00 UTC
  • End: 15:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not listed as of publication

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

Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting

Wednesday, September 23, 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

Americas Membership Board Meeting

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Karmic BetaFreeze

Ubuntu Java Meeting

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

Ubuntu Translations Meeting

MC Meeting

  • Start: 16:00 UTC
  • End: 17:00 UTC
  • Location: None listed as of publication
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Friday, September 25, 2009

Karmic Weekly Release Meeting

Edubuntu Meeting

Saturday, September 26, 2009

  • None listed as of publication

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Ubuntu Gaming Team Meeting

  • Start: 19:00 UTC
  • End: 21:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Updates and Security for 6.06, 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

Ubuntu 8.10 Updates

Ubuntu 9.04 Updates

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

This issue of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

  • John Crawford
  • Craig A. Eddy
  • Dave Bush
  • Isabelle Duchatelle
  • Sayak Banerjee
  • Liraz Siri
  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

  1. FTBFS - Fails To Build From Source. - For example when building a package with debuild (http://qa.ubuntuwire.com/ftbfs/)

Other acronyms can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/glossary

Ubuntu - Get Involved

The Ubuntu community consists of individuals and teams, working on different aspects of the distribution, giving advice and technical support, and helping to promote Ubuntu to a wider audience. No contribution is too small, and anyone can help. It's your chance to get in on all the community fun associated with developing and promoting Ubuntu. http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate

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 CCL.png Creative Commons License 3.0 BY SA

UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue160 (last edited 2009-09-27 14:47:56 by ip24-251-211-20)