Issue162

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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 John Crawford (johnc4510), or
## Craig A. Eddy (tyche).

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

## Good Luck from John Crawford, Craig A. Eddy, and the UWN Team.
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## 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 #162 for the week September 27 - October 3rd, 2009. In this issue we cover ...		 Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #162 for the week September 27 - October 3rd, 2009. In this issue we cover: Ubuntu 9.10 Beta Released, Ubuntu 9.10 Countdown Banners, Ubuntu 9.10: Testers Needed, Planning of Karmic Release Parties Kicks off, Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced, Changes to releases.ubuntu.com rsync/FTP access, Lo``Co News: France, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Honduras, Philly, Michigan, North Carolina, & El Salvador, Help Launchpad get better icons, Ubuntu Forums Tutorial of the Week, The Planet: Michael Lustfield, Martin Meredith, Mathias Gug, Shane Fagan & Luis de Bethencourt, Play``On``Linux to be in Ubuntu Karmic repositories, September Team 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 9.10 Beta Released
 * Ubuntu 9.10 Countdown Banners
 * Ubuntu 9.10: Testers Needed
 * Planning of Karmic Release Parties Kicks off
 * Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced
 * Changes to releases.ubuntu.com rsync/FTP access
 * Ubuntu Stats
 * Lo``Co News: France, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Honduras, Philly, Michigan, North Carolina, & El Salvador
 * Help Launchpad get better icons
 * Ubuntu Forums Tutorial of the Week
 * The Planet: Michael Lustfield, Martin Meredith, Mathias Gug, Shane Fagan & Luis de Bethencourt
 * In the Press & Blogosphere
 * Play``On``Linux to be in Ubuntu Karmic repositories
 * September Team Meeting Summaries
 * Upcoming Meetings & Events
 * Updates & Security
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The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop and Server editions, and the Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Codenamed "Karmic Koala", 9.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition improves on the work of 9.04 to get you going faster, with improved startup times and a streamlined boot experience.

Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition integrates Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud setup in the installer and provides improvements to system security with App``Armor, including an App``Armor profile for libvirtd to further isolate virtual machines from the host system.		 The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop, Server editions, and Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Codenamed "Karmic Koala", 9.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition improves on the work of 9.04 to get you going faster, with improved start-up times and a streamlined boot experience.

Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition integrates Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud set-up in the installer and provides improvements to system security with App``Armor, including an App``Armor profile for libvirtd to further isolate virtual machines from the host system.
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Please download using Bittorrent if possible. Please download using Bit``Torrent if possible.
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Ubuntu (and friends) 9.10 Beta images were released Thursday. What you might not know is that the countdown banners have also been released. You can grab them here: http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=andrewsomething.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ubuntu.com%2Fgetubuntu%2Fcountdown Ubuntu 9.10 Beta images were released Thursday. What you might not know is that the countdown banners have also been released.

 *You can grab them here: http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=andrewsomething.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ubuntu.com%2Fgetubuntu%2Fcountdown
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Detailed testing information on the above items for testing can be found at the link below. Detailed information on the above listed items for testing can be found at the link below.
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Karmic``Koala is coming, scheduled for release in October 2009. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicKoala
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Karmic``Koala is coming, scheduled for release in October 2009. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicKoala

=== Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced! ===

With each release of Ubuntu we ship a package called example-content which provides some example video, audio, images and information that can help a new user get started exploring their Ubuntu system. In each cycle we like to use example-content as a means of showcasing a Video, Audio, and Photo/Graphic artist who releases their work under a free Creative Commons license.

A few months back Jono announced the opening of the competition and we have had a tremendous collection of entries posted on the competition page. He wants to give a huge thank you to everyone who participating in the competition. The final choices were made by a set of judges and finally by the Ubuntu Community Council. To see the content you will need to check out Karmic when it is released on the 29th October, but without any further ado let's introduce our incredible set of winners!

 * Video winner: Water and Wind by Eugenia Loli-Queru
 * Audio winner: Hungry Lucy
 * Photo/Graphic winner: Daniel Galleguillos

Background summaries of each of the winners is available at the link below.

http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/10/01/ubuntu-karmic-free-culture-showcase-winners-announced/
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The Ubuntu sysadmins have asked us to advise people about some upcoming changes to rsync and FTP access to releases.ubuntu.com. In order to distribute CD images more effectively, releases.ubuntu.com will shortly be reorganised such that it can only support access over HTTP. If you need rsync or FTP access, please use the new hostnames rsync.releases.ubuntu.com or ftp.releases.ubuntu.com respectively. Access methods such as BitTorrent and jigdo are unaffected by this change. The Ubuntu sysadmins have asked us to advise people about some upcoming changes to rsync and FTP access to releases.ubuntu.com. In order to distribute CD images more effectively, releases.ubuntu.com will shortly be reorganised such that it can only support access over HTTP. If you need rsync or FTP access, please use the new hostnames rsync.releases.ubuntu.com or ftp.releases.ubuntu.com respectively. Access methods such as Bit``Torrent and jigdo are unaffected by this change.
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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 (64236) +816 over last week
 * Critical (35) +/-0 over last week
 * Unconfirmed (30304) +564 over last week
 * Unassigned (55672) +746 over last week
 * All bugs ever reported (320436) +2972 over last week
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=== Infamous Bugs ===

## Delete if no infamous/funny bugs for this week.
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Gather almost 20 people around 2 Ubuntu developpers in order to work on Ubuntu and you will end up with a nice global jam! AFter explaining to the group the basic usage of launchpad in the morning session, the afternoon rocked! As always in Tououse, this is done thanks to the cooperation of Toulibre (Toulouse LUG), and ubuntu-fr. Pictures at the link. Gather almost 20 people around 2 Ubuntu developers in order to work on Ubuntu and you will end up with a nice global jam! After explaining to the group the basic usage of Launchpad in the morning session, the afternoon rocked! As always in Tououse, this is done thanks to the cooperation of Toulibre (Toulouse LUG), and ubuntu-fr. Pictures at the link.
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For Ubuntu Community people, this an one of the big projects of the Ubuntu El Salvador Team. We are working for the salvadorean education because we know.. "ubuntu can change the mind and the education of guys." Padre Richard Mangini Institute is an big example.. now they a have a sub locoteam and the name is “Ubuntu Mangini” More information is available at the link if you are a Spanish speaker. Pictures are also available. For Ubuntu Community people, this an one of the big projects of the Ubuntu El Salvador Team. We are working for the Salvadorean education because we know.. "ubuntu can change the mind and the education of guys." Padre Richard Mangini Institute is an big example...now they a have a sub Lo``co team and the name is “Ubuntu Mangini” More information is available at the link if you are a Spanish speaker. Pictures are also available.
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=== Help Launchpad get better icons ===

We’re trying to improve the icons we have in Launchpad so they’re more usable across different cultures and types of users, and our first step is to do some user testing on our current icons. The Canonical User Experience team has set up a survey to gather information on how users see our icons, so if you have a few spare minutes (it’s very quick!), please take the survey and pass it on to other people, especially if they don’t use Launchpad, as they will be less biased.

 * Survey is available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=8hXmjrmFS7TmQCjh7jJB_2bQ_3d_3d

http://beuno.com.ar/archives/151
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=== Michael Lustfield: Ubuntu Drupal Modules Released ===

The Ubuntu-Drupal team has been working hard to bring some really awesome features to the Ubuntu community. We're pushing for a final 6.6.0 release before Drupal 7 is released. We've completed a few great modules for you to try.

UD Theme - This is what started it all. This theme has undergone massive changes and is now working great. It is meant to mimic the Ubuntu website within legal agreements. http://drupal.org/project/udtheme

UD Countdown - This allows you to add a block to your site to count down to the next Ubuntu release. It has been updated for Karmic Koala. http://drupal.org/project/udcountdown

US Sidebar - This is the latest completed module. It is meant to mimic the side bar of the Ubuntu website that everyone seems to crave. It still needs RTL adjustments, but it is doing great. http://drupal.org/project/udsidebar

UD Header - This allows you to have that pretty little header on every page. (Not the really big one.) It will allow you to set a header combination for every content type you have. http://drupal.org/project/udheader

We can always use developers interested in Drupal and Ubuntu. If you're interested we sit in #ubuntu-drupal on Freenode. We still have these modules that need to be completed.

UD Planet - This has been a tedious project. The goal is to mimic how Planet``Planet (planet.ubuntu.com) works within Drupal. http://drupal.org/project/udplanet

UD Lo``Co Map - This has been a tedious project as well. Our goal is to offer a fully dynamic and flexible map of all Lo``Co's. We need some support going to this module as well the Lo``Co-Directory project as well to complete this project. http://drupal.org/project/udlocomap

BUGS! If you find bugs... please report them. It makes us happy to see these modules going under punishment. Each link above has a link within it that will bring you to the Launchpad development page. This is where bugs should be filed.

http://profarius.com/content/ubuntu-drupal-modules-released
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=== Mathias Gug: Test run - Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Beta on my Dell Mini 10v ===

At the begining of the week I received a Dell Mini 10v I had ordered a few of weeks ago. I had chosen to upgrade some of the default components: my Mini 10v comes with 2Gb of RAM and a 16 GB SSD drive. And of course Ubuntu Hardy 8.04 LTS is installed by default at the factory. Now that the Beta of Karmic has been released I decided to take the opportunity to download the Ubuntu Netbook Remix iso and boot from a USB stick to see how this variant of Ubuntu looked like. Impressive for a beta release. Of course there are few glitches but overall it feels great: I’m writing this article from my Mini 10v running an Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Beta live system. Read about all of Mathias's experiences with the 9.10 beta release of Netbook Remix at the link.

http://ubuntumathiaz.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/test-run-ubuntu-netbook-remix-9-10-beta-on-my-dell-mini-10v/

=== Shane Fagan: Epiphany in Karmic ===

I just tried the new version of epiphany in karmic that uses webkit and it's very nice. I have been a firefox user for about 3 years now but now firefox is becoming a little out of place. Its really strange when you try Epiphany because it's like firefox but it's more integrated but on the flip side it's missing some features. The integration is great in very small little touches, it's very integrated with GNOME’s theme and the address bar doubles as a progress bar for the page loading (I love that). Also, everything can be moved or removed if the user wants to(I love this too). The biggest difference is webkit, with webkit pages load nice and fast and it passes the acid3 test (unlike firefox).

Of course some things annoy me about epiphany like the spell checker deletes words, why is there a tabs menu bar entry when its a button on the browser anyway? Why is it so easy to just open the browser and view/edit all of the passwords without asking the user for a password? So really I don't know which I will use, it's a choice between full featured Firefox and fast and integrated Epiphany.

http://shanefagan.com/2009/10/02/epiphany/

=== Luis de Bethencourt: edubuntu in sunray ===

Luis tells us about edubuntu in sun ray installation in an Italian primary school at Rome. There are 5 edubuntu desktops in 5 classrooms. Free as in freedom, fun as in kids, and eco as in electricity saving! Pictures available at the link.

http://luisbg.blogalia.com//historias/64659
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Linux Planet's Paul Ferrill tells us that many vendors offer a variety of operating system options, but very few preload an OS targeted specifically at the netbook. Za``Reason is one of the few and preloads Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix on their Terra A20 netbook. If you were to take a look under the hood of the Za``Reason netbook, you'd find an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor, up to 2 GB of memory and a variety of options for the hard disk. They also offer, as an option, and a built-in 3G wireless modem for $99. At a base price of $349 it's slightly higher than similarly equipped units from Acer, Asus or HP. You could get one of these and just install Ubuntu Netbook Remix yourself or, you could support a fine company in Za``Reason and expect to get real service and support. The choice is yours. http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6862/1/ Linux Planet's Paul Ferrill tells us that many vendors offer a variety of operating system options, but very few preload an OS targeted specifically at the netbook. Za``Reason is one of the few and pre-loads Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix on their Terra A20 netbook. If you were to take a look under the hood of the Za``Reason netbook, you'd find an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor, up to 2 GB of memory and a variety of options for the hard disk. They also offer, as an option, a built-in 3G wireless modem for $99. At a base price of $349 it's slightly higher than similarly equipped units from Acer, Asus or HP. You could get one of these and just install Ubuntu Netbook Remix yourself or, you could support a fine company in Za``Reason and expect to get real service and support. The choice is yours. http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6862/1/
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=== Ubuntu: good enough for grannies and girlfriends ===

Shane O'Sullivan just installed Ubuntu 9.04 on his girlfriend's new EEE Netbook. He had been disappointed with 8.10 and it's support of the Huawei Mobile Broadband modem he has, and wasn't sure that his girlfriend would be able to connect to the internet with Ubuntu. But, to his surprise, it connected perfectly. He was impressed with the amount of device driver support that has gone into Ubuntu. As for his girlfriend, who is not interested in computers or open source, she now complains about having to boot into Windows, because "Ubuntu is so much easier and faster to use." His article is at the link.

http://shaneosullivan.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/ubuntu-good-enough-for-grannies-and-girlfriends/
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Marcel Gagné begins a new blog for Ubuntu User with an introduction of himself, and a description of his "love/hate" relationship with Ubuntu. Actually, his problem is that he likes Kubuntu, personally, but found that Kubuntu 9.04 had some real problems.  Now that he's tried Karmic Koala Alpha 5, though, the problems that Jaunty had seem to have been solved.  See what he has to say at his blog. Marcel Gagné begins a new blog for Ubuntu User with an introduction of himself, and a description of his "love/hate" relationship with Ubuntu. Actually, his problem is that he likes Kubuntu, personally, but found that Kubuntu 9.04 had some real problems. Now that he's tried Karmic Koala Alpha 5, though, the problems that Jaunty had seem to have been solved. See what he has to say at his blog.
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=== Review of Ubuntu 9.04 ===

Andrew was impressed when he installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a girlfriend's computer. All the things that he expected to not operate worked out-of-the-box. Volume control on the keyboard, printer installation, things that he didn't expect to work, worked perfectly. And updates! He's not a fan of auto updates on a server, but with a desktop he found them to work very well. He gives it two thumbs up for the new or casual desktop linux user.

http://blog.killtheradio.net/2009/09/review-on-ubuntu-9-04/
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=== PlayOnLinux is in Ubuntu's repositories ===

It's official now, Play``On``Linux will be available directly in the Ubuntu distribution soon! is what annouced Play``On``Linux team sometime ago, the confirmed that Play``On``Linux 3.5 will be available in Ubuntu's "universe" repository for the next release, Karmic Koala, in October. About Play``On``Linux : Play``On``Linux is a piece of sofware which allows you to easily install and use numerous games and softwares designed to run with Microsoft®'s Windows. http://www.unixmen.com/news-today/420-Play``On``Linux-is-in-ubuntus-repositories		 === PlayOnLinux to be in Ubuntu's repositories ===

Play``On``Linux will be available via the Universe repositories in Karmic 9.10 due to be released in October. About PlayOnLinux : Play``On``Linux is a piece of sofware which allows you to easily install and use numerous games and softwares designed to run within Windows. Few games are compatible with GNU/Linux at the moment and it certainly is a factor preventing the migration to this OS. Play``On``Linux brings an accessible and efficient solution to this problem, cost-free and respectful of free software. New games available in Play``On``Linux include: Age of Empire 3, and Supreme commander/Supreme Commander Forged Alliance.

http://www.unixmen.com/news-today/420-Play``On``Linux-is-in-ubuntus-repositories
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* Cody Somerville was recommended for core-dev membership by the MOTU Countil.
   * Cody Somerville was recommended for core-dev membership by the MOTU Council.
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'''Xubuntu team report for September 2009'''


  *Xubuntu team report for September 2009
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* Activities during the Software Freedom day (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CameroonianTeam/Events/SoftwareFreedomDay)


 * Theme of the Conference held in Yaounde: Free software, what interets for Cameroon and Africa countries ?


 * IRC chat on #ubuntu-cm with folks from Yaounde, Douala, Limbe and even abroad (germany, switzerland) . The log: http://logs.ubuntu-eu.org/freenode/2009/09/19/%23ubuntu-cm.html


 * In the press (french): Le logiciel libre fêté à Yaoundé (http://www.journalducameroun.com/article.php?aid=2797)

  * Activities during the Software Freedom day (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CameroonianTeam/Events/SoftwareFreedomDay)

  * Theme of the Conference held in Yaounde: Free software, what interests Cameroon and Africa countries?

  * IRC chat on #ubuntu-cm with folks from Yaounde, Douala, Limbe and even abroad (germany, switzerland). The log: http://logs.ubuntu-eu.org/freenode/2009/09/19/%23ubuntu-cm.html

  * In the press (french): Le logiciel libre fêté à Yaoundé (http://www.journalducameroun.com/article.php?aid=2797)
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* we have relaunch planet.ubuntu.com as an agregator for all Romanian blogs talking about Ubuntu


 * toghether with members from other Linux communities (especially Fedora) we start filming a series of short Linux relates report for the national television ... we still don't know when they will be aired

  * we have relaunch planet.ubuntu.com as an aggregator for all Romanian blogs talking about Ubuntu

 * together with members from other Linux communities (especially Fedora) we start filming a series of short Linux relates report for the national television ... we still don't know when they will be aired
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* Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-09-08 (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings/20090908)

 * Agree to start alternate meeting times

 * Decide to work on reviewing new Join Us page during the next month

 * Vote to put new Wiki Home Page Template in place

 * Discuss changes to the membership process

* Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-09-22 (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings/20090922)

 * Agree to alternate the meeting time each month between 21:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC

 * Decide that bodhi.zazen will manage leadership positions

 * Discuss how to get some of the people idling in #ubuntu-beginners to join the team

 * Pedro Mendes (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/pedro3005) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has been doing a terrific job helping other users, and we are glad to welcome him to the team.

 * Andy Mathay (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/mathay) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has helped out on the forums and on IRC, and is an active member of the Ohio LoCo team.

 * Pablo Rubianes (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PabloRubianes) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has contributed to the wiki and written several How-To guides. We are glad to have him on the team.

 * Gabriel Abud (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Buuntu) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He is active on the forums and on IRC, and has recently started getting involved with the Ohio LoCo team.
  * Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-09-08 (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings/20090908)

  * Agree to start alternate meeting times

  * Decide to work on reviewing new Join Us page during the next month

  * Vote to put new Wiki Home Page Template in place

  * Discuss changes to the membership process

 * Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-09-22 (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings/20090922)

  * Agree to alternate the meeting time each month between 21:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC

  * Decide that bodhi.zazen will manage leadership positions

  * Discuss how to get some of the people idling in #ubuntu-beginners to join the team

  * Pedro Mendes (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/pedro3005) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has been doing a terrific job helping other users, and we are glad to welcome him to the team.

  * Andy Mathay (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/mathay) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has helped out on the forums and on IRC, and is an active member of the Ohio LoCo team.

  * Pablo Rubianes (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PabloRubianes) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has contributed to the wiki and written several How-To guides. We are glad to have him on the team.

  * Gabriel Abud (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Buuntu) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He is active on the forums and on IRC, and has recently started getting involved with the Ohio LoCo team.
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== 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.
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== UWN #: A sneak peek ==

## Articles that should have made it into this release but have been deferred should be listed here.
## Delete if unnecessary.
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## The following list is in chronological order.
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 * Kenny Mc``Henry
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## Common acronyms  1. DMB - Developer Membership Board.
 1. IRC - Internet Relay Chat.
 1. LTS - Long Term Support. - Said of a release that will receive support for 3-years/5-years rather than the typical 18 months.
 1. MC - MOTU Council - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Council.
 1. MOTU - Master Of The Universe - Developers responsible for the Universe and Multiverse repositories. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU
 1. NGO - Non-governmental Organization.
 1. OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer.
 1. QA - Quality Assurance.
 1. RC - Release Candidate.
 1. SRU - Search/Retrieve via URL.

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

Contents

Contents

  1. UWN Translations
  2. In This Issue
  3. General Community News
    1. Ubuntu 9.10 Beta released
    2. Ubuntu 9.10 Countdown Banners
    3. Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta Released: Testers Needed!
    4. Planning of Karmic Release Parties kicks off!
    5. Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced!
    6. Changes to releases.ubuntu.com rsync/FTP access
  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. Ubuntu France: Having a great time at Toulouse Jam
    2. Ubuntu Ohio Global Jam 2009
    3. Ubuntu Florida: Global Jam
    4. Ubuntu Massachusetts / MIT Jam
    5. Ubuntu-Tour in Honduras
    6. Philadelphia be Jammin'!
    7. Michigan Checking in!
    8. North Carolina Team: Ubuntu Global Jam at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa
    9. Ubuntu El Salvador Team: Mangini
  6. Launchpad News
    1. Help Launchpad get better icons
  7. Ubuntu Forums News
    1. Tutorial of the Week
  8. The Planet
    1. Michael Lustfield: Ubuntu Drupal Modules Released
    2. Martin Meredith: I'm really enjoying Karmic
    3. Mathias Gug: Test run - Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Beta on my Dell Mini 10v
    4. Shane Fagan: Epiphany in Karmic
    5. Luis de Bethencourt: edubuntu in sunray
  9. In The Press
    1. First Look at Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta
    2. Ubuntu gets set to mark fifth birthday
    3. Mark Shuttleworth's Radical Vision
    4. FreeBSD 8.0 vs. Ubuntu 9.10 Benchmarks
    5. Ubuntu 9.10 Beta Is Available for Download
    6. ZaReason's New Terra A20 Ubuntu Netbook: Everything Works
  10. In The Blogosphere
    1. Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) Beta Screenshots Gallery
    2. Ubuntu One: Canonical Raising Storage Limit
    3. Ubuntu: good enough for grannies and girlfriends
    4. U Done Me Right. U Done Me Wrong
    5. Karmic Koala: That's One Seriously Fast Marsupial
    6. Review of Ubuntu 9.04
  11. In Other News
    1. PlayOnLinux to be in Ubuntu's repositories
  12. Meeting Summaries: September 2009
    1. Ubuntu Governance
      1. MOTU Council
      2. Technical Board
    2. Ubuntu Development Teams
      1. Xubuntu Team
        1. Packaging, Development, & Testing
        2. Artwork and marketing
    3. Ubuntu LoCo Teams
      1. Cameroonian Team
      2. Honduras Team
      3. Irish Team
      4. Japanese Team
      5. Romanian Team
      6. Russian Team
        1. The Team
        2. Translations
        3. Kuban Team
        4. Saratov Team
      7. United States Teams
        1. California Team
    4. Ubuntu Beginners Team
    5. Ubuntu NGO Team
  13. Upcoming Meetings and Events
    1. Monday, October 05, 2009
      1. Security Team Catch-up
      2. Ubuntu Community Learning Project Meeting
    2. Tuesday, October 06, 2009
      1. End of Ubuntu Community Council Elections 2009
      2. Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting
      3. Technical Board Meeting
      4. Server Team Meeting
      5. Desktop Team Meeting
      6. Kernel Team Meeting
      7. LoCo Teams Meeting
      8. EMEA Membership Meeting
      9. Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting
      10. Community Council Meeting
    3. Wednesday, October 07, 2009
      1. Cameroonian LoCoTeam monthly IRC meeting
      2. Foundation Team Meeting
      3. QA Team Meeting
    4. Thursday, October 08, 2009
      1. Ubuntu Java Meeting
      2. Ubuntu Translations Meeting
    5. Friday, October 09, 2009
      1. MC Meeting
      2. Karmic Weekly Release Meeting
      3. Edubuntu Meeting
    6. Saturday, October 10, 2009
      1. Ubuntu IRC Council meeting
    7. Sunday, October 11, 2009
  14. 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
    6. Ubuntu 9.10 Updates
  15. Archives and RSS Feed
  16. Additional Ubuntu News
  17. Conclusion
  18. Credits
  19. Glossary of Terms
  20. Ubuntu - Get Involved
  21. Feedback

newspaper-icon3.jpg 

WORK IN PROGRESS

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #162 for the week September 27 - October 3rd, 2009. In this issue we cover: Ubuntu 9.10 Beta Released, Ubuntu 9.10 Countdown Banners, Ubuntu 9.10: Testers Needed, Planning of Karmic Release Parties Kicks off, Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced, Changes to releases.ubuntu.com rsync/FTP access, LoCo News: France, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Honduras, Philly, Michigan, North Carolina, & El Salvador, Help Launchpad get better icons, Ubuntu Forums Tutorial of the Week, The Planet: Michael Lustfield, Martin Meredith, Mathias Gug, Shane Fagan & Luis de Bethencourt, PlayOnLinux to be in Ubuntu Karmic repositories, September Team 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 9.10 Beta Released
  • Ubuntu 9.10 Countdown Banners
  • Ubuntu 9.10: Testers Needed
  • Planning of Karmic Release Parties Kicks off
  • Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced
  • Changes to releases.ubuntu.com rsync/FTP access
  • Ubuntu Stats

  • LoCo News: France, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Honduras, Philly, Michigan, North Carolina, & El Salvador

  • Help Launchpad get better icons
  • Ubuntu Forums Tutorial of the Week

  • The Planet: Michael Lustfield, Martin Meredith, Mathias Gug, Shane Fagan & Luis de Bethencourt

  • In the Press & Blogosphere

  • PlayOnLinux to be in Ubuntu Karmic repositories

  • September Team Meeting Summaries

  • Upcoming Meetings & Events

  • Updates & Security

General Community News

Ubuntu 9.10 Beta released

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop, Server editions, and Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Codenamed "Karmic Koala", 9.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition improves on the work of 9.04 to get you going faster, with improved start-up times and a streamlined boot experience.

Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition integrates Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud set-up in the installer and provides improvements to system security with AppArmor, including an AppArmor profile for libvirtd to further isolate virtual machines from the host system.

The Ubuntu 9.10 family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, and Mythbuntu, also reach beta status.

To upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10 Beta from Ubuntu 9.04, follow these instructions: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KarmicUpgrades

Or, download Ubuntu 9.10 Beta here (choose the mirror closest to you):

Please download using BitTorrent if possible.

The final version of Ubuntu 9.10 is expected to be released in October 2009.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2009-October/000125.html

Ubuntu 9.10 Countdown Banners

Ubuntu 9.10 Beta images were released Thursday. What you might not know is that the countdown banners have also been released.

There are 3 different version, 2 different image groups that use a java script, and a static non-java version for those who can't use java scripts on their website or blogs. Help us to promote the new Karmic release by adding the banner to your website to express your "Ubuntu Pride."

http://andrewsomething.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/ubuntu-9-10-countdown-banners/

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta Released: Testers Needed!

Our global community of contributors and developers has worked tirelessly to get this Beta out, and there are lots of great features in there including Upstart switched on by default, improved boot experience, the new Ubuntu Software Center, new messaging indicator changes, and lots of EC2 and Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud awesomeness.

But wait, before you go and download it, we want to talk about the point of a beta…it is, in a word…TESTING!

Unfortunately, nestled inside all of the lovelyness described are some inevitable bugs. While we have an incredible bunch of people at Canonical and in the community that fix bugs, we are really looking to you good people to hunt these bugs down and report them so we (a) know about them and can (b) fix them and make Ubuntu the best Operating System it can be.

The whole system needs testing, but there are some key topics which some of us in Ubuntu land would like you to give a solid test to. It is these features which are new to Ubuntu and need the most love and attention. So, let’s cover them:

  • Empathy Audio and Video calls
  • Boot Experience
  • EC2

If you have any questions or queries about testing and filing bugs, here are some resources:

Detailed information on the above listed items for testing can be found at the link below.

http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1920

Planning of Karmic Release Parties kicks off!

For every Ubuntu release we like to organize parties all over the world. At these parties everyone is welcome and we get together to celebrate, meet new friends and often introduce people new to Ubuntu to our community and our Operating System. Release parties are not only a great way to meet people but they are a lot of fun!

This guide[1] explains how best to run a great release party and you can get a lot of advice and help with the planning on the ubuntu-event-planners[2] and loco-contacts[3] mailing lists.

Be sure to add your party to the Karmic Release Parties wiki, and post pictures of the party in your blog afterwards. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicReleaseParties

KarmicKoala is coming, scheduled for release in October 2009. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicKoala

Ubuntu Karmic Free Culture Showcase Winners Announced!

With each release of Ubuntu we ship a package called example-content which provides some example video, audio, images and information that can help a new user get started exploring their Ubuntu system. In each cycle we like to use example-content as a means of showcasing a Video, Audio, and Photo/Graphic artist who releases their work under a free Creative Commons license.

A few months back Jono announced the opening of the competition and we have had a tremendous collection of entries posted on the competition page. He wants to give a huge thank you to everyone who participating in the competition. The final choices were made by a set of judges and finally by the Ubuntu Community Council. To see the content you will need to check out Karmic when it is released on the 29th October, but without any further ado let's introduce our incredible set of winners!

  • Video winner: Water and Wind by Eugenia Loli-Queru
  • Audio winner: Hungry Lucy
  • Photo/Graphic winner: Daniel Galleguillos

Background summaries of each of the winners is available at the link below.

http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/10/01/ubuntu-karmic-free-culture-showcase-winners-announced/

Changes to releases.ubuntu.com rsync/FTP access

The Ubuntu sysadmins have asked us to advise people about some upcoming changes to rsync and FTP access to releases.ubuntu.com. In order to distribute CD images more effectively, releases.ubuntu.com will shortly be reorganised such that it can only support access over HTTP. If you need rsync or FTP access, please use the new hostnames rsync.releases.ubuntu.com or ftp.releases.ubuntu.com respectively. Access methods such as BitTorrent and jigdo are unaffected by this change.

http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1921

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (64236) +816 over last week
  • Critical (35) +/-0 over last week
  • Unconfirmed (30304) +564 over last week
  • Unassigned (55672) +746 over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (320436) +2972 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 (10634) -363 over last week
  • French (37127) -41 over last week
  • Brazilian Portuguese (47748) -148 over last week
  • Swedish (53178) -222 over last week
  • English (United Kingdom) (53415) -4 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 (16209) -11 over last week
  • French (61435) +261 over last week
  • Brazilian Portuguese (69655) -1261 over last week
  • Swedish (70860) +700 over last week
  • English (Uk) (87440) +556 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

Ubuntu France: Having a great time at Toulouse Jam

Gather almost 20 people around 2 Ubuntu developers in order to work on Ubuntu and you will end up with a nice global jam! After explaining to the group the basic usage of Launchpad in the morning session, the afternoon rocked! As always in Tououse, this is done thanks to the cooperation of Toulibre (Toulouse LUG), and ubuntu-fr. Pictures at the link.

http://www.reponses.net/blog/2009/10/03/562-we-are-having-a-great-time-in-toulouse-during-the-global-jam

Ubuntu Ohio Global Jam 2009

The Ohio Global Jam ‘09 just got wrapped up. Amazing showing, and outstanding event. The team had a blast! A big shout out to Digitalvectorz, Mathay, Ken, Mike, Chris, Anthony, Andrew, Joe, Dr. Palmer, and the John Carroll Computer Science department where the event was held. Pictures at the links below.

http://blog.paultags.com/2009/10/global-jam-09/

Ubuntu Florida: Global Jam

The Florida team met at the Stardust Cafe where Chaynie lead an in-service on packaging a python application for Ubuntu. The venue was nice except it kind of lacked a persistent wireless connection, which made pulling down all the required packages quite a challenge! Most of the crowd was able to follow along, and a lot of those that were there learned a bunch about packaging. There are some pictures from the web cam using cheese at the link below.

http://linuxsouls.com/wordpress/?p=165

Ubuntu Massachusetts / MIT Jam

The Ubuntu Massachusetts team were at the MIT Strata Center for the MIT SIPB organized Jam event. It was an awesome all day event that didn’t end until very late in the day, they managed to sort out a whole bunch of asciidoc course/class rewriting from the old odf format. They also spent some of the day looking at pygames and packaging. Pictures at the link below.

http://doctormo.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/massachusetts-mit-jam/

Ubuntu-Tour in Honduras

The Ubuntu Honduras LoCo Team did another presentation in the Instituto Tridentino locate it on the city of San Pedro Sula. They were also planning on taking part in the Global Jam that just concluded, and hope is will be the first of many jams they participate in. If you are a Spanish speaker, you can learn more about the "Tour of Honduras" at the links below.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-September/000716.html

Philadelphia be Jammin'!

The Philadelphia Mythbuntu Jam is in full swing, Andrew Keyes has been taking photos and posting them up on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahotw/sets/72157622383830903/ There are a couple of panoramic views of the event at the link below. Awesome! The team ended up having 22 people come out and help at the event.

http://princessleia.com/journal/?p=2153

Michigan Checking in!

The Ubuntu Michigan team met at SRT Solutions for their jam event. An early report with not a lot of detail, but you can see a picture of the event which looks to have about 10 people jammin' away.

http://castrojo.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/michigan-checking-in-2/

North Carolina Team: Ubuntu Global Jam at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa

The NC LoCo Team is one of the many teams participating in the "Awesomeness" that is Ubuntu Global Jam Weekend. Amber thoughtfully went ahead and posted some pics to help share the fun with everyone.

http://amber.redvoodoo.org/2009/10/ubuntu-global-jam-at-1927-lake-lure-inn.html

Ubuntu El Salvador Team: Mangini

For Ubuntu Community people, this an one of the big projects of the Ubuntu El Salvador Team. We are working for the Salvadorean education because we know.. "ubuntu can change the mind and the education of guys." Padre Richard Mangini Institute is an big example...now they a have a sub Loco team and the name is “Ubuntu Mangini” More information is available at the link if you are a Spanish speaker. Pictures are also available.

http://decacross.org/blog/2009/10/ubuntu-mangini-caminando/

Launchpad News

Help Launchpad get better icons

We’re trying to improve the icons we have in Launchpad so they’re more usable across different cultures and types of users, and our first step is to do some user testing on our current icons. The Canonical User Experience team has set up a survey to gather information on how users see our icons, so if you have a few spare minutes (it’s very quick!), please take the survey and pass it on to other people, especially if they don’t use Launchpad, as they will be less biased.

http://beuno.com.ar/archives/151

Ubuntu Forums News

Tutorial of the Week

Quite often, there is a delay between latest stable application version from an upstream project and updated version from the Ubuntu repositories. This gap is quite important with ALSA. Here is a tutorial from soundcheck (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=343879) that will help you install the latest official stable ALSA release: "ALSA Upgrade Script". The script should be used with caution as it installs packages itself without going through official repositories. A restore option is provided to reinstall sensitive packages and get them back to their previous Ubuntu version. Many sound issues appear to be solved by this tutorial!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1046137

The Planet

Michael Lustfield: Ubuntu Drupal Modules Released

The Ubuntu-Drupal team has been working hard to bring some really awesome features to the Ubuntu community. We're pushing for a final 6.6.0 release before Drupal 7 is released. We've completed a few great modules for you to try.

UD Theme - This is what started it all. This theme has undergone massive changes and is now working great. It is meant to mimic the Ubuntu website within legal agreements. http://drupal.org/project/udtheme

UD Countdown - This allows you to add a block to your site to count down to the next Ubuntu release. It has been updated for Karmic Koala. http://drupal.org/project/udcountdown

US Sidebar - This is the latest completed module. It is meant to mimic the side bar of the Ubuntu website that everyone seems to crave. It still needs RTL adjustments, but it is doing great. http://drupal.org/project/udsidebar

UD Header - This allows you to have that pretty little header on every page. (Not the really big one.) It will allow you to set a header combination for every content type you have. http://drupal.org/project/udheader

We can always use developers interested in Drupal and Ubuntu. If you're interested we sit in #ubuntu-drupal on Freenode. We still have these modules that need to be completed.

UD Planet - This has been a tedious project. The goal is to mimic how PlanetPlanet (planet.ubuntu.com) works within Drupal. http://drupal.org/project/udplanet

UD LoCo Map - This has been a tedious project as well. Our goal is to offer a fully dynamic and flexible map of all LoCo's. We need some support going to this module as well the LoCo-Directory project as well to complete this project. http://drupal.org/project/udlocomap

BUGS! If you find bugs... please report them. It makes us happy to see these modules going under punishment. Each link above has a link within it that will bring you to the Launchpad development page. This is where bugs should be filed.

http://profarius.com/content/ubuntu-drupal-modules-released

Martin Meredith: I'm really enjoying Karmic

My laptop’s one of those annoying ones that have problems, however, it seems Karmic has fixed a fair chunk of those. My wireless now works (though still only with WPA networks for some reason). I no longer have to boot with “nolapic_timer” (urgh!) and those annoying little niggles are gone. Also, Karmic is looking pretty swish. It’s new notification icons are stylish and minimal, and the xsplash looks good. Also, I’ve noticed that shut down time is drastically reduced! (2 seconds vs my old 10-15 seconds). Boot time isn’t amazing, but it’s pretty nippy. I’m lovin it.

http://www.sourceguru.net/im-really-enjoying-karmic/

Mathias Gug: Test run - Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Beta on my Dell Mini 10v

At the begining of the week I received a Dell Mini 10v I had ordered a few of weeks ago. I had chosen to upgrade some of the default components: my Mini 10v comes with 2Gb of RAM and a 16 GB SSD drive. And of course Ubuntu Hardy 8.04 LTS is installed by default at the factory. Now that the Beta of Karmic has been released I decided to take the opportunity to download the Ubuntu Netbook Remix iso and boot from a USB stick to see how this variant of Ubuntu looked like. Impressive for a beta release. Of course there are few glitches but overall it feels great: I’m writing this article from my Mini 10v running an Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Beta live system. Read about all of Mathias's experiences with the 9.10 beta release of Netbook Remix at the link.

http://ubuntumathiaz.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/test-run-ubuntu-netbook-remix-9-10-beta-on-my-dell-mini-10v/

Shane Fagan: Epiphany in Karmic

I just tried the new version of epiphany in karmic that uses webkit and it's very nice. I have been a firefox user for about 3 years now but now firefox is becoming a little out of place. Its really strange when you try Epiphany because it's like firefox but it's more integrated but on the flip side it's missing some features. The integration is great in very small little touches, it's very integrated with GNOME’s theme and the address bar doubles as a progress bar for the page loading (I love that). Also, everything can be moved or removed if the user wants to(I love this too). The biggest difference is webkit, with webkit pages load nice and fast and it passes the acid3 test (unlike firefox).

Of course some things annoy me about epiphany like the spell checker deletes words, why is there a tabs menu bar entry when its a button on the browser anyway? Why is it so easy to just open the browser and view/edit all of the passwords without asking the user for a password? So really I don't know which I will use, it's a choice between full featured Firefox and fast and integrated Epiphany.

http://shanefagan.com/2009/10/02/epiphany/

Luis de Bethencourt: edubuntu in sunray

Luis tells us about edubuntu in sun ray installation in an Italian primary school at Rome. There are 5 edubuntu desktops in 5 classrooms. Free as in freedom, fun as in kids, and eco as in electricity saving! Pictures available at the link.

http://luisbg.blogalia.com//historias/64659

In The Press

First Look at Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta

Life Hacker's Kevin Purdy notes that the beta release of Karmic Koala, the next version of Ubuntu Linux, just arrived on the net. In general, Ubuntu 9.10, or Karmic Koala, doesn't have a whole ton of new-new features over what we saw in 9.04. That's because a lot of the focus has been on more nuts-and-bolts areas, like boot-up management, application security, and other deep-down bits. That said, there is some new stuff worth checking out. Follow this link for a screen shot tour: http://lifehacker.com/5372301/first-look-at-ubuntu-910-karmic-koala-beta/gallery/

Ubuntu gets set to mark fifth birthday

Sam Varghese of IT Wire says it seems like only yesterday that Warty Warthog was making its debut to cheers among the crowd who had always wanted a distribution based on the unstable development stream of Debian. At the end of this month Karmic Koala will be out for download, and it will be another proud moment for Mark Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams as far as usage goes, but he still has a few mountains left to climb as he tries to remove the red ink from the Canonical books. Karmic Koala is an excellent milestone, and a fitting one to mark the fifth birthday. Many happy returns of the day, Mark. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/28023/1090/

Mark Shuttleworth's Radical Vision

Carla Schroder of Linux Planet notes that Mark Shuttleworth's LinuxCon keynote has gotten a lot of attention. Some for being the big Linux celebrity, some for making some unfortunate comments, and a small bit for his actual message. "People often ask me why I'm so fascinated by Free software , and why I put so much time, energy, and money into Ubuntu...I really believe the Free software process is the right way to build software. Not only that, but there is the potential, if we raise our game... that we could end up defining the experience that the average person has whenever they turn on a computer." Hit this link to read more of Schroder's comments, or to watch the video of Shuttleworth's speach: http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/6861/1/

FreeBSD 8.0 vs. Ubuntu 9.10 Benchmarks

Phoronix's Michael Larabel reminds us that Canonical will be releasing Ubuntu 9.10 at the end of next month while the final release of FreeBSD 8.0 is also expected within the next few weeks. With these two popular free software operating systems both having major updates coming out at around the same time, he decided it warranted some early benchmarking as we see how the FreeBSD 8.0 and Ubuntu 9.10 performance compares. More times than not, Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 came out on top compared to FreeBSD 7.2 and 8.0-RC releases. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=Free``BSD8_ubuntu910&num=1

Ubuntu 9.10 Beta Is Available for Download

Marius Nestor of Softpedia tells us that the Ubuntu development team has unleashed the Beta release of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) operating system, due for launch in late October this year. What's new in Ubuntu 9.10 Beta? Well, as you probably already know, there is now a revamped Human theme, the Humanity icons and lots of wallpapers! Moreover, the Ubuntu Software Store has been renamed to Ubuntu Software Center and updated several times in the last two weeks. And... in order to improve the boot performance, the Ubuntu developers have now transitioned to Upstart. Follow this link for further details: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-9-10-Beta-Is-Available-for-Download-123131.shtml

ZaReason's New Terra A20 Ubuntu Netbook: Everything Works

Linux Planet's Paul Ferrill tells us that many vendors offer a variety of operating system options, but very few preload an OS targeted specifically at the netbook. ZaReason is one of the few and pre-loads Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix on their Terra A20 netbook. If you were to take a look under the hood of the ZaReason netbook, you'd find an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor, up to 2 GB of memory and a variety of options for the hard disk. They also offer, as an option, a built-in 3G wireless modem for $99. At a base price of $349 it's slightly higher than similarly equipped units from Acer, Asus or HP. You could get one of these and just install Ubuntu Netbook Remix yourself or, you could support a fine company in ZaReason and expect to get real service and support. The choice is yours. http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6862/1/

In The Blogosphere

Debian Admin says that the Ubuntu developers are moving quickly to bring you the latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. This is the Ubuntu 9.10 beta release, which brings a host of exciting new features, and the final stable version will be released on October 29th, 2009. Follow this link to view their screenshots gallery: http://www.debianadmin.com/ubuntu-9-10-karmic-beta-screenshots-gallery.html

Ubuntu One: Canonical Raising Storage Limit

Joe Panettieri, of Works With U, talks about the initial Beta testing of Ubuntu One and suggestions that have been made for improving it. Initially, the storage limit for Ubuntu One was 2 gig for the free service, and up to 10 gig for $10 per month. Ubuntu One Product Manager Matt Griffin made it official on October 1st that the paid subscription would be 50 gig for $10 per month. Other suggestions have been made by Beta testers, including making Ubuntu One available for Mac OS X, iPhone and Windows users, too, but so far third party developers haven't come up with anything concrete.

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/10/01/ubuntu-one-canonical-raising-storage-limit/

Ubuntu: good enough for grannies and girlfriends

Shane O'Sullivan just installed Ubuntu 9.04 on his girlfriend's new EEE Netbook. He had been disappointed with 8.10 and it's support of the Huawei Mobile Broadband modem he has, and wasn't sure that his girlfriend would be able to connect to the internet with Ubuntu. But, to his surprise, it connected perfectly. He was impressed with the amount of device driver support that has gone into Ubuntu. As for his girlfriend, who is not interested in computers or open source, she now complains about having to boot into Windows, because "Ubuntu is so much easier and faster to use." His article is at the link.

http://shaneosullivan.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/ubuntu-good-enough-for-grannies-and-girlfriends/

U Done Me Right. U Done Me Wrong

Marcel Gagné begins a new blog for Ubuntu User with an introduction of himself, and a description of his "love/hate" relationship with Ubuntu. Actually, his problem is that he likes Kubuntu, personally, but found that Kubuntu 9.04 had some real problems. Now that he's tried Karmic Koala Alpha 5, though, the problems that Jaunty had seem to have been solved. See what he has to say at his blog.

http://ubuntu-user.com/Online/Blogs/Marcel-Gagne-Orbiting-Planet-buntu/U-Done-Me-Right.-U-Done-Me-Wrong

Karmic Koala: That's One Seriously Fast Marsupial

Jason Perlow, in his blog "Tech Broiler" on ZDNet, was surprised to see that Karmic Koala would boot in 15 seconds. He had installed it in a virtual box, and actually got the time down to 10 seconds with some virtual box tweaks. That's 15 seconds from BIOS post to full desktop. Karmic Koala comes with the latest GIMP 2.6 as well as OpenOffice 3.1. and Firefox 3.5.3. Also included is a 2.6.31 Linux kernel and it now uses the GRUB 2 bootloader and ext4 file system by default. In all, he appeared to be impressed with the improvements. For more on his thoughts, see his blog.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow/?p=11218

Review of Ubuntu 9.04

Andrew was impressed when he installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a girlfriend's computer. All the things that he expected to not operate worked out-of-the-box. Volume control on the keyboard, printer installation, things that he didn't expect to work, worked perfectly. And updates! He's not a fan of auto updates on a server, but with a desktop he found them to work very well. He gives it two thumbs up for the new or casual desktop linux user.

http://blog.killtheradio.net/2009/09/review-on-ubuntu-9-04/

In Other News

PlayOnLinux to be in Ubuntu's repositories

PlayOnLinux will be available via the Universe repositories in Karmic 9.10 due to be released in October. About PlayOnLinux : PlayOnLinux is a piece of sofware which allows you to easily install and use numerous games and softwares designed to run within Windows. Few games are compatible with GNU/Linux at the moment and it certainly is a factor preventing the migration to this OS. PlayOnLinux brings an accessible and efficient solution to this problem, cost-free and respectful of free software. New games available in PlayOnLinux include: Age of Empire 3, and Supreme commander/Supreme Commander Forged Alliance.

http://www.unixmen.com/news-today/420-Play``On``Linux-is-in-ubuntus-repositories

Meeting Summaries: September 2009

Ubuntu Governance

MOTU Council

  • Four applications and three new developers:
    • Benjamin Drung joined the MOTU team from Berlin, Germany.
    • Andres Rodriguez put some hard work into Server and HA applications and joined the MOTU team.
    • Cody Somerville was recommended for core-dev membership by the MOTU Council.
    • Martin-Éric Racine was approved as a MOTU and recommended for xserver-xorg-video-geode upload rights.
  • Three MOTU applications, all of them approved:
    • Marc Deslauriers works in the Ubuntu Security team and has done a lot of amazing work in a short time. Keep it up!
    • Fabrice Coutadeur has been working on lots and lots of packages already and helped to clear up lots of obscure build failures, also is he interested in video editing.
    • Michael Terry has done great work in Canonical's OEM team but also in getting rsyslog ready for Karmic and doing lots of merges. His main objective is getting deja-dup into main.

Technical Board

  • Technical Board meeting, 2009-09-08
    • Debian technical committee participation in techboard
      • Bdale Garbee has put himself forward to participate and help define the role
      • ACTION received: cjwatson to respond to Bdale, make arrangements for him to participate
    • Java SRU policy
    • Removal of sun-java6 from Karmic
      • Passed: remove sun-java6 from karmic in favor of openjdk-6, contingent on approval from the maintainer (Matthias Klose).
      • ACTION received: kees to confirm removal of sun-java6 with doko
    • Developer Membership Board
      • Scott has set up the appropriate teams in Launchpad
      • The DMB now needs to be communicated, and start doing the work of processing membership applications
      • ACTION received: cjwatson to announce DMB to MC, -devel announce
      • Action: jono to update documentation
    • Archive reorganisation (Colin Watson)
      • Colin had a couple of minor items to confirm with the TB before throwing the switch on package sets
      • Ubuntu package sets are now implemented in Launchpad
    • Community bugs (none)
    • select a chair for the next meeting (kees)
  • Technical Board meeting, 2009-09-22
    • reviewed actions from last meeting

      • ACTION: Keybuk to find Bdale at LinuxCon to hash out participation

    • Removal of sun-java6
      • Based on feedback all around, it was agreed that it is still early for sun-java6 to be dropped. However, it was not yet clear if responsibility for the package should be changed.
      • ACTION: kees to drive sun-java6 email thread and get resolution on responsibility
    • Developer Membership Board
      • Striking the right balance between openness and privacy combined with the desire to not change existing processes too radically continues to be a non-trivial issue.
      • ACTION: cjwatson to drive DMB email thread to conclusion

    • Discuss UnitsPolicy

      • Excepting some clarifications to the language surrounding file sizes, the Policy is nearly ready.
      • ACTION: Keybuk to finalize unit policy and email to TB for vote
    • Community Bugs (none)
    • Archive reorganisation (Colin Watson)
      • There was general agreement that team admins have been delegated the responsibility to grant upload privileges, but that how they choose developers is not entirely clear.
      • Daniel expressed a concern that team admins should follow a standard transparent process when dealing with applicants.
      • Scott proposed having it split into "application" (standard) and "approval" (up to the admin)
      • Martin proposed that the TB would approve a set of possible application processes an admin could choose from.
      • ACTION: cjwatson to drive vote on Archive Reorg rights for ubuntu-desktop and mythbuntu in email
    • Select a chair for next meeting (pitti)

Ubuntu Development Teams

Xubuntu Team

  • Xubuntu team report for September 2009

Packaging, Development, & Testing
  • Cody regenerated the Xubuntu metapackage.
  • Lionel updated xubuntu-default-settings to provide default.desktop desktop session file to correctly set system wide default session.
  • Lionel uploaded a new upstream bugfix release of xfce4-volumed.
  • Lionel patched xfce4-power-manager to fix a segfault in xfpm_session_set_client_id.
  • Lionel fixed LP #412659 by updating the xubuntu-artwork package to increase the alternative priority of the xubuntu usplash theme so that the xubuntu theme is preferred over the ubuntu one.
  • Lionel updated xubuntu-default-settings to improve integration with new gdm and readd a shortcut for xfce4-popup-menu (LP: #424282).

  • Lionel fixed LP #195649 by patching exo to fix failure to eject video cd/dvd & data cd/dvd using hardware button.

  • Cody added xfce4-volumed to xubuntu desktop seed.

  • Cody removed thunar-tpa (trash panel applet) from default session as part of the xubuntu-karmic-session-slim-down specification (https://blueprints.launchpad.net/xubuntu-desktop/+spec/xubuntu-karmic-session-slim-down).

  • SiDi patched xfce4-power-manager to use custom notification icons as part of the notify-osd spec

Artwork and marketing

  • Pasi and SiDi worked with James Schriver and MadsRH to make the new GTK theme and mockups for Xsplash

  • Pasi and Jim did the new documentation startpage
  • Pasi worked extensively with Karmic release artwork (GDM, wallpaper and overall look)

Ubuntu LoCo Teams

Cameroonian Team

Honduras Team

Irish Team

Japanese Team

Romanian Team

  • we have relaunch planet.ubuntu.com as an aggregator for all Romanian blogs talking about Ubuntu
  • together with members from other Linux communities (especially Fedora) we start filming a series of short Linux relates report for the national television ... we still don't know when they will be aired

Russian Team

The Team

Translations

Kuban Team

Saratov Team

United States Teams

California Team

Ubuntu Beginners Team

  • Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-09-08 (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings/20090908)

    • Agree to start alternate meeting times
    • Decide to work on reviewing new Join Us page during the next month
    • Vote to put new Wiki Home Page Template in place
    • Discuss changes to the membership process

  • Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-09-22 (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings/20090922)

    • Agree to alternate the meeting time each month between 21:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC
    • Decide that bodhi.zazen will manage leadership positions
    • Discuss how to get some of the people idling in #ubuntu-beginners to join the team

    • Pedro Mendes (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/pedro3005) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has been doing a terrific job helping other users, and we are glad to welcome him to the team.

    • Andy Mathay (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/mathay) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has helped out on the forums and on IRC, and is an active member of the Ohio LoCo team.

    • Pablo Rubianes (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PabloRubianes) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has contributed to the wiki and written several How-To guides. We are glad to have him on the team.

    • Gabriel Abud (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Buuntu) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He is active on the forums and on IRC, and has recently started getting involved with the Ohio LoCo team.

Ubuntu NGO Team

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Monday, October 05, 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.

Ubuntu Community Learning Project Meeting

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

End of Ubuntu Community Council Elections 2009

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

LoCo Teams Meeting

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

EMEA Membership Meeting

Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting

Community Council Meeting

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Cameroonian LoCoTeam monthly IRC meeting

Foundation Team Meeting

  • Start: 16:00 UTC
  • End: 17:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

QA Team Meeting

Thursday, October 08, 2009

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

Friday, October 09, 2009

MC Meeting

  • Start: 07:00 UTC
  • End: 08:00 UTC
  • Location: None listed as of publication
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Karmic Weekly Release Meeting

Edubuntu Meeting

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Ubuntu IRC Council meeting

  • Start: 13:00 UTC
  • End: 14:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: None listed as of publication

Sunday, October 11, 2009

  • None listed as of publication

Updates and Security for 6.06, 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

Ubuntu 8.10 Updates

Ubuntu 9.04 Updates

Ubuntu 9.10 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

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

  • John Crawford
  • Craig A. Eddy
  • Dave Bush
  • Sayak Banerjee
  • Liraz Siri
  • Nathan Handler
  • Isabelle Duchatelle

  • Kenny McHenry

  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

  1. DMB - Developer Membership Board.
  2. IRC - Internet Relay Chat.
  3. LTS - Long Term Support. - Said of a release that will receive support for 3-years/5-years rather than the typical 18 months.

  4. MC - MOTU Council - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Council.

  5. MOTU - Master Of The Universe - Developers responsible for the Universe and Multiverse repositories. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU

  6. NGO - Non-governmental Organization.
  7. OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer.
  8. QA - Quality Assurance.
  9. RC - Release Candidate.
  10. SRU - Search/Retrieve via URL.

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.

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