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Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #169 for the week November 15th - November 21st, 2009. In this issue we cover ...

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In This Issue

General Community News

Lucid Ubuntu Developer Summit Videos

The Ubuntu Developer Summits have always been very open and participatory events, but this year they are going a step further than in previous years. On top of the audio streams, gobby documents, separate IRC channels, blueprints and wiki pages they also had many sessions video recorded. The videos are available in both Ogg Video format and flash, so we can reach a wide and diverse audience of interested parties. Below are direct links to the Ogg Video. To download any or all of the various videos please visit the Ubuntu Developers Blip.tv Channel: http://ubuntudevelopers.blip.tv/

Group picture of the UDS attendees: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwwii/4120389545/sizes/l/

• Morning Plenary 16th November 2009: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-AMPlenary161109low609.ogv

• Afternoon Plenary 16th November 2009: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-PMPlenary161109low644.ogv

• LoCo Council: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-LoCoCouncillow875.ogv

• Encourage Team Roadmaps: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-EncourageTeamRoadmapslow198.ogv

• Distributed Development in Lucid: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-DistributedDevelopmentInLucidlow840.ogv

• Byobu Window Management: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-BYOBUWinMgmtlow431.ogv

• Audio Hardware Enablement: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-AudioHardwareEnablementlow213.ogv

• Plenary 17th November 2009: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-Plenary171109low136.ogv

• Ubuntu Appliances Defined: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-UbuntuAppliancesDefinedlow851.ogv

• Daily Builds Work in Lucid: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-DailyBuildsWorkInLucidlow137.ogv

• Interview with Pete Graner - Canonical Kernel Manager: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-PeteGraner181109low998.ogv

• Interview with Jono Bacon - Canonical Community Manager for Ubuntu: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-JonoBacon181109low816.ogv

• Interview with Rick Spencer - Canonical Engineering Manager for the Desktop: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-RickSpencer181109low457.ogv

• Wednesday 18th November 2009 UDS Plenary Session: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-PMPlenary181109low285.ogv

• Interview with David Mandala – Ubuntu Mobile Team Lead: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-DavidMandella191109low487.ogv

• Interview with Robbie Williamson – Ubuntu Foundations Team Lead: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-RobbieWilliamson191109low429.ogv

• Interview with Marjo Mercado – Ubuntu QA Team Lead: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-MarjoMercado191109low949.ogv

• Application Selection in the Default Install: http://blip.tv/file/get/Ubuntudevelopers-ApplicationSelectionInTheDefaultInstalllow831.ogv

UDS Lucid was a big success!! It used what was successful in past UDS conferences and built on it. Ubuntu's continued success is largely due to the openess of its work process and the enthusiasm of the Ubuntu Community of Developers.

Thanks to Alan Pope for posting the videos on his blog and also to Amber Graner for conducting the interviews.

http://popey.com/blog/

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

• Open (75585) +1057 over last week
• Critical (31) +1 over last week
• Unconfirmed (39087) +752 over last week
• Unassigned (66278) +1010 over last week
• All bugs ever reported (350616) +2383 over last week

As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started, please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BugSquad

Infamous Bugs

Translation Stats Karmic

1. Spanish (13469) -591 over last week
2. Brazilian Portuguese (45692) -3462 over last week
3. French (46845) -3425 over last week
4. Swedish (65560) -3211 over last week
5. English (United Kingdom) (73372) -2846 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

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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

New in Karmic Koala

Launchpad News

Ubuntu Forums News

The Planet

Matthew Helmke: Heading Home from UDS-L

The Ubuntu Developer Summit has ended and I’m on my way home. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS is going to be an incredible release and I’m proud to have participated a little bit in the process. I’ll be writing more about it as time passes. For now, enjoy the group photo at the link below.

http://matthewhelmke.net/2009/11/21/heading-home-from-uds-l/

Alan Pope: Application Selection in the Default Install

At the link below you will find a video that was recorded at the Ubuntu Lucid Developer Summit this week. It’s a recording of a one hour session in which the set of applications delivered on the Ubuntu CD is discussed. This has caused some controversy amongst the community, and we are keen to get this video online as soon as possible so people can see what points were raised and decisions made.

http://popey.com/blog/2009/11/21/application-selection-in-the-default-install/

Martin Pitt: Nicer Launchpad upstream releases with lp-project-upload

A while ago Martin Pitt introduced a script lp-project-upload to automate tarball release uploads to Launchpad. http://www.piware.de/2009/09/automated-release-tarball-upload-to-launchpad/

Many people asked for further features, two of which Martin has added now: First, it automatically invokes gpg to create a tarball signature (unless one is already present), and second it invokes an editor to specify changelog and release notes (just keep the files empty if you don’t need them). Uploaded to lucid’s ubuntu-dev-tools.

http://www.piware.de/2009/11/nicer-launchpad-upstream-releases-with-lp-project-upload/

In The Press

20 Essential Tips Every Ubuntu User Should Know

Maximum PC's Will Kraft says so you've read Maximum PC's Complete Beginner's Guide to Linux and have decided to adopt an open-source operating system--congratulations! But diving right into a new OS is daunting, even if it is as polished and stable as Ubuntu. That's OK though, because they're here to help. He has compiled a list of the 20 most important skills that every Ubuntu user should have. These tips, ranging from basic GUI manipulation to advanced system recovery, are essential to your Windows-free computing experience. Whether you've just installed Ubuntu for the first time or have been a Linux acolyte for years, you'll want to read our refresher. Follow this link for these 20 tips: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/20_essential_tips_every_ubuntu_user_should_know

Canonical working on an iTunes-like music store for Ubuntu?

Lee Mathews of Download Squad says the one program people he knows miss when they've tried to switch to Linux is iTunes. Like it or not, Apple's desktop app has gained the reputation of being the place to buy music and video downloads. But iTunes on Linux? Fuhgettaboutit. That leaves an opportunity for someone in the Linux community to step up and deliver an alternative. Enter Canonical, who may be preparing to do just that in time for the release of Lucid Lynx. Over at LaunchPad, there's a blueprint called Ubuntu One Music Store which states its goal as "to deliver the ability to purchase music from within a desktop music player." There's nothing much yet for details on the associated wiki, so there's no telling yet what exactly might be in the works. Even if the Ubuntu One Music Store ends up being an affiliate app powered by Amazon, it could provide a decent revenue stream for Canonical. It's also one more feature that could entice users to give Linux a try on their desktop. http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/canonical-working-on-an-i``Tunes-like-music-store-for-ubuntu/

Good karma: an in-depth review of Ubuntu 9.10

ARS Technica's Ryan Paul reminds us that Ubuntu 9.10, codenamed Karmic Koala, was officially released last month. In this comprehensive review, Ars takes you under the surface for an in-depth look at the new features and major architectural changes. Karmic Koala, climbed down from the tree last month with new features and updated software. For five years and eleven releases, the Ubuntu Linux distribution has delivered a capable desktop operating system built largely on open source software. The new version is another important step forward for Ubuntu and its corporate backer Canonical. Ubuntu has achieved a level of popularity that is unprecedented for a desktop Linux distribution. It has gained an enormous following among open source software enthusiasts and is even beginning to attract some mainstream recognition. The Karmic release continues Ubuntu's march forward and will raise the bar a notch for other desktop distributions. http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2009/11/good-karma-ars-reviews-ubuntu-910.ars?utm_source=rss

Head to Head: Windows 7 vs Ubuntu 9.10

Benny Har-Even of IT Pro points out that Windows 7 turns to face its latest challenger in the form of Ubuntu 9.10, the latest and greatest flavor of Linux to be released. "It’s with some trepidation then that we pitch the most recently updated flavour of Linux, Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, against the new mainstream choice that is Windows 7." There’s no great revelation is saying the Windows 7 is a fine operating system that is going to remain the default choice for most, even though it costs money. However, for a business, if your strategy is to try and avoid Microsoft, end users could be worse off than being stuck with Ubuntu 9.10. If you look hard enough, there’s nothing your Windows machine can do that your Ubuntu one can’t. As much as Har-Even says he likes Windows 7, he can’t help but be impressed with what’s on offer in Karmic Koala and if you’ve never tried Linux then it’s an easy and relatively painless place to start. http://www.itpro.co.uk/617848/head-to-head-windows-7-vs-ubuntu-9-10

Kubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is really nice

Dodeimedo.com says if you have read his Ubuntu 9.10 review last week, you must have noticed his reaction to the latest Ubuntu release was rather lukewarm. This makes today's Kubuntu review all the more intriguing. First, is there and why is there any difference between Ubuntu and Kubuntu, after all, they are pretty much the same distro? Then, what are these differences and are they any good? Kubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is very, very nice. It's a pleasant surprise. And it's better than Ubuntu. It is not without issues, but they are mostly cosmetic and related to KDE. If you're considering trying the latest Ubuntu release, I'd say try Kubuntu. It's lovely, polished, smooth, runs well, and will cooperate with your hardware. You will also get a decent array of programs to begin with, plus lots of eye candy to please you while you grunt over and smooth the bumps you find along the way. http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/kubuntu-9-10.html

GIMP To Be Removed From Lucid; F-Spot Has Challengers

OMGUbuntu.com reports that the decision has been taken, and it seemed pretty final that The GIMP will not be included in Ubuntu Lucid by default. The decisions behind this are based on a few factors:

• the general user doesn't use it
• its user-interface is too complex
• it's an application for professionals
• desktop users just want to edit photos and they can do that in F-Spot
• it's a photoshop replacement and photoshop isn't included by default in Windows...
• it takes up room on the disc

Of course, these are all perfectly valid points, and OMGUbuntu.com says he agrees with most of them. The logic behind this is sound. Desktop users just do not need something as powerful as The GIMP. It takes up space, it's not widely used outside of designers and a simpler "paint" type program would better serve the features it provides that don't overlap with F-Spot. http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2009/11/gimp-to-be-removed-lucid.html

How The X Stack In Ubuntu 10.04 LTS May Look

Michael Larabel of Phoronix reports that Canonical's Ubuntu Developer Summit for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (codenamed Lucid Lynx) is taking place this week in Texas, but happening right now on the Ubuntu-X mailing list is a discussion about what the X.Org plans are for Ubuntu Lucid. Bryce Harrington, Canonical's principal X leader, has shared his views about the X.Org package set for Ubuntu 10.04. As far as the X Server goes, Bryce believes it is a question between the 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8 releases. X Server 1.7 has been shipping as part of X.Org 7.5 since early October, but Bryce is still willing to consider using 1.6 in Lucid as an option since it's been tested longer than 1.7. However, X Server 1.6 lacks support for X Input 2.0 / Multi-Pointer X, VGA arbitration, EXA improvements, and many other goodies. Using X Server 1.6 though would likely just be a fall-back scenario if going with X Server 1.7/1.8 does not work in Ubuntu's favor. Right now this is all up in the air but we will see what ends up getting settled for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and Phoronix will certainly be around with their benchmarks when the time comes. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NzcxOQ

Mac OS X 10.6.2 vs. Ubuntu 9.10 Benchmarks

Phoronix's Michael Larabel recalls that back in August upon the launch of Apple's Snow Leopard he delivered benchmarks comparing Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X 10.6 along with initial benchmarks of how Ubuntu 9.10 was running against Mac OS X 10.6. Since that time though Ubuntu 9.10 has been officially released with various changes since last August and Apple has issued two point releases for Snow Leopard, now putting it at version 10.6.2. As we await the release of FreeBSD 8.0 to deliver a larger operating system comparison, Larabel has carried out a fresh round of tests comparing Mac OS X 10.6.2 and Ubuntu 9.10 (both x86 and x86_64 editions) under a variety of tests. Ubuntu 9.10 (with the 32-bit and 64-bit wins being added together) had won about ten of the sixteen benchmarks in this Mac OS X vs. Ubuntu Linux comparison.http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=macosx106_ubuntu910_final&num=1

Ubuntu in truffle shuffle with Chrome OS

Kelly Fiveash of The Register reports reports that Ubuntu’s commercial sponsor Canonical revealed late yesterday that it has been working with Google on its Chrome OS platform since before Mountain View announced its game-changing plans in July this year. The firm’s OEM veep Chris Kenyon said in a blog post on Thursday that “Canonical is contributing engineering to Google under contract”. His comments came following Google’s announcement that it would open source the Chrome OS. “While the two operating systems share some core components, Google Chrome OS will provide a very different experience to Ubuntu,” he said. “Ubuntu will continue to be a general purpose OS running both web and native applications such as OpenOffice and will not require specialized hardware.” Chrome OS on the other hand will be specifically designed for a hand-picked selection of web-obsessed x86- and (eventually) ARM-based netbooks created by Google’s hardware partners that include big name computer makers such as Hewlett Packard, Asus, Acer, Lenovo. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/20/ubuntu_chrome_os_contract/

In The Blogosphere

Canonical: Profiting From Google Chrome OS?

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/11/19/canonical-profiting-from-google-chrome-os/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

Canonical’s Landscape: The Ubuntu Management Strategy

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/11/19/canonicals-landscape-the-ubuntu-management-strategy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

Dell Shows Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Some Love

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/11/17/dell-shows-ubuntu-1004-lucid-lynx-some-love/

Google Chrome OS: Should Ubuntu and Canonical Worry?

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/11/19/google-chrome-os-should-ubuntu-and-canonical-worry/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

Why Ubuntu release schedules should be changed

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/29430/1090/1/0/

Shutdown/Reboot Ubuntu 9.10

http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10014447o-2000498448b,00.htm

Ubuntu One Music Store

http://www.stefanoforenza.com/ubuntu-one-music-store/

Ubuntu One Music Store: A Real Business?

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/11/16/ubuntu-one-music-store-a-real-business/

Ubuntu's Canonical and Google partner to create Chrome

http://blogs.computerworld.com/15127/ubuntus_canonical_and_google_partner_to_create_chrome

Who Deserves Free Ubuntu CDs More?

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/11/18/who-deserves-free-ubuntu-cds-more/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

WorksWithU: Dell cozies up to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS - read the comments for an interesting take on the LTS as a 'rolling release' (followed by my enthusiastic support for same)

http://www.insidesocal.com/click/2009/11/workswithu-dell-cozies-up-to-u.html

In Other News

Meeting Summaries: <MONTH> <YEAR>

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Monday November 23, 2009

Security Team Catch-up

• Start: 18:00 UTC
• End: 18:30 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
• Agenda: nothing formal, just a weekly catch-up.s

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Asia Oceania Membership Board Meeting

• Start: 10:00 UTC
• End: 11:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Membership/RegionalBoards/AsiaOceania

Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting

• Start: 13:00 UTC
• End: 14:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MobileTeam/Meeting

Desktop Team Meeting

• Start: 16:30 UTC
• End: 17:30 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-desktop

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/Meeting

Kernel Team Meeting

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

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Server Team Meeting

• Start: 14:00 UTC
• End: 15:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/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

• Start: 17:00 UTC
• End: 18:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Meetings/

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Ubuntu Java Meeting

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

MC Meeting

• Start: 17:00
• End: 18:00
• Location: None listed as of publication
• Agenda: None listed as of publication

Friday, November 27, 2009

• None listed as of publication

Saturday, November 28, 2009

• None listed as of publication

Sunday, November 29, 2009

• None listed as of publication

Community Spotlight

Updates and Security for 6.06, 8.04, 8.10, 9.04 and 9.10

Security Updates

• USN-860-1: Apache vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-860-1

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

• apache2 2.0.55-4ubuntu2.9 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2009-November/012794.html

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

• apache2-mpm-itk 2.2.6-01-1build3.7 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-November/012330.html

• apache2 2.2.8-1ubuntu0.14 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-November/012331.html

Ubuntu 8.10 Updates

• apache2-mpm-itk 2.2.6-02-1build2.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-November/009780.html

• apache2 2.2.9-7ubuntu3.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-November/009781.html

Ubuntu 9.04 Updates

• apache2-mpm-itk 2.2.6-02-1build4.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2009-November/009934.html

• apache2 2.2.11-2ubuntu2.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2009-November/009935.html

Ubuntu 9.10 Updates

• kopete-facebook 0.1.4-0ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-November/012057.html

• apache2 2.2.12-1ubuntu2.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-November/012058.html

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Conclusion

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See you next week!

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