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Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #172 for the week December 6th - December 12th, 2009. In this issue we cover ...

UWN Translations

• Note to translators and our readers: We are trying a new way of linking to our translations pages. Please follow the link below for the information you need.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Translations

In This Issue

General Community News

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

• Open (76454) +61 over last week
• Critical (41) +8 over last week
• Unconfirmed (39611) +121 over last week
• Unassigned (67029) +73 over last week
• All bugs ever reported (356337) +1821 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 (12303) -573 over last week
2. Brazilian Portuguese (45538) -13 over last week
3. French (45838) -132 over last week
4. Swedish (66615) +2368 over last week
5. English (United Kingdom) (71876) -40 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 Software Center does not notify its actions - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22909/

• Splash screens are no longer necessary - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22921/

• Clipboard notification - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22855/

• Encrypted home directory GUI tool is needed - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22851/

• Totem title bar when playing a video DVD - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22923/

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

In The Press

X.Org 7.5 Gets Pulled Into Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Phoronix's Michael Larabel alerts us that just in time for the Alpha 1 release of Ubuntu 10.04, X.Org 7.5 with X Server 1.7 has been pulled into the Lucid Lynx package repository. With this push of new X.Org 7.5 packages comes a number of other upstream X package updates along with rebuilds of the other non-updated drivers so that they will work against this latest stable X Server. This X.Org 7.5 pull though should really not come as any surprise since we have already talked extensively about the X stack for Ubuntu 10.04 along with the fact that Ubuntu Lucid is getting Nouveau kernel mode-setting support. Larabel further states that with Ubuntu 10.04 already boasting the Linux 2.6.32 kernel, X Server 1.7 / X.Org 7.5, and other core changes, you can expect to see the first Linux benchmarks of the Lucid Lynx this week at Phoronix. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Nzc3OA

Dell Vostro V13 Offers Style, Substance and Low Price

Small Business Computing's Andy Patrizio recalls when Dell launched the Vostro line of SMB computers two years ago, it basically took its existing consumer laptops and desktops, which were cheaper than the enterprise models, stripped out all the trialware and other unwanted software and released them under a new name. Now in generation two, the Vostro line is getting a little individualism. The new Vostro V13 line introduced today has the stylishness of Dell's pricey Adamo line with other features and extras that small and mid-sized businesses will appreciate. At 3.5 pounds, the V13 packs quite a bit into its skinny frame. It offers a 13.3-inch, 1366x768, anti-glare screen, Intel integrated graphics, 2GB of RAM, 250GB or 320GB hard drives, Bluetooth, 802.11g/n Wi-Fi and a built-in Webcam and microphone. The Vostro starts at $449 with the Celeron processor and Ubuntu Linux. http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3851966

Canonical Launches Bazaar Commercial Support

Sean Michael Kerner of LinuxPlanet says that at the heart of every serious software development project is the use of some kind of version control code repository. For Ubuntu Linux, that version control system is its own Bazaar (bzr) system, which make it easier for the project to encourage and manage developer participation.Now thanks to a new effort from Ubuntu's commercial sponsor Canonical, Bazaar is now set to receive commercial support. Martin Pool, Bazaar's manager at Canonical, noted that getting familiar with the overall system can potentially be an issue, so Canonical will have a training service to help developers get up to speed. Pricing for Bazaar is based on the length of Canonical's engagement in providing support and migration, Pool said. "It is charged on a consulting fee basis -- depending on the number of days that will be required, the price varies," Pool said. http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/6926/1/

Ubuntu Lucid To Get Windows Aero Style Look Thanks To Enhanced GTK+

OMG!Ubuntu! reports that Lucid may not be getting a new GTK theme but it will still be getting an entirely new look. Ubuntu’s Ayatana team (most famed for creating those awesome ‘new’ notification balloons that came in Jaunty) are currently testing a super-duper enhanced version of GTK+ that adds RGBA support (think Windows Aero) and client side window decoration. Only a few months ago OMG!Ubuntu! posted a laborious and complex solution for hacking RGBA support in Ubuntu, but thanks to the Ubuntu Ayatana Team it will arrive out-of-the-box in Ubuntu 10.04 and, if suitably tested, will be enabled by default. Let us all hope that this makes it into Lucid (very early in testing stage, has issues with nautilus) but should it be part of Lucid it will undoubtedly help to modernise the look and feel of Ubuntu aside from opening up a whole new realm of possibilities for theme makers and customizers. http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2009/12/lucid-to-get-aero-style-rgba.html

Plymouth Gets Pulled Into Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Michael Larabel of Phoronix tells us that Plymouth is a Red Hat innovation that came around last year to provide a new, attractive boot graphical splash screen that went on to replace RHGB (Red Hat Graphical Boot) in Fedora 10. Over a year ago Larabel reported talk of Plymouth potentially replacing Ubuntu's USplash boot program. However, in May it was then decided that there would be no Plymouth for Ubuntu 9.10 as instead the developers wanted to just focus upon making Ubuntu Linux boot so fast that such a graphical splash screen would not even be needed. The Ubuntu development community and Canonical seemed to have changed their mind. Just uploaded to the Ubuntu Lucid repository for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS is in fact Plymouth. Plymouth 0.8.0 ended up getting pulled into Lucid and its package is currently building. The package can be found on Launchpad. Don't expect to see a beautifully polished Ubuntu-ized splash screen just yet for Ubuntu 10.04, but you can begin rejoicing that USplash is finally being replaced by Plymouth. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Nzc5Mw

Ubuntu 10.04 Is Off To A Poor Performance Start

Phoronix's Michael Larabel reports that December 10th marked the first alpha release of Ubuntu 10.04. While there is still a long journey ahead for this Long-Term Support release before it officially makes its debut in April, Larabel could not pass up the opportunity to provide some early benchmarks of the Lucid Lynx. So far Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" is running slower than Ubuntu 9.10. Of the benchmarks Larabel shared, there was only one performance improvement and that was with the x264 encoding application while in the others (that are largely disk related) there were all performance drops to note, some of which were caused by an EXT4 file-system change in this latest Linux kernel. At the end of the day though, Ubuntu Lucid has just been in development now for about a month and a half and there is much work to be done and many new packages to be merged prior to its release in April of 2010. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_1004_alpha1&num=1

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" Alpha 1 Released

Michael Larabel of Phoronix notes that just as planned, the first alpha release for Ubuntu 10.04 (the "Lucid Lynx") has arrived. Ubuntu 10.04 Alpha 1 is running with the Linux 2.6.32 kernel, X Server 1.7, GNOME 2.29.3, KDE Software Compilation 4.4 Beta 1, and many other package upgrades since the release of Ubuntu 9.10 back in October. One item worth noting is that Ubuntu 10.04 has completely dropped support for HAL, which will speed up a few areas such as the boot process, but as Larabel's early Ubuntu 10.04 benchmarks show, there are some notable performance regressions. Ubuntu 10.04 is going to be a Canonical Long-Term Support (LTS) release, so be sure to give the Lucid Lynx a good testing if you are experimenting with any of the development releases. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Nzc5MQ

Sharma: Ubuntu Misses A Trick

Mayank Sharma of PC Plus says, "Ubuntu, you got us this far and then, just when it mattered, you blew it for all of us." Sharms notes that for the first time ever, the mainstream tech press mentioned an upcoming Linux release in a Windows preview article. And what did Ubuntu do to capitalise on this new-found exposure? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Coming on the heels of Windows 7’s release, Karmic Koala was built up as something to look at before making your desktop OS choice, along with Apple’s minor update to OS X, Snow Leopard. Why Ubuntu continues to ignore the benefits of marketing their ware to non-Linux users really baffles Sharma. But, he feels if they continue to do so, they’ll soon lose the momentum that has brought us all this far. http://pcplus.techradar.com/node/3147/

In The Blogosphere

Canonical’s Landscape Dedicated Server Strategy

Joe Panettieri points us to part two of WorksWithU’s podcast with Ken Drachnik, Landscape manager at Canonical. This discussion specifically covers Landscape Dedicated Server Edition — which runs on-premise and allows IT administrators to manage Ubuntu systems. Here’s a minute-by-minute list describing the conversation…

• 0:00: Introduction
• 0:32: Understanding Landscape Dedicated Server Edition vs. SaaS
• 1:13: How enterprises run Landscape locally
• 1:32: When and why did Canonical launch Landscape Dedicated Server?
• 2:33: How does Landscape help to patch, audit, configure and maintain Ubuntu systems?
• 3:38: Is Landscape mainly for enterprise or small business?
• 4:30: Is Landscape for specific vertical markets?
• 4:40: How long does it take to get Landscape Dedicated Server up and running?
• 5:30: What type of training does Canonical offer for Landscape Dedicated Server?
• 6:05: How is Landscape Dedicated Server priced?
• 6:55: Where is Landscape Dedicated Server heading next?
• 8:36: When do Landscape upgrades arrive?
• 9:15: Online Links
• 9:38: Conclusion

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/07/canonicals-landscape-dedicated-server-strategy/

New Application Stack in Ubuntu 10.04

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/04/new-application-stack-in-ubuntu-10-04/

100 More Papercuts for Ubuntu 10.04

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/04/100-more-papercuts-for-ubuntu-10-04/

Trouble Free Karmic Koala

http://www.cookingwithlinux.com/content/trouble-free-karmic-koala

Commercial Services for Bazaar

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/10/commercial-services-for-bazaar/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

Dell Website Shows Ubuntu More Respect

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/10/dell-website-shows-ubuntu-more-respect/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

The Quest for an Ubuntu Netbook

http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/09/the-quest-for-an-ubuntu-netbook/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorksWithU+%28Works+With+U%29

In Other News

Meeting Summaries: <MONTH> <YEAR>

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Monday, December 14, 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.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Community Council Meeting

• Start: 11:00 UTC
• End: 13:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

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

Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting

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

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

Technical Board Meeting

• Start: 15:00 UTC
• End: 16:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
• Agenda: None listed as of publication

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: None listed as of publication

EMEA Membership Board Meeting

• Start: 19:00 UTC
• End: 20:00 UTC
• Location: None listed as of publication
• Agenda: None listed as of publication

LoCo Council Meeting

• Start: 20:00 UTC
• End: 21:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

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

Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting

• Start: 22:00 UTC
• End: 23:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

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

Wednesday, December 16, 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, December 17, 2009

Ubuntu Java Meeting

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

Friday, December 18, 2009

Lucid Weekly Release Meeting

• Start: 16:00 UTC
• End: 17:30 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReleaseTeam/Meeting/2009-12-18

Saturday, December 19, 2009

• None listed as of publication

Sunday, December 20, 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-865-1: Bind vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-865-1

• USN-866-1: gnome-screensaver vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-866-1

• USN-867-1: Ntp vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-867-1

• USN-868-1: GRUB 2 vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-868-1

• USN-869-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-869-1

• USN-870-1: PyGreSQL vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-870-1

• USN-871-1: KDE vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-871-1

• USN-871-2: KDE 4 vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-871-2

• USN-872-1: KDE 4 Runtime vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-872-1

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

• bind9 1:9.3.2-2ubuntu1.9 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2009-December/012798.html

• ntp 1:4.2.0a+stable-8.1ubuntu6.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/dapper-changes/2009-December/012799.html

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

• bind9 1:9.4.2.dfsg.P2-2ubuntu0.4 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012342.html

• zarafa 6.30.6-17979-1hardy1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012343.html

• ntp 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-3ubuntu2.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012344.html

• adobe-flashplugin 10.0.42.34-2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012345.html

• alpine 1.0+dfsg-3ubuntu0.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012346.html

• virtualbox-ose-modules 24.0.12 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012347.html

• xfce4-weather-plugin 0.6.2-1ubuntu1.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012348.html

• linux-backports-modules-2.6.24 2.6.24-26.35 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012349.html

• linux-ubuntu-modules-2.6.24 2.6.24-26.44 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012350.html

• grub 0.97-29ubuntu21.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012351.html

• pygresql 1:3.8.1-2ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/hardy-changes/2009-December/012352.html

Ubuntu 8.10 Updates

• ntp 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-6ubuntu2.4 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-December/009791.html

• adobe-flashplugin 10.0.42.34-2intrepid1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-December/009792.html

• xfce4-weather-plugin 0.6.2-1ubuntu2.8.10.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-December/009793.html

• openafs 1.4.7.dfsg1-6+ubuntu0.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-December/009794.html

• pygresql 1:3.8.1-3ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/intrepid-changes/2009-December/009795.html

Ubuntu 9.04 Updates

• ntp 1:4.2.4p4+dfsg-7ubuntu5.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2009-December/009947.html

• adobe-flashplugin 10.0.42.34-2jaunty1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2009-December/009948.html

• xfce4-weather-plugin 0.6.2-1ubuntu2.9.04.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2009-December/009949.html

• xvidcap 1.1.7-0.2ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/jaunty-changes/2009-December/009950.html

Ubuntu 9.10 Updates

• ruby1.8 1.8.7.174-1ubuntu1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012094.html

• xfburn 0.4.2-1ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012095.html

• apport 1.9.3-0ubuntu4.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012096.html

• motion 3.2.11-2ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012097.html

• python2.6 2.6.4-0ubuntu3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012099.html

• gdm 2.28.1-0ubuntu2.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012101.html

• ntp 1:4.2.4p6+dfsg-1ubuntu5.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012102.html

• asterisk 1:1.6.2.0~rc2-0ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012103.html

• adobe-flashplugin 10.0.42.34-2karmic1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012105.html

• uim 1:1.5.6-0ubuntu1.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012106.html

• mplayer 2:1.0~rc3+svn20090426-1ubuntu10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012107.html

• pybridge 0.3.0-5ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012108.html

• linux 2.6.31-16.53 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012109.html

• euca2ools 1.0+bzr20091007-0ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012110.html

• app-install-data-partner 12.9.10.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012111.html

• upstart 0.6.3-11 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012112.html

• xvidcap 1.1.7-0.2ubuntu5.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012113.html

• linux 2.6.31-17.54 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012114.html

• linux-backports-modules-2.6.31 2.6.31-17.19 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012115.html

• samba 2:3.4.0-3ubuntu5.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012119.html

• linux-meta 2.6.31.17.30 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/karmic-changes/2009-December/012120.html

UWN #: A sneak peek

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Additional Ubuntu News

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Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter.

See you next week!

Credits

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• John Crawford
• Craig A. Eddy
• Dave Bush
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Glossary of Terms

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