Issue348


Contents

  1. In This Issue
  2. General Community News
    1. Trusty Alpha 1 Released!
    2. Welcome New Members and Developers
  3. Ubuntu Stats
    1. Bug Stats
    2. Ask Ubuntu Top 5 Questions this week
      1. Most Active Questions
      2. Top Voted New Questions
  4. LoCo News
    1. Transported computers now in use at Prescott
  5. The Planet
    1. Kubuntu Wire: New Krita Features and Project Neon
    2. Nicholas Skaggs: Trusty Cycle Updates
    3. Ubuntu Classroom: Call for Instructors: Ubuntu User Days on Jan 25-26th 2014
    4. Ubuntu GNOME: 2013 Achievements
    5. Jorge Castro: It is holiday hat time on Ask Ubuntu
    6. Benjamin Kerensa: Build Strong User Advocacy in Ubuntu
    7. Jackson Doak: The Ubuntu PC Case Mod Pt.10 The CPU + Kubuntu stickers
    8. Kubuntu Wire: Free and Open Source Software In Taiwan’s Schools
    9. Kubuntu: KDE Applications and Development Platform 4.12 Available
    10. Mark Shuttleworth: Rigor and its results
  6. Other Community News
    1. Ubuntu App Developer Week: Call For Papers!
    2. Ubuntu Technical Board Election
    3. Spread the word of StartUbuntu
  7. Canonical News
    1. The new Ubuntu icons
    2. Latest from the web team — December 2013
    3. Ubuntu Desktop: a proven, leading-edge, low-cost OS perfect for education
  8. In The Press
    1. Ubuntu Emerges as Free Alternative Operating System to Windows
    2. Ubuntu finally embraces solid state drives as it preps for mobile push
  9. In The Blogosphere
    1. The Biggest Ubuntu News Stories of 2013 – Parts One and Two
    2. Canonical's long road to the Ubuntu Phone
    3. Ubuntu One Gets New Unofficial, Cross-Platform Mobile App
    4. Early Ubuntu 14.04 Tests Show Some Performance Changes
    5. Mahjongg 3.10, Sudoku 3.10 and Mines 3.10 landed in Ubuntu 14.04
    6. Ubuntu 14.04 Flavours Hit Alpha 1 Milestone
    7. Ubuntu GNOME Will Still Run On X.Org For A While
  10. Featured Audio and Video
    1. Ubuntu Podcast from the UK LoCo: S06E43 – It’s a Wonderful Ubuntu
  11. Weekly Ubuntu Development Team Meetings
  12. Upcoming Meetings and Events
  13. Updates and Security for 10.04, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04 and 13.10
    1. Security Updates
    2. Ubuntu 10.04 Updates
    3. Ubuntu 12.04 Updates
    4. Ubuntu 12.10 Updates
    5. Ubuntu 13.04 Updates
    6. Ubuntu 13.10 Updates
  14. Subscribe
  15. Archives
  16. Additional Ubuntu News
  17. Conclusion
  18. Credits
  19. Glossary of Terms
  20. Ubuntu - Get Involved
  21. Feedback

newspaper-icon41.jpg

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 348 for the week December 16 - 22, 2013.

In This Issue

  • Trusty Alpha 1 Released!
  • Welcome New Members and Developers
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • Transported computers now in use at Prescott
  • Kubuntu Wire: New Krita Features and Project Neon
  • Nicholas Skaggs: Trusty Cycle Updates
  • Ubuntu Classroom: Call for Instructors: Ubuntu User Days on Jan 25-26th 2014
  • Ubuntu GNOME: 2013 Achievements
  • Jorge Castro: It is holiday hat time on Ask Ubuntu
  • Benjamin Kerensa: Build Strong User Advocacy in Ubuntu
  • Jackson Doak: The Ubuntu PC Case Mod Pt.10 The CPU + Kubuntu stickers
  • Kubuntu Wire: Free and Open Source Software In Taiwan’s Schools
  • Kubuntu: KDE Applications and Development Platform 4.12 Available
  • Mark Shuttleworth: Rigor and its results
  • Ubuntu App Developer Week: Call For Papers!
  • Ubuntu Technical Board Election

  • Spread the word of StartUbuntu

  • The new Ubuntu icons
  • Latest from the web team — December 2013
  • Ubuntu Desktop: a proven, leading-edge, low-cost OS perfect for education
  • In The Press
  • In The Blogosphere

  • Ubuntu Podcast from the UK LoCo: S06E43 – It’s a Wonderful Ubuntu

  • Weekly Ubuntu Development Team Meetings
  • Upcoming Meetings and Events
  • Updates and Security for 10.04, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04 and 13.10
  • And much more!

General Community News

Trusty Alpha 1 Released!

Kate Stewart and Steve Langasek, members of the Ubuntu release team, announce the release of Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr) Alpha 1 for the Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, UbuntuKylin and Xubuntu flavors. The full release announcement can be found at:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2013-December/001071.html

The following articles also covered the Alpha 1 release:

Welcome New Members and Developers

Congratulations and welcome to these developers!

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2013-December/001070.html

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (107787) +78 over last week
  • Critical (118) +/-0 over last week
  • Unconfirmed (53409) +15 over last week

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

Ask Ubuntu Top 5 Questions this week

Most Active Questions

Top Voted New Questions

People Contributing the best questions and answers this week: falconer (http://askubuntu.com/users/221281/falconer), BYEAskUbuntu (http://askubuntu.com/users/33833/byeaskubuntu), Dumindu Mahawela (http://askubuntu.com/users/224082/dumindu-mahawela), Braiam (http://askubuntu.com/users/169736/braiam) and Oli (http://askubuntu.com/users/449/oli)

Ask (and answer!) your own questions at http://askubuntu.com

LoCo News

Transported computers now in use at Prescott

Elizabeth Krumbach Joseph writes about the continued work of the Ubuntu California supported non-profit Partimus which has recently worked to move several computers to a school in Oakland. Now running Lubuntu, this post includes photos of the computers now in use.

http://blog.partimus.org/?p=523

The Planet

Kubuntu Wire: New Krita Features and Project Neon

Danny Snowman writes that those wishing to test bleeding edge features in KDE can now do so without waiting six months between distro updates thanks to Project Neon. Project Neon is a nightly build of the latest KDE trunk. A similar option is also available for Krita, KDE’s painting and image editing application.

http://wire.kubuntu.org/?p=99

Nicholas Skaggs: Trusty Cycle Updates

Nicholas Skaggs details some of the progress from the Trusty Cycle by the Ubuntu Quality team. Some notable updates include the arrival of Alpha 1 for participating flavors, getting the papercuts project started for Trusty, and getting automated testing in place. There is also some work underway to improve the Ubuntu startup disk creator.

http://www.theorangenotebook.com/2013/12/trusty-cycle-updates.html

Ubuntu Classroom: Call for Instructors: Ubuntu User Days on Jan 25-26th 2014

Elizabeth Krumbach Joseph of the Ubuntu Classroom team writes that they are looking for instructors to hold session at the Ubuntu User Days on January 25th and 26th. “User Days was created to be a set of courses offered during a one day period to teach the beginning or intermediate Ubuntu user the basics to get them started with Ubuntu”

http://ubuntuclassroom.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/call-for-instructors-ubuntu-user-days-on-jan-25-26th-2014/

Ubuntu GNOME: 2013 Achievements

Ali Linx of the Ubuntu GNOME team lists some of the great achievements that has been achieved during 2013, including becoming an official flavor, growth of social media and their contributor community and more formal team organization.

http://ubuntugnome.org/2013-achievements/

Jorge Castro: It is holiday hat time on Ask Ubuntu

Jorge Castro writes that Ask Ubuntu, as well as other Stack Exchange sites, now have hats available to members who contribute by editing posts, answering questions, upvoting, reviewing, and many other ways. Hats appear in your profile picture after being obtained. A page listing available hats and the actions needed to get them is also available.

http://www.jorgecastro.org/2013/12/16/it-is-holiday-hat-time-on-ask-ubuntu/

Benjamin Kerensa: Build Strong User Advocacy in Ubuntu

Benjamin Kerensa proposes that Canonical form a User Advocacy Team consisting of both community contributors and Canonical Employees to listen to issues impacting users. The new team would then produce reports to be given to the developers and product managers at Canonical. The goal is to create a tool to get user feedback from Ubuntu installations, share feedback, and “create a conduit between users and developers.”

http://benjaminkerensa.com/2013/12/17/build-strong-user-advocacy-ubuntu

Jackson Doak: The Ubuntu PC Case Mod Pt.10 The CPU + Kubuntu stickers

Jackson Doak updates us on his progress of building an Ubuntu-themed PC and shows us several photographs in the tenth part of the series. Jackson also offers some Kubuntu stickers to his readers and acknowledges his sponsors.

http://noskcaj10.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/the-ubuntu-pc-case-mod-pt-9-the-cpu-kubuntu-stickers/

Kubuntu Wire: Free and Open Source Software In Taiwan’s Schools

Danny Snowman writes that free and open source software (FOSS) is now pre-installed instead of Microsoft Windows in schools across Taiwan. A set of software called Ezgo, which uses Kubuntu as a base distribution, is installed on more than 10,000 PCs in elementary schools. The aim of the project is to get FOSS in all subject areas, not just computer classes.

http://wire.kubuntu.org/?p=109

Kubuntu: KDE Applications and Development Platform 4.12 Available

The Kubuntu team announces that packages for the release of KDE SC 4.12 are available for Kubuntu 12.04 LTS, 13.10 and the development release. The team tell us from where the packages can be downloaded and to where bugs should be reported.

http://www.kubuntu.org/news/kde-sc-4.12

Mark Shuttleworth: Rigor and its results

Mark Shuttleworth writes "Perhaps the biggest change in Ubuntu since 12.04 LTS has been our shift, under Rick’s leadership, towards rigorous, highly automated, test-based QA across all of Ubuntu – server, desktop and mobile." Mark tell us what he loves about the process and provides a screenshot of what the 64-bit x86 server test run looked like on the day he wrote his post.

http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1306

Other Community News

Ubuntu App Developer Week: Call For Papers!

Jono Bacon announces that they are looking for instructors for the upcoming Ubuntu App Developer week in January. Jono writes “This is a week chock-full of tutorial sessions showing you how to use different aspects of the Ubuntu SDK across QML, HTML5, Scopes and other projects for building powerful, elegant, converged apps and content that runs across phone, tablet, and desktop.“

He asks those interested in presenting to get their proposals in by December 31st and provides instructions on how to submit.

http://developer.ubuntu.com/2013/12/ubuntu-app-developer-week-call-for-papers/

Ubuntu Technical Board Election

"The Ubuntu Technical Board election has begun and ballots sent out to Ubuntu Developers by Ubuntu Community Council member Scott Ritchie. Voting closes at end of day UTC on Dec 31st." The candidates are listed together with a link to their Launchpad profiles, and an email address is provided for developers to contact if they did not receive a ballot.

http://fridge.ubuntu.com/2013/12/17/ubuntu-technical-board-election/

Spread the word of StartUbuntu

With the end of life of Windows XP coming up in the spring, Ali Linx of the StartUbuntu project seeks contributors to help spread the word about Ubuntu through social media, blogs and more. He is also looking for opportunities to spread the word in local media outlets.

https://lists.launchpad.net/startubuntu/msg00179.html

Canonical News

The new Ubuntu icons

Matthieu-James presents the latest iteration of the new Ubuntu icons which are still subject to change. He tells us the Design team’s goals for the 14.04 release and appeals for feedback.

http://design.canonical.com/2013/12/the-new-ubuntu-icons/

Latest from the web team — December 2013

Inayaili de León Persson summarizes what the web team has been working on, what they're currently working on, and asks for questions, suggestions and comments about any of the team's projects.

http://design.canonical.com/2013/12/latest-from-the-web-team-december-2013/

Ubuntu Desktop: a proven, leading-edge, low-cost OS perfect for education

Canonical has released a two page flyer available for download detailing some of the details about and benefits of using Ubuntu in education. “Every day millions of students conduct research, produce assignments, correspond with each other and their teaching staff, and do many other things using the Ubuntu desktop.”

http://insights.ubuntu.com/resources/factsheet/ubuntu-desktop-a-proven-leading-edge-low-cost-os-perfect-for-education/

In The Press

Ubuntu Emerges as Free Alternative Operating System to Windows

This article in Business Korea discusses the upcoming end of life of Windows XP and the alternatives available for businesses, with a specific look at Ubuntu. They note that many applications are specifically written for Windows, but goes on to say most users can complete tasks through a browser. The article goes on to say: “Ubuntu not only offers Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox but a browser for Linux, as well. When using Chrome, users can synchronize their preferences settings, and Internet surfing and working with basic documents becomes an easy task. Ubuntu also supports the Korean language natively, and can run on low-power PCs such as netbook. Most important for some, Ubuntu is free.”

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/2465/alternative-windows-xp-ubuntu-emerges-free-alternative-operating-system-windows

Ubuntu finally embraces solid state drives as it preps for mobile push

Terrence O’Brien of Engadget writes that Ubuntu will be adding TRIM support for solid state drives in the next release of Ubuntu. Terrence writes that Linux has lagged behind in support, in spite of it being “an essential command for maintaining the performance and health of solid state drives, since they operate in a fundamentally different way than your standard spinning-platter.”

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/19/ubuntu-trim/

In The Blogosphere

The Biggest Ubuntu News Stories of 2013 – Parts One and Two

Joey-Elijah Sneddon of OMG! Ubuntu! invites us to join him as he takes “a personal look back at the big stories, highlights and the odd lowlight of 2013 by covering Ubuntu Touch, Mir, The Edge, and the releases of Raring Ringtail and Saucy Salamander. Joey-Elijah also invites his readers to submit their "standout" moments of the year.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/12/the-biggest-ubuntu-news-stories-of-2013-part-one & http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/12/biggest-ubuntu-news-stories-2013-part-two

Canonical's long road to the Ubuntu Phone

TechRadar have reproduced an article published in Linux Format in which Jono Bacon writes about the changes in Ubuntu since 2004 and the current focus of building the first version of the Ubuntu Phone. Jono looks at Unity, how to navigate the Ubuntu phone's screen, the HUD and convergence. He shows us how the Ubuntu phone software can be tested and concludes "Although there is a long road ahead, the journey has already been rewarding... who knows what the future holds?"

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/canonical-s-long-road-to-the-ubuntu-phone-1206455

Ubuntu One Gets New Unofficial, Cross-Platform Mobile App

Joey-Elijah Sneddon of OMG! Ubuntu! informs us that U1Files is an unofficial, open-source and cross-platform app that is primarily aimed at Android but is “100% compatible with iOS, Ubuntu Phone and other Qt-compatible platforms.” Joey-Elijah provides some screenshots of the app and points out that Canonical maintain official mobile applications for a number of platforms but not Ubuntu Touch.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/12/new-ubuntu-one-app-mobile

Early Ubuntu 14.04 Tests Show Some Performance Changes

Michael Larabel of Phoronix informs us that the performance changes that can now been seen in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS come from moving to Linux kernel 3.12 and Mesa 10.1. Michael shows us the results of his tests and says more will follow but "the benchmarks today are just so any early adopters can get an early idea for Intel performance changes out of these Linux development packages."

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=19581

Mahjongg 3.10, Sudoku 3.10 and Mines 3.10 landed in Ubuntu 14.04

razvi of iloveubuntu notes that updated versions of Mahjongg, Sudoku and Mines have landed in Ubuntu 14.04 via the regular updates. razvi provides a screenshot of the new applications, and notes that their arrival adds more 3.10 versions to the upcoming LTS.

http://iloveubuntu.net/mahjongg-310-sudoku-310-and-mines-310-landed-ubuntu-1404

Ubuntu 14.04 Flavours Hit Alpha 1 Milestone

Joey-Elijah Sneddon of OMG! Ubuntu! informs us that the first alpha releases of five flavors for Ubuntu 14.04 are now available. Joey-Elijah gives us a few details of what is new in each of the releases and provides links to download the alpha images.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/12/ubuntu-14-04-alpha-1-released

Ubuntu GNOME Will Still Run On X.Org For A While

Michael Larabel of Phoronix informs us that Ubuntu GNOME will continue to ship an X.Org Server based environment for 14.04 LTS and most likely for 14.10 too. Michael quotes the following from Ubuntu GNOME's Google+ page: "At some point in the distant future we will probably switch to Wayland, but right now its not even close to being ready."

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTU0ODU

Ubuntu Podcast from the UK LoCo: S06E43 – It’s a Wonderful Ubuntu

“Alan Pope, Mark Johnson, Tony Whitmore, and Laura Cowen are in Studio A with a lot of mulled wine and some mince pies with homemade brandy butter for the forty-third, and final, episode of Season Six of the Ubuntu Podcast from the UK LoCo Team!”

In this week’s show:

  • We look back at our predictions for 2013 and make up some new ones for 2014.
  • We have A Quiz!
  • We also discuss what we’ve been up to lately.
  • We take a look at what’s been happening in the news.
  • We catch up with what’s been happening in the Ubuntu community.
  • We have some Command Line Lurve for grml-rescueboot.
  • And we read your feedback.

“That’s all for this episode, this season, and indeed this year. We will probably be back in 2014, when we will continue bringing you up to date with all the latest news about Ubuntu and free software.”

http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/2013/12/19/s06e43-its-a-wonderful-ubuntu/ & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJAFPoiRODM

Weekly Ubuntu Development Team Meetings

Upcoming Meetings and Events

For upcoming meetings and events please visit the calendars at fridge.ubuntu.com: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/calendars/

Updates and Security for 10.04, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04 and 13.10

Security Updates

Ubuntu 10.04 Updates

End of Life - April 2015 (Server)

Ubuntu 12.04 Updates

End of Life - April 2017

Ubuntu 12.10 Updates

End of Life - April 2014

Ubuntu 13.04 Updates

End of Life - January 2014

Ubuntu 13.10 Updates

End of Life - July 2014

Subscribe

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Archives

You can always find older Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter issues at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter

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:

  • Elizabeth Krumbach Joseph
  • Paul White
  • Mathias Hellsten
  • Nathan Dyer
  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

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://community.ubuntu.com/contribute/

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 check http://community.ubuntu.com/help-information/ for more information on where to get help.

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UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue348 (last edited 2013-12-23 20:44:59 by paulw2u)