Issue66

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #66 for the week November 11th - November 17th, 2007. In this issue we cover the LoCo teams up next for official approval, the welcoming of a new MOTU, some news from the good folks in Ubuntuforums, and, as always, much much more.

UWN Translations

In This Issue

  • MOTU
  • 5 Loco Teams Up for Approval
  • The Ubuntu Forum News and Observations
  • In The Press
  • In The Blogosphere
  • In Other News
  • Meetings & Events

  • Updates & Security

  • Bugs & Translation Stats

General Community News

MOTU

Having contributed myriads of fixes and updates through the MOTU team, Luca Falavigna became MOTU himself. Congratulations!

LoCo News

5 Loco Teams up for Approval at the next Council Meeting

At the next Community Council meeting, there will be 5 loco teams up for approval. Denmark, New Jersey, Georgia, New Mexico, and Michigan have all submitted to become approved teams. This is an unusual amount of teams to submit for approval at one time. It shows that the loco team project is very much alive and healthy. Ubuntu, the Loco Teams, and the volunteer community are all doing a great job of advocating and spreading the news about what we believe is the greatest Operating System around. With approval comes extra perks not available to non-approved teams. To find out more, visit this link. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoGettingApproved

Ubuntu Forums News

This weeks interviews and observations

Taumosaur, a coder active in the Programming Talk area, is also a student and a musician. Read more here: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/an-interview-with-tomosaur/

compiledkernel, Linux system administrator and developer in the day, UF moderator, Ubuntu Gamers Arena and Ubuntu Document Storage Facility driving force at night (or may be the other way aroud? W00t CK!!). The full interview is there: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/an-interview-with-compiledkernel/

We had an awful spam event this week. Some spammers posted malicious code in answers to new threads in the Absolute Beginners area. This code could lead to wiping the whole system out. Staff and members worked hard together to warn new users and remove all the offending posts. We are currently discussing Damage Control Mechanisms we can set up in light of this event.

In The Press

  • Ubuntu Server: Considering Kernel Configuration - Carla Schroder last week looked at Ubuntu Server's documentation, discussed hardware requirements, tried to figure out what sets Ubuntu Server apart from Ubuntu Desktop, and what's included in the current release, 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon). Ubuntu itself is not very helpful with these things, and she doesn't like to write reviews that complain without also offering some answers, so today she shows us how dig into Ubuntu without installing it and find out these things for ourselves. You will still need the installation .iso image, but at least you won't have to install it or even burn it to a CD to learn some useful information. http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netos/article.php/3710641

  • Ubuntu Let Us Play, Now Grab Our DIY OS Pre-Giveaway! - Popular Mechanics is having a contest, giving away a Mini Monster PC to one person. But anyone can be a winner by downloading the operating system. Popular Mechanics didn’t make the OS from scratch. They cribbed from one of the best Linux-based OSs out there. It’s called Ubuntu, and it’s simple to install, uncluttered and streamlined for easy operation. Plus, networking is a snap, there are minimal threats from viruses and a suite of open-source applications is built in. Most of the programs have a similar feel to their commercial counterparts. Open Office is the open-source alternative to Microsoft Office. GIMP is the open-source answer to Adobe Photoshop. Instant messaging is handled by Pidgin. But most important for our purposes, music and movie functionality is superb. Ubuntu automatically downloads all the codecs to play your video and audio files. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/upgrade/4230945.html

  • Top Ten Reasons Why Ubuntu Is Best for Enterprise Use - Mark Shuttleworth, founder of the Ubuntu Project writes how Ubuntu, the "darling of the Linux desktop space", "is increasingly deployed on corporate networks. Voted No. 16 in PC World's Top 100 Products for 2007 and now coming as an option for Dell users straight out of the box. With a free server edition, a professional support organization and a growing band of enthusiasts in and around the IT divisions of enterprises, there are many reasons to consider Ubuntu when looking for a Linux solution. Here are the top 10 reasons why Ubuntu is best for enterprise use": Users Love It, The Platform Has Excellent Support, Cost Savings, A Superlative Security Record, Frictionless Deployment, A Huge Selection of Applications and Tools, Thin Client Joy, Unleash Your IT Talent, Access A Whole New Skills Pool, Predictable Releases. "With such compelling reasons, how can you go wrong with Ubuntu?". http://www.cio.com/article/print/155753

  • Macedonia picks Ubuntu for 20,000 PCs - A batch of 7,000 PCs with Ubuntu Linux have been sent to Macedonian schools, the first of a collection that Ubuntu sponsor Canonical expects will reach 20,000. Through a program called Computer for Every Child, the Macedonia Ministry of Education and Science plans to install the PCs throughout its elementary and secondary school system. Canonical plans to announce Tuesday, that Ubuntu will run on the 20,000 PCs, but 160,000 more students will be able to share those machines using hardware from NComputing. "By selecting Ubuntu as the operating system for all of our classroom virtual PCs, our education system can provide computer-based education for all schoolchildren within the limited financial and infrastructural confines that most institutions face today." The schools are using version 7.04 of Edubuntu, a version of Ubuntu tailored for classroom use. http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9819344-39.html

In The Blogosphere

  • 10 Reasons Why You Need to Download Ubuntu Right Now - This article lists highlights of the Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon distribution. Some of these include the ability to read/write to NTFS partitions, the GNOME + Compiz Graphic User Interface, and Wine. Also listed are things that Ubuntu users have become used to, such as no malware and the ease of use. The package manager in Ubuntu is a single point of source for almost all software that operates on the distribution. Hardware support has never been better, on a par with Mac OS X. And, of course, there's the community support that makes you feel like you're part of a tight knit team, the reliable 6 month release schedule and bug fixes that keeps the operating feeling fresh. http://www.softwarebattle.com/2007/11/12/10-reasons-why-you-need-to-download-ubuntu-right-now/

  • The little desktop Linux that came out of the blue - When a desktop Linux distribution suddenly becomes popular before even Distro Watch starts tracking it, you know you've got something special. One new Ubuntu-based distribution, gOS, has managed to capture users' attention purely by word of mouth over the Internet. gOS was introduced by Everex, a mid-tier PC vendor, in its inexpensive Green gPC TC2502 computer in late October. This cheap computer is sold for $198 at Wal-Mart stores and online at walmart.com. The operating system is based, like so many desktop Linux's such as Mint, on Ubuntu. In gOS' case, it's built on top of the newly released Ubuntu 7.10 Linux. It includes the usual array of open-source software that users have learned to expect from a Linux desktop such as popular applications from Firefox, Skype and Open Office. The one difference that Linux users will notice immediately about it is that it uses the Enlightenment E17 desktop interface with a Google-centric theme instead of the far more common KDE or GNOME desktops. http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS8172133608.html

In Other News

  • About a week, ago Wal-Mart began selling a $200 Linux machine running on a 1.5 ghz VIA C7 processor and 512 MB of RAM. While the specs are useless for Vista, it works blazingly fast on Ubuntu with the Enlightenment Window Manager. The machine is now officially sold out of their online warehouses (it may still be available in some stores). And the product sales page at wal-mart.com is full of glowing reviews from new and old Linux users alike. See some of the reviews below. http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/12/2235200

  • Walmart Customer reviews of the Everex TC2502 Green gPC w/ Via C7-D Processor - Below you will find a few of the reviews from the Walmart website mentioned in the above article. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/allReviews.do?product_id=7754614

  • Greatest $200 I have ever spend:By Anonymous - After setting up, I have been greeted to a nonstop computing fest. I had never imagined a computer could be so easy to use! I was use to my Windows XP computer at work, so I had held high hopes for this 'Linux' computer. You have to see, use, and experience this computer. It is worth 10x the price in terms of ease-of-use, speed, security, and pleasantness. It's so intuitive, quiet, inexpensive, efficient, etc. It is the best possible deal for a person looking to use a computer for anything except 3D games.
  • Very good cheap computer:By helenericson - I was looking for a cheap computer to do some basic stuff like surfing, sending email and listening to music, the main things most people use their computer for. I decided to try this one out, and was pleasantly surprised. Having never used anything but Windows before, I was afraid it'd be hard to use anything else, but it wasn't at all. I really like how the system is made and works, and I'd even go so far to say I like it better than windows.
  • A nice surprise:By mictester - This is NOT a computer to run Windows of any type on. It's ideally suited for the gOS Linux that's pre-installed, but if you want a little more bang for your buck, install Ubuntu. You can download Ubuntu free, and it's easier than Windoze to install. I installed Ubuntu as soon as this machine was out of the packaging, and put in more RAM. You can double the RAM in this machine for ~$45 if you shop around. It now really flies and embarrasses any Windows machine I've ever seen for speed, facilities, security and even eye-candy!
  • Great for most people nowadays:By nelfer - I work on computers and my friends are always asking for help to set them up with computers. I noticed that most people just use the computer to browse the web and do things on the internet. This computer is a great bargain. It helps debunk the myth that "Linux is hard", as everything in the computer is very easy to use and almost self-explanatory.
  • Excellent!:By tekwerx - For what it is, it does a SUPERB job. It runs a very lightweight derivative of Ubuntu, and runs it well. This machine is geared towards people who need something cheap that does the basics - surfing the net, email, IM's, and some light word processing. For the price, you can't beat it.

Meetings and Events

Monday, November 19, 2007

MOTU REVU day

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

MOTU REVU day

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Desktop Team Development Meeting

  • Start: 14:00 UTC
  • End: 15:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: No agenda listed as of the publication.

Friday, November 23, 2007

MOTU meeting

Updates and security for 6.06, 6.10, 7.04, and 7.10

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates

Ubuntu 6.10 Updates

Ubuntu 7.04 Updates

Ubuntu 7.10 Updates

Bug Stats

  • Open (37370) +290 # over last week
  • Critical (16) -3 # over last week
  • Unconfirmed (20149) -27 # over last week
  • Unassigned (28624) +192 # over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (135858) +1159 # 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

  1. Spanish (15066) -1347 # over last week
  2. French (38688) +1133 # over last week
  3. Swedish (49242) +1159 # over last week
  4. English-UK (51583) +1128 # over last week
  5. German (66535) +1163 # over last week

Remaining string to translate in Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon", see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/

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Additional Ubuntu News

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Conclusion

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See you next week!

Credits

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UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue66 (last edited 2008-08-06 17:00:41 by localhost)