Issue80

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WORK IN PROGRESS

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 80 for the weeks February 24th - March 1st, 2008. In this issue we cover...

UWN Translations

In This Issue

General Community News

Alpha 6 Freeze Ahead

The sixth and final alpha testing milestone for Hardy, Hardy Alpha 6, is scheduled for next Thursday, March 6. Hardy Alpha 6 will again use a "soft freeze" for main[1]. This means that developers are asked to refrain from uploading packages between Tuesday and Thursday which don't bring us closer to releasing the alpha, so that these days can be used for settling the archive and fixing any remaining showstoppers.

The list of bugs targeted for alpha-6 can be found in a couple of different places, according to your tastes:

This milestone is intended to be used for tracking bugs that must be fixed in order for the alpha release to happen. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-March/000392.html

[1] https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-January/000363.html

Kubuntu-KDE4 Alpha Released

Kubuntu-KDE4 Hardy Alpha is here. There will be two editions of Kubuntu with the 8.04 release, a commercially supported KDE 3 edition and a community supported KDE 4 edition. It includes KDE 4.0.1 and a few applications from KDE 3 to fill in any gaps.

This is our first alpha for the KDE 4 version of Kubuntu. As with any first alpha there remains much polishing to be done (you will need to run knetworkmanager manually for example) but it gives a good overview of what will be released as 8.04 in April. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-February/000390.html

Full Circle Magazine - issue #10 out now!

Full Circle - the Independent Magazine for the Ubuntu Linux Community are proud to announce the release of our tenth issue. This months issue features:

  • Linux Mint Install.

  • How-To : Compile from Source, Install and use TuxPaint, Rip a DVD with AcidRip and Create Your Own Server Part 2.

  • Review of the ASUS EEE PC running Xubuntu.

  • Letters, Q&A, MyDesktop, Top5 and more!

Get it while it's hot! http://fullcirclemagazine.org/issue-10

something about ubuntu mobile - tie into mark's discussion about it at http://linux-foundation.org/weblogs/openvoices/mark-shuttleworth/.

Ubuntu Brainstorm launched

A new feedback site is launched at http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/ that will make it easier for users of Ubuntu to suggests ideas for improvements. Voting makes it clear which ideas have the most support in the user community and should be given priority. We have of course been inspired by the IdeaStorm site from our good friends at Dell but modified the concept to fit our needs. The development team can now take the pulse on the most pressing user issues and propose the ideas as topics at the Ubuntu Development Summits and ultimately as specifications. http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1357

LoCo News

New in Hardy Heron

Launchpad News

Ubuntu Forums News

Ubuntu Forums Interview

This week features FuturePilot, a self-described former “Windows Power User,” his curiosity led him to Linux, then to Ubuntu — and now he hopes to one day find a profession with Linux. Please read the whole article here: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/an-interview-with-futurepilot/

Tutorial of the Week

We would like to highlight Heliode's nearly immortal "Howto: Backup and restore your system!". First posted in May 2005, you might consider its longevity to be a testimonial to its effectiveness. Need a time-tested method for backing up your system? Please give it a try: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=35087

In The Press

  • Open-source advocates to build free PCs for needy Bay Area schools - For years, open-source software advocates have been holding "installfests," to help others learn how to install and use Linux. On March 1st, a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit group and a San Mateo, Calif. based open-source vendor are taking the idea a step further by co-sponsoring an all-day "Installfest for Schools"[1] to create what they hope will be 500 refurbished computers to be used by underprivileged students in neighboring schools. The computers, which are older, outdated PCs donated by consumers and businesses in the Bay Area, will be brought to four locations where tech volunteers will install Ubuntu Linux 7.10. Andrew Fife, product marketing manager at San Mateo-based Untangle Inc. says, "This is a very interesting experiment to see how nontech users who don't have a lot of computing experience can adapt to Ubuntu." http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9065899

[1]http://www.untangle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=351&Itemid=139

In The Blogosphere

In Other News

http://linux-foundation.org/weblogs/openvoices/2008/02/24/open-voices-podcast-with-mark-shuttleworth/, transcript at http://linux-foundation.org/weblogs/openvoices/mark-shuttleworth/

Ubuntu: Bridging the technology gap

In the second interview with Mark Shuttleworth, the man behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, ITPRO discusses issues of interoperability and the learning curve associated with switching to Linux. Being a technologist and something of a geek, Shuttleworth feels that "free software brings a number of huge advantages" to the problem of spanning the educational and technology gap between rich and poor nations.

  • Free software and society: "First, newly acquired skills can flow freely along with the tools themselves. So we can teach someone to use Linux and OpenOffice, and then they can take that software home and teach someone else. "Second, with free software people have the right to modify it. This allows the software to be customised for markets that are not large enough to attract the attention of a company like Microsoft.

  • Low cost computing: It follows that Shuttleworth is enthusiastic about Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child Project which "has been a real catalyst for discussion and research into low-cost computing. Traditionally, Moore's Law has always been applied from the perspective of first world markets: 'people will pay $300 - $900 [£150 - £450] for a PC, how much bang can we squeeze in for that buck this year.' The converse, asking 'how cheap can we make a basic computer?' hasn't really been explored. "One of the barriers to this," he believes, "is the cost of getting basic technology in place. http://www.itpro.co.uk/features/170940/ubuntu-bridging-the-technology-gap.html

Zend Framework to be part of Ubuntu!

An interview with Zends' Andi Gutman about Zend Framework in Ubuntu 8.04

Great news from Stephan Hermann[1], who is one of the chosen few MOTU's with Ubuntu. Stephan has been the spearhead behind getting the Zen Framework included in Hardy Heron. Zend Framework is the leading open-source PHP framework and has a flexible architecture that lets you easily build modern web applications and web services.[2] "Zend is very proud to be an integral part of the Ubuntu distribution going forward. This is an important step towards making Zend Framework accessible to a broader audience and by working closely with the MOTUs we are able to ensure a positive end-user experience." http://andigutmans.blogspot.com/2008/02/zend-framework-to-be-part-of-ubuntu.html

[1]https://wiki.ubuntu.com/StephanHermann

[2]http://framework.zend.com/

Meeting Summaries

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Monday, March 3, 2008

Bugs for Hugs Day

Tuesday, March 5, 2008

Bugs for Hugs Day

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Bugs for Hugs Day

Platform Team Meeting

  • Start: 07:00 UTC
  • End: 08:00
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: No agenda listed as of the publication

Friday, March 7, 2008

Kubuntu Developers Meeting

Community Spotlight

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 (40002) +43 # over last week
  • Critical (23) +2 # over last week
  • Unconfirmed (19556) -333 # over last week
  • Unassigned (30536) +46 # over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (156167) +1991 # 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 Hardy

  1. Spanish (13966) -542 # over last week
  2. French (43221) -861 # over last week
  3. Swedish (53534) -323 # over last week
  4. English-UK (41194) -27 # over last week
  5. German (67356) -324 # over last week

Remaining string to translate in Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron", see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy/

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

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

  • Nick Ali
  • John Crawford
  • Craig A. Eddy
  • Your Name Here
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Glossary of Terms

Feedback

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