Issue85

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=== Ubuntu Documentation Team ===
 * Kubuntu documentation complete and uploaded for translations
 * Kubuntu Firefox startpage received a decent amount of new translations
 * Translation templates generated and uploaded to bzr for the Ubuntu documentation (now string-frozen)
 * Lots of bug-fixing!
 * Welcome to the new documentation mentoring students who joined us this month
 * Milo Casagrande and Andrew Stabeno have nearly finished writing the documentation for Brasero (upstream), and members of the Doc Team have started writing for another upstream project (Empathy) under Milo's mentorship

=== Wine Team ===
 * Wine 0.9.58 will be the version in Hardy, as 0.9.59 comes out a day after full freeze
 * Wine's built in Tahoma (and other) fonts should support glyphs from most languages now. If a language is still missing, there is still time to fix it for Hardy. Please report it here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/188368
 * We are looking for testers for Wine on the lpia arch. So far all we know is that it compiles.
 * Upstream work on Console Configuration has started so in the future we will be able to configure Wine from new GUI tools such as a gnome applet.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 85 for the weeks March 30th - April 5th, 2008. In this issue we cover...

UWN Translations

In This Issue

General Community News

FinalFreeze Around the Corner

FinalFreeze will impact on April, 10th. During FinalFreeze, every upload to universe/multiverse will need to be approved by motu-release. To enforce this, no uploads will pass the queue of the archive admins, unless a proper granted exception is present.

Also, please prepare any uploads avoiding all unnecessary changes. Among these are:

  • General package cleanups, like bumping standards-version.
  • Adding a patch system for packages, which don't have one already.
  • Changing text files (in regards to translations), including fixing minor typographical errors.
  • Switching build systems.

To see the full message, please go to https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2008-April/025259.html

MOTU

  • In just 6 short months of being involved in the MOTU process, Andrea has displayed what it takes to be an outstanding member of the MOTU community. With an interest in games and science, Andrea wasn't fulfilled and has since then taken a liking to the QA process, spending countless amount of hours fixing FTBFS, unmetdeps, as well as library transitions, stuff you typically see seasoned MOTUs go after. It is this dedication that makes [http://launchpad.net/~warp10 Andrea Colangelo] a member of the MOTU community.

  • After outstanding feedback from all people [http://launchpad.net/~mok0 Morten Kjeldgaard] worked with, he was deemed ready for MOTU membership.

Ubuntu Live open for registration

Registration is now open for the second Ubuntu Live conference taking place July 21-22 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.

Ubuntu Live is a vibrant and important gathering of IT professionals, government and business leaders, educators, community leaders, enterprise and business users. The two day event will allow participants to share their Ubuntu experiences, learn from each other, and catch up with the latest developments from Ubuntu, our partners, and the free software and open source ecosystem. Ubuntu Live is the meeting place for enterprise users and community developers to come together to exchange ideas and discuss projects face to face. http://en.oreilly.com/ubuntu2008/public/content/home

Register now through June 2 and you'll save $150. Just go to: https://www.ubuntulive.com/register. BR See https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-us/2008-April/000342.html for more information.

Hardy Release Party Promotional Flyers

Local community (LoCo) teams work together to advocate and promote Ubuntu. Through the 76er program, System76 aims to help LoCo's promote events with free professionally printed flyers and 'Powered by Ubuntu' stickers. The 76er program is only available to US LoCo teams at this time.BR For more information, see http://knowledge76.com/index.php/76er_Program

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (#) +/- # over last week
  • Critical (#) +/- # over last week
  • Unconfirmed (#) +/- # over last week
  • Unassigned (#) +/- # over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (#) +/- # 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. Language (#) +/- # over last week
  2. Language (#) +/- # over last week
  3. Language (#) +/- # over last week
  4. Language (#) +/- # over last week
  5. Language (#) +/- # over last week

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

LoCo News

New in Hardy Heron

Launchpad News

=== Launchpad now OpenId Provider === majorly trim

Hello,

This month I'd like your help in testing Launchpad's new OpenID feature.

OpenID is an open standard that lets you use one username and password to access many different websites. You can use your Launchpad account to log into websites that work with OpenID, including:

  • Blogger - to post blog comments
  • Zoomr - photo sharing
  • LiveJournal

  • ma.gnolia.com - social bookmarking.

The OpenID Directory - http://openiddirectory.com/ - has links to more sites.

As Launchpad's OpenID support is still in beta, you may come across bugs. If so, please report them here, tag them with "openid" and assign them to me (flacoste):

https://bugs.launchpad.net/launchpad/+filebug

You can also find a list of known bugs here:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/launchpad-project/+bugs?field.tag=openid

If you have any questions or feedback about this beta, please email me directly. You can also take a look at our user guide, which is on this page:

https://help.launchpad.net/OpenID

Before I go, Barry Warsaw - who ran last month's mailing list beta test - asked me to thank everyone who took part. As you've probably already seen, mailing lists are now available to all teams in Launchpad!

I look forward to hearing your experiences of Launchpad's OpenID feature.

Ubuntu Forums News

Ubuntu Forums Interview

handy, from the "Oz" country, as he calls it, agreed to talk a little bit of himself. What a journey! Please discover the whole article here: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/an-interview-with-handy/

Tutorial of the Week

Offline users or systems with weak Internet access might find this week's Tutorial of the Week helpful -- it's epimeteo's "Howto: NoNetDebs - upgrade Ubuntu without Internet (or with low-bandwidth connection)". If you've ever been stranded offline with an Ubuntu machine and wanted to install or upgrade your system, this tutorial might be useful to you. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=572819

April Fools Days at UF

So there was a whole series of obnoxious color schemes (that green olive theme with pink fonts will be remembered!), and Staff exchanged their avatars, title, locations, signature, all the visual elements that our eyes depend upon to identify someone. Some got really confused.. We had a lot of fun. Matthew has a summary of what happened, with screenshots. See here: http://matthewhelmke.net/index.php/2008/04/01/47-ubuntu-forums-and-april-fool-s-day-part-2

As a relapse, the Backyard sub-forum kept the April 1st, 2008, renaming and color scheme. You'll find it labeled "OMG pInK pOnIeS" with a bright pink default font color. See you next year!

In The Press

  • Ubuntu to be Sun certified - Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu Linux, said on Wednesday that Sun Microsystems Inc would soon certify that his software is compatible with some Sun products. Sun is the first of the world's major server computer makers to certify that its hardware works with Ubuntu Linux, Shuttleworth told Reuters in an interview. http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0236534620080403

  • Ubuntu 8.04 'Hardy Heron' review - The beta of the next version of the Ubuntu Linux operating system has arrived, although judging by its stability and polish you'd be hard pressed to tell it's a testing release. Ubuntu 8.04, code-named "Hardy Heron", is scheduled to be an LTS (Long Term Support) edition, and you can tell its developers have worked diligently to make it worthy of the title. Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron is shaping up to be a worthy upgrade for existing users and a good jumping-on point for new ones. Wubi, in particular, makes it ideal for anyone who has hesitated to give Linux a try before now. Look for the final version to be available in April. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=1881&pn=2

In The Blogosphere

  • Sun and Canonical to bring Ubuntu 8.04 to x86 Servers - Ubuntu 8.04, however, will no longer be officially supported on SUN's SPARC processor line. Matt Zimmerman, Ubuntu's chief technology officer and chairman of the Ubuntu Technical Board, announced in a Technical Board report March 11 that "the officially released architectures for Ubuntu 8.04 will be i386 and amd64. The SPARC port will continue to be provided with build infrastructure, and Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, 7.04 and 7.10 will continue to enable SPARC deployments well into the future, but there will not be an official Ubuntu 8.04 release for SPARC." The two companies are doing more than just officially certifying and supporting Ubuntu on Sun's AMD-based servers. In an e-mail to Linux-Watch, Shuttleworth said, "In addition to the x86 server certification effort, we have done extensive work around the Java stack in Ubuntu. 8.04 LTS will include packages of OpenJDK, and we expect it to be fully TCK [Technology Compatibility Kit]-certified as a basis for additional work we are doing around Glassfish, NetBeans and other Java components. A goal is to make Ubuntu 8.04 LTS even better for Java-based Web app servers." http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS3548185347.html

  • The Real Sun Ubuntu Linux Connection (and why Reuters got it wrong) - Sean Michael Kerner discusses what the actual connection is between Sun and Ubuntu and how long it has been going on. He emphasizes that Ubuntu has been connected with the Sun UltraSPARC Niagara chips since 2006. http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2008/04/the-real-sun-ubuntu-linux-conn.html

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9911332-16.html

  • Is Ubuntu becoming the generic Linux distro? - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes starts off his article with, "Has anyone else noticed an increasing number of Linux newbies who seem to think that Ubuntu is Linux and Linux is Ubuntu?" He goes on to touch on his own experience, briefly, and his thoughts on why people may be interchanging the two. "I’m of the opinion that the evolution of Ubuntu into the generic Linux distro isn’t a bad thing. My opinion is that when it comes to a beginner entering the world of Linux, the staggering array of distros available is off-putting . . . A single distro offers those wanting to dabble in Linux a place to start . . ." http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1641

  • Small Business on Ubuntu - Ubuntu-Id Pekalongan, Pekalongan Indonesia, decided to make an Ubuntu equiped box productive by creating a small business utilizing the Ubuntu OS. The business is Digital Printing Service, a small outlet serving consumers with printed matter. i.e. photo printing (from digital camera and/or mobile phone), business cards, invitations, pins, T-shirts, mugs, etc. The outlet located at Mega Plaza - Pekalongan. The business run on a Ubuntu box and equipped with multi-purpose Heat Transfer Printer and Printer. All design and image manipulation using XaraXtreme, Ikscape and Gimp. Visit the link for pics of the booth and some of the swag. http://opotumon.blogspot.com/2008/04/small-business-on-ubuntu.html

  • Ubuntu Hardy: The latest and greatest or a total mess? - This article from DownloadSquad shows some of the problems that the author has had with Hardy Heron: Ubuntu has become so popular, so quickly, that it is almost synonymous with the word "Linux". Common wisdom holds that it is the easiest to use, simplest, and most stable Linux based OS out there, and that it is the best hope for "Linux on the Desktop". This reputation is a well earned one, but after trying out the latest beta of Ubuntu Hardy, due out this April, I can't help but wonder if they are getting a little careless."http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/01/ubuntu-hardy-the-latest-and-greatest-or-a-total-mess/

  • My first impressions of Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04) Beta - This article from FOSSwire is a first impression starting from inserting the LiveCD into the tray and re-booting. The author details some things that he liked as well as some things that troubled him. http://fosswire.com/2008/04/01/my-first-impressions-of-ubuntu-hardy-heron-804-beta/

  • First Impressions: Ubuntu 8.04 Beta - The Ubuntu team has made a concerted effort to make it as easy as possible to get Ubuntu on your computer. The standard installation is dead simple and now you can install Ubuntu through Windows, using Wubi, like it is any other application. I actually used a third (and probably the longest) method, and upgraded from 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon). This took some time to do all the downloading and upgrading, but the process worked perfectly on the first try and just required a few clicks in the Update Manager. Any way you do it, the installation is getting to be extremely slick and it was both painless and problem-free this time around. http://www.geek.com/first-impressions-ubuntu-804-beta/

http://blogs.eweek.com/lundquist/content/mark_shuttleworth_and_ubuntu_804.html

  • Is Ubuntu ready for the mainstream? - Jeff has been using Ubuntu 7.10 64 bit for AMD for the past two weeks on his desktop PC. Installation was quick and compared to a Windows installation it was very impressive. His first impression upon booting to his new install was "“Wow. It recognized my wireless card.” As for printing, after a few attempts it was clear that Ubuntu simply did not want to see my network printer, which was frustrating. He was able to enable Compiz but not without some headaches. So, is Ubuntu ready for the mainstream: "Ubuntu 7.10 is my main Operating System at home. I enjoy it and won’t be using Vista or Windows XP as my main system any longer. I have made the switch to Ubuntu. I feel that Linux has come far enough that it is very usable for me. However, I do not feel that Ubuntu or any other Linux distro that I have ever used is ready for the masses. Why? Because no one should ever need to go into the terminal to install something, ever." Ubuntu is moving in the right direction and with a 6 month release cycle he anticipates great strides within the next couple of years. In his opinion, "Microsoft should be very concerned about Linux now". http://www.thebristows.com/blog/tech/is-ubuntu-ready-for-the-mainstream

  • Ubuntu Linux: My First Experience - Jyothi M John says: "Ubuntu Linux is the Best Desktop Solution from linux that I have ever seen." Installation is very smooth, and the live cd allows you to preview the OS before installation. All the hardware was automatically recognized, and with preloaded apps like OpenOffice, Firefox, Evolution, and Gimp, not to mention Samba integration. Automatic installation of most restricted drivers is another plus that is helping to easy the transition for Windows users if you so desire. http://www.kenneyjacob.com/2008/04/03/ubuntu-linux-my-first-experience/

  • Why I Ubuntu - Like a lot of us, Canuck has tried many Linux distributions and continues to do so even today. His main Linux distribution though is Ubuntu 7.10, code name Gutsy Gibbon. He is also playing with the new Hardy Beta, and thinks the dev team deserves lots of credit in meeting its target and making such a exciting release. He uses Ubuntu because it's dependable, fast and full featured. It also has the largest community of the current Linux distro's and is drawing many of the new converts to Linux. He states, "Linux is a community as much as anything. As the community grows and gets stronger, then we all benefit. That is why I Ubuntu." http://linuxcanuck.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/why-i-ubuntu/

In Other News

Matt Zimmerman Interview(Ubuntu Live Conference)

Matt Zimmerman is the CTO of Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd., and has been involved with Ubuntu since the beginning, and led the team which created the Ubuntu distribution. In this audio interview, with integrated slides from Matt's presentation at the Ubuntu Live Conference, he explains the Ubuntu Technical Roadmap. Beginning with a discussion of the development cycles, the importance of continuous community participation, and the completely open development process. Ubuntu's focus remains firmly on the desktop, and Zimmerman discusses the enhancements that Ubuntu 7.04 and 7.10 provide with improved support for wireless networks, Windows settings migration, codec installation, and additional features that desktop users have asked for. He also touches on the development of the server edition of Ubuntu to address the needs of business users and Ubuntu's recent exploration of the mobile environment in cooperation with Intel. He clarifies the rationale behind the regular six-month releases as compared to the LTS (long term support) releases and how each serves a different segment of the Ubuntu community. He concludes with a look at what's coming for Ubuntu and the role that the growing community of users and developers plays in accelerating innovation. http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail3523.html

  • UbuntuHCL is setup to provide a forum for Ubuntu users to share their experiences with different hardware, to ease the transition of new users to Ubuntu, as well as help users pick the right hardware for their Linux system. http://www.ubuntuhcl.org/

  • Ubuntupoint is a news gathering point for everything Ubuntu. Anyone can join and submit, or just read up on the latest Ubuntu news. http://ubuntupoint.com/

Meeting Summaries

Ubuntu Documentation Team

  • Kubuntu documentation complete and uploaded for translations
  • Kubuntu Firefox startpage received a decent amount of new translations
  • Translation templates generated and uploaded to bzr for the Ubuntu documentation (now string-frozen)
  • Lots of bug-fixing!
  • Welcome to the new documentation mentoring students who joined us this month
  • Milo Casagrande and Andrew Stabeno have nearly finished writing the documentation for Brasero (upstream), and members of the Doc Team have started writing for another upstream project (Empathy) under Milo's mentorship

Wine Team

  • Wine 0.9.58 will be the version in Hardy, as 0.9.59 comes out a day after full freeze
  • Wine's built in Tahoma (and other) fonts should support glyphs from most languages now. If a language is still missing, there is still time to fix it for Hardy. Please report it here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/188368

  • We are looking for testers for Wine on the lpia arch. So far all we know is that it compiles.
  • Upstream work on Console Configuration has started so in the future we will be able to configure Wine from new GUI tools such as a gnome applet.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

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

UWN #: A sneak peek

Archives and RSS Feed

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

You can subscribe to the Ubuntu Weekly News via RSS at: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/uwn/feed

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:

  • Nick Ali
  • Isabelle Duchatelle
  • Craig A. Eddy
  • John Crawford
  • Your Name Here
  • And many others

Glossary of Terms

Feedback

If you would like to submit an idea or story you think is worth appearing on the UWN, please send them to ubuntu-marketing-submissions@lists.ubuntu.com. This document is maintained by the Ubuntu Marketing Team. Please feel free to contact us regarding any concerns or suggestions by either sending an email to ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com or by using any of the other methods on the Ubuntu Marketing Team Contact Information Page (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarketingTeam). 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 send then ubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com.

UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue85 (last edited 2008-08-06 16:59:59 by localhost)