Issue98

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #98 for the week June 29th - July 5th, 2008. In this issue we cover: Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS released, Intrepid Alpha 2 due out Thursday, Ubuntu Brainstorm, Two new Ubuntu Teams, Kubuntu Intrepid News, Ubuntu Nicaragua TV show, Launchpad 1.2.6 released, Launchpod episode #6, New Ubuntu Forums Interviews Host, Ubuntu-UK podcast #9, and much, much more!

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

  • Ubuntu 8.04.1 released
  • Intrepid Alpha 2 due out Thursday
  • Ubuntu Brainstorm
  • Two new Ubuntu Teams
  • Kubuntu Intrepid news
  • Ubuntu Stats & Bugs

  • Ubuntu Nicaragua
  • Launchpad News
  • Ubuntu Forums news
  • In the Press & Blogosphere

  • Ubuntu-UK podcast #9
  • Upcoming Meetings & Events

  • Updates & Security

General Community News

Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS released

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS, the first maintenance update to Ubuntu's 8.04 LTS release. In all, over 200 updates have been integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS. Since its release, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS has seen widespread use in a variety of desktop and server deployments, and the Ubuntu team has focused their efforts on resolving the issues reported by people deploying Ubuntu in the real world. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2008-July/000112.html

Intrepid Alpha 2 due out Thursday

With the DebianImportFreeze now in effect, and most merges being done, the time for the second Intrepid Alpha has come. It is scheduled for next Thursday, July 10. Developers should refrain from uploading packages between Tuesday and Thursday which don't bring us closer to releasing the alpha. This milestone is intended to be used for tracking bugs that must be fixed in order for the alpha release to happen. Alpha releases are not intended for anyone needing a stable system. A list of bugs targeted for the alpha-2 realease can be found at the link along with further information to aide developers. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-July/000445.html

Ubuntu Brainstorm

1 Million Votes

There have already been one million votes cast at the Brainstrom site on ideas by Ubuntu users. WOW! Congrats to Brainstorm, and a high five to the Ubuntu Community for their participation!

Call for moderators for project-specific Brainstorm frontends

At the moment, ideas at Ubuntu Brainstorm can concern any project, Ubuntu-related or upstream. As a project maintainer however, you may want more visibility and control with the part of the website dedicated to your project, and an easier way to deal with your ideas. That's what is coming next! If you are willing to moderate it, you can ask for a brainstorm.ubuntu.com/project_name/ area. This "subsection" will be like the current Brainstorm site, and use the same idea database, but ideas will be filtered by your project - it's basically a Brainstorm front end for your project. If you are interested, you can ask for it on the mailing list or in IRC channel #ubuntu-testing. For project maintainers who are interested in feedback and who want to use their own tools, XML export will be provided in the next update. http://blog.qa.ubuntu.com/node/23

Two new Ubuntu Teams

Ubuntu Java Team

Up and running, and already the new Java team has had its first meeting. That doesn't mean that you have missed out on it though. The team is just getting started and they are enthusiastic about making Java rock with Ubuntu. If you are interested in joining this new Ubuntu team, join #ubuntu-java on freenode and introduce yourself. http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1563

Ubuntu Web Presence Team

Want to help make the Ubuntu website a thing of greater beauty? If so, here’s your chance. The newly created Ubuntu Web Presence team is recruiting members. If you’re excited about web technologies this is the team for you. Some of the tasks this team will tackle include:

  • New countdown banners for the releases
  • Contribute to the start page that users see when they first load Ubuntu (http://start.ubuntu.com/8.04)

  • Allow localization of key portions of the Ubuntu website
  • Use your javascript, python or PHP coding skills to create exciting new features
  • Design a visually engaging website experience
  • Enable more people in the community to help out
  • And more… the possibilities are limitless!

Sign up now by joining the Web Presence Team’s mailing list and introducing yourself: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-website

http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1564

Kubuntu Intrepid News

Kubuntu Intrepid will bring major changes with KDE 4.1, fixing a lot of bugs or making them irrelevant. The team needs help sorting out which bugs can now be closed, which still need to be fixed in Intrepid, and which bugs are really important and need to be fixed in Hardy/KDE3. The next hug day, Tuesday, July 8th, will focus on transitioning old KDE3 bug reports to KDE4. The event will be held in #ubuntu-bugs on Freenode.

The list of targeted bugs with instructions is posted at: https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UbuntuBugDay/20080708

The goal is to deal with all of the bugs on that list. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2008-July/000086.html

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open (47228) +36 # over last week
  • Critical (29) -3 # over last week
  • Unconfirmed (23398) +50 # over last week
  • Unassigned (77) +/-0 # over last week
  • All bugs ever reported (193473) +1196 # 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 Hardy

This is the top 5, not specific languages, so the languages might change week to week.

  • Spanish (12210)
  • French (39132)
  • English (United Kingdom) (49696)
  • Swedish (52861)
  • Brazilian Portuguese (54600)

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

LoCo News

Ubuntu Nicaragua LoCo

By combining forces, the Ubuntu Nicaragua LoCo and the Nicaragua LUG have secured a weekly spot on their countries biggest television network. It will be a technology show airing every Tuesday beginning July 15th. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to not only produce a television show, but to have the chance to help spread the word about open source in Nicaragua. Great job Nicaragua! http://leogg.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/going-mainstream/

Launchpad News

Launchpad 1.2.6 released

The Launchpad team is proud to announce the July 1st, 2008 release of Launchpad 1.2.6! New features for this release include:

Get the full review of all the exciting new Launchpad features here: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/launchpad-users/2008-July/003885.html

Launchpod episode #6: Greasemonkey scripts and LP developer interview

The latest from the Launchpad developers, questions from Launchpad users and stories from people who’ve found Launchpad useful. Hosted by: Matthew Revell, Joey Stanford and Elliot Murphy.

In this episode:

  • About the bug page, distro page and translations page UI changes - give us your feedback on them!
  • Members of the Launchpad user community have developed Greasemonkey scripts to tweak Launchpad’s interface.
  • Launchpad developer Tom Berger talks about his work on the Launchpad bug tracker, the bug page UI changes and the forthcoming Launchpad API.
  • Joey’s secret number of the week! Plus an insight into Launchpad’s future and our QA

Send us your ideas and questions to feedback@launchpad.net!

http://news.launchpad.net/podcast/launchpod-episode-6-greasemonkey-scripts-and-lp-developer-interview

Ubuntu Forums News

New Ubuntu Forums Interviews Host

K.Mandla has been running the UF interviews since last September. The idea originated in a discussion thread in the Staff area on UF, and K.Mandla designed the Nine Simple Questions, set up the interviews schedule and published them on Motho ke motho ka botho, with a unique and cheerful style. http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/nine-simple-questions/

Real life events are preventing K.Mandla from putting the needed time and energy into the project, so Matthew is going to continue, and possibly expand the scope to include people from the general Ubuntu community. You can read the whole story from K.Mandla and Matthew here:

K.Mandla: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/community-interviews/

Matthew: http://matthewhelmke.net/wordpress/2008/07/03/introducing-ubuntu-community-interviews/

Many thanks to K.Mandla for all the hard work, and to Matthew, an admin at ubuntuforums, for taking up the project!

Ubuntu Forums Interviews

forestpixie accepted to be the first "victim, *ahem* I mean volunteer" as Matthew puts it! From UK and living with his 8-year old child, forestpixie is another member from the Commodore era. He had a not-so-funny experience on the forums: he lost all his posts and whatnots in a database blink. Fortunately, forestpixie is really easy going, the account could retrieve the customizations with some admin work, but not all the posts.. Please meet with him here: http://matthewhelmke.net/wordpress/2008/07/04/an-interview-with-forestpixie/

Tutorial of the Week

The highlighted tutorial this week will interest Hotmail users, and Evolution users too. As if you didn't see it coming, it's "HOWTO: Send and Receive Hotmail through Evolution" by Indras. Following the steps in Indras' thread will get Evolution hooked up to your Hotmail account, and let you read your e-mail without needing the browser interface. And even though the thread dates back to 2006, recent replies suggest it works just as well now as it did then. And it's well-formatted, with easy-to-read code boxes and highlighted steps. It's a good example of a nicely built tutorial. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=200408

In The Press

  • The Blessings of Synchronized Releases - The open source community is currently debating the merits, if any, of synchronizing the release schedules of several of the bigger key projects that make up a Linux distribution. Thom Holwerda thinks that beating Apple and Microsoft, on their own marketing turf, is going to be difficult. He believes that by synchronizing releases of the various applications and distributions, then using the assets the community already has in place, we stands a better chance of succeeding. Open source is a technically adept community with lots of blogs, IM friends, and IRC access and should be using those assets to promote and advance the cause. http://www.osnews.com/story/19937/The_Blessings_of_Synchronised_Releases

  • Microsoft tactics push India toward Linux - Tamil Nadu, India may be purchasing 100,000 laptops this year to redistribute to students at a greatly reduced price. The operating systems of choice would be SUSE and Ubuntu. They are already using both on over 2,000 desktops and laptops and have found them to be far superior to other operating systems. This sounds like another reason for the open source community to rejoice, but we shouldn't count on it yet. It seems this announcement came about after Microsoft raised it's licensing proposal from $12 for the basic OS, to $57 for a bundled package that also included MS Office. Any counter offer might put the Linux installed laptops on hold. http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS6504473525.html

  • Making desktop Linux work for business - Today's IT managers face tough choices. PCs that run fine today have an uncertain upgrade path, especially now that Microsoft has chosen to discontinue Windows XP. Upgrade costs associated with Vista, coupled with the ever-escalating cost of application licenses, make switching to desktop Linux an increasingly attractive option. Neil McAllister makes the claim that, " When it comes to making the break from Windows, Linux is ready when you are". The article is more cautionary however as it outlines some of the problems that businesses can run into in making the switch to Linux. However, if a company can afford to be flexible, there are Linux options such as Ubuntu available that specialize in delivering a high quality user experience, and are backed by commercial support. http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/07/01/27FE-desktop-linux_1.html

In The Blogosphere

  • First Look: Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex Alpha 1 - Intrepid Ibex features updates to the Linux kernel as well as some interesting new gizmos on the desktop. The most noticeable change to Linux’s leading desktop is a darker brown visual theme. Ibex will introduce new networking configuration tools that will let users find and connect to wifi networks more easily, and include support for most broadband wireless 3G networks. System tweaks will focus on speeding up performance to cut boot time, and utilizing pre-fetching techniques to shorten the time needed to load programs. Intrepid will also include better Flash support, better KDE support for Firefox, and the upcoming release of Open Office 3. Keep in mind that being an alpha release, things can change before the final comes out. http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/First_Look:_Ubuntu_Intrepid_Ibex_Alpha_1

  • Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1 Screenshot Tour - Marius Nestor has compiled some screen shots of Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1, Intrepid Ibex, showing what the new darker theme may look like. One change, according to Mark Shuttleworth, will be the ability to stay connected to the internet as you go from the office, to the train, or home. Being an Alpha release, many things may change before the final comes out. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-8-10-Alpha-1-Screenshot-Tour-89049.shtml

  • Ubuntu - Ready For Prime Time - BigJolly declares that not only does Ubuntu Rock, it is now easier to install and use than ever before. Anyone can safely tell their friends to install the latest Ubuntu version, Hardy Heron 8.04. They’ll get the latest version of Firefox, GIMP, a photo manager, streaming audio, Open Office 2.4, and so many games they won’t have time to blog. Plus, there are thousands more FREE open source programs at their disposal. His enthusiasm is contagious, and some of his readers give their reactions to Ubuntu in their comments. http://lonestartimes.com/2008/07/02/linux-ubuntu-ready-for-prime-time/

  • My Awesome Ubuntu Experience - Lone Truth has been trying different versions of Linux off and on since 1999, but always ended up going back to Windows. He has become increasing aware lately that his current OS just isn't cutting it, and after hearing good things about Ubuntu, he decided to give a try. He downloaded the ISO and installed Hardy 8.04 and booted into his new system. His wireless, sound card, and file sharing worked right out of the box. He especially liked the speed of updating and not having to reboot after each upgrade. There were some tweaks needed, but overall he is very impressed with Ubuntu and Linux in general. http://lonetruth.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/ubuntu-experience/

  • My path to Ubuntu, and why I stayed. - In this comment to the article, Linux Trends Show Ubuntu Overtaking Competition, OMRebel explains how he got started using Ubuntu and why he has stayed with it. At first, he was leery of the hype that surrounded the distribution, but now feels that there is legitimate reason for it. Aside a from better "out of the box" experience, the Ubuntu community is one of the biggest factors in Ubuntu's success, and a major asset. http://www.osnews.com/thread?321211

  • Which Linux Distributions Are Dying? - possible248, in a reaction to an article he read, pulled some graphs from Google Trends showing the direction of growth for various Linux distributions. In the end, there are 2 graphs that rather speak for themselves, one shows the growth of Ubuntu, the other shows that Ubuntu is possibly overtaking Linux as a google search term. He believes that the newer distributions of Linux are on the rise, and that Ubuntu is rising at a "shocking" rate. (It should be noted that Google Trends is not necessarily the best set of statistics available, but it's what the author based his conclusions on.) http://codingexperiments.com/archives/149

  • Five Reasons Ubuntu Is the #1 Linux Distro - Andrew Min tells us the 5 main reasons why he feels Ubuntu is the #1 Linux distro. His explanations are geared to reflect the feelings of both the average user and the hardcore hacker to show how Ubuntu reaches out to both. Ease of use, a balance of power, the community, the regular releases, and the professional support available to those who need it are Andrew's main reasons for his statement that Ubuntu is the #1 Linux distro available today. http://www.dawningvalley.com/2008/07/five-reasons-ubuntu-is-the-1-linux-distro/ (Five Reasons Ubuntu Is the #1 Linux Distro)

In Other News

Ubuntu-UK podcast #9: Playing for keeps

Laura Cowen, Alan Pope, Dave Walker and Tony Whitmore present the ninth episode of the Ubuntu UK Podcast.

In this episode:

  • Efficient PC hardware review
    • We review the Wraith PC from Efficient PC. Listen in to our next episode (number 10) for a chance to win this great computer!
  • Ubuntu mobile edition confusion
  • Lugradio Live discussion
  • Drobo disk storage robot and Drobo Share
  • Competition:
    • The competition from Episode 8 is still open. It will end on the 12th July. (we have extended the competition due to the last episode being late).

Comments and suggestions are welcome at: podcast@ubuntu-uk.org

http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/2008/07/03/s01e09-playing-for-keeps/

Ubuntubash website

Ubuntubash is a bash.org type site for the community, and independent from Ubuntu. It is meant to be a fun outlet that lets users post content not usually found in the main channels. It may be your cup of tea, or maybe not, but it's sure to provide some interesting reading. http://ubuntubash.org/

Correction

In our June 22nd issue, we reported that the MOTU council had approved two new applicants for core-dev membership. These new applicants were actually approved by the Technical Board, as all core-dev applicants are.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Asia and Oceania Ubuntu Membership Approval Board Meeting

Server Team Meeting

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

QA Team Meeting

Platform Team Meeting

  • Start: 22:00 UTC
  • End: 23:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not Listed as of Publication

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Desktop Team Meeting

Ubuntu Mobile Meeting

  • Start: 16:00 UTC
  • End: 17:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not Listed as of Publication

Friday, July 11, 2008

MOTU Meeting

  • Start: 12:00 UTC
  • End: 13:00 UTC
  • Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting
  • Agenda: Not Listed as of Publication

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Xubuntu Community Meeting

Updates and Security for 6.06, 7.04, 7.10, and 8.04

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 Updates

Ubuntu 7.04 Updates

Ubuntu 7.10 Updates

Ubuntu 8.04 Updates

Archives and RSS Feed

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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
  • Isabelle Duchatelle
  • Craig A. Eddy
  • And many others

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 send them to ubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com.

UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue98 (last edited 2008-08-06 17:00:49 by localhost)