Issue58

Differences between revisions 17 and 18
⇤ ← Revision 17 as of 2007-09-23 15:04:45 →
Size: 18117
Editor: ip68-231-139-203
Comment:
← Revision 18 as of 2007-09-23 15:09:33 → ⇥
Size: 19482
Editor: ip68-231-139-203
Comment:
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 148: Line 148:
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7546509093.html  * All Macedonian students to use Linux desktops - The One Laptop per Child's XO, better known as the $100 laptop, gets most of the headlines but NComputing is showing in Macedonia, with its Ubuntu Linux based servers and virtual PC terminals, that there's more than one way to get inexpensive Linux desktops into students' hands. NComputing announced this week that its multi-user virtual desktop software and low-cost virtual PC terminals will be used to equip every school child in the Republic of Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, with a Linux desktop. The national undertaking will standardize all schools around a single technology platform, the "Computer for Every Child" project of the Macedonia Ministry of Education and Science. All together Macedonia will deploy 180,000 NComputing-enabled workstation seats, enough to provide virtually every elementary and secondary school student in the nation with his or her own classroom computing device. When completed, Macedonia's Computer for Every Child initiative will have deployed approximately 160,000 NComputing virtual PC terminals and 20,000 NComputing enabled PCs (which each also support a student on the attached monitor) running Ubuntu. Besides Ubuntu 7.04, each NComputing server/PC comes with NComputing's Terminal Server software and Open Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, Evolution, and Wine. http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7546509093.html 

WORK IN PROGRESS

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #58 for the week September 16th - September 22th, 2007. In this issue we cover ...

UWN Translations

In This Issue

General Community News

We are now one week from the beta release of 7.10 and have just entered beta freeze.

During the freeze, all uploads to main must be approved by a member of the release team [1], so if you have fixes which are important to get in, please do get in touch as soon as possible. Uploads to universe require a manual shove, but are not subject to release management approval.

Issues which are important for the beta release will be tracked by the release team here:

See https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2007-September/000341.html

LoCo News

New in Gutsy Gibbon

Launchpad News

Launchpad 1.1.9 Released

* New "remote" branches: register a remote branch if you want

  • Launchpad to monitor it and link to its code-browser but you don't want Launchpad to import the branch itself. Ideal for security related branches.

* bzr+ssh is now the recommended way to upload a branch to

  • Launchpad. sftp is still available.

* We've updated the PPA terms of service to allow for a wider

  • range of free and open licences.

* You can now search for Incomplete bugs based on whether

  • they've had a response or not.

* If you add a bug watch in an external tracker that Launchpad

  • doesn't already know about, you can add the new bug tracker at the same time.

* Upstream projects now have a view to show all bugs that need

  • to be forwarded to that project from a distribution.

* All of a project's translation files are downloadable in a

  • single tarball.

* KDE plurals and context strings are now supported in

  • translation imports and exports.

There's plenty more in this release. Read the full details at:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/launchpad-users/2007-September/002270.html

Subscribe to the Launchpad News blog to read about more about these new features:

http://news.launchpad.net/

Launchpad privacy policy

The Launchpad team have also introduced a new Privacy and Data Retention policy that covers the relationship between Launchpad and its users. The full thing is at:

https://help.launchpad.net/PrivacyPolicy

The policy describes the ways in which Launchpad uses and retains data, including:

  • gathering data
  • using cookies
  • collecting and using data
  • allowing for data removal and account closure.

The Launchpad team report that the policy formalises what they already do and so is not a change to the way they use data. If you're a Launchpad user, they suggest you read the policy and send any questions to feedback@launchpad.net.

If you'd like to receive notifications of updates to the policy, you can subscribe to the Launchpad News notification feed at http://news.launchpad.net/category/notifications/feed

In The Press

  • SUPERGUIDE: The Open Source Challenge. How to replace Windows completely with Ubuntu - We all know how far open source software has progressed, but has it come so far to not only challenge Windows, but replace it? Can you really install Linux and open source software in place of Windows, and want for nothing? Ashton Mills takes on the challenge of using nothing but Linux and open source software... for absolutely everything. Will he find nirvana in the process, or lose all his hair in frustration? Follow him in and find out. http://apcmag.com/6574/replace_windows_with_linux_part_1_installing_and_updating_ubuntu

  • Divining from the Entrails of Ubuntu's Gutsy Gibbon - According to the 2007 Desktop Linux.com survey, Ubuntu is the distribution of choice for 30% of GNU/Linux users. The exact figure is questionable, but Ubuntu's dominance is not. For an increasing number of people, Ubuntu is GNU/Linux. Yet, looking at the pre-releases of Gutsy Gibbon, Ubuntu 7.10, I found myself becoming disturbed by the degree to which this popularity has translated into uncritical acceptance. Make no mistake -- due to the energy that the Ubuntu community and Canonical, its corporate arm, have put into improving the desktop, this popularity is well-deserved. Yet, at the same time, I find myself wondering whether user-friendliness must inevitably mean discouraging users from exploring their systems or taking firm control over them. This question keep nagging me each time I installed, went through the selection of preloaded software, explored the desktop, installed new software, or examined security. Only once or twice did I find a balance between accessibility to newcomers and a feature set for advanced users. At times, too, I wondered whether the popularity might be preventing Ubuntu from finishing some rough edges. http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/entdev/article.php/3700666

  • Getting Started With Linux - Linux is hot again. In fact, there's never been a better time for Microsoft Windows users to give Linux a whirl. The OS is more usable than ever, easier to install, and more compatible with PC hardware. It still helps to be somewhat tech-savvy to get the most out of Linux, but that's no longer a major requirement. This year, something else has happened that always seems to spur interest in alternative OSs: Microsoft released a new OS of its own. Possibly because upgrading to Vista costs money, or maybe just because getting a new OS reawakens PC users' enjoyment of experimenting with new software, Linux is cool again. With the tips and resources we give you in this story, you'll be better acquainted with Linux and have the guts to get started. We'll set you up with the right distro for beginners, a slew of apps, and valuable tips to keep you on track. For this article, we've chosen the popular Ubuntu — the same Ubuntu that now comes installed on some new Dell systems — as a demonstration distro, but several others are easy to recommend. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297501,00.html

  • Six Top Linux Distributions - You want distros, you got 'em. In fact, you've got more than you can possibly handle. Ultimately, you'll stick with only one, but while you're figuring out which one that is you have nothing to lose. Do yourself a favor and install only one at a time, unless you have a good third-party boot manager and you know how to use it. Ubuntu: Our recommendation for beginners, this extremely popular distro has a default GNOME front end, installs quickly and easily and comes with reliable partitioning software. It's also available as Kubuntu if you prefer working in KDE. Available as a single-CD installation. Next 5 in order of appearance: Mandriva, Fedora Core, Slackware, Freespire, and OpenSUSE. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297509,00.html

  • All Macedonian students to use Linux desktops - The One Laptop per Child's XO, better known as the $100 laptop, gets most of the headlines but NComputing is showing in Macedonia, with its Ubuntu Linux based servers and virtual PC terminals, that there's more than one way to get inexpensive Linux desktops into students' hands. NComputing announced this week that its multi-user virtual desktop software and low-cost virtual PC terminals will be used to equip every school child in the Republic of Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, with a Linux desktop. The national undertaking will standardize all schools around a single technology platform, the "Computer for Every Child" project of the Macedonia Ministry of Education and Science. All together Macedonia will deploy 180,000 NComputing-enabled workstation seats, enough to provide virtually every elementary and secondary school student in the nation with his or her own classroom computing device. When completed, Macedonia's Computer for Every Child initiative will have deployed approximately 160,000 NComputing virtual PC terminals and 20,000 NComputing enabled PCs (which each also support a student on the attached monitor) running Ubuntu. Besides Ubuntu 7.04, each NComputing server/PC comes with NComputing's Terminal Server software and Open Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, Evolution, and Wine. http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7546509093.html

http://apcmag.com/7232/ubuntu_mobile_gets_ready_to_roll

In The Blogosphere

http://seekingalpha.com/article/47486-dell-s-desktop-linux-strategy-so-far-so-good

Meetings and Events

Community Spotlight

Hi all,

The Ubuntu-ni LoCo Team together with the Nicaraguan GNU/Linux Users Group organized our first Software Freedom Day on September 13th in Managua, Nicaragua.

Conferences

* The opening conference; "Free educational software" by the youngest members of the Ubuntu Nicaragua LoCo Team (Sharon Gómez [1] and Elkrin Mayorga [2], both 12 years old) was one of the highlights of the whole event. They presented Gcompris and TuxPaint.

* Gerald Lanzas from Ubuntu Nicaragua presented "Linux in the education". This conference had the participation (via VoIP) of Luis Sepúlveda from the Edulinux project in Chile.

* Edgar Guzman [3] (16 years old), from Ubuntu Guatemala talked about the "Linux Terminal Server Project" and presented some thin clients with Ubuntu.

* In the afternoon there were several conferences on programming languages; Aldo Villagra from Ubuntu Nicaragua with "Ruby on Rails", Celvin Rivas from Ubuntu El Salvador with "Java" and Edgar Martinez, also from Ubuntu El Salvador, with "Python". The last conference was presented by Alejandro Rodriguez, "LDAP + Postfix" from NUI Nicaragua.

* The closing event was an open discussion about technology, particulary the implementation of free and open source software in Central America.

Other activities

* We had an installfest area, distribution and burning stations, testing area with some Ubuntu computers, a multimedia area and an infoscreen.

* The first meeting of the Central American Ubuntu LoCo Teams (mini-Ubucon) was held on the same day with the participation of team members and leaders from El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. We talked about the situation of the Ubuntu teams and the FOSS community in our countries and agreed to continue to work together in order to grow our communities.

Some numbers:

* +500 people attended the SFD Nicaragua 2007 * +500 Ubuntu flyers were handed out * 150 Ubuntu CDs * 20 installs of Ubuntu

We had some media exposure as well [4]

* 4 TV interviews * 5 articles in local newspapers * 2 radio interviews * links and banners in 32 Nicaraguan web sites

Photo gallery (work in progress):

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/loco-contacts/2007-September/001590.html

Updates and security for 6.06, 6.10, and 7.04

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates

Ubuntu 7.04 Updates

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

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

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:

  • Martin Albisetti
  • Nick Ali
  • And many others

RSS

You can subscribe to the UWN feed at: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/uwn/feed

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/Issue58 (last edited 2008-08-06 16:59:35 by localhost)