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Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 68 for the week November 25th - December 2nd, 2007. In this issue we cover Full Circle Magazine Issue #7, Hug Day, Hardy Heron Alpha 1, the release of JeOS 7.10 and Launchpad 1.1.11, newly approved teams and members, Ubuntu Server ads, and, as always, much much more!

UWN Translations

• Deutsch - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue68/De

• Español - Start one! https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/IssueXX/Es

• Français - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue68/Fr

• Italiano - http://wiki.ubuntu-it.org/NewsletterItaliana

• Português - Start one! https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/IssueXX/Pt

In This Issue

• New MOTU Member
• Full Circle Magazine Issue #7
• Hug Day
• Hardy Heron Alpha 1 Out
• JeOS 7.10 Released

• Newly Approved Teams & Members

• Launchpad 1.1.11 Released

• Ubuntu Forum News & Interviews

• Ubuntu Server Ads

• In The Press & The Blogosphere

• Meetings & Events

• Updates & Security

• Bug & Translation Stats

General Community News

Harald Sitter is a MOTU

We're pleased to announce that Harald Sitter now is a MOTU. After putting a lot of work into Kubuntu, everybody's happy to have him in the team now! http://launchpad.net/~apachelogger

Full Circle Magazine Issue #7

Issue #7 Summary:

• Step-by-Step Ubuntu Studio install
• How-To : Simply Install SSH, A Terminal on your Desktop, Easily
• Convert from Windows and Learning Scribus pt.7.
• Review : Wubi Installer
• Top 5 - Audio/Video Apps.
• Interview with Howard County Library.

• News, Letters, Q&A, My Desktop and more!

Catch it while it's hot! http://www.fullcirclemagazine.org/issue-7/

Hug Day

The next Hug Day will be this Wednesday, December 5th, 2007. The team will be targeting bugs that do not have a package assigned to them. You can easily help these bug reports through the triaging process by assigning to them a package. For help in determining what package to assign the bug to please, take a look at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage You can find other ways of helping by visiting the link below and volunteering to help the Bug team. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/2007-November/131094.html

Hardy Alpha 1 Out

The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. The Hardy Heron Tribe 1 is the first alpha release of Ubuntu 8.04, and with this new alpha release comes a whole host of excellent new features. Note: This is still an alpha release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released in April 2008. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyHeron/Alpha1

Ubuntu JeOS 7.10 Released

The Ubuntu team is happy to announce the first release of Ubuntu JeOS, Ubuntu JeOS 7.10. Pronounced "juice", Ubuntu JeOS (Just Enough Operating System) is an efficient variant of Ubuntu configured specifically for virtual appliances. ISVs looking to develop virtual appliances will have a compelling platform in Ubuntu JeOS, an OS optimized for virtualization that greatly reduces the complexity and maintenance overhead normally associated with general purpose operating systems. Ubuntu JeOS Edition has been tuned to take advantage of key performance technologies of the latest virtualization products from VMware. This combination of reduced size and optimized performance ensures that Ubuntu JeOS Edition delivers a highly efficient use of server resources in large virtual deployments. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2007-November/000106.html

Newly Approved Members

• Andrea Corbellini - Andrea is a developer who uses Python as a main language, but also knows C, C++, and ASM. Ubuntu Bug Control Team, and the Ubuntu Support Teams along with translations and blueprints take up most of Andrea's time. Future goals include becoming a MOTU. https://launchpad.net/~andrea-bs

• Bhavani Shankar - Bhavani works on the Ubuntu Media center and is an active tracker. His goals include getting active with the Accessibility Team and is working on an idea involving iptablesfe and developing a front end for it using the pygtk module similar to nmapfe. https://launchpad.net/~bhavi

• Caspar Clemens Mierau - Caspar has done a lot of work organizing and reaching out to other Berlin Ubunteros. He is active with the Berlin Team and likes to make marketing contacts there. Bug Squad in addition to excellent team work for Berlin earned a +1 from the Community Council. https://launchpad.net/~damokles

• Siegfried-A. Gevatter - Siegfried started getting involved with packaging and a bit bug triaging some months ago, and he maintains some packages in Debian. Some weeks before Gutsy was released, he also started contributing to the Catalan Ubuntu Translators team. Cheered as a pillar of the Catalan Team, the support earned him easy approval. https://launchpad.net/~rainct

• Jamie Strandboge - Jamie is an Ubuntu Security Engineer who was hired in September. Contributions to some security updates and the Ubuntu Server Team earned Jamie membership. We also hear he is a guitar hero. https://launchpad.net/~jamie-strandboge

• Gabriele Postorino - Gabriele is a member of the Italian Team who enjoys giving support in #ubuntu-it. Since Warty, Gabriele has helped with bug filing on launchpad. Goals include contributing to translations and focusing on FCM (Full Circle Magazine). https://launchpad.net/~no0tic

• Alessio Igor Bogani - Alessio is a member of the Ubuntu Kernel team and founder and team leader for the Ubuntu Realtime Team. As a contributing member of the Ubuntu Studio Team, his creation/maintenance of the -RT kernel is a key component. https://launchpad.net/~abogani

• Julian Andres Klode - Julian maintain packages in Debian and Ubuntu, tests Launchpad betas, and is in the early process of becoming a Debian developer. He also works on dir2ogg and ndisgtk. https://launchpad.net/~juliank

• André Gondim - André is a member of the Brazilian LoCo and focuses mostly on the Brazilian Translation Team. https://launchpad.net/~andre-gondim

• Matthew Craig - Matthew co-founded the Ubuntu Students Team and is active in helping LoCos get organized. He attends education trade conferences on a regular basis and promotes Ubuntu. https://launchpad.net/~matthew-t-craig

• Christophe Sauthier - Christophe is a member of the French LoCo and helps maintain their online presence. He worked previously on BehindUbuntu and is now part of the MOTU mentoring program. https://launchpad.net/~christophe.sauthier

• Jelmer Vernooij - Jelmer works on various upstream projects, such as Samba, Bazaar and OpenChange. He plans on becoming a MOTU so he can continue to work on these packages and help integrate them into Ubuntu, Samba in particular. https://launchpad.net/~jelmer

• Bart Broeckx - Bart is active in the ubuntu-be and ubuntu-nl communities and is working with the two teams to create a Dutch speaking marketing team. He has also helped with several events as well as the Dutch forums. https://edge.launchpad.net/~bart

LoCo News

Newly Approved LoCos

• New Jersey Team - The New Jersey Team has 70 registered members and gained appoval on the back of solid advocacy and future planned events such as a Linux LAN Party and an Install Fest. They are also working on the Trenton Computer Festival, and cross team support with the local state LUG's. Active since November of 2006 and led by Joe_Cot. http://nj.ubuntu-us.org/

• Georgia Team(US) - The George Team was represented by Jon Reagan and is busy developing various sub teams for support and membership. Atlanta is the main base of the team but it has a presence in Athens too. The team has been working on future install fests and working with FreeIT Athens. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GeorgiaUSTeam

• New Mexico Team - The New Mexico Team showed solid advocacy and quarterly install fests, as well as an active mailing list and membership. Receiving many favorable comments from the council members, the New Mexico Team was quickly approved. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NewMexicoTeam

• Michigan Team - The Michigan Team is lead by Greg Grossmeier. Regular IRC meetings, Ubuntu advocacy, and Packaging Jams are just part of this teams accomplishments. It was suggested that some of the team members should consider joining the MOTU Team. A well organized team that is going places. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MichiganTeam

• Denmark Team - The Danish Team was represented by Gnomonic. They regularly have 15-25 members at meetings that are on the first Sunday of every month. The team shows a good mix of advocacy and localization. Congrats to the Danes!! https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DanishTeam

Launchpad News

Launchpad 1.1.11 Released

Launchpad has two big pieces of news this month!

• Personal Package Archives are now out of beta and available to all Launchpad users and teams. Find out more in our quick-start guide at https://help.launchpad.net/PPAQuickStart

• Launchpad Translations is now much quicker and rock-solid. Expect exports and imports in half the time and next to no timeouts.

Read the full announcement here: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/launchpad-users/2007-November/002768.html

Ubuntu Forum News

New sub-forums

Two new sub-forums have been set up:

• Virtualization, for questions on VMWare, VirtualBox, Xen, QEMU and other virtualization software. http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=308

• Wine, where you can ask questions about Windows programs under Linux using Wine, including productivity software, games, and anything else. http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=313

UF members interviews

23meg is under the spotlights this week. He contributes to Ubuntu in many different ways, via the Forums Ambassadors team, moderating sub-forums, triaging bugs with the Bug Squad, translations, documentation, etc. The whole article is here: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/an-interview-with-23meg/

In The Press

• Dell moves 40,000 Ubuntu PCs - Dell agreed to ship PCs and laptops with the Ubuntu operating system after more than 130,000 people promoted the notion on the company's Idea Storm web site. It would seem, however, that only a fraction of these zealots were willing to back their votes with cash. Dell has shipped close to 40,000 systems pre-installed with the Ubuntu flavor of Linux, according to multiple sources. By most accounts, that is a significant number for what remains more or less a fringe operating system. Ubuntu fans are urged to hold back their virtual quills of vitriol following that last sentence and remember that the OS trails major desktop and notebook OS's by quite a margin. Is 40,000 units over a number of months enough to keep Dell interested? Your guess is as good as ours. The company sells about 10m machines per quarter. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/30/ubuntu_dell_sales/

• Launchpad Eases Ubuntu app Distribution - Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu Linux, has unveiled a new method for developers to build and publish packages of their code, documentation, artwork, themes and other contributions to Ubuntu. Personal Package Archive (PPA) is a new component of Canonical's Launchpad hosting service for public software development. PPAs enable developers to publish ready-to-install packages of their software directly to users and include the ability to build and publish packages for x86 and AMD64 systems. It also supports the Low-Power Intel Architecture (LPIA), a new chip architecture that is compatible with traditional x86 software but optimized for battery-powered devices. LPIA is the primary target platform for the future Ubuntu Mobile Edition. "Many developers want to modify existing packages, or create new packages of their software," says Christian Reis, head of Launchpad application development. "The PPA service allows anyone to publish a package without having to ask permission or join the Ubuntu project as a developer. This removes a significant barrier to contribution in the free software community." http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/142299/launchpad-eases-ubuntu-app-distribution.html

• New Xubuntu Remix: MPAA University Toolkit, Peer Watch - There is a new Xubuntu Remix/Derivative that is getting a lot of attention in the press these days called "Peer Watch" or simply the "University Toolkit".
  • "The Motion Picture of Association of America is urging some of the nation's largest universities to deploy custom software designed to pinpoint students who may be using the schools' networks to illegally download pirated movies." reports Brian Krebs on Computer Security at the Washington Post; "The University Toolkit is essentially [the Xubuntu Operating System] with some powerful, open-source network monitoring tools, including Snort, which captures detailed information about all traffic flowing across a network; as well as ntop - a tool used to take data feeds from tools like Snort and display the data in more user-friendly graphics and charts."
  • Although Piracy is illegal in most industrialized countries, there has been overwhelming dislike for how certain copyright players like the RIAA and the MPAA are dealing with the crisis of the shifting market. Naturally, a number of articles and stories have popped up in the media giving this new software a hard look over. Sadly, the verdict isn't stellar: "A closer look at the MPAA's software, however, raises some serious privacy and security concerns for both the entertainment industry and the schools that choose to deploy the technology." Along with serious privacy and security concerns, there has also been some calls suggesting that the MPAA has violated the Canonical trademark policy for Xubuntu by not re-branding (Xubuntu logo, splash screens, etc. have not been changed) and that they are violating the GPL by not distributing modifications they have made to certain GPL applications nor the source code for their distribution. Canonical has yet to comment on the status of the MPAA's compliance with their trademark policies.

  • It seems that this interesting use of technology has turned into a storm of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). Hopefully more details will be released shortly to put an end to the furry of speculations. Cody A.W. Somerville of the Xubuntu project had the following to say: "I'm excited to see the use of the Xubuntu distribution and I see this as an excellent opportunity to push a positive Xubuntu agenda; the MPAA is entitled to use Open Source Software like anyone else. Although I can not speak to the certainty of some of the claims leveled against the MPAA (copyright, trademark, privacy/security concerns), I do hope that if there are problems present that they can be resolved quickly and satisfactorily." For more information about this emerging story, see: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/11/mpaa_university_toolkit_opens_1.html

• Wal-Mart, Dell offers help breathe new life into Linux: PC system isn't just for 'geeks' anymore - At the beginning of November, Wal-Mart gave shoppers a chance to get an early start on their holiday shopping by offering a $199 desktop computer, both in its stores and online at WalMart.com. The version of Linux on Wal-Mart's $199 computer is called gOS, and is a variant of the current leading distribution, Ubuntu (Dell's new line of Linux-based machines also use Ubuntu). As desktop machines go, the Everex TC2502 is not particularly powerful, with a 1.5-gigahertz processor, 512 megabytes of RAM, an 80-gigabyte hard drive and no monitor. But consumers judged it powerful enough -- in less than two weeks, the retailer was out of stock. The sellout may not be a watershed event: Wal-Mart began the sale with only 10,000 units available in 600 stores (and the machines are in stock again). But when the world's largest retailer and the second largest computer maker both offer Linux-based PCs, maybe Linux isn't just for geeks anymore.http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07331/836964-28.stm

• Ubuntu: The "Other" Windows - Kurt the Cyberguy shows us how people are avoiding Windows Vista with an easy-to-operate, consumer-friendly alternative, called Linux. From his creation, Microsoft, Gates has earned billions, and the one guy shaking up his world — aside from Steve Jobs from Apple, who rattles "the Billster" — is Mark Shuttleworth, the space-flying billionaire who is going up against Gates in a software showdown. Kurt put this free version to the test on a desktop and laptop — and he said it works well. With the size of Windows Vista, installations have been plagued with questions. One Geek Squad spokesman said, "They are more confused and bewildered at it. I think they've never been asked so many questions in their life. Linux is going to be here for a long time, and it will eventually become mainstream enough that you will see it in mainstream markets." http://www.cfnews13.com/Technology/YourTechnology/2007/11/16/ubuntu__the_39other39_windows.html

In The Blogosphere

• Ubuntu Linux - Ubuntu works. It works well. So much so that after putting a new hard drive in his home PC, Dean Armstrong is installing Ubuntu on it. He thinks he will set up a dual-boot system, or experiment with virtualization or a WINE Windows emulation system, but for the moment he is happy and importantly, up and running, with a free OS that comes off of a CD. "Linux has arrived at the casual desktop, and it really works, and most hardware now works with it too. It's moved out of the enthusiast market and into the real world, where people don't necessary have the technical skills to replace the kernel or compile a program." http://dwarmstr.blogspot.com/2007/11/ubuntu-linux.html

• Ubuntu Linux vs Windows Vista: The Desktop Battle - It may be a brave opinion but Borys Busielak predicts that Ubuntu Linux and Windows Vista are going to be the two operating systems that will take over the largest chunk of the desktop OS market during the next couple of years. This comparison is based on his experience with both systems during the last couple of weeks on two different computers. One of the main things he requires from an operating system (and any program actually) is that it should bend to his needs, not vice-versa. Ubuntu, like any other GNU/Linux distribution — gives you tons of advanced features for free. Ubuntu also gives you an incomparable level of configuration ability for your desktop needs as well. You can adjust the desktop to your needs almost to an infinite extent. Read more of this authors comparisons at the link below. http://polishlinux.org/linux/ubuntu/ubuntu-linux-vs-windows-vista-the-desktop-battle/

In Other News

Ubuntu Server Ads

• You Tube flick depicting Ubuntu Server as an uncomplicated way of doing things. There are more flicks listed in the "Related Videos" section on this page. Ubuntu plus Server equals peace of mind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMlCeDu-0c&feature=related

• A short You Tube flick on the Ubuntu Server Ads, showing what else you might have time to do if you used the Ubuntu Server OS. There are also a couple of others to watch under the "Related Videos" heading on the same page. Ubuntu Server, it's a "good thing". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6L51uZjaZU&feature=related

• Ubuntu Toolbox Book - A new book called "Ubuntu Linux Toolbox" by Christopher Negus and Francois Caen (Wiley Publishing, 2007) was released this week. The book aims at those aspiring to be power users of Ubuntu or Debian systems. Rather that act as a rehash of man pages, the book shows more than 1000 useful command lines by category. The command lines present real examples of working with files, playing with multimedia, backing up data, accessing network resources, managing security, and many other topics. The book should be useful for users and administrators wanting to delve beneath the surface of an Ubuntu desktop. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-marketing-submissions/2007-November/000206.html

Meetings and Events

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Bugs for Hugs Day

• Start: 14:00 UTC
• End: Not Specified
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-bugs

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuBugDay/20071205

Server Team meeting

• Start: 16:00 UTC
• End: 17:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/Meeting

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Xubuntu meeting

• Start: 20:30 UTC
• End: 21:30 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-meeting

• Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Xubuntu/Meetings

Friday, December 7, 2007

MOTU Q&A session

• Start: 13:00 UTC
• End: 14:00 UTC
• Location: IRC channel #ubuntu-classroom
• Agenda: No agenda listed as of the publication

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

Security Updates

• [USN-545-1] link-grammar vulnerability - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2007-November/000627.html

• [USN-546-1] Firefox vulnerabilities - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2007-November/000628.html

• [USN-547-1] PCRE vulnerabilities - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2007-November/000629.html

• [USN-548-1] Pidgin vulnerability - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2007-November/000630.html

• [USN-549-1] PHP vulnerabilities - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-security-announce/2007-November/000631.html

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates

• None Reported

Ubuntu 6.10 Updates

• None Reported

Ubuntu 7.04 Updates

• Accepted: drupal 5.1-0ubuntu2.2 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/feisty-changes/2007-November/008789.html

Ubuntu 7.10 Updates

• Accepted: openoffice.org 1:2.3.0-1ubuntu5.2 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010034.html

• Accepted: openoffice.org 1:2.3.0-1ubuntu5.3 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010035.html

• Accepted: db4.4 4.4.20-8.1ubuntu3.1 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010036.html

• Accepted: liferea 1.4.4-0ubuntu3.1 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010037.html

• Accepted: vmware-server 1.0.4-1gutsy1 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010039.html

• vmware-server-kernel-modules-2.6.22 2.6.22.0-1 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010038.html

• Accepted: openssl097 0.9.7k-3gutsy1 (source) - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gutsy-changes/2007-November/010040.html

Bug Stats

• Open (37874) +284 # over last week
• Critical (18) +2 # over last week
• Unconfirmed (20129) -134 # over last week
• Unassigned (29023) +218 # over last week
• All bugs ever reported (138013) +1107 # 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 (29029) +14127 # over last week
2. French (40848) +2160 # over last week
3. Swedish (55305) +6079 # over last week
4. English-UK (47001) +1060 # over last week
5. German (67394) +859 # over last week

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

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:

• http://www.ubuntu.com/news

and

• http://fridge.ubuntu.com/

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter.

See you next week!

Credits

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

• Cody A.W. Somerville
• Isabelle Duchatelle
• Nick Ali
• Craig A. Eddy
• John Crawford
• And many others

RSS

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

Glossary of Terms

• FUD = Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
• JeOS = Just enough OS
• MPAA = Motion Picture Association of America
• RIAA = Recording Industry Association of America
• Vista = The "Other OS"
• VMWare = A company that makes a virtualization product by the same name.
• WINE = "Wine Is Not an Emulator". Windows environment in Linux.

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.