Issue68

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WORK IN PROGRESS

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 68 for the week November 25th - December 2nd, 2007. In this issue we cover ...

UWN Translations

In This Issue

General Community News

MOTU

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

Full Circle #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, MyDesktop and more!

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

Hug Day

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/2007-November/131094.html

Hardy Alpha 1 Out

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyHeron/Alpha1 include usual precautions about not using in production systems

Ubuntu JeOS 7.10 Released

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2007-November/000106.html

Newly CC approved members

Andrea Corbellini

[https://launchpad.net/~andrea-bs andrea-bs]

Bhavani Shankar

[https://launchpad.net/~bhavi bhavi]

Caspar Clemens Mierau

[https://launchpad.net/~damokles damokles]

Siegfried-A. Gevatter

[https://launchpad.net/~rainct rainct]

Jamie Strandboge

[https://launchpad.net/~jamie-strandboge jamie-strandboge]

Gabriele Postorino

[https://launchpad.net/~no0tic no0tic]

Alessio Igor Bogani

[https://launchpad.net/~abogani abogani]

Julian Andres Klode

[https://launchpad.net/~juliank juliank]

André Gondim

[https://launchpad.net/~andre-gondim andre-gondim]

Matthew Craig

[https://launchpad.net/~matthew-t-craig matthew-t-craig]

Christophe Sauthier

[https://launchpad.net/~christophe-sauthier christophe-sauthier]

Jelmer Vernooij

[https://launchpad.net/~jelmer jelmer]

Bart Broeckx

[https://edge.launchpad.net/~bart bartek]

LoCo News

Newly CC approved LoCos

New in Gutsy Gibbon

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:

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, transations, documentation, etc. The whole article is here: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/an-interview-with-23meg/

In The Press

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/30/ubuntu_dell_sales/

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/142299/launchpad-eases-ubuntu-app-distribution.html

New Xubuntu Remix: MPAA University Toolkit, PeerWatch

There is a new Xubuntu Remix/Derivative that is getting a lot of attention in the press these days called "PeerWatch" 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 modification 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

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

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 to 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

Server Team meeting

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Xubuntu meeting

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

Community Spotlight

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

Security Updates

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 6.10 Updates

  • None Reported

Ubuntu 7.04 Updates

Ubuntu 7.10 Updates

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

Infamous Bugs

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/

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:

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

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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.