Ubuntu Weekly News: Issue #62
Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #62 for the week October 14th - October 20th, 2007. In this issue we cover the release of Ubuntu 7.10, upcoming Ubuntu Developer Summit for Ubuntu 8.04, Ubuntu Open Week starting Monday 22nd October, plans by Dell to ship Ubuntu 7.10 on desktops and laptops, and, as always, much much more!
In This Issue
- Ubuntu 7.10 Released!
- Ubuntu Developer Summit for Version 8.04
- Ubuntu Open Week Starting Monday 22nd October
- Dell to Ship Ubuntu 7.10 on Desktops and Laptops
- In The Press and In The Blogosphere
- Meetings and Events
- Updates and security for 6.06, 6.10, 7.04, and 7.10
- Translation stats
- Bug Stats
General Community News
Ubuntu 7.10 Released!
With much anticipation, the new version of Ubuntu, 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon" was released October 18th.
This new release includes many new features like App``Armor, deskbar and tracker, bulletproof X and graphical X configuration, sharing your computer with fast user switching, desktop effects with Compiz, better Firefox plugins and Gnash and better hardware support. More features and other changes are documented at http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/710tour. The release notes can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/710. Want to update? Please see http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/upgrading.
Of course, not just Ubuntu 7.10 was released. Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu and Ubuntu Server Edition were also released. The Kubuntu 7.10 release notes can be read at http://kubuntu.org/announcements/7.10-release.php and Edubuntu's at http://www.edubuntu.org/news/7.10-release.
Ubuntu Developer Summit for Version 8.04
Planning for Hardy Heron will begin at UDS in Boston, from Monday 29th October to Friday 2nd November 2007. Ubuntu Developer Summit provides Ubuntu developers from around the world gather to help shape and scope the next release of Ubuntu. The summit is open to the public, but it is not a conference, exhibition or other audience-oriented event. Rather, it is an opportunity for Ubuntu developers -- who usually collaborate online -- to work together in person on specific tasks. A draft of the schedule is available at http://people.ubuntu.com/~scott/uds-boston-2007/.
Ubuntu Open Week Starting Monday 22nd October
What is Ubuntu Open Week? Ubuntu Open Week is a series of online workshops where you can:
- learn about the Ubuntu landscape
- talk to some of the key developers from the Ubuntu project
- find out about the Community and its relationship with Canonical
- participate in an open Q & A with Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu
- and much, much more
What sessions are available? How do you join in? Click on the link to see the time table of the programs and how to participate during Ubuntu Open Week: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuOpenWeek
Dell to Ship Ubuntu 7.10 on Desktops and Laptops
No shipping date has been set, but Anne Camden of Dell corporate communications says preinstalled Ubuntu 7.10 systems will be available soon. John Hull, Dell's manager of Linux OS engineering, says Dell has been working to make the upgrade from 7.04 to 7.10 'just work' when installing on supported hardware. Gathering input from customers, community and media reviews, and Dell and Ubuntu forums, Dell is using the information to "test plans, bug fixing efforts, and product plans." Dell has been actively supporting the Ubuntu community by contributing Dynamic Kernel Module Support, "a method to make driver updates transparent and easy for Linux desktop users," which is in the universe repository. For more information, see http://desktoplinux.com/news/NS7453108793.html
In The Press
- Ubuntu Gets Gutsy, But Is Linux Ready? - While Ubuntu continues to release user-friendly products, Rodney Gedda, at Computerworld, thinks the "real test will be how well it is adopted by non-technical consumers". Among the various improvements, the Firefox plug-in finder wizard and reduced power consumption in notebook computers, provide a better user experience. Australian IT consulting firm Look Glass Solutions Ashley Flynn encourages businesses to use Ubuntu over Windows, since there is support for the latest Dell hardware. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13...x/article.html
- The "ooww" stops now - goodbye Windows, hello Ubuntu - Adam Turner, at ITWire, discusses his transition from Windows XP to Ubuntu. His main reason for investigating Ubuntu is that "Ubuntu won't grind to a halt every now and then for no particular reason" and he needs "something that just works and, so far, Ubuntu hasn't disappointed me." Synaptic has impressed Adam the most and learned that "no question seems to be too stupid and they've all been answered in places like ubuntuforums.org." http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/14856/1086/
- Canonical's new Ubuntu paves way for server push - Stephen Shankland covers the work done so far by the Ubuntu Server Team and its upcoming features. Canonical "is expanding support and development staff for the server push" and upcoming LTS release. Rick Clark, who leads the Server Team of eight employees, comes from a financial services background, giving him experience with performance, reliability, and virtualization. The Server Team is working with vendors to support servers not only that are available when Hardy Heron is released, but also new servers that will be released during its five-year support cycle. Unlike Red Hat and Novell who sell fee-only versions of their respective distributions, Mark Shuttleworth says there will be no separate fee-only version of Ubuntu. http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9797909-39.html
- CICT to computerize 320 public high schools - With the help of the Department of Education and state-run universities and colleges, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology in the Philippines plans to provide 20 desktop PCs, a server, wireless networking equipment, LCD projector, and a multifunction printer to 320 schools. The PCs will run Edubuntu and include Open``Office, Apache, MySQL, and Firefox. Each school will be required to create its own website and send at least 18 faculty members to training programs. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...ticle_id=95414
- The wide world of pre-installed Ubuntu - Started March 2007, Canonical's System Builder Program is making sure that "preinstalled Ubuntu Linux PCs are available throughout the world and not just from Dell." Canonical provides many services to partners: configuration support for system builders, specialized training for technical and sales teams, hardware certification, strong support in the education sector with Edubuntu, and complete customization support for applications, logos, and sound, similar to what was done for Ubuntu Mobile. Examples of companies using Canonical's partner program to pre-install Ubuntu include Excimer and NT Computers in Russia, Navigator in the Ukraine, Inspur in China, and PC House in Sri Lanka, and various other vendors in Brazil, India, and Taiwan. http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS4371228443.html
- A gutsy new Linux system - Paul Taylor of the Financial Times, has tried various desktop distributions, but always been disappointed "be*cause they have been hard to in*stall or lacked the polished features and interfaces of proprietary operating systems." This time he tries out Ubuntu 7.10 and surprisingly has no issues except with his Nvidia graphics card. Installation of restricted drivers solved that issue quickly. Paul comments that the "latest Ubuntu version includes many improvements designed to make the operating system easier to use, more reliable and more flexible." New users should feel comfortable asking questions on the Ubuntu forums since they are "newbie" friendly and "Ubuntu 7.10 is worth considering if you are looking to minimise costs or join the open source movement." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/988034e6-7...0779fd2ac.html
- What's New in Ubuntu 7.10? (a.k.a. Gutsy Gibbon) - Brian De``Lacey provides an overview of Ubuntu, including its origins, the community, and latest release. Gerry Carr, the Marketing Manger for Canonical, says that "United States is the largest Ubuntu user base by far, with Germany second, followed by the United Kingdom, France, and Brazil clustered at third." While Ubuntu started as a software project, the community has grown around the world. Installfests organized by volunteer Lo``Co teams provide a way for people "from remarkably diverse backgrounds and varied interests" to share their common interest in Ubuntu. Even though Ubuntu 7.10 has just been released, the community is already focusing on the upcoming LTS release. http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2...sy-gibbon.html
In The Blogosphere
- Linux4``Coffee comments 7 reasons why Ubuntu is so successful: a vision and a strong background, easy installation, shipit of official CDs, Synaptic Package Manager, ubuntuforums.org and the community, user promotion, fragmentation of the "competitors" (other Linux distributions) when Warty was released. They are definitively other reasons why Ubuntu remains one of the top Linux distributions, beyond the scope of the article. http://linux4coffee.wordpress.com/20...so-successful/
- Ubuntu Plans Eye Candy for Desktop Computers and Beyond - What would it take to get the hundreds of millions of desktop computer users to switch from Windows to Linux? The new version of Ubuntu—code named Gutsy Gibbon—will be introduced sporting the sort of three dimensional effects that are the trademark of Windows Vista and Apple’s OS X Leopard. According to Mark Shuttleworth, “What’s really interesting is that a lot of consumer electronics products that are being designed now are essentially a little PC. Once you can take that kind of capability and stick it in your pocket, it will get interesting.” http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/1...rs-and-beyond/
- Dr. Shuttleworth or How we learned to stop worrying and love Open Source - Ubuntu 7.10 launches, and with it a whole new era in Open Source operating systems. Sure, it may be just another Linux distribution but, make no mistake, 7.10 is the tipping point. It's all about the bling according to Mark Shuttleworth. 3D desktop effects, improving driver support, Dell's pre-configured machines, a six month development cycle, and increasing government and business adoption are what is leading people and business away from the "Windows Genuine Advantage".http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10...g-and-love-op/
- Mark Shuttleworth talks Ubuntu 7.10(Audio Clip @ Link) - Canonical is set to ship Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon on Thursday. The latest version of the popular Linux distribution packs a bunch of new features. Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth held a conference call with reporters today in advance of the October 18th release. Canonical estimates that there are about 6 million Ubuntu users today. Our favorite part of the audio clip is about 12 and a half minutes in, when Shuttleworth refers to 3D desktop effects as "bling." Canonical estimates that there are about 6 million Ubuntu users today. http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10...s-ubuntu-7-10/
- Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) Desktop Edition(Review) - Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) Desktop Edition is simply the best desktop operating system that I have ever used. From installation, to setup, to regular everyday use Gutsy is just a thing of beauty. Pro’s: Installation is fast and easy, Desktop looks beautiful, Compiz-Fusion makes it out of this world, Layout is clean, and uncluttered, Restricted Drivers Manager works great, Apt-Get remains the fastest package manager around, Ubuntu Repositories havve about every application you could ever want. Con’s: Had to use safe graphics mode for the live installer, and Firewall application is not included by default. Score 9.5 http://lunapark6.com/ubuntu-710-guts...on-review.html
- Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon: Critical review - Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon has been released today. Borys Musielak has not tested any alpha or beta versions of the new product from Canonical. He decided to wait for the Release Candidate, since this has proved to work for him in the past. In short: it did not disappoint. The new Ubuntu is more polished, more professional and in general, better than the previous one, which was already a great OS. Minor glitches? Present, as always. Borys is happy with Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. The installation has been so far very usable — not a single stability issue during the testing week! http://polishlinux.org/linux/ubuntu/...itical-review/
- Ubuntu and the future of the Linux desktop - Matt Asay admits to being a Linux desktop nonbeliever. It feels a bit like yesterday's battle fought with the wrong weapons: geekiness rather than ease of use. There's a chance--still a slim one, but a chance nonetheless--that Ubuntu will change that. Ubuntu upgrades the Linux desktop experience in two ways: user interface and form factor. Mark is fighting the battle on his own turf, not Microsoft's, and he's doing it with style says Stephen O'Grady. But Ubuntu has a clean slate, and the Linux desktop nonbeliever in him actually likes it. But Matt likes Ubuntu's possibly more, because it means he'll be seeing Linux on devices that I use. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9799636-7.html
- Gobuntu has already failed - Mark Pilgrim is disappointed with Canonical. Mark Shuttleworth announced that Ubuntu “Gutsy Gibbon” would be available in a super-strict, 100% open source flavor (now called “Gobuntu”). But what’s the point of Gobuntu’s existence if it still contains non-free components? Apparently, Canonical even went to the trouble of removing everything except the copyrighted-all-rights-reserved image files. Mark Pilgrim is left scratching his head, wondering why Ubuntu bothered with this "farce" if they weren’t prepared to go all the way? http://diveintomark.org/archives/200...already-failed
In Other News
Ubuntu - My New Home
Kevin Carmony the former CEO of Linspire gives us some of his thoughts in a post to the Ubuntu Forums. "Now that I'm no longer the CEO of Linspire, or under any obligation to use that particular distribution, I thought I should take some time and look around at all the distributions and decide which one was right for me and my PC. In addition to already being quite familiar with Linspire and Freespire, I also looked at Novell/Suse, Red Hat/Fedora, PC Linux, Ubuntu, and Kubuntu. Well, after all my research, I have to tell you, it was an easy choice. Ubuntu! I'm excited for the new release in a few days, which I will use to replace the many Linux desktop and laptop PCs I own (five). Canonical and Ubuntu have done so many things right. I was very proud of many of the things I was able to accomplish at Linspire, but it's no longer the distro for me. I look forward to not only using Ubuntu on all my PCs, but also becoming an active member of your community here. Some of my good friends and quality employees have also left Linspire and joined Canonical, and I get a sense from them of the excitement, commitment and expectations the Ubuntu team has to really make open source desktop Linux a reality. This is truly where it is at!" http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=577927
eSys Intel Celeron PC Base Unit
Priced at 139.93 pounds, yet another PC manufacturer is offering pre-installed Ubuntu Linux computers to the public. This machine is loaded with Ubuntu version 6.06 but with the release of Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 and the growing numbers of pre-intalled Ubuntu systems hitting the market on what seems like a monthly basis, Ubuntu stands poised to make steady progress in the desktop market share. http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-3224.aspx
Meetings and Events
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
==== Server Team Meeting ====
==== Kernel Team Meeting ====
Updates and security for 6.06, 6.10, 7.04, and 7.10
Security Updates
- None Reported since last publication
Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Updates
Ubuntu 6.10 Updates
Ubuntu 7.04 Updates
Ubuntu 7.10 Updates
Bug Stats
- Open (34799) +1217 # over last week
- Critical (18) +6 # over last week
- Unconfirmed (18781) +813 # over last week
- Unassigned (26557) +1097 # over last week
- All bugs ever reported (129961) +2292 # 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 (17707) -1118 # over last week
2. French (39186) -145 # over last week
3. Swedish (50515) +394 # over last week
4. English-UK (56726) -42 # over last week
5. German (65727) +373 # over last week
Remaining string to translate in Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon", see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/
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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
- And many others
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Re: Ubuntu Weekly News: Issue #62
Sorry for the issues not posted between #56 and #62 (current one). There have been some changes in the UWN team, and the forums publication sort of slipped through. I'll be posting the UWN from now on, unless someone volunteers :)
