# The Ubuntu Forum Community > Ubuntu Community Discussions > Weekly Newsletter >  Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #174

## johnc4510

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #174 for the week December 27th - January 2nd, 2010. In this issue we cover: Edubuntu Council Elections Results, Call for votes: Ubuntu Developer Membership Board election, New IRC Council Appointments, Ubuntu User Days Announcement, Ubuntu will be at Anime Boston 2010, 2010 Launchpad Release Calendar, Trying Out Launchpad Translations, The Planet: Amber, Daniel, Matthew, Steven, and Daniel, Full Circle Magazine #32, December Team Reports, 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/UbuntuWeekly...r/Translations

*In This Issue*

Edubuntu Council Elections ResultsCall for votes: Ubuntu Developer Membership Board electionNew IRC Council AppointmentsUbuntu User Days AnnouncementUbuntu StatsUbuntu will be at Anime Boston 20102010 Launchpad Release CalendarTrying Out Launchpad TranslationsThe Planet: Amber, Daniel, Matthew, Steven, and DanielIn the Press & BlogosphereFull Circle Magazine #32December Team ReportsMeetings & EventsUpdates & Security

*General Community News*

*Edubuntu Council Elections Results*

The Edubuntu Council has announced the results of the Council Elections [1][2].  The following nominees were all voted into the Council by the Edubuntu Members team:

Stéphane Graber - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/stgraberJonathan Carter - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JonathanCarterRichard Johnson - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RichardJohnsonScott Balneaves - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ScottBalneavesAlkis Georgopoulos - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AlkisGeorgopoulosJordan Erickson - https://launchpad.net/~lns

Congratulations to these new Edubuntu Council Members! And thanks to the Edubuntu community for working to make this such a smooth process.

 1. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...er/000754.html
 2. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...er/000800.html

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...er/000815.html

*Call for votes: Ubuntu Developer Membership Board election*

Voting has begun to determine who will hold the seats on the newly established Developer Membership Board, which is responsible for determining when, how and to whom to grant privileges related to Ubuntu development. In particular, the DMB will take over the membership functions previously held by the Technical Board and MOTU Council.

More information at:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DeveloperMembershipBoard andhttp://mdzlog.alcor.net/2009/12/08/c...bership-board/

Like this years Technical Board election, the poll is using the Condorcet Internet Voting system. Ballots have been sent privately to each eligible voter (member of ~ubuntu-dev), based on a list of email addresses harvested
from Launchpad.

http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1963

*New IRC Council Appointments*

We are very pleased to finally announce the following new members of the IRC Council, as selected by the Community Council based on feedback from the incumbent IRC Council and the IRC Community:

Juha Siltala (topyli) https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JuhaSiltalaTerence Simpson (tsimpson) https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TerenceSimpsonNathan Handler (nhandler) https://wiki.ubuntu.com/nhandler

We on the Community Council wish to publicly thank the incumbent IRC Council for their thorough feedback regarding all the candidates, as well as all feedback that we received from folks in the IRC community. All of this feedback was valuable to helping us make the most informed decision possible to help the IRC community move forward.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...er/000825.html

*Ubuntu User Days Announcement*

Chris Johnston, Elizabeth Krumbach, Penelope Stowe and Mark Cox volunteered to take the lead on a project to introduce beginning and intermediate users to Ubuntu. "The idea behind this is to take users from no knowledge of how to use Ubuntu, to installing it, finding programs that are equivalent to the programs they used in either a Windows or Mac environment, the basics of running Ubuntu, and how to get help when it is needed."  More information on Ubuntu User Days and the complete schedule can be found at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDays .

http://chrisjohnston.org/2009/ubuntu...anuary-23-2010

*Ubuntu Stats*

*Bug Stats*

Open (76886) +452 over last weekCritical (40) -1 over last weekUnconfirmed (40039) +333 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 Karmic*

 1. Spanish (11800) -487 over last week
 2. French (44101) -1685 over last week
 3. Brazilian Portuguese (45039) -499 over last week
 4. Swedish (66418) -197 over last week
 5. English (United Kingdom) (68583) -3287 over last week

Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala", see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/karmic/

*Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week*

Warning when running update manager while using battery - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23211/It's annoying when applications start up and take focus away from what your doing - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23209/It's important that 3rd party repositories can be added with 1 click - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23207/No Error Message - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23220/Make it easier for people that use a custom kernel - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/23208/

Ubuntu Brainstorm is a community site geared toward letting you add your ideas for Ubuntu. You can submit your own idea, or vote for or against another idea. http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/

*LoCo News*

*Ubuntu will be at Anime Boston 2010*

The Massachusetts LoCo Team has made their primary target of $700 and will be attending Anime Boston 2010, and thanks all those who donated so far.  This secures them a booth at the event.  But they still need printed materials to distribute.  They need an additional $1500 to have copies of the Ubunchu Manga to give out. Donations can be made at http://www.ubuntu-massachusetts.com/events/9/ .

http://blog.thesilentnumber.me/2009/...ston-2010.html

*Launchpad News*

*2010 Launchpad Release Calendar*

The Launchpad Release Calendar for 2010 has been posted to the Launchpad Development wiki[1].  Note that they are using the YY.MM naming to match the Ubuntu model.  Having a public release calendar is particularly useful for anyone wanting to contribute to our open source project.  It is also helpful for users to know when were likely to have down-time or read-only time.

Maintenance and system status can be found at the identi.ca website[2]

 1. https://dev.launchpad.net/Releases/2010Calendar
 2. http://identi.ca/launchpadstatus

http://blog.launchpad.net/releases/2...lease-calendar

*Trying Out Launchpad Translations*

There is now a "playground" or staging area to try out Launchpad translations.  To use it you will, of course, need a Launchpad login and at least one gettext translation template (.pot file) with strings from your program.  Then you can:
 1. Set up a project - This is done on the project registration page.  If you already have a project registered it will show up in staging.
 2. Set up a development branch - You may have one already on the real Launchpad, but staging is different, and you will need to set one up there.
You have a bzr branch on your local system - This will have to be pushed up to the staging area.You have a bzr branch on Launchpad - You will need to get the branch from Launchpad and place it in an empty directory on your system, then push it to staging.You dont have a bzr branch - This is for those who are using a different version control system to be able to create a .pot file to push up to staging.
 3. Set up a translations export branch - This creates the area from which you can pull the translations into your local branch.
 4. Configuring imports and exports - You now have two branches, one to import templates from and another to export translations to. Next you configure imports from your development branch and exports to your translations branch.
 5. Check up on the imports - They may be Approved (awaiting importing), Imported, or Failed.
 6. Translate! - Clicking on one of the languages in the translations list with the red bars will take you to the templates translation page: the UI for entering translations.
 7. Update the template - The method of manually updating the template.
 8. Import translations - Setting up automatic importing of translations.
 9. Going full-circle - Setting up 2 way synchronization of your branches.
 10. Help! Staging refreshed and now everythings gone! - Remember that staging is refreshed every day (or every few days, under certain circumstances).  Just set it up again.

Full details and documentation can be found at http://blog.launchpad.net/general/tr...d-translations

*Ubuntu Forums News*

*Tutorial of the Week*

Want to try another desktop environment? Give e17 a try. Enlightenment is not just another windows manager. It comes with a whole set of libraries. You can set up a minimal install (please see previous ToW) and add e17. Everything is explained in "HOWTO: installation of e17 from SVN code " and maintained by Rui Pais (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=862), smartboyathome (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=264712) and Tux Aubrey (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=167727). With their help, you will be able to set up a unique desktop!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=916690

*The Planet*

*Amber Graner: UbuCon at SCaLE 8X*

So it's official there will be an UbuCon at SCaLE 8x. (February 19-21, 2010 in Southern California) There will be approximately 7 hours of Ubuntu related topics on the 19th of February. (Working on getting it added to the special events page on the SCaLE website, stay tuned). What is an UbuCon you might ask.. In this case it will be 7 hours of talks, demos, etc all based on a connection to Ubuntu. http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale8x/

The awesome California LoCo team will be taking the reins and running with the UbuCon. Now comes the fun part, what do people want to hear about? What Ubuntu related talks would you like to hear about. Are you attending SCaLE 8x and would like to present a talk at the UbuCon? Maybe you aren't attending SCaLE but you have ideas for topics you would like to see covered at an UbuCon as there are more being planned for other events in 2010.

As I mentioned the California LoCo team will be gathering these suggestions, ideas and submissions. Please send them to Nathan Haines (nhaines), who make sure the UbuCon team can review them. nhaines@ubuntu.com Please include a summary of what your session/talk would include. Also if submitting an idea for a session please include as much information as possible. All submissions must be in by the 15th of January and a decision on the UbuCon Schedule will be finalized and all speakers/contributors will be notified by January 22, 2010.

http://amber.redvoodoo.org/2009/12/u...-scale-8x.html

*Daniel Holbach: Youre into Free Culture? Share with Ubuntu*

As part of the Ubuntu community were quite used to the concept of sharing our work with others. Not just because were all good and selfless people but because we deeply believe that by actively making the fruits of our labour available to others we make the world more diverse and interesting, solve problems and generally make it a better place.

There luckily today are countless and successful examples of this and Ubuntu fits perfectly into this world of sharing. To underline this we want to support artists by making their art available on the actual Ubuntu CDs.

A couple of Ubuntu releases back we started the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase and have since then delivered the best video, the best piece of audio and the best picture on our Ubuntu CDs.

So, if you are into making music, painting, photography, or videos, we want you to participate in Lucids Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase. If you produced a great picture, video or piece of music, to enter the competition, head to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuFreeCultureShowcase for the instructions!

http://daniel.holba.ch/blog/?p=548

*Matthew Helmke: Ubuntu Unleashed 2010 Edition*

I just received my copy of Ubuntu Unleashed 2010 Edition and I am thrilled. Since I am one of the authors, consider this more of an announcement than a review as well as an invitation to take a look and see if the book interests you. This book is intended for intermediate to advanced users, as opposed to my work on The Official Ubuntu Book, which is aimed at being an introduction of Ubuntu to people new to Linux.

Ubuntu Unleashed 2010 Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Ubuntu-Unleash.../dp/0672331098The Official Ubuntu Book: http://www.amazon.com/Official-Ubunt...dp/0137021208/

http://matthewhelmke.net/2009/12/29/...-2010-edition/

*Steven Harms: A thousand passwords*

In this day and age of the internet, we have more content and interaction than ever before. This access generally comes with a price: everything requires a user name and password. How does a mere mortal remember their credentials to login to thousands of websites? More importantly, I am not always on the same computer, how do I access my passwords from all of them?

The long term solution would be to see 100% adoption of OpenID. Inevitably many sites will always be behind the curve, so until that day comes, I recommend Revelation.

Revelation is an easy to use, secure and lightweight password manager for Linux. It is written in GTK so those running the GNOME desktop (the default for Ubuntu) will be right at home. You can have several different folders to help organize your passwords, and define actions based on the type of password being stored.

What makes this great is that all of your passwords are stored encrypted. This means if someone takes your computer, without your master password your passwords would be useless. This also means we can store our password using Ubuntu One or Dropbox.

If you are running Ubuntu, you can install Revelation by clicking Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center and searching for Revelation. If you would prefer the command line version:
view sourceprint?

sudo apt-get install revelation

There are many alternatives out there, but if you are running Linux and just need a simple, no-hassle password manager Revelation is worth five minutes to try it out.

http://www.sharms.org/blog/2009/12/3...and-passwords/

*Daniel Chin: powerdown changes to alsa-base in Lucid/10.04*

If you don't normally follow the Ubuntu development lists, it's a good time to begin. Yesterday I uploaded alsa-driver 1.0.22.1 to Lucid which, among other things, contains my extensions to power down various parts of the HDA controller and codec after a configurable idle period. Work is far from complete, and I could use your help to make sure your sound hardware is well-supported in 10.10.

In summary:
"Just to clarify in case it's not already obvious: my having uploaded alsa-driver 1.0.22.1 in no way affects the default Lucid install of the kernelspace ALSA driver (aka alsa-kernel). It remains 1.0.21. Anyone wishing to build modules of 1.0.22.1 can do so using module-assistant and alsa-source. And, until Takashi returns, that approach will be more current than using the daily snap from the 27 Dec.

So, the current state of Lucid contains:
alsa-kernel 1.0.21 (as shipped in linux 2.6.32-9.13-generic)alsa-lib 1.0.22 + Fix-S24_3LE-softvol-distortion.patch (bdf80)alsa-plugins 1.0.22"

http://drowninginbugs.blogspot.com/2...alsa-base.html

*In The Press*

*Ubuntu 32-bit, 32-bit PAE, 64-bit Kernel Benchmarks*

Michael Larabel tells us of a request in Phoronix's forums to compare the performance of Linux between using 32-bit, 32-bit PAE, and 64-bit kernels. This came after Linus Torvalds spoke of 25% performance differences between kernels using CONFIG_HIGHMEM4G and those without this option that allows 32-bit builds to address up to 4GB of physical RAM on a system. Larabel decided to compare the performance of the 32-bit, 32-bit PAE, and 64-bit kernels on a modern desktop system and in the fourteen tests conducted for this article Larabel did not find using Ubuntu's 32-bit PAE kernel to have a dramatic performance impact whether it be positive or negative. By far though exhibiting the best performance was the Ubuntu 64-bit kernel that often ended up being leaps and bounds better than the 32-bit kernel. Unless you have technical or business reasons for not migrating to 64-bit Linux with compatible hardware, there is no reason to stick around with a 32-bit kernel and worrying about physical address extension. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...u_32_pae&num=1

*15 game-changing Linux moments of the decade*

Tech Radar's Graham Morrison states that if you had sat at your Linux computer one dark evening in late 1999, things would have been considerably different. Your machine would probably be running either Red Hat 6.1 or Mandrake 6. As a Linux user, you'd have been an uber-geek, someone with an obsessive interest in computing and far too much time on your hands. But things have changed. Linux is now an operating system anyone can install and use, and it's growing stronger every year. Morrison goes on to list his 15 game-changing Lunux moments of the decade including October 2004 when Ubuntu Warty Warthog was released. "It's the only Linux distribution in our list, but whether you love or hate Ubuntu, there's no denying that its appearance on the scene has changed Linux dramatically. For mainstream media, it's now often a byword for Linux, and thanks to its charismatic astronaut leader, Linux has a free software advocate to compete with Steve Jobs and Steve Ballmer." http://www.techradar.com/news/softwa...-decade-659030

*Dell netbook updated with Pineview CPU*

Eric Brown of LinuxForDevices.com reports that Dell announced an updated version of its Ubuntu-ready Inspiron Mini 10 netbook, using Intel's new Atom N450 processor and an optional Broadcom "Crystal HD" media accelerator. The Mini 10 now sports a redesigned keyboard, optional HD video support, and up to 9.5 hours of battery life. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is expected to be available in early January from Dell, with prices starting at $300. The Ubuntu Linux option will also be introduced in the "coming weeks," so initially, it appears that the netbook will ship only with Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP Home. The HD related bundles, meanwhile, will be available in the first quarter of 2010. http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/N...-2010-edition/

*Great and Disappointing Operating Systems of the Decade*

IT World's Eric Henderson acknowledges that writing about the best and worst in operating system is like a crap magnet: He knows that he is pressing the big red button. People develop a personal relationship with operating systems, whether on servers or their personal machine or phone. The love/hate relationship becomes anchored with deep emotions about the merits/detractions of the devices they use-- through the lenses of operating systems. Henderson goes on to list what he feels are some of the worst operating systems of the past decade, as well as some of the best operating systems. Henderson considers Linux as one of the truly great operating systems and says, "The promise of Linux for civilians is slowly but surely being realized through distros like Ubuntu." http://www.itworld.com/operating-sys...systems-decade

*Infamous Chinese pirates launch Ubuntu that looks just like Windows XP*

Sebastian Anthony of Download Squad says, "From the Chinese pirate masters of the non-sea-faring variety comes ... Ylmf OS!" Not happy with pirating Windows XP itself, these creative Chinese have gone one step further and hacked Ubuntu to look exactly like Windows XP. Why have they moved to Ubuntu? Because their previous release -- a pirate version of Windows XP itself -- is being cracked down on by Microsoft. This isn't the first time copycats or pirates have imitated a prevalent operating system. Cloned in China reported on the case of Tomato Garden Windows XP, another pirate distribution, where the creator was jailed for 4 years and fined $147,000. All in all, despite the questionable legality, it really is a great-looking copycat; almost pixel-perfect. Anthony wonders if Ubuntu developers are happy, or despairing. http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12...ke-windows-xp/

*Ubuntu: Nine Priorities for Canonicals Incoming CEO*

As Mark Shuttleworth transitions Canonicals CEO crown to Jane Silber, The VAR Guy believes there are at least nine major Ubuntu priorities that Silber will need to address. His list includes:

A New CommunityStrengthen the Server StoryShow Cloud SuccessRecruit Application ProvidersStrengthen OEM RelationshipsCompete and Cooperate with Google, IntelDisclose Customer WinsRelated ServicesCanonical Partner Program

No doubt, Silber will have a full plate when she takes on the CEO crown by March 1, 2010. But shes in an enviable position. Although its difficult to track Canonicals financial performance, buzz about Ubuntu  particularly on desktop and mobile systems  continues to grow. Click on the following link for the VAR Guy's details on each priority: http://www.thevarguy.com/2009/12/21/...-incoming-ceo/

*In The Blogosphere*

*Canonical's opportunity to simplify Ubuntu*

Matt Asay, of The Open Road, a cnet news contributor, talks about what he believes is Canonical's  "an opportunity to tighten its focus".  This opportunity stems from the changing CEO roles at Canonical, as Mark Shuttleworth hands the reins to now COO, Jane Silber. Asay notes, "When I asked what his resignation as CEO means for Ubuntu, and his involvement with it, Shuttleworth responded: "I don't expect to be less visible, just have stronger management for the business units."" and therein lies the opportunity that Asay points to in his article. Asay, reminds readers that, "Regardless of what happens, stay tuned to see how Shuttleworth's design aesthetic, now set to overdrive... With more time to focus on what customers and partners want, Canonical and Ubuntu may be set to take a more commanding position in the market." http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10418223-16.html

*Dell introduces best Ubuntu netbook ever?*

Cyber Cynic, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Computer World Blogs, writes about the ever friendly Linux Desktop supporter - Dell, and the latest version of the Mini 10 netbook being offered with Ubuntu. Steven points admits that Ubuntu 9.10 is rough around the edges if you install it yourself, but notes that "dell has always done and excellent job of fitting Ubuntu on its systems" Steven's article points out some of the features of the new Dell Mini 10's using Intel's new Pine Trail chip, 10.1 inch display, a slightly reworked keyboard, a gigabyte of RAM, built-in 802.11 b/g wireless also noting the Bluetooth and Mobile broadband options. The prices on the mini 10's start at $299.00 as Steven, notes it's cheap.  Steven predicts, "Put it all together--Ubuntu, excellent components, and a reliable company to stand behind the unit--and I honestly think that this generation of the Dell Mini 10 may turn out to be the best Linux netbook to date." http://blogs.computerworld.com/15289...u_netbook_ever

*Retrospect on Ubuntu in 2009*

Christopher Tozzi, WorkswithU, looks back over 2009 and what Ubuntu and the community has accomplished as he looks at the most memorable changes to Ubuntu throughout 2009. Tozzi, states that, "Many of the developments discussed below were the work of parties not affiliated with Ubuntu or Canonical, and many of them apply to other Linux distributions and the rest of the free-software community as well as to Ubuntu.  But theyve all impacted the experience of Ubuntu users, so theyre worth highlighting here."

Shuttleworth steps down3D acceleration in VirtualBoxOpenOffice 3Chrome OS and CanonicalBetter NetworkmanagerNew look in Ubuntu 9.10

In his retrospective, Tozzi, goes into detail on each of these memorable moments and says, "All in all, 2009 was not a revolutionary year for the Ubuntu community.  There was no LTS release...and the focus was on incremental development. Nonetheless, its clear that Ubuntu gained some useful new features, and the community received interesting news, in 2009.  Lets hope the improvements weve seen in the last year solidify and expand going into 2010 and the Lucid release next April." http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/28...+(Works+With+U)

*The Evolution of Ubuntu.com*

Christopher Tozzi, WorksWithU, discusses the changes that have happened on the Ubuntu website, and how compared to the way it looked a few years ago, "it's looking pretty slick."  In this article Tozzi goes into detail about how ubuntu.com has evolved and why it matters. With screenshots of the site in 2007 and the current homepage, he notes, "The positive evolution of Ubuntus website is also apparent from the feature tour pages created for different Ubuntu releases."  Tozzi points out that "The tour for Ubuntu 9.10 takes things to a whole new level with exciting layout and loads of attractive screenshots that truly show Ubuntu in action.."  Tozzi, states he's going to keep his "eyes peeled for for improvements like these when Lucid debuts in April.  But even as it stands now, its clear ubuntu.com has come a long way since the days of Feisty Fawn." http://www.workswithu.com/2009/12/24...of-ubuntu-com/

*Ubuntu 10.04 LTS: How we get there*

Matt Zimmerman, on his Blog, notes that the for almost 2 months the development of Ubuntu 10.04 has been under way, and in April the 3rd Ubuntu LTS will be released. He gives links to both Rick Spencer's summary about what is ahead for the desktop team, and notes that a similar write up will be coming from Jos Boumans on the server team.  Zimmerman however notes, "What I want to talk about, though, is not the individual projects were working on. I want to explain how the whole thing comes together, and whats happening behind the scenes to make 10.04 LTS different from other Ubuntu releases."  Zimmerman discusses "Changing the focus" and points out the key elements that Robbie Williamson (foundations team manager), has in the LTS plan.

Merge from Debian testingAdd fewer festuresAvoid major infrastructure changesExtend beta testingFreeze with Debian

Zimmerman also notes the tools they will use to "Stay on Course" by "planning in smaller increments, using burn-down charts to track progress, and by making the Ubuntu development process as transparent as possible. He notes that, "By making these changes, we aim to deliver for our users the right balance of stability and features that they expect from an Ubuntu LTS release. In particular, we want folks to feel confident deploying Ubuntu 10.04 in settings where it will be actively maintained for a period of years." http://mdzlog.alcor.net/2009/12/23/u...-we-get-there/

*In Other News*

*Full Circle Magazine #32*

Full Circle - The independent magazine for the Ubuntu Linux community are proud to announce the release of our thirty-second issue.

This month:

Command and Conquer.How-To : Program in Python - Part 6, The Perfect Server - Part 2, Installing Chromium (browser) and Offline Package Install.My Story - Classroom Experiences, and How I Became An Ubuntu Woman.My Opinion - Time To Review The Release Schedule? and Will Linux Ever Get It Right?Review - Music Player Daemon.MOTU Interview - Roderick Greening.Top 5 - Media Centers.Ubuntu Women, Ubuntu Games and all the usual goodness!

Get it while it's hot!  http://fullcirclemagazine.org/issue-32/

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...ry/000823.html

*Meeting Summaries: December 2009*

*Ubuntu Governance*

==== Developer Membership Board ====

Developer Membership Board meeting, 2009-12-08

Alberto Milone -> core-dev

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AlbertoMilon...perApplication

not present, wanted to ask a few questions, so continued by email

Daniel Chen: ubuntu-core-dev reactivation

approved (+1: pitti, Keybuk, kees, cjwatson, mdz)

Adrian Perez: azureus, eclipse, swt-gtk

azureus, eclipse in universe, already approved by MC

http://packages.qa.debian.org/s/swt-gtk.html

swt-gtk approved (+1: cjwatson, pitti, kees, mdz)

future roles of the DMB vs. motu-council

keep motu-council for non-developer-membership functions

nominate all members of TB and MC for 7 member election of DMB

[ACTION] mdz to drive election for DMB, based on existing members of TB and MC

Next meeting: 2009-12-22, 1500UTC.  Chair: pitti

Developer Membership Board meeting, 2009-12-22

Attendees:

DMB: Martin Pitt (chair), Matt Zimmerman, Scott James Remnant

Guests: Alberto Milone, Scott Kitterman, Emmet Hikory

Review of previous action items:

mdz to drive election for DMB, based on existing members of TB and MC: ongoing, still waiting for one nominee to confirm/decline

Alberto Milone -> core-dev

Approved (+3 for, 0 against. 0 abstained)

Updating https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopers to reflect DMB changes (Emmet):

should applicants for core-dev be applying directly to the DMB, rather than first through the MC? → Yes

should core-dev applicants be encouraged to previously be Ubuntu Developers (in some way), or is that on a per-applicant basis? → Should not generally be required; depending on applicant's interests, (s)he can apply directly for core-dev, with a higher barrier for entry

Does the DMB also expect to take applicants for Contributing Developer? → Yes, since this was previously a function of the MC, which is being merged with DMB

*ACTION:* Emmet to ask CC to make DMB an admin of ~universe-contributors, as part of the DMB/MC merge

Would it make sense to list MOTU (and MC) as a delegated team by DMB? It was historically delegated by TB, but in its former function for approving developers; for consistent documentation, MOTU should now be regarded as a DMB delegate, similar to ubuntu-desktop, kubuntu-dev, etc.

OK.  Last question: Is the term "Ubuntu Specialist Developer" acceptable as an umbrella category to describe members of "Ubuntu Desktop Developers", "Mythbuntu Developers", "Kubuntu Developers", and  "MOTU"? → The discussion did not bring up a good term for this; decision was to go with "Ubuntu Developer (from delegated team)" for now and change to a better name later on

DMB election

Waiting for one nominated candidate to confirm/decline; decision should be made by Thursday, Dec 24

3 weeks voting period, plus some slack for Christmas holidays

Voting period: 24 Dec to 18 Jan

Next meeting: 2010-01-05, 1500UTC. Chair: mdz

==== Technical Board ====

Technical Board meeting, 2009-12-01 (chair mdz)

Prior action review, leaves the follow still to do:

[ACTION] cjwatson checking on IS RT #36139 to add devel-permissions

[ACTION] Scott to redraft Units policy to address Scott's and Matt's concerns and clean up language

[ACTION] Colin to clarify trademark/license distinction on licensing policy

Archive reorganisation (ColinWatson)

[ACTION] cjwatson to create a wiki reference for development teams to participate in the reorg

https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Kubuntu/UpdatesPolicy

Would be good to outline a regression handling policy as well.

Default to assuming users want stability.

[ACTION] ScottK to revise proposal based on TB meeting discussion

When is it a good idea to fail out of a maintainer script? (mdz)

Generally, failing preinst is preferred to failing postinst.

Generally, daemon start-up failure should not fail postinst.

May help to make a distinction between devel and release upgrades.

No clear "philosophical" state of being configured, so it's is non-obvious how to decide what should be considered a failure.

Would be beneficial to present a straw-man proposal to the Debian TC to coordinate this.

Will continue at the next meeting.

Community Bugs

https://launchpad.net/bugs/485569 "TB term length is unclear"

elections single-year staggered with resulting positions having a two-year term.

[ACTION] sabdfl to update LP/wiki/www to reflect the actual term length for TB

https://launchpad.net/bugs/485971 "Technical Board mailing list archive is private"

blocked on IS, now that DMB is up and running.

[ACTION] cjwatson to nudge RT 35428

Out of time, deferred further review to next meeting

Next meeting: kees to chair

Technical Board meeting, 2009-12-15 (chair kees)

Prior action review

Excepting tasks covered under the UnitsPolicy and Kubuntu/UpdatesPolicy discussions below, prior actions were all done.

UnitsPolicy

Generally okay, but some minor clean-ups still needed.  Could coordinate with Debian.

[ACTION] mdz to fix language wrt cmdline meaning in Unit policy

[ACTION] kees to present Units policy to Debian TC via bdale

Status of ARM port vs. archive publishing (slangasek, mdz)

ARM is considered supported for Karmic and later, even though it lives on ports.

[ACTION] cjwatson to document meanings of archive vs. ports, cdimage vs. releases, etc.

Archive reorganisation (ColinWatson)

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopers/TeamDelegation

[ACTION] cjwatson to add a bit more intro to UbuntuDevelopment/TeamDelegation, and link it from appropriate places

[ACTION] cjwatson to follow up with kubuntu-dev and mythbuntu-dev to get ubuntu-core-dev added

Kubuntu/UpdatesPolicy

[ACTION] ScottK to update policy based on kubuntu upstream feedback

[ACTION] kees to follow up with ScottK on Kubuntu/UpdatesPolicy updates

Execute Permission Policy (KeesCook)

[ACTION] kees to clean up further and re-present at next meeting

Check up on community bugs (standing item)

https://launchpad.net/bugs/485559 "Mark Shuttleworth has no expiration date set in the tech-board LP team"

[ACTION] sabdfl to propose to CC that the TB is a CC delegate, and clarify his role

[ACTION] sabdfl to update bug with status and discussion

When is it a good idea to fail out of a maintainer script? (Matt Zimmerman)

Deferred, ran out of time.

Next meeting is Jan 12, 2010.  Chair: cjwatson

*Ubuntu LoCo Teams*

==== Catalan Team ====

Act "Omelette and free software (http://lh5.ggpht.com/_c38l__7wfEA/SytFgojXDVI/AAAAAAAABwI/C446meeMtu8/truitaiubuntu2.jpg)" in Caldes de Montbuï.

Irc meeting. Reviewing for better release parties. Confirm we will do an install party in Cooperativa Germinal.

SergiMateo new LoCo member.

Reorganised Launchpad Catalan LoCo groups.

==== Irish Team ====

Congrualtions to  Rory McCann  (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/rorymcc) and Declan McGrath (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/declanmg), both members of our LoCo, who are now official Ubuntu Members,

Face to face meet up on Thursday 3rd of December with ILUG (http://www.linux.ie/) in the Longstone (http://www.thelongstone.com).

Regular Monthly IRC Meeting (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IrishTeam/IR...ngs/2009-12-16) was held at 8pm Irish time on Tuesday 16th December 2009.

Date picked for our Limerick (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IrishTeam/Ev...uring%20Ubuntu) event next year .

The LoCo created a  Roadmap (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IrishTeam/Roadmaps/Lucid ) for our Goals over the Lucid cycle.

A Christmas face to face meet up on Tuesday 22nd of December in the  Westin Hotel (http://www.thewestindublin.com/).

Our first Ubuntu Hour event has been planned for next month. Details post here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IrishTeam/Events#Ubuntu%20Hour

==== Japanese Team ====

"Ubuntu Weekly Recipe" has marked the 100th article since its beginning in January 2008.

http://gihyo.jp/admin/serial/01/ubuntu-recipe

==== Nicaraguan Team ====

3 dec.  : Members of Ubuntu-ni (https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-ni) attending Fedora XII release party (http://www.linuxtour.org/Fedora-12).

8 dec.  : Recording of first ever POSOL (Podcast Software Libre Nicaragua) (http://picasaweb.google.com/mmgc84/POSOL10).

15 dec. : Public release of POSOL episode 1 (http://podcast.softwarelibre.org.ni/?p=3).

16 dec. : Members of Ubuntu-ni (https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-ni) attending Fito Pijudito's radio show at Radio Universidad (http://ladelcolor.com).

17 dec. : Meeting with Educational Comission on Technology/Free Software Sub-comission. Discussing project for an educational distro.

17 dec. : Members of Ubuntu-ni (https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-ni) attending Cecilia Ferrer's (http://www.ceciliaferrer.com/) Luna & Instinto animal video premiere.

19 dec. : Pizza Bash (http://www.linuxtour.org/Pizza-Bash-XII) first year aniversary, photos here (http://picasaweb.google.com/josernes...a/PizzaBashXII).

22 dec. : Recording of POSOL episode 2 (http://picasaweb.google.com/nacross/Posol2).

30 dec.: Public release of POSOL episode 2 (http://podcast.softwarelibre.org.ni/?p=58).

===== Kuban Team =====

We are distributing Ubuntu 9.10 and 8.04.3 LTS as well as repositories for Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS.

We had continued preparations for the project of typical automated information management system for business (SMB) based on Ubuntu LTS distributions.

There was regular meeting (http://kuban.ubuntu.ru/content/tradi...ednoi-kubuntui) with reps of Kuban LoCo. Photos (http://kuban.ubuntu.ru/image-galleri...ednoi-kubuntui)

===== California Team =====

IRC meeting on December 13th (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CaliforniaTe...s/09December13) to discuss team organization, management structure, and processes. December 27th meeting canceled due to holidays.

Distribution (https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ub...er/000991.html) of some of the pressed Ubuntu CDs we got from Canonical.

===== North Carolina Team =====

Held the first  Ubuntu Hour (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Hour ) event in North Carolina

Team meetings to discuss remaining steps to becoming an approved team

*Ubuntu Beginners Team*

[[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTea...0091201|Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting 2009-12-01]]

Discuss creation of a Roadmap.

duanedesign will create a wiki page that people can add suggestions to

Discuss Ubuntu User Days and possibly having the team get behind helping out with them

Vote against publicly logging #ubuntu-beginners

Nigel Babu (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NigelBabu) joined the Ubuntu Beginners Team. He has helped out with the wiki and on the forums, and he is now helping out on IRC and answering questions on Launchpad.

*Upcoming Meetings and Events*

*Monday, January 4, 2010*

==== Security Team Catch-up ====

Start: 18:00 UTCEnd: 18:30 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda: nothing formal, just a weekly catch-up.

*Tuesday, January 5, 2010*

==== Ubuntu Mobile Team Meeting ====

Start: 13:00 UTCEnd: 14:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MobileTeam/Meeting

==== Developer Membership Board ====

Start: 15:00 UTCEnd: 16:00 UTCLocation: Not listed as of publicationAgenda: Not listed as of publication

==== Desktop Team Meeting ====

Start: 16:30 UTCEnd: 17:30 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-desktopAgenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/Meeting

==== Kernel Team Meeting ====

Start: 17:00 UTCEnd: 18:00 UTCLocation:  IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda: Not listed as of publication

==== LoCo Teams Meeting ====

Start: 18:00 UTCEnd: 19:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-locoteamsAgenda: Not listed as of publication

==== EMEA Membership Meeting ====

Start: 20:00 UTCEnd: 21:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Membership/RegionalBoards/EMEA

==== Community Council Meeting ====

Start: 22:00 UTCEnd: 24:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda

*Wednesday, January 6, 2010*

==== Ubuntu Beginners Team Meeting ====

Start: 00:00 UTCEnd: 01:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/Meetings

==== Cameroonian LoCoTeam monthly IRC meeting ====

Start: 14:00 UTCEnd: 16:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-cmAgenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CameroonianTeam/NextMeeting

==== Server Team Meeting ====

Start: 14:00 UTCEnd: 15:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/Meeting

==== Foundation Team Meeting ====

Start: 16:00 UTCEnd: 17:00 UTCLocation:  IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  None listed as of publication

==== QA Team Meeting ====

Start: 17:00 UTCEnd: 18:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Meetings/

*Thursday, January 7, 2010*

==== Ubuntu Java Meeting ====

Start: 14:00 UTCEnd: 15:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:  None listed as of publication

==== Ubuntu Translations Meeting ====

Start: 16:00 UTCEnd: 17:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda:   https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TranslatingU...vents/Meetings

==== Ubuntu Women IRC Meeting ====

Start: 21:00 UTCEnd: 22:00 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda: http://wiki.ubuntu-women.org/Meeting...ary2010/Agenda

*Friday, January 8, 2010*

==== MC Meeting ====

Start: 20:00 UTCEnd: 21:00 UTCLocation: Not listed as of publicationAgenda: Not listed as of publication

==== Lucid Weekly Release Meeting ====

Start: 16:00 UTCEnd: 17:30 UTCLocation: IRC channel #ubuntu-meetingAgenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReleaseTeam/Meeting/2010-01-08

*Saturday, January 9, 2010*

None listed as of publication

*Sunday, January 10, 2010*

None listed as of publication

*Updates and Security for 6.06, 8.04, 8.10, 9.04 and 9.10*

*Security Updates*

None listed as of publication

*Ubuntu 6.06 Updates*

redhat-cluster-suite_1.20060222-0ubuntu6.3_powerpc_translations.tar.gz- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/da...er/012801.htmllangpack-locales 2.3.18.30 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/da...ry/012802.html

*Ubuntu 8.04 Updates*

redhat-cluster- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ha...er/012356.htmlspamassassin 3.2.4-1ubuntu1.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ha...ry/012357.htmltzdata 2009u~repack-0ubuntu0.8.04 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ha...ry/012358.html

*Ubuntu 8.10 Updates*

redhat-cluster- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/in...er/009804.htmlspamassassin 3.2.5-1ubuntu1.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/in...ry/009805.htmltzdata 2009u~repack-0ubuntu0.8.10	- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/in...ry/009806.html

*Ubuntu 9.04 Updates*

xorg-server 2:1.6.0-0ubuntu14.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ja...er/009960.htmlspamassassin 3.2.5-4ubuntu0.0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ja...ry/009961.htmltzdata 2009u~repack-0ubuntu9.04 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ja...ry/009962.html

*Ubuntu 9.10 Updates*

alsa-lib 1.0.20-3ubuntu6.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012141.htmlubuntuone-storage-protocol 1.0.1-0ubuntu1	- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012142.htmllinux-mvl-dove 2.6.31-210.21 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012143.htmlubuntuone-client 1.0.3-0ubuntu1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012144.htmlbzr 2.0.2-0ubuntu1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012145.htmlpostgis 1.3.5-1ubuntu1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012146.htmlvlc 1.0.2-1ubuntu2.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012147.htmlcryptsetup 2:1.0.6+20090405.svn49-1ubuntu7.2	- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012148.htmlmountall 1.0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012149.htmlgnome-screensaver 2.28.0-0ubuntu3.2	- https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012150.htmlpostgis 1.3.5-1ubuntu2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...er/012151.htmlspamassassin 3.2.5-4ubuntu0.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...ry/012152.htmltzdata 2009u-0ubuntu0.9.10 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...ry/012153.htmleglibc 2.10.1-0ubuntu16 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ka...ry/012154.html

*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:

John CrawfordCraig A. EddyDave BushAmber GranerIsabelle DuchatelleAnd many others

*Glossary of Terms*

Other acronyms can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/glossary

*Ubuntu - Get Involved*

The Ubuntu community consists of individuals and teams, working on different aspects of the distribution, giving advice and technical support, and helping to promote Ubuntu to a wider audience. No contribution is too small, and anyone can help. It's your chance to get in on all the community fun associated with developing and promoting Ubuntu. http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate

*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/lis...untu-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.

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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