news 28 Posted August 23, 2009 Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #156 for the week August 16th - August 22nd, 2009. In this issue we cover: Ubuntu Developer Week, Karmic UNR packages now open for translation, Another reason to become an Official Ubuntu Member, Next Ubuntu Global Jam, Free Art of Community Book for Approved LoCo teams, Ubuntu Arizona Team Installfest, Launchpad screencasts, Ubuntu Forums Community Interview, Computers without internet are no fun, One Hundred Paper Cuts Round 7, Support the Ubuntu Global Jam, 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/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Translations == In This Issue == * Ubuntu Developer Week * Karmic UNR packages now open for translation * Another reason to become an Official Ubuntu Member * Next Ubuntu Global Jam * Ubuntu Stats * Free Art of Community Book for Approved LoCo Teams * Launchpad Screencasts * Ubuntu Forums News * The Planet * In the Press & Blogosphere * Upcoming Meetings and Events * Updates & Security == General Community News == === Ubuntu Developer Week === Announcing the fourth Ubuntu Developer Week! August 31st - September 4th, 2009 Are you excited about Ubuntu, always had the feeling you want to "give back" in one form or the other and you didn’t know how? Ubuntu Developer Week is the perfect opportunity for you to get involved and get a closer look at what’s happening behind the scenes. Make sure you mark the dates from Monday, 31st August 2009 to Friday, 4th September 2009 in your calendar! Just check out the timetable [1] to learn more about which session is up next. [1]https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDeveloperWeek How this is going to work? Easy! * Just join #ubuntu-classroom on irc.freenode.net and enjoy and participate in the sessions. * Check if you need to prepare for a session. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDeveloperWeek/Sessions * Ask your questions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat, participate. * Learn more about Ubuntu Development. The devs have a put together a great lineup of speakers this time, with a fantastic assortment of topics, all very much focused on a hands-on experience for you: web development, Launchpad hackery, Debian/Ubuntu packaging, development techniques, etc. etc. If you are new to Ubuntu development, need more information on the speakers or sessions, check out: http://people.canonical.com/~dholbach/Ubuntu_Developer_Week4.pdf Ubuntu Developer Week is a fantastic way to learn, get involved, and help make Ubuntu even better. Don't miss out!! https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-August/000604.html === Karmic UNR packages now open for translation === Karmic Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) packages are now open for translation. You can start translating them straight away from here: https://translations.launchpad.net/unr Please note that we encourage everyone to translate them in that upstream location before translations flow to Ubuntu. Notes: * Deadline: the deadline for translations in the upstream project is the 10th of September, which coincides with the UserInterfaceFreeze milestone. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicReleaseSchedule * Ubuntu translations: after that date, translations will be imported to Ubuntu at https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/karmic and translators will still be able to modify them or do the last fixes before the LanguagePackDeadline. The translations will then be included in language packs. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KarmicReleaseSchedule * Webfav: we are still working on getting webfav translatable through Launchpad. If it is not possible to do this before the translation deadline, and considering that the package has only got one translatable string, we might consider a workaround to allow new translations of this string. For more information please refer to the following links: * https://lists.launchpad.net/ubuntu-translations-coordinators/msg00121.html * https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-translators/2009-May/002502.html https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-August/000670.html === Another reason to become an Official Ubuntu Member === All Ubuntu Members who have signed the Code of Conduct have been granted SFTP access to a Web-accessible directory on people.ubuntu.com. Restrictions * Use of this service should be with the aim of helping Ubuntu in some way * Content you upload should be: * Free (as defined by Ubuntu) * Your personal information and should not be misrepresented as an official part of the Ubuntu project * This service is offered gratis and on a best effort basis * We will need to apply limitations to your use of this service, including disk quotas (about which, see below) and bandwidth restrictions * We reserve the right to remove content which is any of the following: * Not related to Ubuntu * Clearly offensive * Could trigger legal action * Otherwise interfere with this or other Ubuntu services Please see the Legal Page for the full terms and conditions: http://people.ubuntu.com/legal/ Quota: This space is subject to quota restrictions. There is a 1GB "soft" quota, with a 1.5GB "hard" limit, and a 7-day grace period. In practice, this means: * If the stored data total less than 1GB, nothing special happens. * It is impossible to store more than 1.5GB of data. * Any amount between 1GB and 1.5GB triggers the "grace" countdown: * Once the grace period has expired, further uploads of data will be halted until the account drops below 1GB used for a pre-set period of time. Connection information and other questions can be found at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PeopleUbuntuCom For information on becoming an Ubuntu Member see: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Membership https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-August/000672.html === Next Ubuntu Global Jam === The Ubuntu Global Jam is an incredible opportunity for the Ubuntu community to unite together around the weekend of 2nd - 4th Oct 2009 to work together to improve Ubuntu. Everyone is able to contribute to the Jam, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to get involved. Curious about how to make a real difference to Ubuntu? This is a great chance to make that difference. The Ubuntu Global Jam incorporates events that have been organized the world over to get Ubuntu contributors and fans together to have a great time and improve Ubuntu. Each event has one or more of our four themes: * Bugs - finding, triaging and fixing bugs. * Testing - testing the new release and reporting your feedback. * Documentation - writing documentation about how to use Ubuntu and how to join the community. * Translations - translating Ubuntu and helping to make it available in everyone's local language. * Other - other types of contribution such as marketing, packaging, advocacy etc. LoCos should not feel required to support all themes, but the Global Jam can be used as an opportunity to introduce members to different aspects of the community. More information on preparation, including a Jam Tutorial Video and artwork banners for your website see the link below. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGlobalJam == Ubuntu Stats == === Bug Stats === * Open (61240) +543 over last week * Critical (33) +5 over last week * Unconfirmed (28584) +268 over last week * Unassigned (52844) +498 over last week * All bugs ever reported (305138) +1942 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 Jaunty === * Spanish (12411) -19 over last week * French (39480) -22 over last week * Brazilian Portuguese (48523) -30 over last week * Swedish (53808) -2 over last week * English (United Kingdom) (53848) -13 over last week Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope," see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/jaunty/ === Translation Stats Karmic === * Spanish (19593) -1449 over last week * French (58860) +377 over last week * Swedish (68401) +244 over last week * Brazilian Portuguese (71878) -234 over last week * English (Uk) (80850) +281 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 === * Ideas should be better separated - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/21100/ * Ask for application restart after security update - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/21134/ * Places menu is limited to seven bookmarks - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/21133/ * It's hard to find the newest testing versions of Ubuntu - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/21114/ * VPN auto-reconnect - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/21112/ 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 == === Jono Bacon: Free Art of Community Book for Approved Ubuntu LoCo Teams === Recently I announced my brand spanking new book The Art of Community and so far the reception has been fantastic! Thanks to everyone who has been spreading the news about the book - continue to do your good thing! Well, I am a firm believer that you should look after your own family, and I am a member of the awesome Ubuntu family, so I have managed to swing a sweet deal with O’Reilly, the publishers of the book, to send all approved USA based teams a free printed copy of the book and all other approved teams a free electronic copy of the book. While we wish we could send all approved teams across the world a free printed copy, O’Reilly are only able to cater to USA based teams right now. Damn economy. To keep this as simple as possible, you can request your book by following these steps: 1. The team contact shown on our LoCo Team List https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamList (and only the team contact) should send me an email to jono AT ubuntu DOT com with the subject line Free Art of Community Book For LoCo Team (be sure to type this subject line exactly as here or it may slip through the net). In your email include all the following details: * Your full name. * Which team you are from. * Your full address (including zip/postal code, region and country). * Your phone number, including country and area code. 2. I will assess whether you will receive a print or electronic edition. 3. A few weeks after the deadline you should receive your edition of The Art of Community, for free! A few notes: * Only approved teams are eligible for the free copies of the book. * Only the team contact for each team (shown here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamList) can make the request for the book. * There is a limit of one copy of each book per approved team. * O’Reilly will kindly cover postage, but not any import tax or other shipping fees. * When you have the book, it is up to you what you do with it. We recommend you share it between members of the team. LoCo Leaders: please don’t hog it for yourselves! I would also really appreciate if you write a review of the book on your nearest Amazon website. * The deadline for getting your requests in Wed 2nd September 2009. Make sure you get your requests in by the deadline, anything after that will be sent to the bit bucket. If you have any questions or queries, feel free to drop me an email. http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/08/21/free-art-of-community-book-for-approved-ubuntu-loco-teams/ === Ubuntu Arizona Team Installfest === We're teaming up with the Computer Sciences Dept. at the University of Arizona in Tucson for a co-hosted installfest on campus. Recently the Computer Sciences Dept. has made the switch to "Total Ubuntu" for their systems. They are very excited about teaming up the the Arizona team and are talking about making this a regular event. The Arizona team is hoping to have these co-hosted events on campus at least once a month. * Date: Saturday August 9th, 2009 * Time: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM * Location: University of Arizona - Gould-Simpson Building - 1040 East 4th Street - 9th Floor Atrium More information including a map of location with available parking is at the link. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1244718 == Launchpad News == === Launchpad screencasts === Matthew Revell informs us that Launchpad has added 4 new screencasts to help you learn visually. * Gererating and adding a PGP key to Launchpad: http://blog.launchpad.net/general/screencast-generating-and-adding-a-pgp-key-to-launchpad * Sharing translation between releases of the same project: http://blog.launchpad.net/translations/screencast-sharing-translations-between-releases-of-the-same-project * Exporting translations to a Bazaar branch: http://blog.launchpad.net/translations/screencast-exporting-translations-to-a-bazaar-branch * Importing translation templates from a Bazaar branch: http://blog.launchpad.net/translations/screencast-importing-translation-templates-from-a-bazaar-branch Be sure to check out these highly instructional new videos along with all the other Launchpad Blog news. http://blog.launchpad.net/ == Ubuntu Forums News == === Tutorial of the Week === August 24, 2009 This is the second ToW from master_kernel (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=201430), a very popular and supported tutorial started in December 2006. Such dedication and popularity had to be recognized. Ever dreamed to compile your kernel? Check the "Master Kernel Thread" and dive! master_kernel will be there to give you a hand. Nice work, see you soon! http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=311158 === Community Interviews === Joeb454 (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=373057 ) will now be hosting the Interviews after K.Mandla (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=71172) and Matthew ((http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=17635). You'll find all the relevant links in Joeb454's blog post. Stay tuned! http://matthewhelmke.net/2009/08/12/passing-the-baton/ http://blog.joeb454.com/2009/08/ubuntu-community-interviews/ === The Squirrels are taking over the forums! === It all started out of fun. The Staff decided it was time for another theme week on the forums, and Matthew came up with this squirrel picture (you'll find it in one of the threads). We all gimped our avatars, some even changed it for a pic close to their real location. It did not take much time before our very fast community notices and picks up on the idea. Beware, they are coming in.. First thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1244791 Official invasion announcement: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1244946 == The Planet == === Daniel Holbach: Computers without internet are no fun === You probably heard “Computers without internet are no fun” or “Linux/Ubuntu without internet is no fun” before and your might have had the same feeling the last time your DSL provider had an outage. Fact is that a lot of areas around the world don’t have a cheap, reliable or fast internet, or even internet at all. The Ubuntu NGO team is trying to make life with Ubuntu easier for organizations working in those areas. Some of you will know how to set up an off-line mirror of the Ubuntu archive, how to set up squid, how to use rsync and so on. Many people don’t. If you have good ideas, know of good documentation, are knowledgeable in that area, please consider Share this post Link to post
