news 28 Posted February 7, 2012 Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 251 for the week January 30 - February 5, 2012. == Links to UWN == * Wiki page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue251 == In This Issue == * Precise Pangolin Alpha 2 Released! * Developer Week: Summaries Days 1-3 * The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Needs You! * Ubuntu 12.04 Development update * Ubuntu Stats * LoCo News * Launchpad News * Canonical Design Team: Multi-Monitor Update and Greeter Prototype * Didier Roche: Unity 5.2 is now released! * Paul Tagliamonte: Mapping the Ubuntu Community * With GOV.UK, British government redefines the online government platform * You Don't Have To Quit Ubuntu! * Canonical Promotes Standard Ubuntu Branding with New Website * Other Articles of Interest * Weekly Official Ubuntu Flavors Team Meetings * Upcoming Meetings and Events * Updates and Security * And much much more == General Community News == === Precise Pangolin Alpha 2 Released! === Kate Stewart, Ubuntu Release Manager, announces the Alpha 2 release of Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin. Pre-releases are not encouraged for anyone needing a stable system nor anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional or even frequent breakage; however, it is important that these releases are tested. More information on this milestone release an how you can get involved with testing can be found at the link below. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-release/2012-February/000781.html === Developer Week: Summaries Days 1-3 === Daniel Holbach summarizes the events of Ubuntu Developer Week. Session descriptions, leaders and links to the session logs can be found the event summaries below. http://ubuntuclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/developer-week-summary-day-1-outlook-day-2/ http://ubuntuclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/developer-week-summary-day-2-outlook-day-3/ http://ubuntuclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/developer-week-summary-day-3/ === The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Needs You! === Elizabeth Krumbach issues another call for volunteers to join the Ubuntu News Team. The UWN team is in need of more volunteers to help sustain this project. Krumbach outlines where the shortages are and how the Ubuntu community can get involved. Individuals interested in helping maintain the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter shoulf read Krumbach's blog post in full. http://princessleia.com/journal/?p=5683 === Ubuntu 12.04 Development update === Daniel Holbach gives his weekly Ubuntu development update as Alpha 2 of Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin becomes available. In this post, Holbach announces to the community that a rebuild of the full Ubuntu archive is now underway and reminds everyone that feature freeze will go into effect in 2 weeks. Holbach highlights community desktop contributor, Jeremy Bicha's explanation of how the Ubuntu desktop components were chosen for the 12.04 cycle. Events in the spotlight this week include summaries of Ubuntu Developer Week as well as a list of items that still need to be done. Individuals wanting to contribute to the ongoing development of the Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin development cycle can find out more at the link below. http://fridge.ubuntu.com/2012/02/02/ubuntu-12-04-development-update-12/ == Ubuntu Stats == === Bug Stats === * Open (88559) +294 over last week * Critical (141) +29 over last week * Unconfirmed (46514) +134 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 Oneiric === 1. English (Australia) (2) +/-0 over last week 2. Spanish (8691) -47 over last week 3. English (United Kingdom) (32302) -682 over last week 4. Bosnian (38546) -389 over last week 5. Brazilian Portuguese (43512) -51 over last week Remaining strings to translate in Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Oncelot", see more at: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/oneiric/ and https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Translations === Ubuntu Brainstorm Top 5 this week === * Increase Sound Menu functionality: song progress slider - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/29167/ * scrollbars are not enough for efficiency - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/29192/ * Increase Ubuntu One Userbility: List all published documents - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/29184/ * Make the desktop/background less dull - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/29179/ * Automatic performace and Desktop environment sugestions - http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/29170/ 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/ Ask (and answer!) your own questions at http://askubuntu.com == LoCo News == === Ubuntu-my Collaboration with Federal of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA) === Khairul Aizat Kamarudzzaman of the Malaysian LoCo summarizes the teams involvement in FOMCA's Access to Knowledge National Campaign on A2K Policies and Campaign to promote Open Source Software to consumers. Outlined in this post are overall and specific objectives, activities the team is involved and the areas impacted throught this campaign. http://blog.myfenris.net/2012/02/03/ubuntu-my-collaboration-with-federal-of-malaysian-consumers-association-fomca/ === Ubuntu Podcast, Season 5 === Tony Whitmore announces that the Ubuntu UK Podcast will be back for a 5th season. In this post, Whitmore shares with readers ways to suggest content, share ideas and give feedback. http://tonywhitmore.co.uk/blog/2012/02/04/ubuntu-podcast-season-5/ == Launchpad News == === Fighting fire with fire - Changes to bug heat === Dan Harrop-Griffiths announces changes to the way bug heat is calculated and displayed in Launchpad in part to enhance the performance of Launchpad. http://blog.launchpad.net/general/bugheatchange === How to do Juju - Charming oops-tools === Diogo Matsubara, of the Launchpad Red Squad and Product Team, writes about a new a new cloud project this team recently began work on. Matsubara notes that as part of this new project the team will be using juju -- a tool that helps users easily deploy services on the cloud. In his quest to learn more about juju, Matsubara has written a new charm to deploy oops-tools. The charm is described as an open source Django application that helps visualize and aggregate error reports from Launchpad, on Amazon's EC2 and Canonical's private OpenStack cloud. More information on this charm and juju can be found at the link below. http://blog.launchpad.net/general/how-to-do-juju-%e2%80%93-charming-oops-tools === Faster deployments === Francis J. Lacoste writes about the 10% improvement seen since Launchpad announces its implementation of fastdowntime deployment. Lacoste shows comparison graphs of the old method against the new fastdowntime deployment method. Find out more about this successful implementation as well as future planned improvements by reading this post in full. http://blog.launchpad.net/general/faster-deployments == The Planet == === Michael Hall: Singlet, part 0.2 === Michael Hall of the Ubuntu community team at Canonical, writes about recent improvements to Singlet -- Python library for quickly building simple Unity lenses and scopes. Hall goes into details of these improvements, provides screenshots of outcomes and highlights the next steps for improvements. http://mhall119.com/2012/01/singlet-part-0-2/ === Canonical Design Team: Multi-Monitor Update and Greeter Prototype === Stewart Wilson announces changes in the Multiple Monitors UX Specification and the prototype made to show how the Greeter works across multiple displays. The new specification, the prototype and how to run it (the prototype) are all described in the full post. http://design.canonical.com/2012/01/multi-monitor-update-and-greeter-prototype/ === Chris Johnston: Big changes to Summit === Ubuntu community contributor, Chris Johnston, announces recent changes and updates to the Summit system. Scheduler views and user role updates are among the highlights of these improvements. Johnston notes that the first real time test of these updates will occur this week at Linaro Connect Q1.12. http://chrisjohnston.org/?p=914 === Marco Ceppi: Bugs are not questions === Marco Ceppi of AskUbuntu.com describes the policy of bugs being off-topic for the site. A team within the community has been mobilized to review questions which are actually bugs, as they "can improve Ask Ubuntu by just pointing the user to bug filing advice and promptly closing the question." http://marcoceppi.com/2012/02/bugs-are-not-questions/ === Jeremy Bicha: Update on GNOME Versions for Ubuntu 12.04 === Jeremy Bicha discusses the caution behind the selection of software for the upcoming 12.04 LTS release and gives details on the versions which will be included, including: Totem 3.0, Evolution, Disk Utility/Disks, System Settings 3.2 and much of the rest at 3.4. Bicha wraps up by mentioning that the desktop team is always looking for more packagers and developers for the desktop team, if you're interested join #ubuntu-desktop to learn more. http://jeremy.bicha.net/2012/02/01/gnome-versions-for-ubuntu-1204/ === Didier Roche: Unity 5.2 is now released! === Unity 5.2 is out and they are looking for testers. It now has multimonitor support with screen edge detection, "push to reveal" launcher behavior to avoid false positive when hitting the back button of firefox, per workspace alt-tab switcher, new home dash, automaximize only on netbooks and a lot of small details that matter. http://blog.didrocks.fr/post/Unity-5.2-is-now-released%21 === Xubuntu: Bringing our web presence to 2012 === The Xubuntu project has launched a new website, features include: migration from Drupal to WordPress, easier administration, fully rewritten theme using the new branding and a number of important content updates. http://xubuntu.org/news/webpresence2012/ === Stephane Graber: Ever wanted an armhf container on your x86 machine? It's now possible with LXC in Ubuntu Precise === Stephane Graber details how, by using the newly updated lxc and qemu-user-static packages, you can now run a virtualized armhf system on a x86 machine in 12.04. He reviews some of the limitations in this setup and reminds readers that this is not as a replacement for actual ARM hardware. http://www.stgraber.org/2012/02/03/ever-wanted-an-armel-or-armhf-container-on-an-x86-machine-its-now-possible-with-lxc-in-ubuntu-precise/ === Paul Tagliamonte: Mapping the Ubuntu Community === Paul Tagliamonte uses the public longitude and latitude data from Ubuntu Members to generate a series of maps detailing the contributions based on karma of Ubuntu Members around the world. http://blog.pault.ag/post/17036484637/mapping-the-ubuntu-community == In The Press == === With GOV.UK, British government redefines the online government platform === The British government has launched new the new gov.uk site, an "open source, mobile-friendly, platform agnostic, uses HTML5, scalable, hosted in the cloud and open for feedback." The details of this new deployment reveal that the servers are Amazon EC2 instances running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/01/with-govuk-british-government.html === Ubuntu's New 'HUD' Factor: A Step Forward or Back? === Katherine Noyes of LinuxInsider discusses the new HUD (Head-Up Display) interface being released in 12.04 by reviewing and linking to several articles from bloggers around the community discussing the current comments, questions and concerns about it. http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/74298.html == In The Blogosphere == === You Don't Have To Quit Ubuntu! === Swapnil Bhartiya shares some of the alternatives to the Unity UI of standard Ubuntu by exploring KDE 4.8 in Kubuntu, and the "Gnome 2.x like" interfaces provided by Lubuntu and Xubuntu. He recommends these official derivatives because "Canonical is invested a lot of time and resource in making Linux more acceptable for home users" and stresses that you "quit Ubuntu to quit Unity." http://www.muktware.com/articles/3253/you-dont-have-quit-ubuntu === Canonical Promotes Standard Ubuntu Branding with New Website === Christopher Tozzi reviews some of the history of Ubuntu branding and reflects upon the improvements made with the new Branding website released by the Canonical design team at the newly launched design.ubuntu.com. http://www.thevarguy.com/2012/01/30/canonical-promotes-standard-ubuntu-branding-with-new-website/ === Ubuntu 12.04 ARM Performance Becomes Very Compelling === Michael Larabel of Phoronix runs a series of benchmarks comparing 11.10 to a couple of snapshots of 12.04 in January running on ARM. Benchmark tools he used include Apache, BYTE Unix, CacheBench, Ogg and MP3 encoding, imagemagick and more. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_1204_omap4460&num=1 === Debian/Ubuntu games screenshot party! === Paul Wise appeals to contributors who enjoy gaming and are looking for a way to contribute to Debian and Ubuntu by sharing details of an upcoming games screenshot party on the weekend of 25th-26th February. Details for how to sign up and be a part of it in the link below. http://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/log/2012/02/03/debian-ubuntu-games-screenshot-party/ === Ubuntu Alpha 2 Reviews === With the release of the Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin, Alpha 2 last Thursday the UWN team includes a list of the following Alpha 2 articles of interest: * Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin Alpha 2 Released [Video, Screenshots] - http://www.webupd8.org/2012/02/ubuntu-1204-lts-precise-pangolin-alpha.html * Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 Screenshot Tour - http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-12-04-LTS-Alpha-2-Screenshot-Tour-250341.shtml * Ubuntu 12.04 Alpha 2 Released - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/ubuntu-12-04-alpha-2-released/ == In Other News == === Linux at CES 2012: Everything You Need to Know === Manuel Jose of Tech Drive-in summarizes some of the Linux-related products showcased at CES in January, starting off with Ubuntu TV. http://www.techdrivein.com/2012/01/linux-at-ces-2012-everything-you-need.html === Another Special Edition - this time, Scribus! === Description of this special edition issue of Full Circle Magazine: "FCM reader Brian has pulled together my Scribus tutorials from the early issues of FCM and even added updated screenshots to it. So, if you're thinking of creating a publication of any kind, you might want to check out this special edition." http://fullcirclemagazine.org/2012/02/04/another-special-edition-this-time-scribus/ == Other Articles of Interest == * Heads Up for Linux - http://www.linuxplanet.com/news/heads-up-for-linux.html * 2012 Linux Computer Buyer's Guide - http://maketecheasier.com/2012-linux-computer-buyers-guide/2012/02/01 == Weekly Official Ubuntu Flavors Team Meetings == * Edubuntu Team - No new meeting as of this publication * Kubuntu Team - No new meeting as of this publication * Lubuntu Team - February 1, 2012 https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu/Meetings/20120201 * Mythbuntu Team - No new meeting as of this publication * Ubuntu Studio Team - February 5, 2012 https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/Meetings/2012January22 * Xubuntu Team - February 1, 2012 https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Xubuntu/Meetings/Archive/Minutes/2012-02-01 == Upcoming Meetings and Events == For upcoming meetings and events please visit the calendars at fridge.ubuntu.com: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/calendars/ == Updates and Security for 8.04, 10.04, 10.10, 11.04 and 11.10 == === Security Updates === * USN-1351-1: AccountsService vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1351-1 * USN-1352-1: Software Properties vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1352-1 * USN-1354-1: usbmuxd vulnerability - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1354-1 * USN-1355-1: Firefox vulnerabilities - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1355-1 * USN-1355-2: Mozvoikko update - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1355-2 * USN-1355-3: ubufox and webfav update - http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1355-3 === Ubuntu 8.04 Updates === * None Reported === Ubuntu 10.04 Updates === * software-properties 0.75.10.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-January/012630.html * debian-installer 20081029ubuntu102.14 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012631.html * base-files 5.0.0ubuntu20.10.04.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012632.html * apt 0.7.25.3ubuntu9.10 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012633.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.10.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012634.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.10.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012635.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.10.04.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012636.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.10.04.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012637.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.10.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012638.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.10.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/lucid-changes/2012-February/012639.html === Ubuntu 10.10 Updates === * software-properties 0.76.7.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-January/009730.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.10.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-February/009731.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.10.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-February/009732.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.10.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-February/009733.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.10.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-February/009734.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.10.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-February/009735.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.10.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/maverick-changes/2012-February/009736.html === Ubuntu 11.04 Updates === * software-properties 0.80.9.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-January/012360.html * usbmuxd 1.0.7-1ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012361.html * kickseed 0.55ubuntu1.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012362.html * partman-iscsi 16.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012363.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012364.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012365.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012366.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012367.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012368.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.11.04.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/natty-changes/2012-February/012369.html === Ubuntu 11.10 Updates === * software-properties 0.81.13.3 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-January/011813.html * accountsservice 0.6.14-1git1ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-January/011814.html * ruby-sinatra 1.2.6-1ubuntu1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-January/011815.html * evince 3.2.1-0ubuntu2.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-January/011816.html * usbmuxd 1.0.7-1ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011817.html * paprefs 0.9.9-2ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011818.html * ghostscript 9.04~dfsg-0ubuntu11.5 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011819.html * libvirt 0.9.2-4ubuntu15.2 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011820.html * bamf 0.2.104-0ubuntu1.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011821.html * apt 0.8.16~exp5ubuntu13.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011822.html * lxc 0.7.5-0ubuntu8.4 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011823.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011824.html * mozvoikko 2.0.1-0ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011825.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011826.html * firefox 10.0+build1-0ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011827.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011828.html * chromium-browser 16.0.912.77~r118311-0ubuntu0.11.10.1 - https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/oneiric-changes/2012-February/011829.html == UWN Translations == * Note to translators and our readers please follow the link below for the information you need. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Translations == Subscribe == Get your copy of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter delivered each week to you via email at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-news == Archives == You can always find older Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter issues at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter == 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: * Elizabeth Krumbach * Chris Druif * Vikram Dhillon * Liraz Siri * And 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 Share this post Link to post
