Gentoo Weekly Newsletter -- Volume 2, Issue 29
Yuji Carlos Kosugi <[email protected]> Mon, 21 Jul 2003 11:57:36 +0900
| Newsgroups | gmane.linux.gentoo.weekly-news |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gentoo Weekly Newsletter
http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/current.xml
This is the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of July 21st, 2003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============
1. Gentoo News
==============
Summary
-------
* Gentoo Linux 1.4 to be released at LinuxWorld Expo
* Gentoo Linux 1.4 available for pre-order
* Open positions in the Gentoo Linux project
* Introducing the Gentoo Server project
* Bytemark Hosting begins offering Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux 1.4 to be released at LinuxWorld Expo
--------------------------------------------------
Gentoo Linux 1.4 will be officially released at LinuxWorld Expo '03[1] in
San Francisco, CA (August 5-7.) The Gentoo Linux crew will be at the show
in .org pavilion booth #1. Please make plans to stop by, chat, and pick up
your favorite build of Gentoo Linux 1.4 for free :)
1. http://www.linuxworldexpo.com
Gentoo Linux 1.4 available for pre-order
----------------------------------------
Our new Gentoo Store[2] is now online at http://store.gentoo.org, and we
are now accepting pre-orders for Gentoo Linux 1.4 for x86, i686, Pentium
III, Pentium 4 and Athlon XP, with other architectures coming soon. Each
2-CD set allows Gentoo to be installed without the need for an Internet
connection, contains a large selection of pre-built packages (Xfree86,
KDE, GNOME and many more,) and includes printed installation instructions.
Gentoo Linux 1.4 will be officially released (and will ship) on August 5,
2003.
2. http://store.gentoo.org
Open positions in the Gentoo Linux project
------------------------------------------
Gentoo Infrastructure team
The Gentoo Infrastructure team is currently seeking volunteers for the
following positions:
* qmail/ezmlm-idx administrator This person should be well-versed in
qmail administration and ideally, also well-versed in emzlm-idx
administration. This position does not require large amounts of time, but
it does require consistent small chunks of time throughout a typical week.
Volunteers should expect to spend 10-20 minutes every day or 20-30 minutes
every 2-3 days handling various mail administration tasks.
* cfengine architect/administrator This person should be well-versed in
implementing and administering cfengine[3], a high-level policy language
and tool used for system administration.
3. http://www.cfengine.org
If you're interested in one of these positions, please send an email to
Kurt Lieber[4].
4. [email protected]
OpenAFS
The Gentoo Linux project is looking for developers to maintain the OpenAFS
package. Please email [email protected] if you are interested.
Introducing the Gentoo Server project
-------------------------------------
This week we'd like to introduce the Gentoo Server project, a community
effort started by users who felt the need for a solid documentation base
for the use and administration of Gentoo Linux in a production
environment. Their new Wiki[5] already contains much useful information
contributed by regulars of the [email protected] mailing list and
#gentoo-server IRC channel on irc.freenode.net, but is looking for more
contributors to help it become the one-stop guide for serving with Gentoo
that it aims to be. Definitely a great place to go to if you have a
server-related question, or if you've just experienced a networking
epiphany you'd like to share with your fellow Gentoomen.
5. http://www.subverted.net/wakka/wakka.php
Bytemark Hosting begins offering Gentoo Linux
---------------------------------------------
Bytemark Hosting[6], a provider of UML(User-Mode Linux[7])-based virtual
hosting solutions, has now begun offering Gentoo Linux as a distribution
option for new and existing users. They've also donated a 256MB host to
the Gentoo project, which is now hosting a European mirror of the main web
site, and are continuing to offer a 10% discount to authors of open source
software.
6. http://www.bytemark-hosting.co.uk/index.html
7. http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/
==================
2. Gentoo Security
==================
GLSAs
-----
Note: There were no new security announcements this week.
New Security Bug Reports
------------------------
The following new security bugs were posted this week:
* net-fs/nfs-utils[8]
* 8139too Driver[9]
8. http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=24482
9. http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=24661
===============
3. User stories
===============
User stories will be back next to week. Remember to send us[10] your
bizarre, hilarious, or incredible Gentoo stories so they can be featured
here!
10. [email protected]
=================================
4. Featured Developer of the Week
=================================
Kurt Lieber
Figure 4.1: Kurt Lieber
http://www.gentoo.org/images/gwn/20030721_klieber.jpg
This week, we're particularly pleased to feature Kurt Lieber. Kurt
recently handed over responsibility for the Gentoo Weekly News, for which
he served as inaugural editor, initiating the project with a post[11] to
the forums. The GWN has grown into one of the most popular and useful
resources for the Gentoo community, thanks largely to Kurt's initial
vision.
11. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=25113
Kurt began working with Gentoo by serving as moderator of the nascent
forums. His effectiveness there prompted the role to grow into
responsibility for Gentoo's infrastructure. Kurt and his team work
tirelessly (and, too often, thanklessly) at maintaining the network of
servers and mirrors that such a download-intensive distro as Gentoo
requires to be successful. This accomplishment is a source of pride for
Kurt. In his own words, "I'm proud of the team that we've slowly put
together to work on infrastructure issues. It's still a work in progress,
but we have a team of motivated, committed professionals who do an
outstanding job of making me look good." The accomplishment is even more
notable if we recall that there is no budget for infrastructure and that
the team needs to somehow maintain an enterprise-class system using
donated computers and hand-me-down equipment.
In June, Kurt was amongst those named to form Gentoo's new management
structure[12]. Kurt will be one of six top-level managers, taking
responsibility for strategic management of portage and Gentoo's Public
Relations efforts, as well as his continuing role in managing Gentoo
infrastructure. Kurt will also serve as a backup for developer relations
management. Kurt took the time to comment on the new management structure
for us:
12. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/management-structure.xml
"My personal goal and one that I think I share with the rest of the team,
is finding the minimum level of management required to effectively run
this project. I'm not a big fan of complex structures, overly-burdensome
rules and yards and yards of red tape. That said, I do appreciate and
recognize that some amount of structure is needed to effectively steer a
project of our size."
Although he has contributed bug fixes to several OSS projects, Gentoo was
Kurt's first formal role on a significant project. His favorite
applications reflect his background as a system administrator: screen,
irssi, cfengine and nagios. He uses KDE for his Window Manager and the
venerable mutt for mail. An ironic twist to his sense of humor is
displayed in the favorite quote he offered us:
* Linux System Administration Rule #1: "There is always more than one way
to accomplish the same task."
* Corollary to Rule #1: "Someone always thinks that your way is wrong."
Kurt lives in New York City, working for a Fortune 500 financial
institution. He likes to tinker with old cars and takes special pleasure
in his restored 1972 GMC Suburban.
=========================
5. Heard in the Community
=========================
Web Forums
----------
1.4 Release at LinuxWorld
Releases don't play a very important role in the Gentoo concept, but some
features are related to distinct version numbers, most importantly the
Gentoo Reference Platform (GRP) packages and the LiveCD. Plus everybody
outside the realm of Gentoo Linux keeps ogling the numbers, anyway, and
therefore need to be reminded of progress by bumping numerological
evidence. Gentoo users have greeted the announcement of Gentoo 1.4 to be
released in time for LinuxWorld in San Francisco on 5 August with a debate
in the Forums, candied with a few completely irrelevant, albeit funny
remarks about the thermodynamics of hell:
* Gentoo 1.4 @ LinuxWorld Expo[13]
* Gentoo 1.4 kommt 5. - 7. August raus :)[14] (in German)
13. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=68292
gentoo-user
-----------
When USE Flags Don't Work
Many of us who run Gentoo on our headless servers utilize Gentoo's USE
flags to tell Portage not to install anything graphical in nature on them.
Loopingz, a command-line PHP user was curious why even with a "-qt" USE
flag, PHP was still requiring QT. Robin Johnson, the PHP ebuild maintainer
got involved and explained it all out for everyone. Link here[15].
15.
http://news.gmane.org/onethread.php?group=gmane.linux.gentoo.user&root=%3C0
04901c34b01%24a87d99c0%243200a8c0%40LOOPPORT%3E
Becoming more involved with Gentoo's development
Looking to contribute back or get more involved with the Gentoo project?
User sdesseaux was. While looking for ways to contribute, he noticed how
Gentoo's install procedure can be long and winding for those fairly new to
Linux. He proposed a project to create a graphical installer and looked
for feedback on such a project. Quickly, other users presented similar
projects, such as the Gentoo Linux Install Script[16] Project and a tool
called InGen, which is provided on Gentoo's CVS server under
gentoo/users/luke-jr/ingen/. Link here[17].
16. http://glis.sourceforge.net
17. http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.user/40476
gentoo-dev
----------
Interesting bit of bash
Aron Griffis posted a fantastic bit of bash[18] that lists all the
variables defined in a script.
18. http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.devel/10237/
=======================
6. Gentoo International
=======================
NYFIX Goes Gentoo on the Desktop!
Aberdeen Group[19], a Boston-based technology consultant and market
analysis firm, reported last week that an electronic stock trading system
provider, NYFIX[20], has started transitioning their systems from Windows
to Linux, for reasons quite understandable in their business: According to
Aberdeen consultant Bill Claybrook, they were just tired of the downtime
involved in applying patches to Windows systems... Now servers that used
to run Windows or Solaris will be based on more conservative Linux
distributions, but the desktops for traders will run Gentoo Linux. Read
the whole article at Claybrook's blog[21], and join the discussion at the
Forums[22].
19. http://www.aberdeen.com
20. http://www.nyfix.com/
21. http://www.aberdeen.com/ab_company/hottopics/linuxvunix/weblog.htm
22. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=68095
Italian Linux Magazine Covers Gentoo
"Gentoo GNU/Linux - The Power of Optimization" is the title of an article
written by Gentoo devs lu_zero and brain, aka Luca Barbato and Michele
Balistreri that appeared in this month's Linux & C. magazine (issue #33).
The seven page article gives an overview of what Gentoo represents and who
it is designed for, and goes on to describe the installation process from
the LiveCD in detail, with many tips and tricks on configuration issues,
closing most appropriately with a wish for users to -- have fun. Bon
divertimento indeed, check Linux & C.'s website[23] for details on how to
order a copy of the magazine that also contains four CDs, two of which are
filled with Gentoo 1.4_rc4 and lots of additional Gentoo packages.
23. http://www.oltrelinux.com/home.php?num_riv=33
Austria: Gentoo Vienna Community Holds Next Meeting on 5 August
And the wagon train moves on. Once more the Gentoo users of Vienna have
decided to switch locations for their next meeting scheduled to take place
on 5 August. The scarcely clad waitresses at the Vienna Hooters[24] will
quite possibly be a distraction similar to the weirdos populating the
Austrian communist party venue of the first Gentoo user group meeting
earlier this year (see GWN report)[25], but some of the organizers seem to
expect a higher motivation for people to turn up if they can be promised a
glimpse of female bellybuttons over the rim of their laptop screens...
Coordination thread in the forums, still at this URL[26].
24. http://www.hooters.co.at
25. http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/20030310-newsletter.xml#doc_chap5
26. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=9161
================
7. Portage Watch
================
Portage Watch is on hiatus this week, but will be back next week with the
updated packages from this week and next week.
===========
8. Bugzilla
===========
Summary
-------
* Statistics
* Closed Bug Ranking
* New Bug Rankings
Statistics
----------
The Gentoo community uses Bugzilla (bugs.gentoo.org[27]) to record and
track bugs, notifications, suggestions and other interactions with the
development team. Between 11 July 2003 and 17 July 2003, activity on the
site has resulted in:
27. http://bugs.gentoo.org
* 373 new bugs during this period
* 338 bugs closed or resolved during this period
* 1 previously closed bugs were reopened this period
Of the 3273 currently open bugs: 66 are labeled 'blocker', 134 are labeled
'critical', and 266 are labeled 'major'.
Closed Bug Rankings
-------------------
The developers and teams who have closed the most bugs during this period
are:
* Gentoo Games[28], with 56 closed bugs[29]
* Printing Team[30], with 38 closed bugs[31]
* Martin Holzer[32], with 22 closed bugs[33]
* Nick Hadaway[34], with 20 closed bugs[35]
28. [email protected]
29.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&ch
field=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07-17&resolution=FIX
ED&[email protected]
30. [email protected]
31.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&ch
field=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07-17&resolution=FIX
ED&[email protected]
32. [email protected]
33.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&ch
field=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07-17&resolution=FIX
ED&[email protected]
34. [email protected]
35.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&ch
field=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07-17&resolution=FIX
ED&[email protected]
New Bug Rankings
----------------
The developers and teams who have been assigned the most new bugs during
this period are:
* Jay Pfeifer[36], with 17 new bugs[37]
* Alastair Tse[38], with 8 new bugs[39]
* Gentoo X-Windows Packagers[40], with 7 new bugs[41]
* Perl Devs[42], with 7 new bugs[43]
36. [email protected]
37.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_s
tatus=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07
-17&[email protected]
38. [email protected]
39.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_s
tatus=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07
-17&[email protected]
40. [email protected]
41.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_s
tatus=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07
-17&[email protected]
42. [email protected]
43.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_s
tatus=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2003-07-11&chfieldto=2003-07
-17&[email protected]
==================
9. Tips and Tricks
==================
Accessing the Kazaa network without Wine
This week's tip shows you how to use giFT[44] to access the Kazaa network
without using WINE.
44. http://gift.sourceforge.net
The first step is to install giFT itself and the plugin for Kazaa network.
giFT-fasttrack developers have not made an official release yet and the
only way to get the plugin is through CVS. To install giFT run the
following:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Code Listing 9.1: |
|Getting giFT |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| # ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" emerge gift |
| # ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" emerge gift-fasttrack-cvs |
| |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: In both cases replace "~x86" with your architecture.
Because giFT is only a daemon we need to install some client. There are a
number of choices available. In portage you can find:
* giftcurs - console client based on ncurses library
* giftoxic - gtk2 client
* giftui - one more gtk2 client.
The are other clients available as well (check giFT project page), but
these are the ones available in portage.
In order to configure giFT run giFT-setup. On the step when you will be
prompted for the plugins enter: OpenFT:FastTrack. OpenFT has to be there,
otherwise the whole thing won't work.
Now, when we have installed and configured giFT you can run it by issuing
this command:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Code Listing 9.2: |
|Running giFT |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| % giFT -d |
| gift_client_here (e.g.: giFTcurs for giftcurs package) |
| % giFTcurs |
| |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This week's tip was submitted by Svyatogor
===============================
10. Quote/Signature of the week
===============================
Quote/Signature of the week is on hiatus this week. If you see a funny
quote or signature in the Gentoo Linux mailing lists, web forums, or IRC
channels, don't hesitate to send it to us[45].
45. [email protected]
===========================
11. Moves, Adds and Changes
===========================
Moves
-----
The following developers recently left the Gentoo team:
* none this week
Adds
----
The following developers recently joined the Gentoo Linux team:
* Joshua Charles Campbell (warpzero) -- SL
* Oliver Crete (tester) -- amd64
* Greg Fitzgerald (gregf) -- printing, net-mail
* Stuart Herbert (stuart) -- PHP
* Yoshiaki Hagihara (hagi) -- Japanese docs
* Chris Gianelloni (wolf3102) -- games
* Don Seiler (rizzo) -- gaim, user-submitted
* Heinrich Wendel (lanius) -- printing
Changes
-------
The following developers recently changed roles within the Gentoo Linux
project.
* none this week
=====================
12. Contribute to GWN
=====================
Interested in contributing to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter? Send us an
email[46].
46. [email protected]
================
13. GWN Feedback
================
Please send us your feedback[47] and help make GWN better.
47. [email protected]
================================
14. GWN Subscription Information
================================
To subscribe to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter, send a blank email to
[email protected].
To unsubscribe to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter, send a blank email to
[email protected] from the email address you are
subscribed under.
===================
15. Other Languages
===================
The Gentoo Weekly Newsletter is also available in the following languages:
* Dutch[48]
* English[49]
* German[50]
* French[51]
* Japanese[52]
* Italian[53]
* Polish[54]
* Portuguese (Brazil)[55]
* Portuguese (Portugal)[56]
* Russian[57]
* Spanish[58]
* Turkish[59]
48. http://www.gentoo.org/news/be/gwn/gwn.xml
49. http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/gwn.xml
50. http://www.gentoo.org/news/de/gwn/gwn.xml
51. http://www.gentoo.org/news/fr/gwn/gwn.xml
52. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ja/gwn/gwn.xml
53. http://www.gentoo.org/news/it/gwn/gwn.xml
54. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pl/gwn/gwn.xml
55. http://www.gentoo.org/news/br/gwn/gwn.xml
56. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pt/gwn/gwn.xml
57. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ru/gwn/gwn.xml
58. http://www.gentoo.org/news/es/gwn/gwn.xml
59. http://www.gentoo.org/news/tr/gwn/gwn.xml
Yuji Carlos Kosugi <[email protected]> - Editor
AJ Armstrong <[email protected]> - Contributor
Michael Kohl <[email protected]> - Contributor
Kurt Lieber <[email protected]> - Contributor
Rafael Cordones Marcos <[email protected]> - Contributor
David Narayan <[email protected]> - Contributor
Gerald J Normandin Jr. <[email protected]> - Contributor
Ulrich Plate <[email protected]> - Contributor
Peter Sharp <[email protected]> - Contributor
Kim Tingkaer <[email protected]> - Contributor
Mathy Vanvoorden <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Hendrik Eeckhaut <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Jorn Eilander <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Bernard Kerckenaere <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Peter ter Borg <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Jochen Maes <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Roderick Goessen <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Gerard van den Berg <[email protected]> - Dutch Translation
Matthieu Montaudouin <[email protected]> - French Translation
Martin Prieto <[email protected]> - French Translation
Antoine Raillon <[email protected]> - French Translation
Sebastien Cevey <[email protected]> - French Translation
Jean-Christophe Choisy <[email protected]> - French Translation
Steffen Lassahn <[email protected]> - German Translation
Matthias F. Brandstetter <[email protected]> - German Translation
Thomas Raschbacher <[email protected]> - German Translation
Klaus-J. Wolf <[email protected]> - German Translation
Marco Mascherpa <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Claudio Merloni <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Christian Apolloni <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Stefano Lucidi <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Yoshiaki Hagihara <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Katsuyuki Konno <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Yuji Carlos Kosugi <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Yasunori Fukudome <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Takashi Ota <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Radoslaw Janeczko <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Lukasz Strzygowski <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Michal Drobek <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Adam Lyjak <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Krzysztof Klimonda <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Atila "Jedi" Bohlke Vasconcelos <[email protected]> - Portuguese
(Brazil) Translation
Eduardo Belloti <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil) Translation
Jo達o Rafael Moraes Nicola <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil)
Translation
Marcelo Gon巽alves de Azambuja <[email protected]> - Portuguese
(Brazil) Translation
Otavio Rodolfo Piske <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil)
Translation
Pablo N. Hess -- NatuNobilis <[email protected]> - Portuguese
(Brazil) Translation
Pedro de Medeiros <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil) Translation
Ventura Barbeiro <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil)
Translation
Bruno Ferreira <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal)
Translation
Gustavo Felisberto <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal)
Translation
Jos辿 Costa <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Luis Medina <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Ricardo Loureiro <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Sergey Kuleshov <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Dmitry Suzdalev <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Anton Vorovatov <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Lanark <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Fernando J. Pereda <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Lluis Peinado Cifuentes <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Zephryn Xirdal T <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Guillermo Juarez <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Jes炭s Garc鱈a Crespo <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Carlos Castillo <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Julio Castillo <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Sergio G坦mez <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Aycan Irican <[email protected]> - Turkish Translation
Bugra Cakir <[email protected]> - Turkish Translation
Cagil Seker <[email protected]> - Turkish Translation
Emre Kazdagli <[email protected]> - Turkish Translation
Evrim Ulu <[email protected]> - Turkish Translation
Gursel Kaynak <[email protected]> - Turkish Translation
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