Gentoo Weekly Newsletter - Volume 3, Issue 18

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Gentoo Weekly Newsletter
http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/current.xml
This is the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of May 3rd, 2004.
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1. Gentoo News
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Gentoo Linux Chief Architect Daniel Robbins retires
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(this article was contributed by developer Grant Goodyear[1])

 1. [email protected]
 
Unless you have been living under a rock you already know that this week 
Daniel Robbins resigned from as Gentoo Linux Chief Architect. Gentoo will 
be continuing on as a newly created Not-for-Profit organization, but 
before Daniel moves on for good I would like to take a bit of time to 
acknowledge some of drobbins' many, many accomplishments during his 
stewardship of Gentoo. 
 
Figure 1.1: Gentoo site in May 2001
20040503_gentoo-site.jpg
 
Daniel Robbins got his start in Linux distribution developing as a 
developer with Stampede Linux before leaving to found Enoch Linux, which 
later became Gentoo Linux. (You can read some of the history of this 
period in drobbins'  "Making the Distribution"[2] series). I'm not sure 
exactly when Gentoo was born, but checking the wayback machine[3] one can 
find an archived Gentoo website from July 2000. It is interesting to note 
that although Gentoo did (and probably still does) contain some elements 
from Stampede, it can't really be considered a fork because Gentoo was 
pretty much created from scratch. 

 2. http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/articles.xml
 3. http://tinyurl.com/2hgrn
 
I joined Gentoo Linux sometime in early 2001. At that time Gentoo was 
still pretty much in its infancy, but it was usable. There were only a 
dozen or so developers, all packages had to be installed using the ebuild 
command because emerge had not yet been written, and the online bugs 
database was the gentoo-dev mailing list. Even at that early stage, 
however, one could see many of drobbins' design decisions that have 
carried on to present-day Gentoo. The use of source-based packages meant 
that the familiar (especially at that time) RPM dependency nightmare of 
not having precisely the right library version installed would go away. 
The decision to eschew *BSD's make-based ports system in favor of one 
based on bash and python made package creation almost ridiculously simple, 
which meant that anybody could contribute a reasonable ebuild. The 
flexibility inherent to configure scripts was encoded as USE variables. 
Flexibility, in fact, had become a guiding principle underlying Gentoo, 
which explains why the Gentoo base system is deliberately minimal, and 
customizable before installation. Indeed, one strong difference between 
the *BSD ports system and Gentoo's portage is the fact that Gentoo makes 
no distinction between the core system and the ports/packages. Gentoo was 
remarkably short-handed in the early days, so all Gentoo-specific tools 
were designed to be scriptable (which is why ebuild and emerge, unlike 
Debian's dselect, do not ask questions of the user). Drobbins had thus 
invented the "metadistribution". He did have some very talented help, 
including Achim Gottinger who was an ebuild-writing machine, but it seems 
to have been mainly Daniel's vision that created and maintained these 
design decisions. 
 
Besides serving as Gentoo visionary, drobbins also did a lot of darn hard 
work on the the distribution. Until the last year or so Daniel was the 
lead, and sometimes only, portage developer. Not only did drobbins design 
the current www.gentoo.org[4] website, but he also wrote the underlying  
guide xml[5] along with an xsl tranform to process it. Drobbins, along 
with Azarah, created the necessary support for Gentoo to be the first 
distribution to use devfs by default. (Incidentally, thanks to Azarah's 
hard work Gentoo was also the first distribution to have complete support 
for udev.) A collaboration between drobbins and Azarah led to Gentoo being 
the first (only?) distribution to use need-based init scripts instead of 
the more common numbered system-V scripts. (I have vague recollections of 
drobbins and Azarah spending a notable amount of time discussing how to 
implement the new dependency-based init scripts, but I don't remember who 
actually initiated the project.) Drobbins and zhen designed and 
implemented catalyst[6], the new Gentoo stage and livecd creation script. 
In his copious spare time drobbins wrote or modified a substantial number 
of the ebuilds in the portage tree. I'm sure that I'm missing quite a host 
of accomplishments, but suffice it to say that he's been a rather busy 
guy. 

 4. http://www.gentoo.org/
 5. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/xml-guide.xml
 6. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/catalyst/index.xml
 
Aside from all of the technical stuff, drobbins also presided over the 
expansion of Gentoo from a handful of developers and tens of users to the 
current distribution of hundreds of developers and untold thousands of 
users, much of which seemed to happen virtually overnight. So Daniel 
Robbins became a manager. No longer was it sufficient to manage simply by 
hanging out in #gentoo-dev on irc.freenode.net. He now had to think 
strategically, and organize teams of people to work on projects. Most of 
all he had to delegate, while learning to manage fractious developers. It 
was not an easy transition, and Gentoo has had its share of high-profile 
developer clashes and defections, but Gentoo now has a set of organized 
top-level projects, with people to lead them, and a new Not-for-Profit on 
the horizon. Along the way drobbins grew into his new role quite 
impressively. 
 
Now Daniel Robbins has decided that it is time to move on to something 
new. I, personally, am sad to see him go, but I understand the need. 
Daniel, I have learned an astounding amount from you over the last several 
years; thank you very much. Best wishes, and please do keep in touch! 
    
10th BugDay a big success
-------------------------
  
(this article was contributed by developer Bryan Ostergaard[7])

 7. [email protected]
 
Saturday May 1st, saw the tenth BugDay. Once again it was a big success 
with many users as well as developers testing and fixing bugs. I'm not 
sure if it's an all time high but I like to report that during the BugDay 
timeframe more than 220 bugs was closed in bugzilla.
 
I also asked one user to join the team of developers and spotted a few 
other potential developers.
 
Finally I'd like to thank all BugDay participants for making this such a 
great event - this wouldn't be possible without a strong and thriving 
community.
    
==================
2. Gentoo Security
==================
  
Multiple Vulnerabilities in ssmtp
---------------------------------
  
There are multiple format string vulnerabilities in the SSMTP package, 
which may allow an attacker to run arbitrary code with ssmtp's privileges 
(potentially root). 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[8] 

 8. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200404-18.xml
    
Buffer overflows and format string vulnerabilities in LCDproc
-------------------------------------------------------------
  
Multiple remote vulnerabilities have been found in the LCDd server, 
allowing execution of arbitrary code with the rights of the LCDd user. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[9] 

 9. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200404-19.xml
    
Multiple vulnerabilities in xine
--------------------------------
  
Several vulnerabilities have been found in xine-ui and xine-lib, 
potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite files with the rights of the 
user. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[10] 

 10. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200404-20.xml
    
Multiple Vulnerabilities in Samba
---------------------------------
  
There is a bug in smbfs which may allow local users to gain root via a 
setuid file on a mounted Samba share. Also, there is a tmpfile symlink 
vulnerability in the smbprint script distributed with Samba. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[11] 

 11. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200404-21.xml
    
=========================
3. Heard in the Community
=========================
  
Web Forums
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Farewell to drobbins 
 
In a wave of sympathy washing over the Forum upon the news of Daniel 
Robbins' departure from the Gentoo project, the Forum community has been 
busy to say goodbye, and raking together the funds for sort of a 
going-away present, by donating to cover some of the losses drobbins has 
made over time: 
 
 * Daniel Robbins leaves Gentoo. Donation time![12] 
 12. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=166143

Running Faketoo... 
 
If their Forum postcount had anything to do with how guruesque people are, 
Josh Glover[13] wouldn't score too high. Fortunately, numbers aren't all 
that counts. Last week, Josh volunteered instructions for running Gentoo 
instances in a chroot jail - a Faketoo installation, in a manner of 
speaking - for development purposes, and provoked a lively discussion of 
his method's vices and virtues. See his Captain's log, a script to enter 
the jail, and the debate in the Documentation, Tips & Tricks forum: 

 13. http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4836
 
 * Faketoo[14] 
 14. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=166358
    
gentoo-user
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Best Filesystem for Servers 
 
EXT3, ReiserFS, XFS? Which is the best for servers? Read this thread[15] 
to get some opinions of Gentoo users in the know. 

 15. http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.user/77373
 
SSH Tunneling for Newbies 
 
SSH is truly the Sysadmin's Swiss army knife. In this thread[16] learn how 
to tunnel[17] any other network protocol (such as Windows RDP, or X) 
securely through SSH. 

 16. http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.user/77064
 17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunneling
 
Daniel Robbins Feedback 
 
As it was announced earlier[18] this week, Daniel has decided move on to 
new aspirations. Some warm kudos and thanks[19] were given on the 
gentoo-user list after the news broke. 

 18. http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/26/2259211&tid=190
 19. http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.user/77128
    
=======================
4. Gentoo International
=======================
   
Italy: Strong Gentoo Involvement at Webbit 04 
 
Webbit [20] is a three-day convention providing technological knowledge, 
with a focus on small and medium sized companies, and public 
administrations. This year's Webbit is going to be held in Padova from 6 
to 8 May, and is centered around Open Source development, with the 
activists of the notorious Gechi (Gentoo Channel Italia[21] who are going 
to present Gentoo Linux[22] quite impressively no less than five times, 
with speeches on:

 20. http://www.w04.it
 21. http://www.gechi.org
 22. http://www.webb.it/article/articleview/1350
 
 * Introduction to Gentoo Linux[23] 
 * Gentoo Linux: Centralized administration for multiple installations[24] 
 * Samba Backup Server for Linux and Windows Networks[25] 
 * Using Linux and Open Source in the enterprise[26] 
 * GIMP 2.0 : introducing professinal creativity[27]
 23. http://www.w04.it/event/eventview/3167/
 24. http://www.w04.it/event/eventview/3119/
 25. http://www.w04.it/event/eventview/3263/
 26. http://www.w04.it/event/eventview/3445/
 27. http://www.w04.it/event/eventview/3274/
    
==================
5. Tips and Tricks
==================
   
Tips and Tricks is on hiatus this week.
    
===========================
6. Moves, Adds, and Changes
===========================
  
Moves
-----
  
The following developers recently left the Gentoo team:
 
 * Daniel Robbins (drobbins) - Chief Architect 
 * Rob Holland (tigger) 
    
Adds
----
  
The following developers recently joined the Gentoo Linux team:
 
 * None this week 
    
Changes
-------
  
The following developers recently changed roles within the Gentoo Linux 
project:
 
 * None this week 
    
====================
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====================
   
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 28. [email protected]
    
===============
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 29. [email protected]
    
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The Gentoo Weekly Newsletter is also available in the following languages:
 
 * Danish[30] 
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 30. http://www.gentoo.org/news/da/gwn/gwn.xml
 31. http://www.gentoo.org/news/be/gwn/gwn.xml
 32. http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/gwn.xml
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 41. http://www.gentoo.org/news/es/gwn/gwn.xml
 42. http://www.gentoo.org/news/tr/gwn/gwn.xml

   
Yuji Carlos Kosugi <[email protected]> - Editor
AJ Armstrong <[email protected]> - Contributor
Brian Downey <[email protected]> - Contributor
Grant Goodyear <[email protected]> - Contributor
Stuart Herbert <[email protected]> - Contributor
Kurt Lieber <[email protected]> - Contributor
David Narayan <[email protected]> - Contributor
Bryan Ostergaard <[email protected]> - Contributor
Ulrich Plate <[email protected]> - Contributor
Simon Holm Thagersen <[email protected]> - Danish Translation
Jesper Brodersen <[email protected]> - Danish Translation
Arne Mejlholm <[email protected]> - Danish 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
Xavier Neys <[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
Thomas Raschbacher <[email protected]> - German Translation
Steffen Lassahn <[email protected]> - German Translation
Matthias F. Brandstetter <[email protected]> - German Translation
Lukas Domagala <[email protected]> - German Translation
Tobias Scherbaum <[email protected]> - German Translation
Daniel Gerholdt <[email protected]> - German Translation
Marc Herren <[email protected]> - German Translation
Tobias Matzat <[email protected]> - German Translation
Marco Mascherpa <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Claudio Merloni <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Stefano Lucidi <[email protected]> - Italian Translation
Katuyuki Konno <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Hiroyuki Takeda <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Masato Hatakeyama <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Masayoshi Nakamura <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Yasunori Fukudome <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Tomoyuki Sakurai <[email protected]> - Japanese Translation
Lukasz Strzygowski <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Karol Goralski <[email protected]> - Polish Translation
Atila "Jedi" Bohlke Vasconcelos <[email protected]> - Portuguese 
(Brazil) Translation
Eduardo Belloti <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil) Translation
Jo??o Rafael Moraes Nicola <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Brazil) 
Translation
Marcelo Gon??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?? Costa <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Luis Medina <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Ricardo Loureiro <[email protected]> - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Aleksandr Martyncev <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Sergey Galkin <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Sergey Kuleshov <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Alex Spirin <[email protected]> - Russian Translator
Denis Zaletov <[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??s Garc??a Crespo <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Carlos Castillo <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Julio Castillo <[email protected]> - Spanish Translation
Sergio G??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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