fidzu : Ubuntu

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• Ubuntu

27 Feb 2015 8:35pm GMT

This month:
* Command & Conquer
* How-To : Block Calls, LibreOffice, and Using i2P
* Graphics : Inkscape.
* Linux Labs: BTRFS
* Book Review: Practical Data Science Cookbook
* Ubuntu Games: War Thunder
plus: News, Arduino, Q&A, and soooo much more.

Get it while it's hot!

http://fullcirclemagazine.org/issue-94/

27 Feb 2015 8:21pm GMT

I just watched Jono's talk from SCALE [1] entitled "Ubuntu: The Past, Present, and Future."

It's really quite an interesting talk, so I'm recommending it to you, my dear readers. I think he did a great job describing the key moments in Ubuntu's history. (Click image to view.)

Towards the end of the talk, Jono makes some startling predictions. Do you agree with them?

--

[1] Just why people insist on naming a conference after a kernel still baffles and disappoints me. Do we name car shows after carburetors? Didn't think so. ;)

27 Feb 2015 6:12pm GMT

Softpedia showcases Kubuntu Vivid Beta 1 with a screenshot tour.

27 Feb 2015 2:23pm GMT

I already blogged about the help app I was working on a bit in the last time. I wanted to go into a bit more detail now that we reached a new milestone.

What's the idea behind it?

In a conversation in the Community team we noticed that there's a lot of knowledge we gathered in the course of having used Ubuntu on a phone for a long time and that it might make sense to share tips and tricks, FAQ, suggestions and lots more with new device users in a simple way.

The idea was to share things like "here's how to use edge swipes to do X" (maybe an animated GIF?) and "if you want to do Y, install the Z app from the store" in an organised and clever fashion. Obviously we would want this to be easily editable (Markdown) and have easy translations (Launchpad), work well on the phone (Ubuntu HTML5 UI toolkit) and work well on the web (Ubuntu Design Web guidelines) too.

What's the state of things now?

There's not much content yet and it doesn't look perfect, but we have all the infrastructure set up. You can now start contributing!

screenshot of web edition screenshot of phone app edition

What's still left to be done?

• We need HTML/CSS gurus who can help beautifying the themes.
• We need people to share their tips and tricks and favourite bits of their Ubuntu devices experience.
• We need hackers who can help in a few places.
• We need translators.

What you need to do? For translations: you can do it in Launchpad easily. For everything else:

$ bzr branch lp:ubuntu-devices-help
$ cd ubuntu-devices-help
$ less HACKING


We've come a long way in the last week and with the easy of Markdown text and easy Launchpad translations, we should quickly be in a state where we can offer this in the Ubuntu software store and publish the content on the web as well.

If you want to write some content, translate, beautify or fix a few bugs, your help is going to be appreciated. Just ping myself, Nick Skaggs or David Planella on #ubuntu-app-devel.

27 Feb 2015 10:53am GMT

Hi,

Yet another successful milestone

Ubuntu GNOME Team is glad to announce the release of Beta 1 of Ubuntu GNOME Vivid Vervet (15.04).

What's new and how to get it?

Please do read the release notes:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/VividVervet/Beta1/UbuntuGNOME

As always, thanks a million to each and everyone who has helped, supported and contributed to make this yet another successful milestone!

We have great testers and without their endless support, we don't think we can ever make it. Please, keep the great work up!

Thank you!

26 Feb 2015 11:23pm GMT

26 Feb 2015 9:08pm GMT

The Xubuntu team is pleased to announce the immediate release of Xubuntu 15.04 Beta 1. This is the first beta towards the final release in April.

The first beta release also marks the end of the period to land new features in the form of Ubuntu Feature Freeze. This means any new updates to packages should be bug fixes only, the Xubuntu team is committed to fixing as many of the bugs as possible before the final release.

Please note the important install known issue below and at Bug 1425690: "New windows are created offscreen"

The Beta 1 release is available for download by torrents and direct downloads from
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/vivid/beta-1/

Highlights and known issues

New features and enhancements

• LightDM GTK Greeter Settings tool added
• development wallpaper introduced
• xfce4-power-manager now handles light-locker's settings in its "Security" tab
• xfce4-panel now has an intelligent hiding mode
• xfwm4 has window previews, better support for CSD and corner-tiling
• the display dialog now has improved support for multiple monitors
• the appearance dialog shows previews of themes' palettes and icon-themes
• Thunar now has improved keyboard navigation

Known Issues

Currently installing is only functioning correctly from the livesession install icon.

• From either the boot screen OR the try/install dialogue - directly installing has windows created offscreen, this can be either the first install option screen, or where that works - the final Installation Complete dialogue goes offscreen. (1425690)
• It is possible to move the offscreen windows, ensure that ubiqity is focused (alt+tab) then with alt+space+m and then Move the offscreen dialogues can be moved so they are visible.
• If you boot to Try from the boot screen or from the Try/Install dialogue - tests have shown that these options function correctly.

Other Known Issues

• wrapper bug on clean installs (1425401)
• Mugshot camera does not initialize (1414443)

New application versions in the Xubuntu packageset

• Thunar 1.6.5
• Catfish 1.2.2.1
• Xfwm4 4.11.3
• xfce4-panel (4.11.2)
• lightdm-gtk-greeter (2.0.0)
• xfce4-settings (4.11.4)
• xfce4-power-manager (1.4.2)
• xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin (1.4.3)
• Menulibre (2.0.6-1ubuntu1)
• Mugshot (0.2.5.1)

Other changes

• Albatross, Bluebird, and Orion are no longer installed by default

26 Feb 2015 7:20pm GMT

The first Beta of Vivid (to become 15.04) has now been released!

The Beta-1 images can be downloaded from: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/vivid/beta-1/

More information on Kubuntu Beta-1 can be found here: https://wiki.kubuntu.org/VividVervet/Beta1/Kubuntu

26 Feb 2015 6:14pm GMT

Back when we announced that the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Cloud Images on Azure were using the Hardware Enablement Kernel (HWE), the immediate feedback was "what about 12.04?"

25 Feb 2015 11:46pm GMT

This week we did the first Bad Voltage live show, at the SCaLE conference in Los Angeles. It was the first time that Bryan, Jono, Jeremy, and I had actually all been in the same place. And it was a really good laugh.

We'd been planning this for some time, as you can imagine. The show normally has discussions about technical things, reviews, and amusing things, and the live show had that in spades. It also had hundreds of glowsticks, fifty rubber ducks, Bryan Lunduke dressed in a towel, Jeremy giving us all insects to eat (which we all did, apart from Jono who has still not eaten an insect because he is a little child), a very very young child saying that Jono and I are bobbins, a chap on a video calling Jono something considerably more offensive which we were forced to bleep out, a shower made from a tent, shots of Fireball rum, some Creme Eggs, a trivia quiz run by Jorge Castro, and competitions where audience members won a System76 Galago UltraPro laptop, a PogoLinux server, and a BananaPi from Owncloud. And lots of people liked it.

I rather enjoyed the discussions. We had two. The first was about the idea of having a "developer mode" for Linux desktops. This was actually a result of an idea posted to G+ by Sam Hewitt where he said

How controversial would a "developer mode" be for a Linux desktop environment? For instance it would hide things like the terminal, debug tools, etc. from an application overview/menu/launcher.



Now, I happen to think that this is a good idea. Bryan (and the SCaLE audience generally) do not. I have some reservations, and you can read about those on the G+ post and watch the discussion in the show video, but it's a really interesting topic; it shows up how people think about their desktop, what assumptions we make about it, and how the mainstream think perhaps differently from some existing Ubuntu users.

We also discussed the recently-released Ubuntu phone. My detailed review is still being written, but this was a good chance to talk about the phone and whether it's brilliant or bollocks.

So, watch the show! It's available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k02EeD0rXYo and you should watch it; you'll like it. Tell us about what you thought of the show on our forum at community.badvoltage.org. And next year, come to SCaLE. It's a really great conference, and I for one would like to say a really big thank you to Ilan and Gareth, who were super-duper helpful and then were prepared to dress up in clown outfits for the show. Nice one, chaps. Couldn't have done it without you.

I'd also like to personally thank Melissa Sealy, who is the most helpful member of hotel staff I have ever met. We were putting up posters that Jono designed around the hotel and she showed up (she's some sort of all-powerful floor manager or something) and we expected the Mother Of All Bollockings for sticking the posters on the walls. And indeed, she said: don't stick posters on my walls, you horrible reprobates. And then she said: but you can stick them on boards and put the boards on easels, no problem. And then found us eight easels. And then later on when we were sorting out the beer for the live event she sorted everything out. And she knew about the secret after-hours party in one of the conference rooms and found it amusing. Nice one, Melissa. Your bosses at the Hilton LAX ought to give you a pay rise or a big bunch of flowers or something.

Come to Bad Voltage Live when we do another one. And watch this one here.

25 Feb 2015 9:39pm GMT

Ubuntu IT scope

Ubuntu IT scope

This time, instead of writing a review about the BQ Aquaris 4.5 Ubuntu Phone, I am going to tell you about my first Ubuntu Touch Scope.
Yes, I made it! That's what's great about Ubuntu, you can be a "normal" user or you can hack on it and create your Apps and Scopes.
So, how did I do it? Well it's really easy, just follow what I did and you will be able to have your own scope on Ubuntu Touch too!

First of all you need to add a PPA for installing scopecreator, Scope-creator is a command line tool that can be used to get a scope running on your phone in a few minutes:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cwayne18/ppa
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install scopecreator


Now with Scope-creator installed, let's create the scope:

scopecreator create [template] [package_name] [scope_name]

template can be: youtube, twitter or rss
package_name is your package namespace from developer.ubuntu.com
scope_name is the name of the scope you wish to create

for instance, for my scope, I used:


$ scopecreator create youtube carla-sella ubuntuit


Now you cd to the directory created by scopecreator (remember to do this step, it's important) and launch:


$ scopecreator edit config


this way you will edit the manifest.json file for setting the configuration, this is what mine looks like:


{
"name": "ubuntuit.carla-sella",
"description": "Ubuntu IT scope",
"framework": "ubuntu-sdk-14.10",
"architecture": "armhf",
"title": "Ubuntu IT",
"hooks": {
"ubuntuit": {
"scope": "ubuntuit",
"apparmor": "scope-security.json"
}
},
"version": "0.1",
"maintainer": "Carla Sella <carla.sella@gmail.com>"

}


Next you need to set up the branding with:


$ scopecreator edit branding

and here is my .ini file:


[ScopeConfig]
DisplayName=Ubuntu IT
Description=Canale Youtube di Ubuntu IT
Author=Canonical Ltd.
Art=images/logo.png
Icon=images/logo.png
SearchHint=Cerca
LocationDataNeeded=true

[Appearance]
PageHeader.Background=color:///#FFFFFF
PageHeader.ForegroundColor=#000000
PreviewButtonColor=#000000
PageHeader.Logo=./images/logo.png



The appearance section contains colors and logos for you scope.


You need to replace the logo.png file under ubuntuit/images directory (in your case, it will be scope_name/images) with you logo for you scope.


Then you need to run:


$ scopecreator edit channels


for editing the channels.json file that contains the list of playlists or channels that you will then find in the dropdown menu of the scope you are creating.


Here is my channels.json file:

{
"maxResults": "20",
"playlists": [
{
"id": "PLwAH7Zr7rsAz2wco0Xo3aJq0hudob02xU",
"reminder": "Ubuntu-it Q&A"
},
{
"id": "PLwAH7Zr7rsAyavUegFH9ePMHXfSrBxU2c",
"reminder": "Ubuntu-it News"
},
{
"id": "PLwAH7Zr7rsAwZ9HOKxw76Q4ymiE0QeiZV",
"reminder": "#contribuiamo"
},
{
"id": "PLwAH7Zr7rsAz5mfP1S7GTcp33Qy_-qJSl",
"reminder": "Release Parties!"
},
{
"id": "PLwAH7Zr7rsAwqGypJwh-3r1mFh1eO_1FL",
"reminder": "Promozione Ubuntu"
},
{
"id": "PLFA125E510B290777",
"reminder": "Screencast"
},
{
"id": "PL960786605FC8BA7C",
"reminder": "Liberi di..."
}
]

}

Ubuntu IT scope's dropdown menu

Finally, attach your ubuntu phone to your computer's USB port, and launch:


$ scopecreator build


This way scopecreator will install the scope on your phone so you can test it before asking to publish it in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Ubuntu IT scope in Ubuntu Software Center

Ubuntu IT scope in the Ubuntu Software Center

For publishing your scope you need to go to developer.ubuntu.com, log in or create an account and select "new application", fill in the required information and you're done!!

It's easy, so what are you waiting for ? go and create your scope :-D.



You can read more detailed information about creating scopes for Ubuntu here, I created my scope reading from here:

http://chrismwayne.com/?p=277
http://victorpalau.net/2015/02/16/make-a-scope-for-your-youtube-channel-in-5-minutes/

25 Feb 2015 5:51pm GMT

After some minor debates with others, the NGINX Stable and Mainline PPAs have been updated to include builds for the armhf architecture. This means that individuals running Ubuntu Precise 12.04, Trusty 14.04, Utopic 14.10, or Vivid 15.04 (although I have no idea why you'd be using this version in production) on armv7 architecture (which is armhf architecture) will be able to add the PPA and install the NGINX packages as if they were on a standard 64bit or 32bit server.

Shoutout to William Grant for helping to get the two staging PPAs I use for building the packages set up with ARM builds. Didn't take much to do, but each little bit of assistance to move the PPAs forward towards the modern era helps, so thanks, William Grant for your assistance in turning on ARM builds for the PPAs.

25 Feb 2015 3:17am GMT

Meeting Minutes

IRC Log of the meeting.

Meeting minutes.

Agenda

20150224 Meeting Agenda

Release Metrics and Incoming Bugs

Release metrics and incoming bug data can be reviewed at the following link:

• http://people.canonical.com/~kernel/reports/kt-meeting.txt

Status: Vivid Development Kernel

We are preparing to shove our 3.19 based kernel following beta freeze.
When it lands, please do test and let us know your results.
--
Important upcoming dates:
Thurs Feb 26 - Beta 1 (~2 days away)
Thurs Mar 26 - Final Beta (~4 weeks away)
Thurs Apr 09 - Kernel Freeze (~6 weeks away)

Status: CVE's

The current CVE status can be reviewed at the following link:

http://people.canonical.com/~kernel/cve/pkg/ALL-linux.html

Status: Stable, Security, and Bugfix Kernel Updates - Utopic/Trusty/Precise/Lucid

Status for the main kernels, until today:

• Lucid - Testing
• Precise - Testing
• Trusty - Testing
• Utopic - Testing

  Current opened tracking bugs details:

• http://kernel.ubuntu.com/sru/kernel-sru-workflow.html

  For SRUs, SRU report is a good source of information:

• http://kernel.ubuntu.com/sru/sru-report.html

  Schedule:

  Current cycle had ended. Waiting for next cycle to start on Mar. 08.

  cycle: 06-Feb through 28-Feb
  ====================================================================
  06-Feb Last day for kernel commits for this cycle
  08-Feb - 14-Feb Kernel prep week.
  15-Feb - 28-Feb Bug verification; Regression testing; Release

Open Discussion or Questions? Raise your hand to be recognized

No open discussions.

24 Feb 2015 6:04pm GMT

In the last few weeks, Ubuntu has reached a major milestone with the first flash sales of the BQ Aquarius - Ubuntu Edition. This is only the beginning of seeing Ubuntu on a wider selection of phones and tablets, and thanks to an incredibly enthusiast porting community, more devices have been part of that show. Some of these skilled porters have even set up their own image server to provide updates over-the-air!

To ease the porting process, the Porting Guide has been updated to reflect the current procedure of enabling new devices. From setting up your dev environment, to configuring the kernel and debugging AppArmor, it covers the main points of making a fully working port. Currently focusing on AOSP ports, it will be extended in due time to detail CyanogenMod-specific processes.

If you are interested in porting, please make sure you provide feedback on any issues and roadblocks that could arise, either on Launchpad or on the ubuntu-phone mailing-list.

Thank you and good work, fellow devices adventurers!

24 Feb 2015 5:46pm GMT

ZeptoLab, the studio that made the famous "Cut the Rope" game a couple of years back, has officially ported the title for the Ubuntu platform and is now available in the store.

Cut the Rope is a game that reached peak fame a couple of years ago and it was all the rage, but now it's the first major title to be ported for the Ubuntu platform. To be fair, a few other games have been made available until now, including 2048 and Flappy Bird. Cut the Rope is the first big caliber game to land in the Store and even if it's an old one, it's still an important milestone.

Source: http://linux.softpedia.com/blog/Cut-the-Rope-Is-the-First-Major-Game-Ported-for-Ubuntu-Phones-473303.shtml

Submitted by: Silviu Stahie

24 Feb 2015 11:26am GMT