Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue #130 for the week
February 15th - February 21st, 2009. In this issue we cover : Ubuntu
9.10 - Karmic Koala, Announcing the Karmic Koala UDS, Jaunty feature
freeze - Alpha 5 freeze ahead, Kubuntu 8.04.2 released, New Ubuntu
Members - Americas Board, A Call for US LoCo Team Mentors, Next Ubuntu
Hug Day, Soon: Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter in Spanish, Global Bug Jams -
Michigan-South Africa-Chicago-Berlin-Florida, New Notifications for
Jaunty, Meet Martin Albisetti, AJAX in Launchpad, Canonical's April
Surprise - More than Ubuntu 9.04, Barcelona - Canonical discusses Ubuntu
Mobile Internet Devices, Meeting Summaries - Technical Board-QA Team-US
Teams, Just for Fun, 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 9.10 - Karmic Koala
* Announcing the Karmic Koala UDS
* Jaunty feature freeze - Alpha 5 freeze ahead
* Kubuntu 8.04.2 released
* New Ubuntu Members - Americas Board
* A Call for US LoCo Team Mentors
* Next Ubuntu Hug Day
* Soon: Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter in Spanish
* Ubuntu Stats
* Global Bug Jams - Michigan, South Africa, Chicago, Berlin, and Florida
* New Notifications for Jaunty
* Meet Martin Albisetti
* AJAX in Launchpad
* In the Press & Blogosphere
* Canonical's April Surprise - More than Ubuntu 9.04
* Barcelona - Canonical discusses Ubuntu Mobile Internet Devices
* Meeting Summaries - Technical Board, QA Team, and US Teams Project
* Just for Fun
* Upcoming Meetings & Events
* Updates & Security

== General Community News ==

=== Ubuntu 9.10 - Karmic Koala: Mark Shuttleworth ===

Mark Shuttleworth has announce the code name for Ubuntu 9.10 will be
Karmic Koala. Here is an overview of what is in the planning for this
new, "Cuddly Bear" version of Ubuntu.

Server: A good Koala knows how to see the wood for the trees, even when
her head is in the clouds. Ubuntu aims to keep free software at the
forefront of cloud computing by embracing the API's of Amazon EC2, and
making it easy for anybody to setup their own cloud using entirely open
tools. We're currently in beta with official Ubuntu base AMI's for use
on Amazon EC2. During the Karmic cycle we want to make it easy to deploy
applications into the cloud, with ready-to-run appliances or by quickly
assembling a custom image. Ubuntu-vmbuilder makes it easy to create a
custom AMI today, but a portfolio of standard image profiles will allow
easier collaboration between people doing similar things on EC2.
Wouldn't it be apt for Ubuntu to make the Amazon jungle as easy to
navigate as, say, APT?

What if you want to build an EC2-style cloud of your own? Of all the
trees in the wood, a Koala's favorite leaf is Eucalyptus. The Eucalyptus
project, from UCSB, enables you to create an EC2-style cloud in your own
data center, on your own hardware. It's no coincidence that Eucalyptus
has just been uploaded to universe and will be part of Jaunty - during
the Karmic cycle we expect to make those clouds dance, with dynamically
growing and shrinking resource allocations depending on your needs. A
savvy Koala knows that the best way to conserve energy is to go to
sleep, and these days even servers can suspend and resume, so imagine if
we could make it possible to build a cloud computing facility that drops
its energy use virtually to zero by napping in the midday heat, and
waking up when there's work to be done. No need to drink at the energy
fountain when there's nothing going on. If we get all of this right, our
Koala will help take the edge off the bear market. Let me invite you to
join the server team at UDS in Barcelona, when they'll be defining the
exact set of features to ship in October.

First impressions count. We're eagerly following the development of
kernel mode setting, which promises a smooth and flicker free startup.
We'll consider options like Red Hat's Plymouth, for graphical boot on
all the cards that support it. We made a splash years ago with Usplash,
but it's time to move to something newer and shinier. So the good news
is, boot will be beautiful. The bad news is, you won't have long to
appreciate it! It only takes 35 days to make a whole Koala, so we think
it should be possible to bring up a stylish desktop much faster. The
goal for Jaunty on a netbook is 25 seconds, so let's see how much faster
we can get you all the way to a Koala desktop. We're also hoping to
deliver a new login experience that complements the graphical boot, and
works well for small groups as well as very large installations.

For those of you who can relate to Mini Me, or already have a Dell Mini,
the Ubuntu Netbook Edition will be updated to include all the latest
technology from Moblin, and tuned to work even better on screens that
are vertically challenged. With millions of Linux netbooks out there, we
have been learning and adapting usability to make the Koala cuddlier
than ever. We also want to ensure that the Netbook Remix installs easily
and works brilliantly on all the latest netbook hardware, so consider
this a call for testing Ubuntu 9.04. The desktop will have a designer's
fingerprints all over it - we're now beginning the serious push to a new
look. Brown has served us well but the Koala is considering other options.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-February/000536.html

=== Announcing the Karmic Koala UDS ===

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the Karmic Koala, Jono is
tickled pink to announce the details of the next Ubuntu Developer Summit
taking place at Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in Barcelona in Spain
from Mon 25th May - Fri 29th May. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UDSKarmic

The Ubuntu Developer Summit one of the most important events in the
Ubuntu calendar and at it we discuss, debate and design the next version
of Ubuntu. We bring together the entire Canonical development team and
sponsor a large number of community members across the wide range of
areas in which people contribute to Ubuntu. This includes packaging,
translations, documentation, testing, LoCo teams and more. UDS is an
incredible experience, filled with smart and enthusiastic people, fast
paced and exhausting, but incredibly gratifying to be part of the
process that builds the next Ubuntu.

For every UDS, Canonical sponsors a number of community members to
attend the event. We are looking for those who want to bring some real
insight and expertise in their area of Ubuntu, be it development or
community governance. If you feel you could offer this but can’t afford
to cover your expenses of attending, you should apply for sponsorship.
To request sponsorship:

* Go to summit.ubuntu.com and log in with OpenID. When you have logged
in, click the Request Sponsorship link. http://summit.ubuntu.com/

* On the first page, add your location and use the About yourself box
to tell us why you should be sponsored and tell us about your work on
Ubuntu - here you should tell us your vital stats - tell us your 5-A-Day
numbers, your work on the sponsorship queue, what you have uploaded,
which teams you are in, your LoCo involvement, documentation you have
written, any translation work and other work that you have been involved
in. When you have done this, click the Next button.

* On the final page, answer the questions and then click Finish to
finish your sponsorship request.

Everyone should get their sponsorship requests in by Wed 4th March 2009
to be considered. Good luck!

http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/02/19/announcing-the-karmic-koala-ubuntu-developer-summit/

=== Jaunty feature freeze in effect - Alpha 5 freeze ahead ===

* The Feature Freeze is now in effect for Jaunty. The focus from here
until release is on fixing bugs and polishing. If you believe that a new
package, a new upstream version of a package, or a new feature is needed
for the release and will not introduce more problems than it fixes,
please follow the Freeze Exception Process by filing bugs and
subscribing ubuntu-release or motu-release as appropriate, or by
contacting a designated delegate.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-February/000533.html

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FreezeExceptionProcess

* Please also make sure that specs assigned to you for Jaunty are
updated to their current status (which should be at least Beta Available
if not Deferred, or unless granted a freeze exception).
https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/jaunty/

* The next testing milestone, Jaunty Alpha 5, is scheduled for next
Thursday, February 26. Jaunty Alpha 5 will again use a "soft freeze"
for main.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2008-January/000363.html
This means that developers are asked to refrain from uploading packages
between Tuesday and Thursday which don't bring us closer to releasing
the alpha, so that these days can be used for settling the archive and
fixing any remaining show-stoppers. The list of bugs targeted for
alpha-5 can be found at:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/jaunty/+bugs?field.milestone=2213

* Per the policy described at:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RCBugTargetting, this list is used for tracking
bugs that are blockers for the alpha 5 milestone - so as you can see,
the list is currently quite short. If you know of other bugs that
should be considered blockers, please nominate them for release and set
the milestone target for those bugs. If you have questions about
whether a bug should be considered a blocker, please contact a member of
the release team. https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-release/+members

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2009-February/000534.html

=== Kubuntu 8.04.2 released ===

The Kubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Kubuntu 8.04.2, the
second and final maintenance update to Kubuntu's 8.04 release. This
release includes updated desktop, and alternate installation CDs for the
i386 and amd64 architectures. In all, over 200 updates have been
integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that
fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These
include security updates, and corrections for other high-impact bugs,
with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Kubuntu
8.04. To download Kubuntu 8.04.2 visit:
http://www.kubuntu.org/getkubuntu More information at the link.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/kubuntu-users/2009-February/039118.html

=== New Ubuntu Members - Americas Board ===

The following is to report on the Membership meeting held by the
Membership Board of Americas. The board noted the great amount of
support for the applicants from great people in the community. We are
pleased to present the new members of the Ubuntu Project.

Dave Bush(myrtlebeach) - Dave is an LPI level 1 certified on his way to
UCP certification, and he currently work as a Infrastructure Engineer at
the Myrtle Beach office of a network security company based in Atlanta,
GA. He is an active participant in the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter. He
currently takes care of The Blogosphere, In Other News. He had
previously worked with the Security and Updates listings. He is a
member of the Ubuntu South Carolina Team (US team). Launchpad:
https://launchpad.net/~myrtlebeachbums Wiki:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DaveBush2


Kenny McHenry(kennymc0) - Kenny recently graduated in DeVry University
with a Bachelors of Science degree in Electronics Engineering Technology
at the end of October 2008. His significant participation in Ubuntu is
through his Arizona LoCo team work, and his contributions to the Ubuntu
Weekly Newsletter team. He has helped the Arizona Team organize release
parties and other events, and he has also contributed to the teams
website. Launchpad: https://launchpad.net/~kennymc0 Wiki:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kennymc0

Michael Lustfield(MTecknology) - Michael is the current LoCo team
Contact for Ubuntu South Dakota LoCo Team. He is working hard on
promoting the team and has even set up a website. His contributions are
also noticeable in the LoCo-Drupal project. He is a very active bug
squasher. Michael had applied for membership a couple of months ago, and
he was told to try again in the future. His contributions to Ubuntu have
surpassed the expectations of the Council. Launchpad:
https://launchpad.net/~MTecknology Wiki:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MTecknology

Chris Crisafulli(itnet7) - Chris is the LoCo team contact for the
Florida Team. He is currently very active in participating in events
across the state and the country. He belongs to other LUGs and SIGs
where he actively promotes Ubuntu. He is also working on bugs and he is
encouraging Bug Jams, and other events in his region. Launchpad:
https://launchpad.net/~itnet7 Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/itnet7

The Membership Board of Americas bids welcome, and congratulations to
these great community contributors.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-news-team/2009-February/000415.html

=== A Call for US LoCo Team Mentors ===

The US Teams Project is officially opening a call for mentor
applications! Mentors are people who are interested in helping other
LoCo Teams in need of a kick start. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoteams
Remember that time when your team was having a hard time getting
started? Well, many teams today in the US are going through those same
growing pains, and could use your help and advice -- all in the spirit
of Ubuntu!

Requirements:

* You must have a signed Ubuntu Code of Conduct:
https://launchpad.net/codeofconduct/1.0.1
* You must be on an approved Ubuntu LoCo Team:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/USTeams/TeamList

US Teams resources:

* Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/USTeams/
* Forum: http://us.ubuntuforums.org/
* IRC: #ubuntu-us on irc.freenode.net