From mspevack at redhat.com Thu May 3 14:26:15 2007 From: mspevack at redhat.com (Max Spevack) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 10:26:15 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Fedora Core 5 end of life is 2007-06-29 Message-ID: All, Several months ago, the Fedora Board (in consultation with Red Hat Engineering) decided to increase the length of time that Fedora releases are supported, in terms of updates. This decision was retroactively applied to Fedora Core 5, allowing it to remain a fully maintained release for several months longer than it would have under our old policy. Fedora 7 will be released on Thursday May 24th, 2007. Fedora Core 5 will reach its End of Life for updates on Friday June 29th, 2007. In total, Fedora Core 5 will have had a lifespan of 15 months. For the sake of comparison, under the old policy, FC5 would have only had a lifespan of 11 months. === Zod insists that Fedora Core 6 receive updates until about one month after the release of Fedora 8. Fedora 7 will receive updates until about one month after the release of Fedora 9. And so on. "Fedora X will receive updates until about one month after the release of Fedora X+2." -- Max Spevack + http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/MaxSpevack + gpg key -- http://spevack.org/max.asc + fingerprint -- CD52 5E72 369B B00D 9E9A 773E 2FDB CB46 5A17 CF21 From tchung at fedoraproject.org Mon May 7 08:21:12 2007 From: tchung at fedoraproject.org (Thomas Chung) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 01:21:12 -0700 Subject: Fedora Weekly News Issue 86 Message-ID: <369bce3b0705070121g4a163044scdc6e81678058115@mail.gmail.com> = Fedora Weekly News Issue 86 = Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 86[1] for the week of April 29th through May 5th, 2007. The latest issue can always be found here[2] and RSS Feed can be found here[3]. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue86 [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/LatestIssue [3] http://feeds.feedburner.com/fwn 1. Fedora Weekly News Issue 86 1. Announcements 1. Fedora Core 5 End of Life 2. CD Bootloader Change - Test Help Needed 3. Status of the merge 4. Rawhide 20070502 Live Images 5. Fedora 7 Test 4 ISOs for IA64 Available 6. Announcing New Fedora-php-devel-list 2. Planet Fedora 1. Come together.... Right now! 2. Merge day and some stats 3. Job Openings for OLPC 4. GIMP rain animation tutorial 5. Spin your own Fedora Security Live USB key 6. Two steps forward, no steps back 3. Marketing 1. Fedora merges Core and Extra repositories 2. Fedora: Champions of Community 4. Developments 1. David Woodhouse Likes Monkeys 2. OCaml Packaging Guidelines, Something A Bit More Meaty 3. Merge Surges Ahead 4. Aggressive Incorporation Of Latest KDE4 Planned 5. Zope Packaging For Fedora 7 6. Inclusion Of Experimental Non-Enabled Nouveau Driver 7. Where Did the CD ISOs Go? 8. KDE's Place In The Open Platform Known As "Fedora" Acknowleged 9. When Two Broadcom Drivers Go To War 10. Falling Blocks, Wink Wink 5. Documentation 1. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting 2. Translations for Release Notes Must Be Complete by 10 May 3. Fedora Guides 4. New Docs Tasks Page 5. Documentation Style 6. DTDs Available Publicly 7. Fedora-dsco-list Set For Retirement 6. Translation 1. Deadline Extension 7. Infrastructure 1. More on Email Addresses 8. Security Week 1. Do We Really Need a Security Industry? 9. Security Advisories 1. Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories 2. Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories 10. Events and Meetings 1. Fedora Board Meeting 2007-05-01 2. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-03 3. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-04-26 4. Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-05-01 5. Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-04-30 6. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-06 7. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting 2007-04-29 8. Event Report: Feel IT - Bamberg, Germany 9. Event Report: FLISOL 2007 - Argentina 10. Event Report: FLISOL 2007 - Caracas, Venezuela 11. Event Photos: FLISOL 2007 - Santiago, Chile 11. Feedback == Announcements == In this section, we cover announcements from various projects. === Fedora Core 5 End of Life === MaxSpevack announces in fedora-announce-list[1], "Several months ago, the Fedora Board (in consultation with Red Hat Engineering) decided to increase the length of time that Fedora releases are supported, in terms of updates. This decision was retroactively applied to Fedora Core 5, allowing it to remain a fully maintained release for several months longer than it would have under our old policy. Fedora Core 5 will reach its End of Life[2] for updates on Friday June 29th, 2007. " [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-May/msg00000.html [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/LifeCycle === CD Bootloader Change - Test Help Needed === WillWoods announces in fedora-test-list[1], "So, Fedora 7's CD/DVD boot menu needs a small tweak to work in qemu. We want to make sure this change is safe and stable, so we need your help. Please download the (8MB) test image from here[2]. Burn it to CD and boot it in as many (i386/x86_64) machines as you can. We want to know if the graphical menu looks right, and if the timer counts down from 60. Report results here[3]. If the boot menu looks normal on all the machines we try it on, we'll make this change for F7 final." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-test-list/2007-May/msg00221.html [2] http://people.redhat.com/~katzj/syslinux-test-16bpp-boot.iso [3] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/JeremyKatz/IsolinuxTest === Status of the merge === JesseKeating announces in fedora-maintainers[1], "Merge is going well now. A bunch of hiccups early on as we moved our test scripts into acting with real bits and databases and such, but now that that's over... For those interested, here are some reference items: * The main koji web interface [2] * overall topic and status [3] * specific to the CVS merge [4] Thank you for all your patience as we try to make this dream come true!" [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00050.html [2] http://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji [3] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure/CoreExtrasMerge [4] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure/CoreExtrasCVSMerge === Rawhide 20070502 Live Images === JeremyKatz announces in fedora-test-list[1], "It's that time again... time for another set of rawhide live images. This is based off of yesterday's rawhide and thus is pre-merge fun. I'm planning to do another set of images once we get a merged rawhide tree, so probably the beginning of next week. You can get the torrent file from (the fedora torrent site)[2]. Available images are i386, x86_64, i386 KDE and also an x86_64 KDE image. Note that the x86_64 images require DVD media, the i386 images will fit on 700 meg CD media. Please file any issues against product Fedora Core, version devel and against the relevant component or LiveCD if you're unsure." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-test-list/2007-May/msg00192.html [2] http://torrent.fedoraproject.org. === Fedora 7 Test 4 ISOs for IA64 Available === PraritBhargava announces in fedora-devel-list[1], "A set of CD ISOs and a DVD ISO based on the Fedora 7 test4 ISOS of the ia64 Fedora development branch (also known as rawhide) are available from (Fedora IA64)[2]. Please remember that F7 ia64 is _unsupported_ by Fedora. You can file bugs, but be sure to file them against the devel branch of Fedora Core. Also, add "fedora-ia64" to the "blocks" field of the BZ." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg01391.html [2] http://oss.sgi.com/projects/fedora === Announcing New Fedora-php-devel-list === ChristopherStone announces in fedora-devel-list[1], "We now have a mailing list for PHP related discussion for Fedora. This list is for people in the PHP SIG group, or anyone who is interested in packaging or (co-)maintaining PHP packages in Fedora. We can also use this list for discussing Fedora PHP guidelines changes and additions. For more information, and to subscribe, see (fedora-php-devel-list)[2]." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00082.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-php-devel-list == Planet Fedora == In this secton, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet === Come together.... Right now! === MikeMcGrath points out in his blog[1], "So whats the big deal? Why have people been writing about it all with a strong sense of pride? Simple. This is a big step for Fedora. In the past Fedora "Core" was written as a sort of base operating system that could be added on to. Well, Extras was added to it. But in a separate repository. And so extras existed, quietly gaining speed, size and contributors. Core was entirely managed by Red Hat. Extras was entirely community, anyone could add packages to it, including Red Hat people. Now, there is no more Extras, no more Core. It's one community operation. So what has changed? Well the immediate changes aren't that big to the end user. Some core packages can now be linked against extras packages, that's nice. The real changes are in the community itself. By completing this merge and setting up the underlying infrastructure we have greatly increased the potential of our future. As our contribution base continues to grow so will the Fedora universe, and that's why the merger is so important." [1] http://mmcgrath.livejournal.com/3480.html === Merge day and some stats === RahulSundaram points out in his blog[1], "It is finally happening. Fedora Core and Fedora Extras are getting merged[2] today. This is possibly the biggest single change we have done ever since Fedora Project was formed. It empowers[3] the volunteer community[4] at large to have more direct access to packages in Fedora including those in what was known as Fedora Core. This is the first time (that I am aware of) a distribution that is sponsored by a major commercial Linux vendor has allowed everyone a equal footing in the repository resulting in a pretty big change for developers involved that would benefit end users in a more suble ways. More on that follows." [1] http://rahulsundaram.livejournal.com/11669.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00050.html [3] http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/weblog/?p=284 [4] http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/blogs/fedora_champions_of_community === Job Openings for OLPC === ChristopherBlizzard points out in his blog[1], "Red Hat has a few job openings to work on the One Laptop per Child project[2]: Software Engineer II[3]: This terrible job title is code for awesome engineer. We're looking to build an update system for OLPC that isn't the usual yum/rpm/deb/apt system and we need awesome strong CS-focused people to make it happen. There are two openings for this job, not one. Program Manager[4]: What is a program manager, you ask? This is a person who manages the process around the software development and release process. They make sure that bugs are being followed up on, improves communication both inside the team and handles messaging to other team members and helps hold people's feet to the fire about what they should be working on. This is not an engineering position, but an engineering background helps. Other parts of this role include making sure that a QA and test groups are working together with the engineering folks to make sure that everything is ready to go." [1] http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/weblog/?p=283 [2] http://www.laptop.org/vision/index.shtml [3] https://redhat.ats.hrsmart.com/cgi-bin/a/highlightjob.cgi?jobid=2369 [4] https://redhat.ats.hrsmart.com/cgi-bin/a/highlightjob.cgi?jobid=2357 === GIMP rain animation tutorial === NicuBuculei points out in his blog[1], "After a number of Inkscape tutorials, it was the time for me to make a GIMP one, this one about creating a fake a rain animation effect, like this: It is quite big, with many large images, so I put it on a static page[2] from my tutorials website, if you are interested, read it in its original location." [1] http://nicubunu.blogspot.com/2007/05/gimp-rain-animation-tutorial.html [2] http://howto.nicubunu.ro/gimp_rain_animation/ === Spin your own Fedora Security Live USB key === LukeMacken points out in his blog[1], "Here is how to easily create a security-distribution based on what will eventually be Fedora 7. This requires that you be running FC7Test* or rawhide, as the livecd-tools are not currently available for FC6. Interested in helping make the Security LiveCD better? See the SecurityLiveCD[2] wiki for more information." [1] http://lewk.org/blog/2007/05/02/fedora-security-liveusb-distro.html [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/LukeMacken/SecurityLiveCD === Two steps forward, no steps back === PaulFrields points out in his blog[1], "Today's 3122 kernel and iwlwifi-0.0.16[2] have taken care of kernel oopsing[3], and my Intel 3945 wireless happily associates with my AP in open, WEP, and WPA modes both with SSID broadcast on or off. Thanks to the upstream people who made this happen, with some rabble rousing from dragoran, and John Linville for sticking with this problem too." [1] http://marilyn.frields.org:8080/~paul/wordpress/?p=773 [2] http://intellinuxwireless.org/?p=iwlwifi [3] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/236451 == Marketing == In this section, we cover Fedora Marketing Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing === Fedora merges Core and Extra repositories === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "At noon EDT today Red Hat developers began merging the Fedora Core and Extras repositories. The new merged Fedora repository is one of the major changes for the upcoming Fedora 7 release, and marks the first time a major distribution supported by a company has allowed members of the community to modify packages inside a distribution[2]." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00005.html [2] http://distrocenter.linux.com/distrocenter/07/05/03/1711201.shtml?tid=111 === Fedora: Champions of Community === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "Fedora 7 Test 4 was launched last week and I'm excited! Right now I'm downloading the ISO to try it out and, although I'm aware that there are plenty of new features for me to explore in the distribution itself, many of the elements that have me most excited are changes relating to their infrastructure: they are setting out to empower the community more than any other distribution has[2]." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00003.html [2] http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/blogs/fedora_champions_of_community == Developments == In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments. http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list === David Woodhouse Likes Monkeys === A thread about the problems of packaging the ocsinventory-client led DavidWoodhouse to express a need for Fedora maintainers as opposed to mere package-monkeys [1]. ThorstenLeemhuis agreed with David's technical fix, but decried the use of the term "package monkey" [2], as it appeared to be a derogatory term for people that volunteered to do essential maintenance tasks. Thorsten noted that if he were forced to classify himself, he would be a package-monkey. JonathanUnderwood was in strong agreement [3], while David hastened to point out his partiality to monkeys, his own self-identification as a package-monkey, and the aptness of the term [4]. MatthiasClasen pointed out that the problem was whether other people found it offensive regardless and the effect it might have on contributors [5]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00194.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00202.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00203.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00204.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00215.html Meanwhile, back at work, RemiCollet (who was doing all the volunteer work to make ocsinventory-client available to Fedora users) apologized for not filing the requisite bug that would allow him to use the ppc Exclude-Arch, and acknowleged that using "dmidecode" (which is an x86 only way of reading the SMBIOS/DMI to obtain information on hardware components) wasn't the best way [6]. Remi provided some background, namely that the company that he works for is writing a Perl version of the inventory agent that needs to work on Linux, Windows, Aix, Solaris and that Remi has already split out useful subpackages during this process. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00228.html GianlucaSforna was happy to be called a package-monkey, but settled for being a packager until he was downgraded [7] to junior-packager by SimoSorce. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00217.html === OCaml Packaging Guidelines, Something A Bit More Meaty === After reading some review requests, HansdeGoede suggested [1] some guidelines for packages using the Caml language [2]. GerardMilmeister suggested the formation of a SIG, and alerted RichardJones (of Red Hat's Emerging Technologies group), as someone who had previously been interested in this. Richard contrasted the current relatively meagre Fedora coverage to Debian's and was enthusiastic at the idea of getting more OCaml packages into our repositories [3]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00129.html [2] http://caml.inria.fr/index.en.html ToshioKuratomi offered to help out steering the guideline approval process [4] and sought clarification [5] of whether the guidelines should require the packages build to bytecode and/or nativecode and Hans gave a more detailed description [6] of the two possible ways that OCaml code could be compiled. RichardJones posted a separate possible wrinkle to be considered [7]. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00179.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00191.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00192.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00212.html RichardJones then opened up a discussion of the proposed guidelines, which centered around whether or not the .mli files (which are analogous to header files in C) should be removed from the -devel packages [8]. NigelJones (whose review packages stimulated Hans to write the new guidelines), noted that he'd replaced the .mlis with generated html, which didn't seem convenient to Richard or TomasMraz [9]. Nigel tried to come up with a compromise, but this seemed to depend [10] on too much manual intervention to Hans. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00200.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00209.html Gerard opened a bugzilla [11] where further discussion, particularly of the lack of a problem of a stable ABI, the need to introduce versioning in library pathnames, and the possibility of compatibility packages, could be discussed. [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00213.html === Merge Surges Ahead === In response to MikeChambers, JesseKeating reported that the merge of Core and Extras was proceeding smoothly, with some scrambling to build ppc64 packages that didn't exist previously in Extras [1]. Jesse had previously been posting updates to the list [2], which prompted some well-deserved thanks. ChrisWeyl had a practical question about whether it was necessary for developers to do a fresh checkout from the new CVS, and RolandMcGrath suggested [3] that existing "Extras" checkouts were fine, but could be upgraded with: echo :ext:user cvs fedora redhat com:/cvs/pkgs > root find extras -maxdepth 4 -wholename '*/CVS/Root' -exec cp -f root {} \; He also noted that "Core" checkouts were a bit more difficult, requiring: find dist -maxdepth 4 -wholename '*/devel/CVS/Root' -exec cp root {} \; Roland also noted that a plan for developer migration should have been worked out in advance of the actual merge. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00256.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00257.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00184.html === Aggressive Incorporation Of Latest KDE4 Planned === A direct enquiry from JosPoortvliet (of KDE) asked what Fedora was intending to do about the upcoming KDE4 (alpha1) [1], noting that a lot of other distros were going to have packages but that nothing had been heard from Fedora. KevinKofler was able to reply readily [2] that he had already produced parallel installable 3.80.3 packages that are targeted at developers. Kevin thought that it would be easy enough to upgrade to 4.0.0 as soon as it was out, but that he would prefer to make some changes in the packaging to target Fedora 8. Kevin's current packages allow developers to work in a KDE3 environment while developing for KDE4 and he felt that with the F7 feature freeze there was no way that KDE4 was going into F7. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00144.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00147.html Jos was then given an URL pointing to Kevin's packages, which could be included in the KDE release notes for interested parties [3]. RexDieter wanted to submit the current packages for review just after the release of F7, but Kevin reiterated that the package structure was not ideal, and thought that Fedora should push ahead to incorporate even a release candidate in F8 [4] based on the rawhide packages and noted that the codebase was moving rapidly and that Fedora had never been afraid of that in the past. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00149.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00153.html LaurentRineau expresssed a contrarian viewpoint, suggesting that a release candidate wasn't good enough and that it was necessary to have a stable KDE [5]. Kevin pointed out that a release candidate tested for months in rawhide was likely to be more stable than an untested release [6] and also that F8 would end up with a one-month lag compared to other distros if the wait-and-see approach were taken. ChristopherAillon was fine with release candidates but not with "alphas, betas or random cvs snapshots" [7], while RahulSundaram dragged the comparison back from possibly arbitrary naming [8] and into a consideration of how much actual testing the software had received. JesseKeating gave qualified agreement [9], pointing out that what mattered was what the upstream developers planned to do with any particular branch of code, and that Fedora could and had shipped pre-releases that were guaranteed to fit in with Fedora's feature-freezes. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00156.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00153.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00158.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00161.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00162.html === Zope Packaging For Fedora 7 === According to a post from DavidMackay [1] there was a slight problem with the packaging of Zope for F7. While David was happy to see Zope available, it depends on an older version of Python (2.4) while F7 ships only with Python (2.5). MichaelSchwendt stated that there was no Zope and no Plone available for F7 and that what David was using were Fedora Core 6 packages that were lingering in the development repository [2]. JeremyKatz pointed David in the direction of the upstream developers, because Python-2.5 has been available for nine months at this stage. He also pointed out that shipping an older version of Python would cause bulking of the distribution. ThorstenLeemhuis made a counter-argument [3], pointing out that compatability packages are shipped in other similar cases [4]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00226.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00229.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00230.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00232.html RahulSundaram was in agreement with Thorsten, but RexDieter pointed out that FESCo had already made the decision not to provide a python-compat package [5]. JonathanSteffan noted [5a] that he had been willing to take on the maintenance of a compatibility package, but that the Zope maintainer, and FESCo as a whole had requested that this not happen. KevinKofler didn't think that FESCo should be vetoing packages except for licensing issues, which led SethVidal to reiterate Jeremy's earlier argument that this shifted the maintenance burden from upstream onto Fedora [6]. Thorsten adduced Xen as an example of exactly this and wondered why Xen was special, to which Jeremy replied that Xen's handling had been "a mistake" [7]. PaulFrields pointed to the existence of Release Notes that suggest using virtualization and careful planning for Zope-dependent users [8]. Incidentally (in response to Thorsten's direct query), Paul noted that the Release Notes wiki had been opened for us all to edit and add any specialized information we have. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00234.html [5a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00262.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00236.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00243.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00253.html In the course of the discussion JeremyKatz suggested that the guidelines be modified to include the provision that prior to the introduction of any compatibility package, the assent of the primary packager must be sought. MichaelSchwendt was in agreement [9] and added that upstream and any recognized competent testers must also be consulted. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00251.html TillMaas noted that python-2.5 had been released before python-2.4.4 and python-2.3.6 [10] and that thus python-2.5 was actually older. TonyNelson clarified that the lower numbered pythons were supposed to be final bug-fix releases [11]. Again JesseKeating focused on the forward momentum of Fedora asking rhetorically why, given Till's argument, would anyone support 2.6 series kernels while there were 2.4 releases still happening. MichaelStahnke and DenisLeroy still thought that Fedora would be conveying a message that it was for developers only if the compat packages weren't shipped, leading ThorstenLeemhuis to suggest that although a clean-break had to be made at some time, this might be a case for an exception coupled with a statement of future intent [12]. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00264.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00278.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00283.html JesseKeating made the practical suggestion of using a chroot to install the compat packages, and JeremyKatz's recommendation of virtualization or helping the Zope developers to get Python-2.5 working for them led to a final positive note when DebarshiRay (rishi) pointed to a Google SoC project to get Zope3 working on Python2.5 [13]. [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00252.html === Inclusion Of Experimental Non-Enabled Nouveau Driver === A bug report [1] from MilesLane stated that when he selected and enabled the "nouveau" driver (a free reverse-engineered driver for nvidia cards [1a]) on the current F7test4 LiveCD, he experienced significant problems when Compiz was also enabled. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00093.html [1a] http://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/FrontPage RahulSundaram responded that nouveau was nowhere near ready to work with Compiz. (This was later confirmed by AdamJackson (ajax) who asked Miles to file a bug [2a], and also said that 3D acceleration in general was not enabled yet in the nouveau driver.) ChristopherStone was prompted by Rahul's response to object to nouveau's inclusion [2], as it was experimental and would generate confusion from general users. Rahul argued that the situation was exactly parallel with the inclusion of a new Intel Xorg driver in FC6, leading Chris to label it as useless except for developers and inferior to the "nv" driver [3]. Later AdamJackson proposed [4] that if there was a Compiz-related crash then it was just a bug that needed fixing and while pointing out that there are known hangs and problems due to nv ("there are no good X drivers"), cast doubt on the idea that nouveau was so inferior. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00109.html [2a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00107.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00117.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00123.html NicolasMailhot had positive experiences with nouveau [5] which led Miles to wonder if it was the same driver that was causing problems. This prompted JesseKeating to re-iterate the point that the driver was not enabled by default, and JefSpaleta a short while later concurred that [6] auto-selection was correctly selecting the "nv" driver and that anyone enabling a non-default was explicitly making a decision to experiment. A possible problem raised by Jef [7] was that there would be multiple updates of the package due to rapid development of the driver and that these updates would be forced on all users. NicolasMailhot added the good news [8] that immediately after the release of F7 the "nouveau" driver would be split out from "nv", getting rid of this problem. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00118.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00134.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00134.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00137.html === Where Did the CD ISOs Go? === A lest member, "n0dalus", observed [1] that there were only DVD and LiveCD images available for F7t4 and asked if there would be CD images available for Fedora 7. "n0dalus" was concerned that the equipment upon which he needed to test (and later install) the release was mainly older machines with no DVD players, used in a rural, volunteer project. RahulSundaram confirmed his worst fears but wondered why the LiveCD (which is installable) wouldn't do. "Dragoran" asked whether there would be CD images available for the actual release and Rahul confirmed that there would not [2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00022.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00028.html "n0dalus" and JonCiesla wondered how they could generate the CD's they'd need [3] and Rahul suggested Pungi and Livecd-tools [4] but Jon thought that Pungi might not be able to generate F7 ISOs when run on F6 [5]. There was no direct answer to this. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00025.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00033.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00035.html Later, with assistance from PaulHowarth, dragoran and JeremyKatz, Jon explored the possibility [6] of upgrading his redhat-release package and then running "yum upgrade". [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00040.html === KDE's Place In The Open Platform Known As "Fedora" Acknowleged === Following on from last week's discussion [1] on the announcement of the final test of F7, KevinKofler was a bit upset [2] at what he took to be a denigration of KDE's "integration" with Fedora by one of the central figures, release manager JesseKeating. Kevin noted that the KDE community external to Fedora were already very dubious about Fedora's approach to their desktop environment and that while he and others were doing their best to correct this, it was unwise to make comments such as Jesse's. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue85#head-43f2b723855d1315f4842c9b9df365b0a969fab8 [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00006.html In an attempt to clarify, Jesse argued that all of the "system-config-" tools on Fedora were GTK based and that new functionality (e.g. Fast User Switching [3]) were too. Kevin acknowledged this but pointed out that KDE wasn't exactly lagging behind in these areas [4] even though there were no prominent Red Hat hackers developing for KDE, and that Mandriva had managed to cope with a similar situation. JoseMatos also cautioned against downplaying the usability of KDE in Fedora and the dangers of bad PR [5], and also drew attention to an apparent conflation of the desktop with the widget toolkit. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00008.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00056.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00062.html "Dragoran" wondered why there was no x86_64 KDE LiveCD (only an x386) one, and JeremyKatz responded that it was due solely to time constraints [6]. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00029.html FlorianLaRoche provided an interesting way of examining the new Fedora landscape, pointing out that the ability to provide specific "spins" and/or to select alternate software from the merged Fedora repositories should really do away with the old KDE/GNOME wars [7]. Florian confirmed that support for KDE from Red Hat was assured, not least because there are RH partners requesting it, but also because the current direction and intent of Fedora is to be an open platform that integrates as many options as possible. RahulSundaram enlarged upon this and pointed out LukeMacken's USBSecurityLiveCD spin as an example [8]. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00099.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00100.html Meanwhile more entries were made to the "Name That Distro" contest, which looks set to run indefinitely [9] (note: entrants must also supply their own rules, prize may be announced at a later date). [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00058.html === When Two Broadcom Drivers Go To War === Responding to a query from "Alan", WillWoods posted a succinct description [1] of the steps necessary to enable the non-Free Broadcom firmware to work with NetworkManager so that BCM4306 chipsets were usable. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00070.html MilesLane still wondered if this would work for his particular chipset (which was an early revision) [2], because some encouraging feedback from JarodWilson included the information that only revision 4 and upwards would work with this method. Later posts from "Kelly (lightsolphoenix)" and "Alan" confirmed that although they'd had the firmware working in FC6 it seemed to now be broken. JohnLinville jumped in to remind them to blacklist the newer bcm43xx-mac80211 driver and "Alan" confirmed [3] that this now worked. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00076.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00111.html John further explained [4] that there were two drivers present claiming the same PCI-id. BillNottingham and John were in favor of trying to fix this situation in time for F7 if there was consensus, as the fix seemed easy and had obvious benefits. Miles then confirmed that he could use the described methods to get his card working from the LiveCD for F7t4 [5] and appended a dmesg output. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00083.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00092.html === Falling Blocks, Wink Wink === Wart sought clarification on a bug report that had noticed the "tetris-bsd" package was included. Wart noted that this was an oversight and the name at least would be removed [1], but asked if the bug reporter was correct that the game itself and not just the name might cause legal problems. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00009.html TomCallaway (spot) thought that as long as the name is removed, there would be no problem, but AlanCox was less sure [2] and pointed out the litigious tendencies of the Tetris company. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00048.html JonathanUnderwood had researched the issue a bit and found that the Emacs developers had discussed the situation [3] and TomTromey observed that RMS seemed to believe there was no problem. Jonathan reported that he'd raised additional issues on @emacs-development since then and that RMS was taking advice from FSF legal counsel. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00095.html == Documentation == In this section, we cover the Fedora Documentation Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting === The meeting logs for 29 April[1] and 06 May[2], as well as the summaries for 29 April[3] and 06 May[4], were posted to fedora-docs-list. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-April/msg00200.html [2] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00045.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-April/msg00202.html [4] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00048.html === Translations for Release Notes Must Be Complete by 10 May === Some languages are complete[1], but there are several that have not completed the final translation of the release notes. A reminder was sent to fedora-trans-list[2]. An announcement list that is used to alert and send announcements to all per-language mailing lists was discussed, all during the FDSCo IRC meeting[3]. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/Translation/Statistics [2] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-May/msg00024.html [3] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/SteeringCommittee/Meetings/Minutes/IRCLog20070506 === Fedora Guides === As discussed in the FDSCo IRC meeting[1], it is time to focus and finish the four guides to be released with Fedora 7: Fedora Installation Guide, Fedora User Guide, Fedora Administration Guide, and the Fedora Software Management Guide. The Steering Committee further discussed bringing in new content and modularly built guides as projects to focus on between Fedora releases. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/SteeringCommittee/Meetings/Minutes/IRCLog20070506#t09:39 === New Docs Tasks Page === As of 06 May, all Documentation Project tasks are going to be tracked on one master page[1]. This page highlights tasks[2] that new contributor can begin work on when they join the project, and should include a mentor for the contributor to work with. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/Tasks [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/SteeringCommittee/Meetings/Minutes/IRCLog20070506#t09:18 === Documentation Style === Several suggestions for improvement[1] to the Fedora Documentation led to a discussion about why the project uses its current style, including limiting the use of screen shots and the "professional" tone[2]. This same discussion also led to the conclusion that more information could be provided, specifically relating to technical terms, for little work by linking to relevant Wikipedia articles. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-April/msg00205.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-April/msg00218.html This discussion later developed to consider possible voices that the project might adopt in the future, moving away from the traditional corporate technical voice.[3] [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00017.html === DTDs Available Publicly === PaulFrields announced that some of the DTDs used by the Documentation Project are soon available at a publicly accessible URI.[1] This helps solve problems involving validation errors while editing documents from CVS. The DTDs set for release are rpm-info.dtd and entities.dtd at the following URLs: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/dtds/rpm-info.dtd http://docs.fedoraproject.org/dtds/entities.dtd [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-April/msg00206.html === Fedora-dsco-list Set For Retirement === Following a series of updates to the projects Join page[1], it was proposed that the fedora-dsco-list should be retired and the references to it removed[2]. This proposal won agreement from several Steering committee members[3]. After this idea being incomplete for a long time, the list was finally closed[4] with the archives left for posterity[5]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00026.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00025.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00037.html [4] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00046.html [5] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-dsco-list/ == Translation == This section, we cover the news surrounding the Fedora Translation (L10n) Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/L10N === Deadline Extension === PaulFrields endeared himself to the translation team with his post[1] about the extension of the freeze date to 10-May-2007 (2359 UTC). [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-April/msg00129.html == Infrastructure == In this section, we cover the Fedora Infrastructure Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure === More on Email Addresses === A little while ago the Infrastructure team modified[1] the fedoraproject.org email addressing scheme, removing the firstname.lastname convention (except for special cases). MikeMcGrath revisited[2] the issue this week as the Ambassador group likes the professional look of the firstname.lastname convention. After discussion it was decided that ThomasChung of the Ambassador group would manage the Ambassador email addresses, thereby allowing for a better case-by-case assignment of firstname.lastname addresses. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-April/msg00059.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-April/msg00205.html == Security Week == In this section, we highlight the security stories from the week in Fedora. === Do We Really Need a Security Industry? === Last week Bruce Schneier published a commentary about the security industry: Do We Really Need a Security Industry?[1] This story generated a fair amount of discussion. The commentary is best summed up by this quote "Aftermarket security is actually a very inefficient way to spend our security dollars ..." The conclusion Bruce comes to is to outsource your security needs to a different company, the service being no different than outsourcing your telephone needs. While it makes sense that not every company will need to employ security experts, there is no reason that the operating system shouldn't be doing more. A technology such as SELinux can play a huge role preventing malware and intruders from gaining unwanted access. The current aftermarket security industry relies on the idea that the operating system is insecure, and cannot be fixed. It is unlikely that a technology such as SELinux will ever result in a completely secure solution out of the box, but with the right know how it can help prevent many insecurities. As long as people write the code that runs our computers, there will be security bugs. We will never fix every possible bug, but we can try to mitigate the potential damage. Right now if a piece of malware infects a computer, it can do nearly anything it wants. In the near future SELinux should be able to prevent malware from doing anything useful. [1] http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2007/05/securitymatters_0503 == Security Advisories == In this section, we cover Security Advisories from fedora-package-announce. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-package-announce === Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories === * FEDORA-2007-486: rpm-4.4.2-33.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-486 * FEDORA-2007-482: [SECURITY] kernel-2.6.20-1.2948.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-482 * FEDORA-2007-443: autofs-5.0.1-0.rc3.29 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-443 * FEDORA-2007-480: httpd-2.2.4-2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-480 * FEDORA-2007-462: dbus-1.0.1-12.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-462 * FEDORA-2007-461: pygobject2-2.12.3-2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-461 * FEDORA-2007-477: bind-9.3.4-4.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-477 * FEDORA-2007-464: policycoreutils-1.34.1-8.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-464 * FEDORA-2007-463: selinux-policy-2.4.6-62.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-463 * FEDORA-2007-457: gnome-media-2.16.1-4.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-457 === Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories === * FEDORA-2007-483: [SECURITY] kernel-2.6.20-1.2316.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-483 == Events and Meetings == In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various projects. === Fedora Board Meeting 2007-05-01 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-advisory-board/2007-May/msg00027.html === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-03 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00077.html === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-04-26 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00037.html === Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-05-01 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00025.html === Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-04-30 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00188.html === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-06 === * http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00048.html === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting 2007-04-29 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-April/msg00202.html === Event Report: Feel IT - Bamberg, Germany === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00035.html === Event Report: FLISOL 2007 - Argentina === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00033.html === Event Report: FLISOL 2007 - Caracas, Venezuela === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00004.html === Event Photos: FLISOL 2007 - Santiago, Chile === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00000.html == Feedback == This document is maintained by the Fedora News Team[1]. Please feel free to contact us to give your feedback. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Fedora Weekly News, please see the Join[2] page to find out how to help. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung From mspevack at redhat.com Tue May 8 22:09:45 2007 From: mspevack at redhat.com (Max Spevack) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 18:09:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Fedora 7 -- what, when, and why Message-ID: With the Red Hat Summit kicking off, I'd like to take a few minutes to discuss some of the recent happenings in the Fedora Project, particularly around Fedora 7. This email is being sent both to public Fedora mailing lists, and to Red Hat mailing lists, so that folks in both the external and internal Fedora communities can have a chance to read it, and people can all sort of consistently spread the same message about Fedora. FEDORA 7 The next version of Fedora will be released on May 24th. It will be called "Fedora 7" -- not "Fedora Core 7". It's the most ambitious release of Fedora that we've undertaken, and I hope that when we look back at Fedora 7 one or two years down the road, the decisions that we made for this release will have proven to be as impactful as anything we've done in the Fedora space since the start of the Fedora Project. In one sentence: "Fedora 7 has been about improving the manner in which all future Fedora releases will be made." (1) The entire toolchain is free. Every step in the distro creation process is free software, and can take place on hardware that is accessible both to Red Hat employees and the general Fedora community. Source code in an external version control system. RPMs built on an external, open source build system. Distributions built with an external, open source compose tool. Why is this important? Because Fedora's ultimate goal over the past few years has been to allow proven non-Red Hat contributors to have greater influence and access to the Fedora Project. From the technical side, this goal has been pushed forward by the Fedora Extras project and the Fedora Infrastructure projects, especially. One of the Fedora Project's success metrics is building and running itself in a way such that no single entity can completely control Fedora's fate. Fedora 7 gets us there, insofar as there is no "secret sauce" in the ability to spin a Fedora distribution. Nothing is hidden. Balanced against these goals of increased openness has been the need to create systems and infrastructure that continue to allow RHEL or other Red Hat (not Fedora) branded products to be built and to be more firmly controlled by Red Hat than Fedora is. Fedora serves as an upstream for various Red Hat products, and Fedora has a responsibility to provide a good "service" to those downstream "customers". (2) Custom spins of Fedora. The primary consequence of (1) is that customized versions of Fedora are now possible to an extent that was not available previously. User-generated Fedora, if you're looking for a buzzword. :-P Think about some of the possibilities: + People in various countries *directly* managing localized spins of Fedora, customized both for language requirements and bandwidth requirements. + "Competing" spins of the Fedora Desktop, or server-ready package sets, allowing the best ones to gain popularity and be shared. + The ability for a business or a university that uses Fedora to take their own third-party RPMs and create a Fedora-derived distribution that integrates them at build time. (3) Live CD, DVD, and USB technology. A Fedora spin can be loaded onto various forms of bootable media, which allows users to run their OS without hard disk installation, and gives users the ability to launch the installer with a simple double click. As with what is written above, the tools used for this are all free software, and therefore everything in this space is also fully customizable by users. (4) Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) technology has been integrated with the Fedora graphical virtualization manager tool. KVM provides a full virtualization solution, and users have a choice between KVM and Xen, along with Qemu, in this release. (5) The usual set of upstream changes and improvements that are a part of any Fedora release. RED HAT SUMMIT Fedora will have a good presence at the Red Hat Summit, beginning on May 9th. There are four talks specifically about Fedora -- a general Q&A, a talk about Fedora Infrastructure, a talk about building custom versions of Fedora, and a talk about the Live CD technology. Furthermore, there will be a Fedora booth in the main area, where Fedora folks will be able to have general conversations with folks. If you are looking for me, this is a good place to start! Additionally, we will be able to give folks who attend the Summit a Fedora 7 Preview Live DVD. This is a special spin of Fedora that we did for the RH Summit, with custom artwork, Firefox start page, and various other goodies. We'll also have some of the bootable USB keys around for demonstration purposes, as well as demonstrations going on showing folks how to build custom spins of Fedora. I'm putting the finishing touches on this note on a plane somewhere between Raleigh and San Diego. :-) FEDORA 7 LAUNCH As stated earlier, the Fedora 7 release date is May 24th. This is one week before LinuxTag 2007 in Berlin, which we are using as the "European Launch" of Fedora 7. Our LinuxTag presence is being organized by Gerold Kassube, one of our Fedora Ambassadors. The community of folks in Europe who care deeply about Fedora is definitely a bright spot. For those of you in Europe who will attend LinuxTag, I look forward to seeing you there. -- Max Spevack + http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/MaxSpevack + gpg key -- http://spevack.org/max.asc + fingerprint -- CD52 5E72 369B B00D 9E9A 773E 2FDB CB46 5A17 CF21 From mspevack at redhat.com Wed May 9 17:15:12 2007 From: mspevack at redhat.com (Max Spevack) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 13:15:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Seth Vidal and Toshio Kuratomi joining Red Hat Message-ID: Fedorans, Another day, another email to fedora-announce-list from me. As those of you who read this list may remember, back when we announced the hiring of Mike McGrath as the Fedora Infrastructure Leader, the part of that announcement that made me most happy was that we were able to hire folks who were already well-established Fedora contributors to continue their Fedora work full time, and earn a Red Hat paycheck doing it. Well, I'm equally happy to announce today that both Seth Vidal and Toshio Kuratomi have accepted jobs at Red Hat. Now I'm make them both blush a little bit by talking a bit about their contributions to Fedora. Seth has been a Fedora contributor since the beginning. He is a member of the Fedora Project Board. When I started my job with the Fedora Project 15 months ago, Seth was one of the guys who I was encouraged to talk to frequently, and pay attention to what he says. Seth has also been known to write some code from time to time. He leads the development of yum, and will continue to do some from within Red Hat. He is very active in the Fedora Infrastructure project. He has contributed significantly to the code that makes the Fedora build system work. I don't think there is any question that Seth is one of the true leaders within Fedora. People seem to think he works for Red Hat already, and so we're glad to eliminate that point of confusion also. :-) Toshio is a rock-star programmer. Similar to Seth, he's been a Fedora contributor for several years. He's been a member of the Fedora Extras Steering Committee. He's worked closely with the Fedora Infrastrucutre team on projects like the package database, and a lot of the work that Fedora is doing with TurboGears. Toshio has worked on the Fedora Account System, and is basically the lead developer for the Fedora Infrastructure team. He cranks out really good code, and it's a great boon for Red Hat to have him full time. As a signing bonus, I have set aside the LAST PAIR of Fedora flip flops that exists for the next time I see him. Congrats to both Seth and Toshio. Back to work, now! :-) -- Max Spevack + http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/MaxSpevack + gpg key -- http://spevack.org/max.asc + fingerprint -- CD52 5E72 369B B00D 9E9A 773E 2FDB CB46 5A17 CF21 From tchung at fedoraproject.org Mon May 14 08:56:53 2007 From: tchung at fedoraproject.org (Thomas Chung) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 01:56:53 -0700 Subject: Fedora Weekly News Issue 87 Message-ID: <369bce3b0705140156t393df38er8ceb5e176b144b99@mail.gmail.com> = Fedora Weekly News Issue 87 = Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 87[1] for the week of May 6th through May 12th, 2007. The latest issue can always be found here[2] and RSS Feed can be found here[3]. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue87 [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/LatestIssue [3] http://feeds.feedburner.com/fwn 1. Fedora Weekly News Issue 87 1. Announcements 1. Fedora 7 -- what, when, and why 2. Fedora 7 Deep Freeze/GA release schedule change 3. Post-merge howto and FAQ 2. Planet Fedora 1. Red Hat Summit - Update from the Left Coast 2. Red Hat Summit - Fedora Unity, Custom Spins of Fedora 3. Red Hat Summit - ATI and Open Source 4. Java One and OpenJDK 5. Red Hat Summer Intern: Python Web Programming 3. Marketing 1. Liberations fonts from Red Hat 2. Distrowatch on Fedora Repo Merge 4. Developments 1. Rawhide Merge Status 2. AlphaCore Project Gets Help Patching The Kernel Spec File 3. Zope. A Tale Of Two Threads 4. Avoid Inane Regulatory Licensing Shakedowns 5. Missed Contributor Returns 6. Fedora Standards For Contents Of /etc/pki 7. Sun's GPL'ed Java To Arrive Soon In Fedora 8. DeltaRPM, YUMPresto plans 9. Wireless Test Request for ipw3945 etc Users 10. Why Does Nautilus Create Folders in ~ By Default ? 5. Translation 1. Completion Summary 6. Infrastructure 1. Cacti 2. System Flux 7. Security Advisories 1. Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories 2. Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories 8. Events and Meetings 1. Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-05-08 2. Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-05-07 3. Event Report: 2007 Upstate Hamfest - South Carolina, USA 4. Event Report: LinuxTag at Fachhochschule - Salzburg, Austria 9. Editor's Note: Red Hat Summmit 2007 10. Feedback == Announcements == In this section, we cover announcements from various projects. === Fedora 7 -- what, when, and why === MaxSpevack announces in fedora-announce-list[1], "The next version of Fedora will be released on May 24th. It will be called "Fedora 7" -- not "Fedora Core 7". It's the most ambitious release of Fedora that we've undertaken, and I hope that when we look back at Fedora 7 one or two years down the road, the decisions that we made for this release will have proven to be as impactful as anything we've done in the Fedora space since the start of the Fedora Project." In one sentence: "Fedora 7 has been about improving the manner in which all future Fedora releases will be made." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-May/msg00002.html === Fedora 7 Deep Freeze/GA release schedule change === JoshBoyer announces in fedora-maintainers[1], "The bulk of the Core/Extras merge has now been finished, and the Release Engineering team has been working hard to get things back in shape for the final F7 release. However, due to the massive nature of this undertaking, we are not coming back online as fast as we had hoped." "While this slip is unfortunate, it is also in the best interest for the quality of the release. Please bear with us as we strive to make this the best release of Fedora to date!" [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00236.html === Post-merge howto and FAQ === JoshBoyer announces in fedora-maintainers[1], "Due to popular demand, I sat down and wrote up a brief howto for handling packages in the merged world. Given that I'm almost guaranteed to have not answered all the questions, it's living under the wiki[2] for the moment. Hopefully it will give the package maintainers a high level overview of what to do and how to do it. Feel free to ask questions and I (or others) will try to address them." [1]https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00220.html [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/JoshBoyer/MergeHOWTO == Planet Fedora == In this section, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet === Red Hat Summit - Update from the Left Coast === PaulFrields points out in his blog[1], "In the afternoon a bunch of Fedora folks (including your humble reporter) gathered in a posh executive conference room, complete with snazzy lighting and decor, for a video interview conducted by Kim Jokisch and mainly shot by Red Hat filmmaker extraordinaire Tim Kiernan[2]. Tim pops up again later in this post. We talked about all the cool things going on in Fedora, including but not limited to the new release. We also talked about what is so fricking cool about working on Fedora. Why do we do it, beyone the simple "scratch an itch" answers? I'm hoping some of this interview will make it out into public space at some point." [1] http://marilyn.frields.org:8080/~paul/wordpress/?p=778 [2] http://www.redhat.com/magazine/006apr05/departments/red_hat_speaks/ === Red Hat Summit - Fedora Unity, Custom Spins of Fedora === MaxSpevack points out in his blog[1], "So I'm sitting here in the first big Fedora talk at the Red Hat Summit[2]. Jon Steffan. Bob Jensen, and Jesse Keating talking about how to build custom versions of Fedora. The tools that they used? Pungi, LiveCD Creator, and Revisor. In my opinion, the ability to generate customized versions of Fedora is one of the most important pieces of Fedora 7[3]." [1] http://spevack.livejournal.com/14639.html [2] http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2007/ [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-May/msg00002.html === Red Hat Summit - ATI and Open Source === ChristopherBlizzard points out in his blog[1], "The (AMD) ATI[2] marketing guy on stage (Henri Richard) at the Red Hat Summit[3] just committed to fixing the ATI problems with open source. To paraphrase "most people are worried about what they will lose?IP, etc?we're worried about what we can win." They know it's a problem and they are committed to fixing it." [1] http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/weblog/?p=288 [2] http://ati.amd.com/ [3] http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2007/ === Java One and OpenJDK === TomTromey points out in his blog[1], "Java One[1] is huge, much huger than I'd imagined. The opening keynote had a steady stream of corporate luminaries onstage to talk about their Java-related plans. Many thanks to Bruno for saving us some great seats ? and also to Tom Marble for making the effort to include me in the various goings on. The big news is that OpenJDK[3] sources are available, and that Dalibor is on the initial OpenJDK governance board. Next step: replace the remaining binary blobs with free software." [1] http://tromey.com/blog/?p=350 [2] http://java.sun.com/javaone/sf/index.jsp [3] http://openjdk.java.net/ === Red Hat Summer Intern: Python Web Programming === WarrenTogami points out in his blog[1], "Paid Intern Job through runs through May 14th and August 14th. This position requires use of the Python programming language with the Turbogears web application framework and a RDBMS database backend. This position would be responsible to drive not just the implementation of software deliverables, but also the creation of a community project that works on its design and implementation. Location: Red Hat's Westford, MA or Raleigh, NC office. Work Remote over Internet is possible if you have the ability to work closely with our engineers located in the American EDT timezone." [1] http://wtogami.livejournal.com/16659.html == Marketing == In this section, we cover Fedora Marketing Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing === Liberations fonts from Red Hat === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "Red Hat has released Liberation fonts[2] under the GPL+ fonts exception license. Liberation fonts are metric equivalent to key Microsoft fonts. This is a major milestone and significantly enhances the interoperability of documents and content under these Microsoft fonts in Linux." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00020.html [2] http://www.press.redhat.com/2007/05/09/liberation-fonts/ === Distrowatch on Fedora Repo Merge === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "The long-promised merge of Fedora's core and extras repositories is finally under way: "Merge is going well now. A bunch of hiccups early on as we moved our test scripts into acting with real bits and databases and such, but now that that's over..." As for the hiccups, Jesse Keating explains: "We're scrambling to create ppc64 builds of all the extras packages, as those didn't exist before, but now they will be built for ppc64. Also we need to hook up some software to make rawhide appear. It may just be in package repo form (not installable) to begin with, we'll see. I wouldn't expect anything this weekend." For more information about the merge and other Fedora topics, please check out the latest issue of Fedora Weekly News." "Digg this up folks[2]." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00013.html [2] http://digg.com/linux_unix/Fedora_merging_Core_and_Extras_repositories_today == Developments == In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments. http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list === Rawhide Merge Status === BillNottingham gave us a heads-up [1] that a huge merged rawhide tree had been pushed out to the master mirror. MichaelSchwendt wanted to know [2] if the wiki had been updated to document the merge process and whether the tool was available publically. DavidNielsen suggested liquid celebrations [3]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00776.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00786.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00782.html DennisGilmore and JoshBoyer explained that the rawhide compose tools were publically available in the form of "pungi" and "mash" and that a rawhide report could be generated using "treediff" just as with the old rawhide. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00793.html === AlphaCore Project Gets Help Patching The Kernel Spec File === OliverFalk gauged the busyness of the kernel team by posting [1] a request for help to patch the kernel .spec file so that Fedora can continue to be ported to the Alpha architecture. JoshBoyer asked [2] for the patches, which DavidWoodhouse then reviewed thoroughly [3]. JoshBoyer and Jarod Wilson also took the time to provide detailed feedback [4]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00680.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00682.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00683.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00699.html === Zope. A Tale Of Two Threads === Last week we reported [1] on the problems that the Zope package is facing in living up to the packaging requirements of Fedora, and a changed Python API. The thread was replete with high emotion from Zope users who felt that a compatability package for the EOL'ed Python-2.4 should be included in the distro. A separate thread about a tool for reading the SMBIOS sparked a discussion about what the people maintaining packages should do and should be called [2]. The issues discussed in both threads overlapped considerably, having at heart the issue of exactly who is responsible for what work and in which manner. And so, it was natural that the threads would eventually merge and overlap. There are two main threads buried in here. One of them contains all sorts of technical goodies about SELinux and packaging, the other contains stuff to do with the random electrical activity performed by the soft, squishy material in our heads. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue86#head-9d00b6b611ad698b385581e36902aca0adf7d8bd [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue86#head-ab47d69eeea718f121b1017265429be193885220 Disappointment with the decision not to pursue the maintenance burden led JoshBoyer to clarify [3] that this was a decision by the Fedora python maintainer, backed by the community in the form of FESCo. DavidMackay still wanted to know why the responsibility was being pushed onto the Zope maintainers when, as he saw it, the problem was caused by the Python developers. JesseKeating answered [4] that the responsibility was theirs because this had been flagged over 9 months in adavance as a major change by the Python developers. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00372.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00391.html JonathanSteffan made his position as Fedora Zope maintainer clear in no uncertain way [5] when he posted references from upstream Zope development that suggested that there would never be support for Zope-2 with Python-2.5. Jonathan asked rhetorically whether he should really be expected to take on the massive and potentially futile task that some were suggesting. Following this DavidWoodhouse acknowleged Jonathan's work and opened up a larger discussion about what it meant to be a package maintainer [6]. David had taken a fair amount of criticism for some of his earlier statements about package maintainers and he took the opportunity to try to explain what he had been thinking: namely that in order to produce a coherent collection of separate codebases that worked together (e.g. a distro) it was exactly necessary for maintainers to take on the sort of task to which Jonathan referred. "Dragoran" was particularly in agreement [7] with a part of this post of David's in which he mentioned that it was necessary for packagers to deal with SELinux issues. Dragoran, David and ManuelWolfshant were in agreement [8] that the package review guidelines should be changed to make SELinux compliance necessary. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00294.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00306.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00308.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00311.html HansdeGoede expressed irritation at DavidWoodhouse's apparent attitude to package maintainers [9] and thus began a part of the thread, Gentle Reader, into which you may not wish to delve. Suffice to say it involved accusations of bedwetting, political correctness, Californianism and disrespect. David's essential point seemed to be that a higher standard and expectations should be applied to packagers, while others thought that a higher standard of courtesy was needed. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00317.html There were, however, some very enlightening and useful parts to the thread. TillMaas drew attention several times [10][11] to the paucity of good SELinux packaging documentation, and the problem of getting help. These points were acknowleged by David [12] who suggested that packagers could file a bug against their package CC'ing DanielWalsh, while noting that Dan might not be able to do all of this on his own. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00322.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00427.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00549.html JakubJelinek replied to Till's specific problem with the information [13] that DC_TEXTREL shared libraries should fixed not by massaging SELinux contexts, but by compiling with the appropriate position-independent code flags. TillMaas referenced some material from UlrichDrepper suggesting that it wasn't simply an "-fpic" problem and KarlMacMillan agreed with this [14]. Further probing from Till and JonathanUnderwood led to a wealth of information from PaulHowarth [15] and KarlMacMillan [16] about where SELinux contexts should be set. [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00554.html [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00565.html [15] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00587.html [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00643.html Jakub's expertise was further drawn out by a question from Hans about the difference between "-fpic" and "-fPIC" which led to yet more nuggets of information [16]. [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00561.html === Avoid Inane Regulatory Licensing Shakedowns === A Russian contributor, DmitryButskoy, opened a thread [1] about potential temporary confiscation of hardware running Free software due to new regulations. Apparently in Russia it is necessary for a business to be able to show a "certificate" attesting to the origin of the software so that the police can determine that it is not pirated. Obviously as Fedora is downloaded for "free" this is a little difficult to obtain. JoshBoyer sympathised but wasn't sure what this had to do with the Fedora Project, pointing out that the licenses for all packages were available. Dmitry answered [2] that it was an extra hurdle for those that wished to deploy Fedora in a production environment and that failure to address such problems could mean less testing, which would in turn affect RHEL. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00697.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00721.html In response to RandyWyatt's suggestion of simply printing the GPL, NicuBuculei pointed out that such regulations are usually carefully worded at the behest of the BSA to make this difficult. Nicu also reported that Romania has a registry of acceptable programs and that one is not supposed to use any software not on that list! [3]. AlanCox thought [4] that this was a violation of EU single-market laws and hoped that the law was thus now obsolete. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00705.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00714.html Suggesting that the print-your-own license was a plausible route, AlanCox noted that other people faced with similar situations often made a hard-copy of the GPL, and also suggested [5] that as Dmitry had a boxed-set supplier that they might be able to do something. The idea was further expanded [6] to include a webpage of the Fedora Project auto-generating a suitably official looking license and text. All the usual disclaimers about not being lawyers were applied by participants to the discussion. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00710.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00722.html BenjaminKosnik volunteered [7] to be responsible for producing an impressive and accurate document, and further discussion with Dmitry about which shiny metal seals would make policemen happy turned up some pertinent counter-examples from the UK [8]. In response to RickVinyards suggestion that official Fedora cover images be available for CD/DVDs, JeremyKatz pointed [9] to those which are already available on the wiki and JefSpaleta suggested that they be bundled with the torrents. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00719.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00730.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00748.html RahulSundaram and others provided a link to the Fedora Project EULA, but AndyShevchenko responded [10] out that what was needed was a Russian-language version which could be approved by the police. SimoSorce had an inside scoop [11] that promised further information from one of the prominent Russian distributors (of ALTLinux) and suggested that collaboration and co-operation with other such distributors would be mutually beneficial for Free Software. MatejCepl warned of the dangers of meddling with legal matters [12]. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00749.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00745.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00760.html === Missed Contributor Returns === Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams made a return to the list [1] after an unscheduled absence and was greeted warmly, not least by an offer from DonRussell of a tasty bug in mgetty [2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00613.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00633.html === Fedora Standards For Contents Of /etc/pki === RichardJones wanted [1] details of what it was acceptable to put into the /etc/pki directory as he was writing an application which needed to generate and store some TSL certificates. DavidWoodhouse objected [2] to the length of Richard's signature (which was a Red Hat UK corporate one) igniting not so much a flamewar, as a brief brush fire which culminated in AlanCox suggesting that the proper place to put such information was in an "Organisation:" header [3] and that IBM had succesfully sorted out issues like this in the past [4]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00580.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00590.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00639.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00788.html Directly addressing the substance rather than the form of the original email, JoeOrton replied [5] that there was at present no standard being enforced and asked for further details about the requirements of the application. Joe futher suggested that it would be best to put TLS certificates in "/etc/pki/tls/appname". Richard provided links to the background of his problem [6], which is the libvirt toolkit for interacting with Xen, QEMU and KVM. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00645.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00662.html === Sun's GPL'ed Java To Arrive Soon In Fedora === Welcoming the release of (most of) Sun's Java SDK HansdeGoede wondered [1] what strategy should be followed to integrate it into Fedora. AndrewOverholt and TomTromey [2] thought that platform coverage was going to be an important issue as was the ability to remove the remaining non-Free encumbrances. BillNottingham wanted to know whether these non-Free pieces could just be ripped out, or whether they needed replacements coded [3]. Responses identified variously: font-rendering [4], color-management and parts of Java 2D rendering [5]. TomTromey pointed out that Sun were keen to do all of this and AndrewHaley is going to figure out a more detailed answer to the question. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00497.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00528.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00535.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00539.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00566.html Addressing the issue of platform-coverage, RahulSundaram [6] argued that x86 and x86_64 constituted about 80% of current users, based on the statistics gathered with the smolt-profiler. DimiPaun suspected [7] that it was more like 98%. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00529.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00531.html === DeltaRPM, YUMPresto plans === ValentTurkovic wanted to know [1] whether yum-presto and deltarpm would be installed by default in Fedora7. JoshBoyer was able to quickly respond in the negative [2], citing the late (frozen) stage of the release cycle, while acknowleging the apparent advantages of the software. Valent posted a couple more examples of the bandwidth savings obtainable and ManuelWolfshant pointed out again that there was no doubt that it was useful, but that F7 was now in a freeze for new features. Manuel suggested [3] that rawhide might see the inclusion of the software, and Josh clarified [4] that this would probably be so, but that the repositories might not get changed to enable them to work with the tools. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00483.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00485.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00521.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00524.html WillWoods pointed out [5] encouragingly that in a mere six to seven months Fedora 8 would be under way, but that the repository mirrors would have to be considered. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00527.html JonathanDieter drew attention [6] to the fact that yum-presto and deltarpm were both officially present in (what was called Extras for FC6 and F7 prior to the merge of the Core and Extras repositories ), but just wasn't included in any spins. In a completely separate thread about the merged rawhide push, Jonathan also noted [7] that i386 updates were available using yum-presto, except for packages that were in the old "Extras" repository. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00534.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00789.html === Wireless Test Request for ipw3945 etc Users === A request from JohnLinville to test [1] a new wireless driver for the ipw3945 drew lots of responses. (In an earlier issue [2] we covered earlier investigations of whether iwlwifi or iwl3945 worked best). John wanted specifically to know the version of the last best working kernel, and whether the new DaveJones kernels worked better. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00441.html [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue83#head-288d7145f160acc3f8f3febf5b423ac4ab01971b ThomasBaker initially found the new driver (iwl3945) worked better, but then had to report failure [3]. JohnLinville suggested [4] the appropriate bugzilla entry [4]. RichardHughes had a similar experience, which led AndrewBartlett to suggest [4a] possible problems with interrupt handling. Richard started trying to track down the problem by rebuilding iwlwifi. He rebuilt succesfully using a custom linus kernel, but failed with Fedora [4b], with what looked like an incorrect include. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00473.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00474.html [4a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00543.html [4b] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00576.html Both YuanYijun [5] and AndyGreen [6] reported instability but still thought it was stable enough to use, comparing favourable to e.g. earlier bcm43xx stability. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00446.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00450.html A detailed log from TomLondon seemed to indicate a possible renaming issue [7] as a result of running both drivers alternately. This was confirmed in a follow up post by another user. DennisGilmore and AndrewBartlett had more negative experiences, leading DanWilliams to request the output from "lshal". RalfCorsepius and JarodWilson did as asked, leading Dan to enquire about whether SELinux was in enforcing mode, and explaining the interaction between HAL and NM which might cause this failure. Unfortunately Jarod had already tried to take this into account [8] and had to still report a failure. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00466.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00575.html === Why Does Nautilus Create Folders in ~ By Default ? === Rubin was searching [1] for the knob that turned off the automatic creation of three directories in his home directory. JesseKeating and BrianPepple suggested [2] that there might have been discussion about this on @fedora-desktop or in blog entries in Planet GNOME or Fedora People. "Nodata" was able to point to an @fedora-devel thread [3] which discussed the issue, and agreed with Rubin. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00318.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00321.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00323.html RahulSundaram provided a fix [4] (editing ~/.config) and DavidNielsen came out swinging as an unabashed defender [5] of the technology that does this, Fedora 7's implementation of the freedesktop.org XDG-Base-Directory specification: xdg-user-dirs. RonYorston was unimpressed and mentioned [6] his partially succesful efforts to remove this new feature. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00327.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00326.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00332.html MatthiasClasen hastened [7] to clear nautilus of any responsibility and suggested to simply remove the directories, although Rubin reported that this didn't work, but that ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs could be edited. Further down the thread AlexanderLarsson suggested and RahulSundaram confirmed [8] that it is necessary to re-run xdg-user-dirs after blowing away the unwanted directories with a "rm". [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00330.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00394.html Rubin also thought that this change should be presented and explained to people a bit better. Others echoed this sentiment [8] in separate parts of the thread, and KarstenWade pointed out the Release Notes [9] [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00331.html == Translation == This section, we cover the news surrounding the Fedora Translation (L10n) Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/L10N === Completion Summary === This week saw the translation deadline for FC7 (2359 10 May 2007). PaulFrields had a status[1] report ready for the translation team. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-May/msg00024.html == Infrastructure == In this section, we cover the Fedora Infrastructure Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure === Cacti === Cacti (provides system status/usage information) has been in use for a while by the infrastructure team. MikeMcGrath reconfigured[1] it so that the public can now see the information as well. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00008.html === System Flux === This week saw a wiki [1]crash and some Xen issues[2]. The team has been able to track down some possible causes and will be looking to get fixes implemented forthwith. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00029.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00022.html == Security Advisories == In this section, we cover Security Advisories from fedora-package-announce. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-package-announce === Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories === * 2007-05-07 [SECURITY] evolution-data-server-1.8.3-6.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-484 * 2007-05-07 [SECURITY] gimp-2.2.14-5.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-489 * 2007-05-07 [SECURITY] vim-7.0.235-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-492 * 2007-05-07 eclipse-3.2.2-5.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-488 * 2007-05-07 eclipse-cdt-3.1.2-3.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-450 * 2007-05-07 elfutils-0.127-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-460 * 2007-05-07 gstreamer-plugins-base-0.10.11-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-476 * 2007-05-07 libxml2-2.6.28-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-459 * 2007-05-07 man-pages-fr-2.39-7.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-496 * 2007-05-07 policycoreutils-1.34.1-9.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-479 * 2007-05-07 smartmontools-5.37-1.1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-474 === Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories === * 2007-05-07 [SECURITY] dovecot-1.0-0.beta8.4.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-493 * 2007-05-07 [SECURITY] evolution-data-server-1.6.3-4.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-485 * 2007-05-07 [SECURITY] gimp-2.2.14-5.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-491 == Events and Meetings == In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various projects. === Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-05-08 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00252.html === Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-05-07 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00415.html === Event Report: 2007 Upstate Hamfest - South Carolina, USA === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00069.html === Event Report: LinuxTag at Fachhochschule - Salzburg, Austria === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00066.html == Editor's Note: Red Hat Summmit 2007 == It was a great experience at Red Hat Summit 2007[1] for three days (May 9th-11th) in San Diego. This was my first time in Red Hat Summit and wish I had attended last two summits[2]. I had a chance to meet Matthew Szulik[3] in person as well as GregDeKoenigsberg, MaxSpevack and MikeMcGrath[4]. The highlight for this entire trip was being a part of such a wonderful group called Fedora[5]. [1] http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2007/ [2] http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2006/ and http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2005/ [3] http://picasaweb.google.com/fedora.tchung/RedHatSummit07/photo#5063974696432555026 [4] http://picasaweb.google.com/fedora.tchung/RedHatSummit07/photo#5063974700727522354 [5] http://picasaweb.google.com/fedora.tchung/RedHatSummit07/photo#5063974988490331282 == Feedback == This document is maintained by the Fedora News Team[1]. Please feel free to contact us to give your feedback. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Fedora Weekly News, please see the Join[2] page to find out how to help. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung From tchung at fedoraproject.org Mon May 21 07:21:22 2007 From: tchung at fedoraproject.org (Thomas Chung) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 00:21:22 -0700 Subject: Fedora Weekly News Issue 88 Message-ID: <369bce3b0705210021v4fa1f00ah701d35e58531d70c@mail.gmail.com> = Fedora Weekly News Issue 88 = Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 88[1] for the week of May 13th through May 19th, 2007. The latest issue can always be found here[2] and RSS Feed can be found here[3]. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue88 [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/LatestIssue [3] http://feeds.feedburner.com/fwn 1. Fedora Weekly News Issue 88 1. Announcements 1. Deep Freeze coming for Fedora 7 2. Announcing fedora-cs-list for Czech and Slovak Fedora users 3. Fedora Rawhide Live Images (20070517) 2. Planet Fedora 1. Summary from the Red Hat Summit 2. F7 Firstboot and EULA 3. 'Play Ogg': FSF launches free audio format campaign 3. Marketing 1. OLPC on CBS 60 Minutes 4. Developments 1. New Suspend Quirks Functionality of F7 Explained 2. XChat Package Maintenance: First Post-Merge Co-Maintenance? 3. PowerTOP Release Opens Up New Directions In Power Saving 4. Massive size increase in some packages 5. Rawhide Report 17 May 2007:Liberated Fonts, Corrupt Metadata 6. Making Beagle Optional 7. Legality of Fedora In Some Jurisdictions Contd. 8. Making Koji A Complete rpmfind Replacement 5. Maintainers 1. Why Not Build For EPEL Too? 2. Fedora 7 Deep Freeze 3. Help Wanted: Package Co-maintainers 4. Improving Fedora Package Documentation 6. Documentation 1. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting 2. Welcome Wizard 3. Hardware Solutions Knowledge Base 7. Infrastructure 1. Fedora Mirror System 2. Koji 3. Proxy Server 8. Artwork 1. Ambassador Program Banner 2. Shutdown and Logout Icons 9. Security Week 1. Samba 10. Security Advisories 1. Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories 2. Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories 11. Events and Meetings 1. Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-05-14 2. Fedora French Ambassadors Meeting 2007-05-13 3. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee 2007-05-10 12. Feedback == Announcements == In this section, we cover announcements from various projects. === Deep Freeze coming for Fedora 7 === JesseKeating announces in fedora-maintainers[1], "We're planning on entering "Deep Freeze" this Thursday. From that point on we'll only be accepting build tag requests for builds that are fixing release blockers. See Fedora Release Criteria[2] for current release criteria." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00351.html [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/QA/ReleaseCriteria === Announcing fedora-cs-list for Czech and Slovak Fedora users === MarekMahut announces in fedora-ambassadors-list[1], "Let me introduce you our new mailing list [2] for Czech and Slovak Fedora users. If you are speaking one of those languages, feel free to join." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00104.html [2] http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-cs-list === Fedora Rawhide Live Images (20070517) === JeremyKatz announces in fedora-test-list[1], "First set of post-merge rawhide live images. These are based off of yesterday's rawhide (packages tagged f7-final in koji). You can get the torrent file from Fedora Project Torrent[2]. Available images are i386, x86_64, i386 KDE and also an x86_64 KDE image. Note that the x86_64 images require DVD media, the i386 images will fit on 700 meg CD media. Please file any issues against product Fedora Core, version devel and against the relevant component or LiveCD if you're unsure." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-test-list/2007-May/msg00558.html [2] http://torrent.fedoraproject.org. == Planet Fedora == In this section, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet === Summary from the Red Hat Summit === ChristopherBlizzard points out in his blog[1], "We announced a pile of things at the Red Hat Summit[2]. Lots of confusing articles have been written. Lots of press releases have been sent out filled with warnings about forward looking statements. Maybe you just want the run down on all the things that happened. This is your simple cheat sheet. Here's the list:.." [1] http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/weblog/?p=289 [2] http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2007/news/ === F7 Firstboot and EULA === MaxSpevack points out in his blog[1], "In an attempt to have some transparency and no surprises, I've sent an email[2] to Fedora Advisory Board that details some of the changes we've made to firstboot and the EULA in Fedora 7. My personal opinion is that the changes are good for Fedora, and also relatively innocuous." [1] http://spevack.livejournal.com/16260.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-advisory-board/2007-May/msg00111.html === 'Play Ogg': FSF launches free audio format campaign === ThomasChung points out in his blog[1] "The Free Software Foundation (FSF)[2] today launched Play``Ogg.org[3], a campaign to encourage use of the patent- and license-free standard Ogg Vorbis as an ethically, legally and technically superior audio alternative to the proprietary MP3 format." [1] http://fedora-tchung.blogspot.com/2007/05/play-ogg-fsf-launches-free-audio-format.html [2] http://www.fsf.org/news/playogg.html [3] http://playogg.org/ == Marketing == In this section, we cover Fedora Marketing Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing === OLPC on CBS 60 Minutes === ThomasChung reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "CBS 60 Minutes[2] will air OLPC[3] story on Sunday, May 20, 2007 (7PM ET/PT)" "ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD ? MIT Prof. Nicholas Negroponte's dream is to put a laptop computer into the hands of every child as an educational aid. Lesley Stahl reports on his progress in Cambodia and Brazil. Catherine Olian is the producer." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00057.html [2] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main13502.shtml [3] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/OLPC UPDATE: The video is now available from CBS News Video archive[1]. You may need to install Real Player[2]. Here is the transcript for the entire show[3]. You may need to click on 'Print' button from main page. [1] http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2830221n [2] http://www.real.com/linux [3] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/20/60minutes/printable2830058.shtml == Developments == In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments. http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list === New Suspend Quirks Functionality of F7 Explained === A "heads up" was announced by RichardHughes with regard to the changes in power management and HAL for Fedora 7, which would probably affect suspension [1]. Richard summarised the implications as "Some machines that suspended in FC6 might not work in F7; Lots of machines that did not suspend in FC6 might work in F7". [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01065.html These changes are as a result of trying to make suspend and resume Just Work by using a modular hal-info DMI whitelist which is being updated regularly. Explaining this on a separate page [2] Richard noted that the ability to share specific rules for specific hardware allows one user to figure out the "quirks" and then share the appropriate rule with other users that have the exact same hardware. [2] http://people.freedesktop.org/~hughsient/temp/quirk/quirk-intro.html This page explains how to see what quirks exist for your laptop, and how to help in creating an fdi file to share with other users. JefSpaleta wanted to know [3] at what point this had all happened so that he could investigate the actual effect that it had on his machines. PeterJones was able to answer very specifically [4] that the code had entered the tree on March 13, but had some problems until April 25th (pm-utils-0.99.2-1, hal-0.5.9-0.git20070304). [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01071.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01090.html In further testing Jef was isolated an unwanted interaction between NetworkManager and gnome-power-manager which RichardHughes and PeterJones agreed could be easily eliminated [5]. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01203.html ThorstenLeemhuis suggested [6] that Richard's webpage for gathering user data should also ask about the proprietary ATI driver "fglrx" and that it should solicit information as to whether the user selected a plain vga console or a framebuffer, both of which suggestions Richard willingly incorporated. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01123.html === XChat Package Maintenance: First Post-Merge Co-Maintenance? === A discussion was initiated, by an apparently testy [1] KevinKofler, around the apparent radio-silence of XChat-maintainer ChristopherAillon to Kevin's bug reports, which asked for X-Chat to be kept in sync with upstream. Kevin was willing to become co-maintainer, but pointed out [1a] that a lot of good work had already been done by RemiCollet. Kevin wondered if the AWOL-maintainers policy [1b] would be applied post-merge. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01201.html [1a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01208.html [1b] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras/Policy/AWOL_Maintainers A few things transpired from this: first, Chrisopher noted that the upstream Xch at developers are apparently unresponsive [3] to patches; second, that Xchat-gnome may have responsive upstream developers [4]. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01204.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01210.html Additionally WarrenTogami noted [5] that there are problems with XChat's ability to use multilinugal input methods such as SCIM or IM [6]. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01206.html [6] http://www.scim-im.org/ A brief exchange over the respective merits of Xchat-gnome [7] versus Xchat [8] saw both groups of believers unshaken in their faith, although CallumLerwick revealed himself as an apostate heretic user of Irssi. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01222.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01207.html The upshot of all this was that RemiCollet expressed interest [9] in being a co-maintainer and wondered if this could be a paradigm for The Merge. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01226.html === PowerTOP Release Opens Up New Directions In Power Saving === Reporting on his work on decreasing power wastage on laptops, ArjanvandeVen (ex-Red Hat, now Intel) suggested that we might want to try [1] his new tool that allows individual analysis of power consumption. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00796.html JoshBoyer was excited enough to want to package it [2], but AdamJackson (ajax) had already done that. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00799.html After DominikMierzejewski (Rathann) and "Dragoran" reported a lack of functional ity on AMD64 and x86_64 (Intel Core 2 Duo) repectively, JesseBarnes pointed out [3] that x86_64 tickless support in the kernel is an essential pre-requisite and this is not yet available in the rawhide kernels, necessitating a manual patch by anyone interested. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00838.html DavidTimms wanted to know [4] if it would help in finding out what was causing disk-accesses. Arjan replied that this was a frequent request which he was going to attempt to accomodate in the next version, possibly using blktrace. BillNottingham cautioned [5] that blktrace was not currently shipped in Fedora. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00811.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00932.html ThorstenLeemhuis followed up [6] on DavidTimms' question with some general queries about how Fedora, and more specifically gnome-power-manager, handles spinning down inactive hard-drives. Thorsten remembered RichardHughes' 2005 attempts to get a patch into HAL to allow similar functionality to that which WinXP was alleged to have. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00818.html Richard answered [7] that Fedora does not currently spin down drives by default and that one had to balance a significantly increased spin-up power drain compared to that saved by spinning down. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00820.html Thorsten wondered [7a] whether or not the new Robson/TurboMemory and hybrid drives would change that equation. [7a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00822.html JonathanUnderwood shifted the focus [8] to considering drive longevity, worrying that attempts to save power by spinning up-and-down would shorten drive life. Richard agreed, and AndyGreen provided some figures [9] which suggested that laptop drives (2.5") could be power spun 6 times per hour, whereas server (3.5") drives could only do 1 times per hour if one estimated a 5 year lifespan. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00850.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00861.html TomLondon posted some early observations [10], in which PowerTOP revealed that if Firefox were displaying GMail there were about 60 wakeups-per-second, but that activating the "Gmail Talk" pushed the rate to 300 wakeups-per-second. NicolasMailhot responded that this was AJAX at work. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00826.html MartinSourada was puzzled [11] by what appeared to be an unnaturally low power usage of 1.2W reported by PowerTOP, compared to an expected 16W reported by the /proc subsystem. JonBurgess explained that what was being reported was "present rate" in milliamperes (e.g. current) and showed how to calculate the power in Watts from that. TillMaas thought [12] that some notebooks actually reported the present rate in mW instead of mA. [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00831.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00835.html In a discussion of the packaging PatriceDumas suggested that the spec file be modified to preserve timestamps. AdamJackson wondered why [13] and ThorstenLeemhuis answered that it was necessary for multilib [14] and would make things easier for presto. MatthiasClasen agreed with DavidWoodhouse that including timestamps in file identity tests was not a good idea [15]. MichaelSchwendt and "nodata" thought that in contrast that it was nice to know when a file was several years old especially for documentation and scripts [16]. AdamJackson (ajax) said [17] that it wasn't a multilib package, but "sure why not". [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01011.html [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01017.html [15] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01018.html [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01025.html [17] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01024.html === Massive size increase in some packages === The eagle eyed OrionPoplawski maintains python-numarray, and in the course of rebuilding the package from its Fedora Extras 6 version to Fedora 7 spotted [1] that the size had increased by an order of magnitude. He also noted that a subsequent rebuild now, produced packages of a normal size. Further investigation revealed by Orion suggested that this was due to the shared libraries, and a comparison of FE6 to FE-devel turned up some other candidates which had increased in size by at least a factor of two. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01161.html The first possible culprit was guessed to be debug symbols by BillNottingham who asked [2] whether debug packages had been turned off for these builds, but Orion reported that he'd just done a straightforward rebuild. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01164.html Orion posted an objdump [3] which showed that although the shared-object files appeared to have been stripped, the large one was possibly including the whole of the libpython shared-object instead of linking it dynamically at runtime, which might explain the bloat. A diff of the two objdumps appeared to also show different glibc versions [4]. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01168.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01170.html One conclusion drawn from this [5] was that all non-arch python packages built within the timeframe of Dec 8th 2006 to Jan 6th 2007, (or prior to python-2.5.3-8) should be rebuilt. Another conclusion was drawn by AxelThimm, who revisited [6] the mass-rebuild debate (reported in FWN84 [7],[8]) and argued that this backed up his viewpoint that mass rebuilds were useful. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01171.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01174.html [7] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue84 [8] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue85 === Rawhide Report 17 May 2007:Liberated Fonts, Corrupt Metadata === On Thursday 17th May 2007, the rawhide report [1] listed 5 new packages: gsm, kde-settings, liberation-fonts, mcpp and php-pear-HTML-QuickForm-ElementGrid. The Liberation-fonts package is a result of Red Hat contracting Ascender Corp. to develop replacements for proprietary Microsoft fonts, including but not limited to Times New Roman, Arial and Courier New. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01111.html [2] http://www.press.redhat.com/2007/05/09/liberation-fonts/ MilesLane was first off the block to report [3] that "yum update" was not picking up an updated version of control-center, but that it could be seen to be present at its URL in the repository. The usual "yum clean all" had been tried first. RoddClarkson reported related problems [4], which indicated to JeremyKatz [5] that the something was misaligned with the tree. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01114.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01133.html NicolasMailhot suspected [6] proxies as the problem, but NigelJones refuted this possibility with some data [7]. MattDomsch suggested that the frequently-updated content at mirrors.fedoraproject.org was a better argument to mirrorlist than fedora.redhat.com, but this still didn't help Miles. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01118.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01121.html The was identified by BillNottingham [8] as a partially synced tree (primary.xml.gz was the only thing missing) and BrendanConoboy added [9] that repomd.xml needed to be regenerated too. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01146.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01150.html === Making Beagle Optional === In response to frequent bugs in Beagle (a desktop search tool) causing CPU and memory stress, AlexanderLarsson made it optional [1] in the default install. While regretting that this was a regression in terms of features he pointed out that Beagle was still available for those who wanted it. There was a mild amount of satisfaction expressed in response to the decision. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00887.html DavidNielsen thought [2] that Tracker was superior because Beagle consumed 100% CPU without tweaking. KevinKofler mentioned that Strigi would be part of KDE4, which will ship in Fedora 8, and worried about multiple desktop search daemons. David pointed out the Xesam Project [3] from Freedesktop which may mitigate this, and noted that there was a real need for desktop improvements using the technology which weren't simply replacements of the search dialog. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00914.html [3] http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/XesamAbout In response to Alexander's proposal JesseKeating reported [4] that the Release Team agreed with this late regression, with the caveat that Beagle must be in the manifest of the "Fedora" spin of F7 so that upgraders from FC6 to F7 will not suffer. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00942.html A few people were disappointed. DavidNielsen pointed out [5] that hard testing and stabilization would ensure that Beagle would return in F8, and AlexanderLarsson pointed to some specific bugs that those with an interest in running Beagle on Fedora could help [6] to fix. JefSpaleta expanded on the rationale behind why Beagle had to be removed due to failing QA, but could still be installed from a repository [7]. RahulSundaram and DejiAkingunola [8] re-emphasized that Beagle was being removed from the default-install, not removed altogether, and that it is still in the official Fedora repositories for those who like it. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00964.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01008.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01053.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01054.html In response to a suggestion by MatejCepl that Beagle was not greatly admired due to being built on Mono [9], Alexander hastened to clarify [10] that this was not the reason and that the problems on display were going to be faced by any indexer. In fact, Alexander thought that Mono might have advantages by being (as all managed runtimes are) harder to crash. DavidNielsen was largely in agreement with this and also pointed out that Beagle had excellent documenation [11]. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00992.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01007.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00992.html === Legality of Fedora In Some Jurisdictions Contd. === Last week's discussion [1] of the need to be able to show a "Certificate of Authenticity" to the IP police in some countries, continued [2] with RalfCorsepius arguing forcefully that it was necessary to have a specific limitation on what language was acceptable for software packaged by Fedora. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00697.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00810.html JoshBoyer thought that Ralf should make a proposal about this to the Packaging Committee as he is a member, but Ralf thought [3] that responsibility was split between FESCo and GregDeKoenigsberg. Josh pointed out that no rule existed to say that Ralf shouldn't do this, and that he appeared to have a good understanding of the issue [4], and that something along these lines would need to augment the packaging guidelines in the future anyway. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00908.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00924.html Rahul also agreed with Ralf that bugs should be filed against packages with non-English licenses [5], but disagreed that non-English licenses were unreadable. Rahul sought further non-English examples from Ralf. One that had been previously discussed was "mecab", maintained by MamoruTasaka. Mamoru mentioned [6] that he had sent a translation of a Japanese license for another package to TomCallaway who had then queried the FSF and was awaiting a reply from them. Mamoru had unsuccesfully requested the developer to use the GPL and had previously followed the same process [7] of going through TomCallaway and the FSF. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00906.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00910.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00913.html AndrewHaley thought that license translation wasn't the FSF's job, but Rahul pointed out that they had done so whenever asked in the past [8]. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00912.html NicolasMailhot took exception [9] to the idea that English was more blessed than other languages and an exchange between Rahul and Nicolas followed which revolved around the US (hence English speaking) nature of Fedora (via Red Hat), the need to define what is an official translation, and the cost burden of producing these translations. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00915.html SimoSorce thought [10] that placing the onus on non-English speaking developers to provide English translations of their licenses to Fedora was burdensome. He also argued [11] that mere translation to English was not enough, but rephrasing to take account of the local legal context was essential. At this point the conversation appeared to return to a familiar place, where Rahul argued that non-US contributors would need to accept a US legal framework [12], or else the Fedora Project would have to regretfully decline their code. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00926.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00943.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg00947.html === Making Koji A Complete rpmfind Replacement === During the blip with syncing rawhide, NicolasMailhot explored one of Koji's less appreciated abilities. Koji [1] is a package build system developed for the Fedora Project , but Nicolas pointed out that with a little work [2] it could also fill the functional role that rpmfind fills on the web, making it easier for users to find specific RPMs. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Koji [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01057.html Agreeing with Nicolas that adding resolution of dependency links and display of rpm metadata, NigelJones added [3] that it would be nice to also see build-requires, so that packagers could contact other affected maintainers. In response MikeBonnet pointed to where this information appeared to be already provided by Koji [4] and asked for some more information. Nicolas advised looking at rpmfind.net to see what he meant. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01058.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01064.html An offer of help [5] was received from OliverFalk, who had explored similar ideas, and JoshBoyer noted that "patches [were] welcome"! [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01059.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01060.html == Maintainers == In this section, we cover Fedora Maintainers, the group of people who maintain the software packages in Fedora https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-maintainers === Why Not Build For EPEL Too? === ThorstenLeemhuis sent out a start signal[1] this week to let Fedora contributors know they can also help out with EPEL, or Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux. The invitation was made by Thorsten for Fedora packagers to build their packages for EPEL, which will allow RHEL and CentOS users (and other RHEL-based distributions) access to the vast array of packages found in the Fedora repository. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00323.html === Fedora 7 Deep Freeze === This past Thursday, May 17, marked Fedora 7 entering a deep freeze[1]. With this period now in effect, only build tag requests for builds that fix release blockers will be permitted until the May 31st launch of Fedora 7. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00351.html === Help Wanted: Package Co-maintainers === JochenSchmitt has put out a request for co-maintainers on a variety of different packages from blender to luma. If you have some time to help out another Fedora contributor, check out his message[1] for a list of packages needing another maintainer. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00380.html === Improving Fedora Package Documentation === JonathanUnderwood has also put out a request, but this time it's for improving the Fedora packaging documentation[1]. The packaging documentation is in need of rewriting and then making it known and easy to find, and Underwood is initiating a movement to fix this area in despair. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00598.html == Documentation == In this section, we cover the Fedora Documentation Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting === The FDSCo meeting was rescheduled last week and took place on Tuesday 15th May[1]. The meetings log was posted to the docs-list[2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00061.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00068.html === Welcome Wizard === The idea of creating a Welcome Wizard was submitted to the docs-list[1]. Following discussions it was decided that if such an addition were to be made to Fedora it would be best suited as its own piece of software, separate from the First Run Wizard[2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00066.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00081.html === Hardware Solutions Knowledge Base === A long desired addition to the Fedora Project is a community contributed database of hardware compatibility and solutions. It is thought that a knowledge base solution would be most appropriate but the best method for implementation remains undiscovered[1]. Some people believe that integration with Smolt will be possible to an extent, helping to automate the creation of much of the content[2]. Anybody interested in seeing this become a reality should post a message to the docs-list. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00072.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00080.html == Infrastructure == In this section, we cover the Fedora Infrastructure Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure === Fedora Mirror System === Thanks to MattDomsch for following news contribution[1]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-news-list/2007-May/msg00012.html Fedora is fortunate to have nearly 200 volunteer mirror sites globally which helps distribute CD and DVD images, OS installs and updated packages to nearly 3 million systems [1]. Managing the list of mirror sites and their content had been a tedious manual process. In late October 2006, the Fedora Infrastructure team recognized the need to automate managing the mirror list. In January 2007, MattDomsch started working on code in earnest with the goal of being in production by the Fedora 7 release. With help from the entire Infrastructure team, especially ToshioKuratomi, MikeMcGrath, SethVidal, and LukeMacken, that system is now in place. Mirrormanager[2] is licensed under the MIT/X11 license and is written using the Turbo``Gears web application framework. It includes: * a database of mirror sites, individual mirror hosts, content carried such as Core, Extras, EPEL, and soon the Fedora Releases. Mirrors may choose to carry whichever subsets of the whole tree they wish. * an administration web app for mirror admins to manage detail about their own site. * a web crawler that crawls each mirror site several times a day updating the database with what they carry * the yum mirrorlist handler which tells yum the list of mirrors to try. With this system in place, users should begin to see faster yum downloads, from a mirror in your country if possible. You can see the whole list of mirrors by country and content[3]. We're always looking for additional mirrors. If you would like to provide a public Fedora mirror, please see [4]. Troubles with new system should be reported to fedora-infrastructure-list redhat com or #fedora-admin on Free``Node. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Statistics [2] https://hosted.fedoraproject.org/projects/mirrormanager [3] http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/publiclist [4] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure/Mirroring === Koji === Koji[1] (buildsystem software) was upgraded this week to a new version and moved to heavier duty hardware. The upgrade went well, though the outage lasted longer than initially anticipated. MikeMcGrath has more here[2]. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Koji [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00075.html === Proxy Server === The proxy servers[1] were upgraded[2] this week to RHEL 5. All went well and no outages were reported. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure/Architecture [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00096.html == Artwork == In this section, we cover Fedora Artwork Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Artwork === Ambassador Program Banner === After a posting to the art-list requesting a new banner for the Ambassador Program's websites[1], one was quickly forwarded[2] and is now part of the Ambassador's websites. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00010.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00011.html The Ambassadors are still looking for some print banners[1], however, for LinuxTag Germany, and work is underway[2] but new contributions are always welcome. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00013.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00014.html === Shutdown and Logout Icons === A discussion was prompted about the usability of Fedora's current approach to logging out and shutting down, the functions respective icons and menu locations[1]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00024.html == Security Week == In this section, we highlight the security stories from the week in Fedora. === Samba === Last week a round of Samba flaws were fixed[1]: This update fixed three security flaws, all of which could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code with the same permissions of the Samba server. Some of these flaws are especially dangerous as they allow an anonymous attacker on the network to compromise the Samba server. The anonymous part is what makes the flaws the most scary. If an attacker has to be authenticated against the Samba server, you have a known number of attackers. If anyone attached to the network is able to attack Samba, there can be a near infinite number of attackers depending on the network setup. The lesson one should take away from this, is that proper network setup is important. Sane firewall rules can go a long way. If you only need one machine to talk to the Samba server, you should only allow that machine access, not the whole network. Spending some time thinking about your network needs can make a big difference when a security flaw is found. [1] http://news.samba.org/releases/samba_3_0_25_release/ == Security Advisories == In this section, we cover Security Advisories from fedora-package-announce. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-package-announce === Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories === * 2007-05-15 nfs-utils-1.0.10-10.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-510 * 2007-05-14 [SECURITY] freeradius-1.1.3-2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-499 * 2007-05-14 [SECURITY] php-5.1.6-3.6.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-503 * 2007-05-14 [SECURITY] samba-3.0.24-5.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-507 * 2007-05-14 [SECURITY] squirrelmail-1.4.10a-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-505 * 2007-05-14 firefox-1.5.0.10-6.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-500 * 2007-05-14 foomatic-3.0.2-39.5.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-446 * 2007-05-14 logrotate-3.7.4-13.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-504 * 2007-05-14 openldap-2.3.30-2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-467 * 2007-05-14 procps-3.2.7-10.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-495 * 2007-05-14 ypbind-1.19-7.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-502 === Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories === * 2007-05-14 [SECURITY] samba-3.0.24-5.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-506 * 2007-05-14 openldap-2.3.30-2.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-468 * 2007-05-14 procps-3.2.7-2.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-494 * 2007-05-14 SDL-1.2.9-6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-498 == Events and Meetings == In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various projects. === Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-05-14 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01192.html === Fedora French Ambassadors Meeting 2007-05-13 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00094.html === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee 2007-05-10 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00474.html == Feedback == This document is maintained by the Fedora News Team[1]. Please feel free to contact us to give your feedback. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Fedora Weekly News, please see the Join[2] page to find out how to help. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung From mmcgrath at redhat.com Thu May 24 21:57:46 2007 From: mmcgrath at redhat.com (Mike McGrath) Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 16:57:46 -0500 Subject: Fedora Project Web gets a face lift Message-ID: <46560A5A.4000509@redhat.com> The Fedora Project website has gotten a face lift: http://fedoraproject.org/ Prior to today that site went straight to the wiki, which is largely developer content with good (but somewhat hard to find) docs. Now we're expanding on fedoraproject.org and adding some more user-centric content like that found at http://docs.fedoraproject.org/ The websites team has been hard at work at this for a while and we're all excited to release it today. Help get the word out and digg: http://digg.com/linux_unix/Fedora_Project_gets_a_web_face_lift -Mike From tchung at fedoraproject.org Mon May 28 09:01:53 2007 From: tchung at fedoraproject.org (Thomas Chung) Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 02:01:53 -0700 Subject: Fedora Weekly News Issue 89 Message-ID: <369bce3b0705280201o7bb3e62dte9e10e741eb2ff3@mail.gmail.com> = Fedora Weekly News Issue 89 = Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 89[1] for the week of May 20th through May 26th, 2007. The latest issue can always be found here[2] and RSS Feed can be found here[3]. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue89 [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/LatestIssue [3] http://feeds.feedburner.com/fwn 1. Fedora Weekly News Issue 89 1. Announcements 1. Fedora Project Web gets a face lift 2. Fedora 7 RC2 "Fedora" spin i386 available 2. Planet Fedora 1. Spank that webpage, it's been born again 2. We're golden 3. Marketing 1. Fedora 7 at Respins.org 2. Release Announcement Talking Points 4. Developments 1. Could A Truly Minimal Install Be Added in F7 Or F8? 2. Mdraid and Hidden Partition Area Upgrade Blocker Solved 3. Status Of Support for IWP3945abg Wireless In Fedora 7 4. Fedora7RC2 Torrent 5. Upgrade FC6 To F7t4 Fails On LVM Fstab Naming 6. Guidelines For Huge SPEC Changelogs 7. IPv6 Explicitly Disabled. 8. The Future Of the Bootloader 9. Wireshark Included On F7 Media 10. KDE4 For Fedora8 Draft Document Discussion 5. Maintainers 1. No More New Packages For Fedora 7 6. Documentation 1. Future of The Software Management Guide 2. Language Codes 3. Live CD Guide 7. Infrastructure 1. Image Standard 2. Pushing Updates 3. Static Content 8. Artwork 1. Fedora 7 CD/DVD Labels And Covers 9. Security Week 1. A Mighty Number Falls 2. 28% of software is unpatched 10. Security Advisories and Package Updates 1. Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories and Package Updates 2. Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories and Package Updates 11. Events and Meetings 1. Fedora Ambassadors Meeting Minutes 2007-05-24 2. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2007-05-27 3. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-17 4. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-24 5. Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-05-23 6. Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-05-21 12. Feedback == Announcements == In this section, we cover announcements from various projects. === Fedora Project Web gets a face lift === MikeMcGrath announces in fedora-announce-list[1], "The Fedora Project website has gotten a face lift: http://fedoraproject.org/ Prior to today that site went straight to the wiki, which is largely developer content with good (but somewhat hard to find) docs. Now we're expanding on fedoraproject.org and adding some more user-centric content like that found at http://docs.fedoraproject.org/ The websites team has been hard at work at this for a while and we're all excited to release it today. Help get the word out and digg[2]." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-May/msg00006.html [2] http://digg.com/linux_unix/Fedora_Project_gets_a_web_face_lift === Fedora 7 RC2 "Fedora" spin i386 available === JesseKeating announces in fedora-devel-list[1], "I've uploaded the i386 DVD and rescue image for the "Fedora" spin of Fedora 7 RC2. You can find it at http://torrent.fedoraproject.org The x86_64 iso set is still uploading, to be followed by the PPC iso set. I'll reply to this once they are ready for torrenting. Happy testing!" [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01628.html == Planet Fedora == In this section, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet === Spank that webpage, it's been born again === KarstenWade points out in his blog[1], "Breathing new life into this URL: http://fedoraproject.org In anticipation of heavy server loads during the upcoming Fedora 7 release, we decided to post a series of lightweight, static HTML pages as the front of fedoraproject.org. Those pages quietly went live today." [1] http://iquaid.livejournal.com/18843.html === We're golden === PaulFrields points out in his blog[1], "From the IRC buffer of #fedora-devel, looks like Fedora 7 will be in General Availability on 31 May. To all those who repeatedly tested and fed back bugs and information, a hearty and heartfelt thank you. I'm sure the actual release engineering folks will have more to say about this shortly; stay tuned." [1] http://marilyn.frields.org:8080/~paul/wordpress/?p=785 == Marketing == In this section, we cover Fedora Marketing Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing === Fedora 7 at Respins.org === KarlieRobinson reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "On May 12, I went to a Bar``Camp at RIT [2] and Saw a presentation on F7 by Luke Macken. That reminded me of how cool the Re-spin feature on 7 is. My hope is that we can encourage the community to get creative with Fedora by giving them an outlet for their work. To that end, Webpath Technologies has created respins.org[3]." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00064.html [2] http://barcamp.org/BarCampRochester2 [3] http://respins.org === Release Announcement Talking Points === KarstenWade reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "Please help us get these completed[2]: Um ... by tomorrow. Seriously. Or there won't be any time at all for Ambassadors et al to write up their local version[3]. " [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2007-May/msg00061.html [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Drafts/ReleaseAnnouncements/TalkingPoints [3] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Drafts/ReleaseAnnouncements#Schedule == Developments == In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments. http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list === Could A Truly Minimal Install Be Added in F7 Or F8? === An often debated Fedora Project issue has been, which packages should be available bundled in an installable image. Many different reasons have been offered to define what are necessary packages to include, such as size. As a consequence of these protracted discussions over whether there should be "everything" installs or "Windowmaker flavored" installs, Fedora has been made more flexible to allow users to compose their own spins. This progress of customization was demonstrated when "Mark" raised a request[1] for a "minimal" install. FlorianLaRoche suggested[2] using kickstart, while JesseKeating thought[3] that redefining the Core and using Pungi (the Fedora Project's FL/OSS installation-tree/ISO composer [2a]) is the best approach. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01393.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01425.html [2a] https://hosted.fedoraproject.org/projects/pungi/wiki/PungiDocs [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01394.html After Jesse asked that Mark propose suggested changes to the comps groups for installation, Mark noted[4] that he had little programming ability. NicolasMailhot explained that this was not needed and AhmedKamal posted[5] a link to a guide for minimizing CentOS install size to circa 400MB. Nicolas posted[6] a summary of what to do in order to see a minimal-install produced. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01400.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01422.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01424.html === Mdraid and Hidden Partition Area Upgrade Blocker Solved === The summary of ReleaseEngineering's IRC meeting was posted by JohnPoelstra[1] and contained three salient issues: 1. The need for testers to be aware of a respin of the initial release candidate (see "Fedora7RC2 Torrent" below); 1. The continuing need for testers of the iwl3945 wireless (see "Status Of Support for IWP3945abg Wireless In Fedora7" below); 1. Upgrade problems with mdraid/dmraid. WillWoods identified the latter as being the most serious, since it affected a large set of committed users whom it would be good to keep. The iwl3945 issue is dealt with in a separate section of this FWN issue. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01380.html The new libata drivers caused a problem[2] for JarodWilson as they were able to read the hidden protected area[3] of one of the drives in an mdraid set, which caused a discrepancy between the partition table and what the BIOS reports as the last usable drive sector. The older PATA drivers seemed to pay attention to the information passed by the BIOS. Jarod followed up by removing the affected drive and confirming that without it he could upgrade from an mdraid'ed FC6 to F7. Jarod then investigated passing the module parameter 'libata.ignore_hpa=1' on the boot commandline and reported[4] it did not work and anyone using anaconda to upgrade a similar setup would be out of luck. However, adding "options libata libata.ignore_hpa=1" to /etc/modprobe.conf and then doing a "yum upgrade" should work[5]. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01389.html [3] http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Hidden_Protected_Area [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01572.htm [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01586.html Following on from a suggestion from BrunoWolff that users might want to look into removing the HPA before upgrading, JarodWilson found a tool called "setmax" that Bruno built with minor problems[5a], but the licensing is unknown. AlanCox cautioned[6] that this might not be a good idea, especially with laptops. Alan also noted[7] that Fedora could benefit from advance testing by Ubuntu in this area, where it seemed reasonably certain that if anaconda could be convinced to ignore HPA, then there would not be problems. [5a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01690.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01615.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01614.html JeremyKatz saved the day[8] by patching anaconda to recognize and use "libata.ignore_hpa=1" on the commandline and TonyNelson tested[9] this successfully. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01604.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01695.html === Status Of Support for IWP3945abg Wireless In Fedora 7 === A query[1] from DeependraShekhawat about whether users should continue to use the ATrpms repository for drivers for IntelProWireless3945ABG was answered quickly[2] by KevinKofler with the information that Fedora would be shipping iwlwifi patched into the kernel. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01515.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01517.html A further query from SteveHill led AndyGreen and JarodWilson to attempt[3][4] to straighten out the terminology. The old version of the driver is named "ipw3945" and uses the "80211" kernel stack. An initial newwer version of the driver using the new "mac80211" kernel wireless stack was initially named "iwlwifi" and then renamed to "iwl3945". The thinking behind this is that iwlwifi is now a project name for a collection of drivers. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01521.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01534.html The problem of getting NetworkManager (NM) and IPW3945 hardware to play nice together was mentioned[5] by LamontPeterson. AndyGreen followed up on this, reporting[6] that with a specific kernel (2.6.21-1.3194.fc7) it was possible for NetworkManager to scan and detect networks, but that associating failed intitially with WPA2 requiring a restart of NM, nm-applet, and wpa-supplicant. ToddZullinger reported[7] that he had no problems with NM and the older ipw3945, but no success with the new iwl3945 driver. RalfErtzinger confirmed[8] Todd's happy experiences with the older driver but by contrast was successful with the new iwl3945 except for the issue of the LED lights not working. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01551.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01553.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01554.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01588.html Deependra and SteveHill were still having problems with the newer driver. After suggestions that testers should move to the latest kernel (available from Koji[9]) Deependra posted[10] logs of his failure with the latest kernel. JohnLinville tried[11] to help out by sacrificing some chickens, AndyGreen suggested disabling[12] the closed, proprietary hardware scan in order to reduce confusion, but Deependra still had no luck[13]. OlaThoresen reported[14] some progress, but still no working interface. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01538.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01549.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01557.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01563.html [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01623.html [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01569.html In discussion with Deependra over whether iwl3945 ought to be shipped, AndyGreen argued[15] that the old ipw3945 driver wasn't an option because of the licensing of the regulatory daemon being unacceptable to the Fedora Project. Andy offered some other compelling reasons: the iwl3945 driver, although unstable, was working well for many users, and Intel were very actively working with JohnLinville to improve it. Deependra was unhappy with this, prompting DaveHollis to share[16] a workaround that allows both drivers to be present. [15] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01530.html [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01540.html === Fedora7RC2 Torrent === JesseKeating posted[1] that the latest and greatest version of F7 available for testing was the "Fedora" spin of F7 Release Candidate 2 (F7RC2), available as a torrent. The i386 version was followed shortly by the x86_64 version and then the PPC version[1a]. Jesse clarified that this would be the final release before GA, as long as nothing really terrible was wrong[2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01628.html [1a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01659.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01630.html A worried SteveHill wondered[3] if the 3194 kernel (which fixes a lot of problems for people using IPW3945ABG hardware as reported elsewhere in this FWN issue) would be in F7rc2. JeremyKatz confirmed[4] that it would and the reason it hadn't shown up in rawhide was because it was more recent than that. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01639.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01652.html DavidNielsen queried whether the version of anaconda fixed the RAID HPA issues (covered in this version of FWN) and was assured[5] by JeremyKatz that they were (version 11.2.0.65-1). [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01653.html SeanDarcy and ChelbanVasile appeared[6] to have found an AMD64 kernel bug. Sean further found a problem with the incorrect (older) kernel being selected as default in grub.conf when upgrading from F7t4 to F7rc2. JesseKeating confirmed that this was a known bug and WillWoods added[7] the information that it only appeared to happen with F7t4 and the Red Hat Summit Preview, but should be alright for FC6 upgraders. OttoHaliburton seemed to have contradictory[8] experience. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01718.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01717.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01719.html === Upgrade FC6 To F7t4 Fails On LVM Fstab Naming === An upgrade from FC6 to F7t4 failed[1] for SeanDarcy, necessitating the manual removal of LVM partitions from /etc/fstab until after the upgrade. Sean wanted to know[2] why the install insisted on using labels instead of the simpler /dev naming convention. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01660.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01666.html ChuckAnderson answered[3] that LABELs were unchanging, as opposed to /dev names. While Sean conceded that LABELs had advantages, he pressed[4] the point that the upgrade should not abort, and Mike agreed that it sounded like an anaconda bug. TillMaas thought[5] that LABELs could still be improved in respect of having unique names. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01671.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01679.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01703.html Addressing the immediate practical problem, MikeChambers suggested trying an upgrade to the very newest version of F7 (which was then F7RC2 instead of F7t4) and this worked perfectly[6] for Sean. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01713.html === Guidelines For Huge SPEC Changelogs === Some of the RPM packages maintained by the Fedora Project were observed[1] by MichaelSchwendt to have very large %changelog sections in their spec files due to the packages being in maintenance since the 1990s. Michael wasn't making a big deal about it, but was interested to know whether there were plans for dealing with what are sometimes bloated and inaccurate records of changes. NigelJones concurred[2], giving the specific example of anaconda's spec file being 5 times as large as the actual code. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01646.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01647.html MamoruTasaka suggested[3] copying vim's approach, which was welcomed by KarstenHopp[4] and others. RalfCorsepius pointed out[5] that this was a move from an inline changelog to a detached, separate one. JesseKeating clarified that this was only for archived changelogs and wondered if Ralf really needed all the history in the package. Ralf disavowed this and suggested manually pruning them as he does for his own packages. Karsten reiterated this point, separately adding the information[6] that F7 has approximately 20MB of changelogs in the spec files, and suggesting a similar approach to Ralf of trimming/editing the changelogs so that appropriate recent changes are easily seen through the same rpm queries as used presently. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01648.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01649.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01670.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01705.html "Nodata" wondered[7] why there couldn't be a standard (presumably networked?) place for the changelogs, which "rpm -q --changelog" would silently examine. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01673.html === IPv6 Explicitly Disabled. iwl3495 Negative Interaction With IPv6? === SteveHill observed[1] that IPv6 seemed to be disabled by default in rawhide and wondered why this was so. JesseKeating asked[2] if Steve had enabled IPv6 during install. DavidWoodhouse explained[3] that this was jsut a mixup in the initscripts for F7t4, but that the actual F7 would not suffer from this problem. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01577.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01580.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01583.html Diverging slightly from the original thread title, Steve also noted[4] a problem with IPv6 autoconfiguration when the interface required the iwl3945 driver. After examining the bugzilla entry, David suggested[5] using tcpdump to check whether all multicast packets were missing. Steve wasn't convinced and thought that the problem lay in the interface seeing its own packets and assuming that these meant the address was in use[6]. This theory seemed to be bolstered by an observation[7] from JohnDeDourek. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01600.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01618.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01637.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01644.html === The Future Of the Bootloader === Our attention was drawn by KenYang[1] to an earlier (2006) discussion[2] about whether or not Fedora could get an animated GRUB, similar to SuSE10.2. Included in this was a link to an interesting exploration[3] of the GRUB code by "TheStarman". The resulting discussion revealed that the current perceived problems with booting include a lengthy video modeswitch (needed to display a graphical boot menu), and a "timeout" that needs to be long enough so that people using ATs (assistive technologies[3a], for example, screenreaders) have time to interact easily with the machine. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01429.html [2] http://marc.info/?l=fedora-list&m=115693747626918&w=2 [3] http://mirror.href.com/thestarman/asm/mbr/GRUB.htm [3a] http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gap/presentations/GUAD3C/making-apps-accessible/TOC.html MatejCepl pleaded[4] against using SuSE's specific animated GRUB on the grounds that it was in real-mode and thus broke Xen, and MatthiasClasen reminded us[5] that the DesktopTeam had already made plans to remove the GRUB menu from the startup, but that this depended on a lot of components being changed[6] upstream, including DRM-mode-setting being incorporated into the kernel. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01430.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01437.html [6] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/FeatureBetterStartup Responding to these plans, both NicolasMailhot[7] and AlanCox corrected one of the listed tasks that suggested setting "timeout 0" in grub.conf to avoid pausing and displaying a splash image in the GRUB menu during boot. Alan explained [8] that drivers or BIOSes could steal a keystroke leading to a need to edit grub.conf with a rescue disk. Another consideration raised[9] by Alan was accessibility (a11y) for people using text-to-speech screen readers. DavidZeuthen and JesseKeating thought that if the bootloader were completely removed[10], it would obviate the need for making it accessible. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01439.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01441.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01497.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01558.html The main case for retaining the bootmenu display seemed to be for users that were dual-booting (especially for non-technical users with dual installs of Linux and Windows). JeremyKatz noted that the GRUB bootmenu hasn't been shown during installation by default since 2004 anyway[11] and DavidZeuthen responded that it would still be a good idea to get rid of the timeout. JasonTibbitts wanted a short, interruptable timeout and drew a parallel to what happens during hibernation, to which JesseKeating responded[10a] that this was partly to prevent data corruption. David referenced[12] the manner in which other OSes, e.g. Mac OSX, require special keypresses to bring up boot menus. NicolasMailhot felt[13] that this behavior was too close to vendor lock-in. AlanCox thought that twenty years of history of hardware manufacturers showed[14] that this was a bad idea as the manuals documenting this inevitably got lost. [10a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01511.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01560.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01561.html [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01568.html [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01612.html ChristopherAillon spiced things up[15] by sprinkling some crack on the discussion, suggesting modifying anaconda to detect the presence of other OSes and renable the timeout if they were present, or to modify GNOME's reboot dialog to allow booting to another OS. NicolasMailhot reacted to the latter unfavourably because it would mean that to boot Windows, we'd have to first boot Fedora, prompting Christopher to clarify[16] that there could also be DavidZeuthen's secret handshake with an associated problem of non-discoverability. AdamJackson didn't think discoverability was that important, as evidenced by the fact that neither Windows nor MacOSX ship with it. AlanCox thought that this absence was due to a cynical monetary incentive to make interoperability hard[16a]. Christopher dismissed it as a failing that should not be emulated in Fedora, pointing out the dual-booting Windows for games was probably a major use-case[17]. An ensuing discussion between David and NicolasMailhot resulted[18] in competing claims as to whether removing the current defaults and moving the configurability into specialised utilities and/or secret keypresses would distress various user-cases. [15] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01570.html [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01578.html [16a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01613.html [17] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01587.html [18] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01611.html === Wireshark Included On F7 Media === Wireshark[1] is a network protocol analyzer that used to be named "ethereal". SteveDickson wondered[2] why it was not on the F7test4 spin, while the inferior tcpdump was present. Steve suggested that "tshark", a text-mode version should be the default, with tcpdump made optional. [1] http://www.wireshark.org/ [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01446.html EnricoScholz pointed to the relative smallness of tcpdump, to which Steve replied[3] that this was a consequence of tcpdump having a limited functionality. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01467.html A full response[4] from WillWoods explained that Wireshark was actually available from the repositories, just not included in the comps file for the default spin. Will argued that the absence of complaints probably meant that it wasn't as appalling a choice as Steve suggested and while agreeing that the tshark suggestion was worthwhile pointed out that F7 was now in a freeze prior to final release. "SteveG" suggested[5] that the absence of complaints might have been because many testers use the rawhide network updates, not ISO images, and that essential network troubleshooting tools really had to be available on the ISO in case the network was broken. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01448.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01457.html Elaborating[6] on the advantages of wirehark over tcpdump, SteveDickson managed to convince[7] JesseKeating (Release Manager) to include Wireshark as part of the f7-desktop manifest. Jesse was at pains to point out that contrary to Steve's assertion, Wireshark had never been a default, but had rather been an optional package in the system-tools group for FC5 and FC6. Although Wireshark is now on the ISO, it will not included on the Live-CD. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01464.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01498.html NicolasMailhot and JefSpaleta were stimulated to toss around ideas about how to easily determine a full list of packages installed by default. Jef thought[8] that Pungi seemed like the likely place to obtain this information. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01480.html === KDE4 For Fedora8 Draft Document Discussion === KevinKofler sought discussion[1] of a plan for getting KDE4 into F8. ThorstenLeemhuis thought[2] that getting release schedules for KDE4 and F8 to align properly would be difficult and that a better bet was to maintain two repositories of KDE4, one for rawhide the other for F7. These would be hosted officially within the Fedora Project. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01291.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01346.html Kevin and DennisGilmore preferred[3] the idea of trucking ahead with the KDE4 plan but having a fallback to a usable KDE3. Discussion between Kevin and JeremyKatz revealed[4] that there were potential/probable conflicts (due to clashing sonames) in the -devel packages. Jeremy thought there was no way that KDE3 and KDE4 could be installed in parallel if what Kevin reported about upstream KDE were true. Kevin was aware of the suckage and thought[5] about some possible ways around it. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01364.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01392.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01397.html Jeremy emphasized[6] that concerned people really needed to make upstream KDE understand that such conflicts were a massive problem. Kevin then proposed[7] creating a new root in which to place the -devel files. NicolasMailhot was strongly against this idea[8] as it broke the FHS and introduced a bad precedent. JeremyKatz thought[9] that the need of ordinary users to build software without mock was sufficiently great that it was worth deviating from standard practice in this case. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01402.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01403.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01428.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01443.html FlorianLaRoche was inspired by all the talk of file conflicts to post[10] a list of all those that he could identify in FC-devel for i386. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01427.html == Maintainers == In this section, we cover Fedora Maintainers, the group of people who maintain the software packages in Fedora https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-maintainers === No More New Packages For Fedora 7 === With the release of Fedora 7 coming up very shortly, Jesse Keating has sent out a warning that no more "new" packages for F7-final[1] will be accepted. Those that did not get their new packages committed in time must wait for the first round of Fedora 7 updates. The final kernel built for Fedora 7[2] (kernel-2.6.21-1.3194.fc7) is also now available. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00934.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00958.html == Documentation == In this section, we cover the Fedora Documentation Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject === Future of The Software Management Guide === There has been some discussion about the future of the Software Management Guide[1], and the possibility of pushing relevant content to the Fedora User Guide and the Administration Guide[2]. This would help to separate material that new users are going to deal with, making the experience less intimidating. [1] http://docs.fedoraproject.org/yum/ [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00102.html === Language Codes === The Documentation Project is going to be updating all the current documents to use the en-US language code[1] instead of the ambigous "-en". This removes any existing inconsistencies and makes it possible to produce en-UK and en-AU versions of the documents. These change are being saved for post-Fedora 7 release to prevent any problems arising, and to allow sufficient time to talk with developers[2]. Changes would appear in CVS, the toolchain, and in publication. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00105.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00125.html === Live CD Guide === After a request for help polishing a document about creating localized spins of the Fedora KDE live CD[1], it was very quickly decided that a canonical guide about creating live CDs using Fedora's new tools is an important short-term goal[2]. The discussion then moved on to talk about creating separate user guides for each of the official spins, with the current Fedora User Guide forming the base for the GNOME live CD guide [3]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00148.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00152.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00158.html == Infrastructure == In this section, we cover the Fedora Infrastructure Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure === Image Standard === There was some discussion[1] this week about which image format to use project wide. There was no conclusion reached as it was decided to forward the matter to the Board for further review. However, the Project Board concluded JPEG no longer seemed encumbered, image decisions aren't their business, and you should use whatever you feel is best[2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00107.html [2] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-advisory-board/2007-May/msg00138.html === Pushing Updates === With bodhi being pushed into service shortly, BillNottingham started a thread[1] about the mechanics of how updates are/will be pushed. LukeMacken and others are hard at work this week to see the new system implemented[2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00142.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00192.html === Static Content === The project servers have been using puppet to distribute static content among themselves. Due to the amount of files distributed, puppet has produced a higher than comfortable load on the servers. Discussion was had[1] on possible solutions. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-May/msg00170.html == Artwork == In this section, we cover Fedora Artwork Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Artwork === Fedora 7 CD/DVD Labels And Covers === M?ir?n Duffy sent her proposals for the CD/DVD labels and covers to the fedora-art-list this week [1]. They were well received [2]. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00030.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-May/msg00035.html == Security Week == In this section, we highlight the security stories from the week in Fedora. === A Mighty Number Falls === There was much news last week regarding the factoring of a 307 digit number[1]. Wikipedia has a nice example of what factoring means for the RSA algorithm[2]. [1] http://actualites.epfl.ch/presseinfo-com?id=441 [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA#Security This event is probably not newsworthy to most people, but it's a huge feat for those in the encryption industry. The researchers took 11 months to factor this number. This seems like a very long time, but when you take Moore's Law into account, this 11 months will be a couple of days in several years. The moral of the story is that data strongly encrypted today, can be broken tomorrow. === 28% of software is unpatched === Secunia published a report stating that 28% of software installed on a user's computer is unpatched[1]. [1] http://www.betanews.com/article/Secunia_28_Percent_of_Software_Unpatched/1179508037 This can be a serious problem when you have to rely on more than one vendor for your updates. The article doesn't specify it, but it seems this survey was conducted on Windows computers. One of the problems that exists in the Windows universe is that every third party vendor has their own (if any) update system. A system such as yum, which supports multiple repositories, GPG signed packages, and a single update mechanism, can be a huge advantage. Ideally for a non-technical desktop user, their update system should automatically update software on a regular basis. This is the behavior seen when a Microsoft Windows user installs Firefox, and it has proven to be rather successful. In the above study, only 5.4% of Firefox users were not running the latest secure version. I suspect few other software projects can boast such numbers. Whether you agree with this method or not, there is no denying it does work. == Security Advisories and Package Updates == In this section, we cover Secuirity Advisories and Package Updates from fedora-package-announce. === Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories and Package Updates === * 2007-05-24 [SECURITY] libpng-1.2.10-9.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-529 * 2007-05-24 bind-9.3.4-5.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-524 * 2007-05-24 nfs-utils-1.0.10-12.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-520 * 2007-05-24 selinux-policy-2.4.6-69.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-508 * 2007-05-21 alsa-utils-1.0.14-0.2.rc1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-511 * 2007-05-21 cups-1.2.10-7.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-497 * 2007-05-21 hal-cups-utils-0.6.9-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-470 * 2007-05-21 jakarta-commons-modeler-1.1-8jpp.2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-514 * 2007-05-21 minicom-2.2-1.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-490 * 2007-05-21 screen-4.0.3-3.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-515 * 2007-05-21 tomcat5-5.5.23-0jpp.2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-514-1 * 2007-05-21 xinetd-2.3.14-9.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-512 === Fedora Core 5 Security Advisories and Package Updates === * 2007-05-24 [SECURITY] libpng-1.2.8-3.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-528 * 2007-05-24 [SECURITY] php-5.1.6-1.6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-526 * 2007-05-21 samba-3.0.24-6.fc5 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-518 * 2007-05-21 SDL-1.2.9-6.1 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC5/FEDORA-2007-517 == Events and Meetings == In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various projects. === Fedora Ambassadors Meeting Minutes 2007-05-24 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-May/msg00155.html === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2007-05-27 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-May/msg00165.html === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-17 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00844.html === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-05-24 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00988.html === Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-05-23 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-May/msg00926.html === Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-05-21 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-May/msg01380.html == Feedback == This document is maintained by the Fedora News Team[1]. Please feel free to contact us to give your feedback. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Fedora Weekly News, please see the Join[2] page to find out how to help. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject [2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung From mspevack at redhat.com Thu May 31 07:22:33 2007 From: mspevack at redhat.com (Max Spevack) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 03:22:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: a few words about Fedora 7 Message-ID: My fellow Fedorans, In a few hours (about 10:00 AM EDT/2:00 PM GMT), Fedora 7 will go live to the world. It's the middle of the night in the main Red Hat offices in Raleigh and Westford, but I amm in Berlin this week for LinuxTag, which is the largest Linux conference in Europe (10,000 visitors over 4 days). We have a great looking Fedora booth, and we are holding a FUDCon (Fedora Users and Developers Conference) here today during which we have a conference hall that probably seats 150 people all to ourselves. We are giving speeches and talks about Fedora all day long, both in German and in English. I've already had several people come by asking when Alan Cox will be arriving. Answer: Real Soon Now. We have several activities ongoing at the Fedora booth, including an install-fest, and a troubleshooting contest with prizes that include free books and free Red Hat training classes. We have all variety of Fedora swag as well. It's quite an impressive setup here at LinuxTag, and worth noting that the entire organizational force behind the event was driven by our Fedora Ambassador community of volunteers. This email is my "personal" Fedora 7 release announcement, and also touches on some of the topics that I will mention during my speech at FUDCon today. Before I talk about Fedora 7, it's useful to look at recent history. One of the Fedora Project's mottos is "the rapid progress of free and open source software." With Fedora Core 5 in March of 2006, Fedora Core 6 in October of 2006, and Fedora 7 today, that's about 7 months per release. And with several million Fedora Core 6 installs, everyone who works on Fedora should feel very proud that not only is the software being released often, but it's also high quality, and in high use around the world. ==== Fedora 7 represents the culmination of several goals that Fedora has spent the last few releases (spanning the course of at least 2 years) working to achieve. I've written previously on this list about the aspects of Fedora 7 that I think are the most important (http://tinyurl.com/yuc7ax). >From my perspective, it is the fundamental infrastructure changes that Fedora 7 represents that are the biggest achievement. The entire Fedora toolchain has been freed. Every step in the distribution-building process is completely open. Code checked into an external CVS. Packages built on a completely external build system. Distros and LiveCDs built on completely open compose tools. All of this functionality is available via the command line or via a graphical tool that is build on the APIs that we provide. For folks who hack on free software, I hope that this is a compelling development environment in which to work. For folks who are end users of free software, we believe that the Fedora toolchain allows people to remix Fedora, and customize it in ways that will provide a much wider variety of Fedora-based spins than we could ever offer if "Fedora Release Engineering" had to build them all directly. There is plenty more, but this email isn't meant to be an exhaustive list of Fedora 7 release features. ==== Additionally, I'd like to mention a few other new things that Fedora has completed in time for Fedora 7: Our home page, fedoraproject.org has a new look. We've added a series of static HTML pages that sit on top of our wiki, and I think it makes the initial experience of fedoraproject.org much simpler, and much more useful. The organized chaos of the wiki is all still just one click away, but we didn't want first-time visitors to fp.o overwhelmed with the wiki from the first instant. Our documentation pages have also been given some new organization, living at docs.fedoraproject.org. The lifespan of a Fedora release has been increased to "two releases plus one month". This means that Fedora Core 6 will continue to be updated until one month after Fedora 8 is released, and Fedora 7 will be updated until one month after Fedora 9 is released. We've put into production new mirror management software. The EPEL project, which aims to make packages from the Fedora repository available for Enterprise Linux customers, has been making tremendous progress. The Fedora News team, which already had been doing a fantastic job, has expanded the coverage that they provide the Fedora Project, and their Fedora Weekly News reports offer people a fantastic summary of all the interesting things that are happening in the Fedora Project. And more. ==== Finally, a few words of thanks. I debated for a while listing specific names in this email, but the number of people who deserve credit for Fedora 7 and all of the work that has happened around Fedora 7 cannot be enumerated without accidentally forgetting someone. So instead I will simply say that every item discussed in this email has happened as a result of tremendous work by Fedora contributors both inside and outside of Red Hat. And it is the partnership of Red Hat and the Fedora community that allows both groups to be successful. And I speak for everyone at Red Hat when I say that it is an honor to be a part of something like Fedora. Congratulations to everyone on today's release. Sincerely, Max Spevack Fedora Project Leader -- Max Spevack + http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/MaxSpevack + gpg key -- http://spevack.org/max.asc + fingerprint -- CD52 5E72 369B B00D 9E9A 773E 2FDB CB46 5A17 CF21 From moonshine at fedoraproject.org Thu May 31 10:28:41 2007 From: moonshine at fedoraproject.org (The Fedora Project) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 03:28:41 -0700 Subject: Announcing Fedora 7 (Moonshine) Message-ID: <1180607321.5217.189.camel@erato.phig.org> Howdy, cousins! Welcome to our little Fedora hollow, where we've brewed up some mighty, mighty Fedora 7 Moonshine for your enjoyment. Here, I'll help you pour that ... and some for me ... *cough, cough* Smoooooth ... sure does taste good. It's been sitting here in the jug for almost a whole month now! Go ahead and help yourself to some more: http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora.html What's the most important thing to do if you are upgrading your Fedora version? Why, that's easy! Read the release notes, it prevents hangovers: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes What are new things to do with your Moonshine? * Mix and remix this Moonshine to come up with as many flavored drinks as there is Joe-Pye weed in the Appalachians. Want an OS to send home with the students or staff? Add packages, remove packages, spin it any way you like. Let a thousand distros bloom! * Bottle up that custom mix and call it an appliance. ISV building an appliance product? Make an RPM, identify the minimal number of packages needed for an appliance around that RPM, then build a distro and a live image. Easy as moon pie. Gol' darn, but this is good 'shine. *hic* There, is that enough? No? Here, let me pour us some more, and we can toast the most important part of this Moonshine -- the makers. You thought I made it? Oh, no. No special elite brewmaster here, I'm just a bartender, and this log is my bar! Ha ha. No, really ... see ... Fedora 7 is the first release where the development was one hunnerd and one per-cent in the community. How? It's simple, cousin -- all the code was merged into a single external repository. Why? Same great distribution quality, even more high-quality developers able to work directly with the code and improve the flavor of over 7500 packages. Grab that jug, look inside, and you find: * KDE? Yep, with Moonshine, Fedora and KDE are gettin' downright friendly with each other. * Laptops? A tickless kernel means better power consumption for laptops; extended wireless functionality, meaning more chances hardware will Just Work. Yee-ha! * Get those Live images, burn CDs or DVDs, and share them with your friends and neighbors. This is the first Fedora distribution with full Live CD/DVD capability. * Interoperability? Let's start with resizing and reading of NTFS file systems. How about those Liberation fonts, d'you like how they just slip right in where other fonts were used? * Why stop with just one fruit jar of virtualization? This release includes support for KVM and overall more virtualization capability. * As always, tasty new graphics for the Fedora 7 desktop, as well as an updated Website look and functionality, including a new build and package update system. More? Read up at: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/f7/en_US/sn-OverView.html Oops, looks like we drank up all that jug. Guess I'll just make a trip over the torrents to get me another. All right, then, we'll see you. Y'all come back soon now, ya hear? = Want Fedora? Get Fedora = http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora.html From Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net Thu May 31 07:56:40 2007 From: Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net (Axel Thimm) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 09:56:40 +0200 Subject: ATrpms for Fedora 7 Message-ID: <20070531075640.GA2071@neu.nirvana> ATrpms is officially launching Fedora 7 support for i386, x86_64 and ppc. http://ATrpms.net/dist/f7/ o The packages will be available at `date -d "Thu May 31 14:00 UTC"', which is Fedora's release. I usually wait for the official release announcement of Fedora to announce ATrpms' support, but due to LinuxTag activities I'll be afk for about 24h. o The actual download location is http://dl.atrpms.net/. Mirrors are listed at http://atrpms.net/mirrors/ o "stable", "testing" and "bleeding", the three subrepos per distribution are not cumulative inclusive on the server side. E.g. you need to add "stable" for "testing", and both "stable" and "testing" for "bleeding". ATrpms is a 3rd party general purpose package repository. It currently supports o F7/i386, F7/x86_64, F7/ppc, FC6/i386, FC6/x86_64, FC6/ppc, FC5/i386, FC5/x86_64, FC5/ppc o RHEL5/i386, RHEL5/x86_64, RHEL4/i386, RHEL4/x86_64, RHEL3/i386, RHEL3/x86_64 ATrpms support for RH7.3, RH8.0, RH9 and FC1-FC4 was EOL'd with the last year's passing. FC5 support will be EOL'd once the Fedora Project drops support for it (e.g. in approximately one month). Configuration for package resolvers (replace i386 with x86_64 or ppc as needed) o yum [atrpms] name=Fedora 7 - i386 - ATrpms baseurl=http://dl.atrpms.net/f7-i386/atrpms/stable o smart [atrpms] name=Fedora 7 - i386 - ATrpms baseurl=http://dl.atrpms.net/f7-i386/atrpms/stable type=rpm-md o apt repomd http://dl.atrpms.net f7-i386/atrpms/stable you can provide feedback or request support on the ATrpms lists (http://lists.atrpms.net/), or the common bug tracker (http://bugzilla.atrpms.net/). Enjoy! -- Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 189 bytes Desc: not available URL: From thias at spam.spam.spam.spam.spam.spam.spam.egg.and.spam.freshrpms.net Thu May 31 16:17:57 2007 From: thias at spam.spam.spam.spam.spam.spam.spam.egg.and.spam.freshrpms.net (Matthias Saou) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 18:17:57 +0200 Subject: Freshrpms for Fedora 7 Message-ID: <20070531181757.53ec52ad@python3.es.egwn.lan> Hi, All freshrpms add-on packages are now available for Fedora 7. http://freshrpms.net/ - "click here" to import yum configuration http://moonshine.freshrpms.net/ for the complete package listing Have fun! Matthias -- Clean custom Red Hat Linux rpm packages : http://freshrpms.net/ Fedora Core release 6 (Zod) - Linux kernel 2.6.20-1.2952.fc6 Load : 0.41 0.18 0.15