Historical Week for Debian and Ubuntu (a Look Back)
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-02-15 11:34:24 UTC
- Modified: 2014-02-15 11:34:24 UTC
Summary: A roundup of news about Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives of Ubuntu
Debian
-
The Debian project is pleased to announce the fourth update of its stable distribution Debian 7 (codename "wheezy"). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories were already published separately and are referenced where available. Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian 7 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away old "wheezy" CDs or DVDs but only to update via an up-to-date Debian mirror after an installation, to cause any out of date packages to be updated.
Systemd in Debian
-
Since this weekend we have known that systemd was winning the Debian init system battle, but now it's official: systemd has prevailed over Upstart in Debian.
After a very heated fight between the Debian technical committee and also Debian stakeholders, Bdale Garbee as the chairman of the tech committee has announced systemd will be used in Debian 8.0 Jessie.
-
systemd already has a wide adoption withing the GNU/Linux distribution with all major distros including openSUSE, Fedora, Arch Linux, etc using it as their default init system. Upstart was either way not getting much support from the free software community due to the restrictive CLAs Canonical requires which is often criticized by the community. With Debian going* for systemd, it will get even more developer power whereas Canonical will be left alone to deal with Upstart along with many more project that it’s trying to do on its own – including the recently discussed File Manager which may replace Nautilus (Files).
Systemd in Ubuntu
-
Going forward, systemd will be Debian's default init system for Linux distributions, an init system soon to be used by every other major Linux distribution other than Ubuntu.
-
With this move Canonical has slowed the alienation of Ubuntu from the rest of the Linux community. It also shows that Canonical also understand that it can’t fork it’s path too much from the mainstream Linux community, especially from mommy Debian. In a nutshell it’s a wise and welcome decision by Ubuntu leadership and will help them focus on more pressing issues which will help make Ubuntu better.
Systemd
-
My view is that this idea is wrong: systemd is broken by design, and despite offering highly enticing improvements over legacy init systems, it also brings major regressions in terms of many of the areas Linux is expected to excel: security, stability, and not having to reboot to upgrade your system.
-
As usual in these cases, not just Lennart, but many of those who supported him, also those who sponsored these efforts, has suffered all kind of attacks. Sadly not just for technical, I mean ATTACKS. Even journalists have been involved. Yes, Free Software is also mature enough to have "yellow (technical) press" associated, political and business interests and people in different communities willing to use them against anybody who threaten the current status quo.
Mobile
-
Vodafone joined Ubuntu’s Carrier Advisory Group, as Ubuntu demoed progress on a unified desktop/mobile UI, but a Debian decision may further isolate Ubuntu.
-
One of Canonical's main goals in bringing Ubuntu to mobile devices is to create a converged platform across smartphones, tablets, and PCs. As such, a developer should be able to write an app that has a single code base yet runs on all three types of devices, presenting a different interface to the user on each form factor.
Licence Agreement
-
Canonical has issued an official explanation for the reason why Linux Mint developers have to sign a license agreement in order to continue to distribute the package straight from the Ubuntu repos.
Valve
LTS
-
After this weekend sharing benchmarks of the recent Ubuntu 12.04 LTS point releases, here's some complementary tests that offer a look at the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" performance against the current state of the "Trusty Tahr", a.k.a. Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
-
The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS
(Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products,
as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support.
Development
-
Last week I was in Orlando sprinting with my team as well as the platform, SDK, and security teams and some desktop and design folks. As usual after a sprint, I have been slammed catching up with email, but I wanted to provide a summary of some work going that you can expect to see soon in the Ubuntu app developer platform.
-
The Ubuntu Developer Summit is the primary place where we discuss, debate, and plan the future of Ubuntu. The entire event takes place online, is open and accessible to all, and every session is recorded so everyone can see how decisions are made. It is a useful, fun, and rewarding event to join.
Ubuntu Variants
-
Various flavors of Ubuntu 14.04 have come out today with their Trusty Tahr Alpha 2 spins.
Bodhi Linux
-
We are huge fans of Jeff Hoogland’s work as a Software Developer and his efforts with Bodhi Linux. So we invited Jeff for a quick chat with Unixmen Australia. We were privileged when Jeff accepted our invitation. Here is what he had to say.
Linux Mint
-
It’s no great secret that our organization Reglue uses Linux Mint on many of our outgoing computers. I run Mint on one of my work computers and at home as well. Linux Mint has given us the opportunity to create a respin for educational purposes within our non profit, largely due to an app named mintConstructor. It provides a fairly simple method of making custom systems using Linux Mint as the base.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- World Press Freedom Day: WIPO censors Debian suicide cluster
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Links 07/05/2024: Pulitzer for Supreme Court Expose, New Threats to Media Reported
- Links for the day
- Berlin police declined to investigate FSFE Nazi comparisons
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
-
- Only Weeks After Microsoft Closed Offices and Studios It is Closing Several More (Many Layoffs, Still Deeply Debt-Saddled)
- When the sad news writes itself
- Bolivarian Republic Of Venezuela: GNU/Linux Reaches 9% (ChromeOS Included)
- Venezuela must have lost interest in some American proprietary software when users were locked out of their own data (Adobe) and the costs could no longer be justified
- [Video] Microsoft is Like Big Oil, Big Tobacco, and Other Perpetrators of Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering
- openwashing, Microsoft lobbying, and Microsoft subsidies (e.g. bailouts in the form of 'defence' contracts)
- Security & Debian: Urgent: New Feed URLs after another WIPO censorship
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Gemini Links 07/05/2024: Smashing Windows (Moving to GNU/Linux) and Mastodon Time-wasting
- Links for the day
- Links 07/05/2024: Cheap EVs and Cloudflare Layoffs
- Links for the day
- [Meme] Communities Governed by Parasitic Elements and Girlfriends (Who Can't Understand Those Communities)
- Karen Sandler and Molly de Blanc present at DebConf18
- [Meme] You Can't Kill an Idea (or Facts)
- Thankfully, in Western societies, there's still due process, rule of law etc. You don't just hire assassins or imprison critics
- [Meme] Software in the Public Interest (SPI), Inc, Values Articles of Daniel Pocock at ~$5,000 Each (and Fails to Hide the Facts)
- we are laughing, not grieving
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 06, 2024
- IRC logs for Monday, May 06, 2024
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- [Meme] About 2,564 Internet Sites Now at Risk of Hostile Takeover by Microsoft-Sponsored Software in the Public Interest (SPI)
- WIPO censors Debian suicide cluster
- Links 07/05/2024: Burning Plastic Waste, Facebook Censoring Politicians
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 07/05/2024: Smashing Windows (Microsoft Losing Users to GNU/Linux), Sixty Years of BASIC
- Links for the day
- Southern Asia is All Android (Majority) Now
- It's looking better (almost) every month
- Windows Already Down to 1% "Market Share" in Some Countries
- it is a dying breed
- Tesla Has Become a Ponzi Scheme or a 'Meme Stock'
- They tell us Tesla is "worth" almost twice as much as a company that sold about 30 times more cars
- For People at Red Hat "Job is at Risk"
- Red Hat is consulting some notorious firms to implement cuts
- Linux.com Became Mostly Dead, de Facto Marketing Site of "Linux" Foundation Products (Unrelated to Linux)
- what has happened to the authoritative domain Linux.com
- Microsoft GitHub: A Hair Salon Where You Get Awards for Nothing (NFT Vanity)
- People aren't defined by some private (proprietary) database and Microsoft does not universally "score" developers
- In Europe, Android is Bigger Than Windows (Android Now Measured at 45.1% Worldwide)
- Right now in statCounter...
- Links 06/05/2024: Al Jazeera Raided, Wildfire Season Coming
- Links for the day
- On Character Assassination Tactics
- The people who leverage these dirty politics typically champion projection tactics
- Links 06/05/2024: Scams and Politics
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 06/05/2024: Reading and Computers
- Links for the day
- United States Entering the $100 Trillion Debt Trap, We Compare GAFAM Debt
- Google's debt is about 6 times less than Amazon's
- GitLab's Losses Grew From $172,311,000 to $424,174,000 Per Annum
- Letting this company have control over your (or your company's) development/code forge may cost you a lot in the future
- statCounter's Latest: Android Bouncing to New All-Time Highs, Windows Down to Unprecedented Lows
- Android rising
- Can't Bear the Thought We're Happy and Productive
- If someone is now harassing online friends, attacking the wife, attacking my family (not just attacking and defaming people I know online) there are legal ramifications
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 05, 2024
- IRC logs for Sunday, May 05, 2024
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- Erinn Clark & Debian: Justice or another Open Source vendetta?
- Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
- Death of Michael Anthony Bordlee, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
- The Revolution Continues
- Today we've published over 20 pages and tomorrow we expect more or less the same
- Death of Dr Alex Blewitt, UK
- Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
- Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), Inc. vs. Vizio, Inc. Is Costing the Free Software Foundation Money
- FSF subpoena and deposition
- Following the Herd (or HURD)
- Society advances owing to people who think differently and promote positive change, not corporate shills
- They Try to Replace the Creators of GNU/Linux and Hijack Their Word, Work, and Reputation
- gnu.org is down at the moment; now I'm told it's back but very slow. DDoS?
- Thiemo Seufer & Debian deaths: examining accidents and suicides
- Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
- Links 05/05/2024: Political Cyberattacks From Russia and Google Getting a Lot Worse
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 05/05/2024: Infobesity and Profectus Beta 1.0
- Links for the day
- Running This Site Mostly a Joyful Activity
- The real problem or the thing that we need to cancel is this "Cancel Culture"
- Australia Has Finally Joined the "4% Club" (ChromeOS+GNU/Linux)
- statCounter stats
- Debian as a Hazardous Workplace Where No Accountability Exists (Nor Salaries)
- systematic exploitation of skilled developers by free 'riders' (or freeloaders) like Google, IBM, and Microsoft
- Clownflare Isn't Free and Its CEO Openly Boasted They'd Start Charging Everyone to Offset the Considerable Losses (It's a Trap, It's Just Bait)
- Clownflare has collapsed
- Apple Delivered Very Disappointing Results, Said It Would Buy Its Own Shares (Nobody Will Check This), Company's Debt Now Exceeds Its Monetary Assets
- US debt is now 99.98 trillion dollars
- FSFE Still Boasts About Working Underage People for No Pay
- without even paying them
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 04, 2024
- IRC logs for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- The Persecution of Richard Stallman
- WebM version of a new video
- Molly de Blanc has been terminated, Magdalen Berns' knockout punch and the Wizard of Oz
- Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
- [Meme] IBM's Idea of Sharing (to IBM)
- the so-called founder of IBM worshiped and saluted Adolf Hitler himself
- Neil McGovern & Debian: GNOME and Mollygate
- Reprinted with permission from disguised.work