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
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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away old "wheezy" CDs or DVDs but only to update via an up-to-date Debian mirror after an installation, to cause any out of date packages to be updated.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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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Various flavors of Ubuntu 14.04 have come out today with their Trusty Tahr Alpha 2 spins.
Bodhi Linux
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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
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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
- Breaking News: Assange Wins Right to Challenge Extradition to the US
- This is great news, but maybe the full legal text will reveal some caveat
- Brittany Day, Plagiarist in Chief (Chatbot Slinger)
- 3 articles in the front page of LXer.com right now are chatbot spew
- Guardian Digital, Inc (linuxsecurity.com) Has Resorted to Plagiarism by Chatbots, Flooding the World Wide Web With Fake 'Articles' Wrongly Attributed to Brittany Day
- busted
- Microsoft-Connected Sites Trying to Shift Attention Away From Microsoft's Megabreach Only Days Before Important If Not Unprecedented Grilling by the US Government?
- Why does the mainstream media not entertain the possibility a lot of these talking points are directed out of Redmond?
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- Fact check: relation to Julian Assange, founded Wikileaks at University of Melbourne and Arjen Kamphuis
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Julian Assange: Factual Timeline From an Online Friend
- a friend's account
- Gambia: Windows Down to 5% Overall, 50% on Desktops/Laptops
- Windows was measured at 94% in 2015
- Links 20/05/2024: Microsoft Layoffs and Shutdowns, RTO as Silent Layoffs
- Links for the day
- The Issue With Junk Traffic in Geminispace (Gemini Protocol)
- Some people have openly complained that their capsule was getting hammered by bot
- Peter Eckersley, Laura Smyth & the rushed closure of dial-up Internet in Australian universities
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- [Meme] Bullying the Victims
- IBM: crybully of the year 2024
- Ian.Community Should be Safer From Trademark Censorship
- We wish to discuss this matter very quickly
- Microsoft and Its Vicious Attack Dogs (Attacking Women or Wives in Particular)
- Sad, pathetic, destructive people
- Upcoming Series About the Campaign to 'Disappear' the Father of GNU/Linux
- Today we have Julian Assange's fate to focus on
- A Month From Now Gemini Protocol Turns 5
- June 20
- Colombia: From Less Than 0.5% to Nearly 4% for GNU/Linux
- it's not limited to this one country
- Rumour: Well Overdue Red Hat Layoffs to be Announced in About 3 Days
- we know they've planned the layoffs for a while
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 19, 2024
- IRC logs for Sunday, May 19, 2024
- Gemini Links 20/05/2024: Updated Noto Fontpacks and gemfeed2atom
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux in Georgia: Looking Good
- Windows down from 99% to less than 33%
- Tomorrow is a Historic Day for Press Freedom in the UK
- Take note of the Julian Assange case
- Hiding in a Forest Without a Phone and Hiding Behind the First Amendment in the United States (US)
- some serial defamer is trying to invert the narrative
- Links 19/05/2024: Iran's President Lost in Helicopter Crash, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Awaits Decisions in Less Than a Day
- Links for the day
- Links 19/05/2024: Microsoft Investigated in Europe
- Links for the day
- 4 Old Articles About Microsoft/IBM SystemD
- old but still relevant
- Firefox Has Fallen to 2% in New Zealand
- At around 2%, at least in the US (2% or below this threshold), there's no longer an obligation to test sites for any Gecko-based browser
- Winning Streak
- Free software prevalence
- Links 19/05/2024: Conflicts, The Press, and Spotify Lawsuit
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux+ChromeOS at Over 7% in New Zealand
- It's also the home of several prominent GNU/Linux advocates
- libera.chat (Libera Chat) Turns 3 Today
- Freenode in the meantime continues to disintegrate
- [Teaser] Freenode NDA Expires in a Few Weeks (What Really Happened 3 Years Ago)
- get ready
- GNU/Linux is Already Mainstream, But Microsoft is Still Trying to Sabotage That With Illegal Activities and Malicious Campaigns of Lies
- To help GNU/Linux grow we'll need to tackle tough issues and recognise Microsoft is a vicious obstacle
- Slovenia's Adoption of GNU/Linux in 2024
- Whatever the factor/s may be, if these figures are true, then it's something to keep an eye on in the future
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 18, 2024
- IRC logs for Saturday, May 18, 2024
- Links 19/05/2024: Profectus Beta 1.2
- Links for the day
- Site Archives (Not WordPress)
- We've finally finished the work
- [Meme] The EPO Delusion
- on New Ways of Working
- EPO Representatives Outline Latest Attacks on Staff
- Not much has happened recently in terms of industrial action
- Links 18/05/2024: Revisiting the Harms of Patent Trolls, Google Tries to Bypass (or Plagiarise) Sites Under the Guise of "AI"
- Links for the day
- Links 18/05/2024: BASIC Story, Site Feeds, and New in Geminispace
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux in Kyrgyzstan: From 0.5% to 5% in Eight Years
- the country is almost the size of the UK
- Justice for Victims of Online Abuse
- The claims asserted or pushed forth by the harasser are categorically denied
- [Meme] Senior Software Engineer for Windows
- This is becoming like another Novell
- Links 18/05/2024: Deterioration of the Net, North Korean IT Workers in the US
- Links for the day
- Windows in Lebanon: Down to 12%?
- latest from statCounter
- [Video] 'Late Stage Capitalism': Microsoft as an Elaborate Ponzi Scheme (Faking 'Demand' While Portraying the Fraud as an Act of Generosity and Demanding Bailouts)
- Being able to express or explain the facts isn't easy because of the buzzwords
- Links 18/05/2024: Caledonia Emergency Powers, "UK Prosecutor's Office Went Too Far in the Assange Case"
- Links for the day
- Microsoft ("a Dying Megacorporation that Does Not Create") and IBM: An Era of Dying Giants With Leadership Deficits and Corporate Bailouts (Subsidies From Taxpayers)
- Microsoft seems to be resorting to lots of bribes and chasing of bailouts (i.e. money from taxpayers worldwide)
- US Patent and Trademark Office Sends Out a Warning to People Who Do Not Use Microsoft's Proprietary Formats
- They're punishing people who wish to use open formats
- Links 18/05/2024: Fury in Microsoft Over Studio Shutdowns, More Gaming Layoffs
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 17, 2024
- IRC logs for Friday, May 17, 2024
- Links 18/05/2024: KOReader, Benben v0.5.0 Progress Update, and More
- Links for the day