Debian Weekly News

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Debian Weekly News
http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2006/03/
Debian Weekly News - January 17th, 2006
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Welcome to this year's 3rd issue of DWN, the weekly newsletter for the
Debian community. Simon Josefsson [1]proposed a license sufficient
for Debian and FreeBSD for the [2]Internet Engineering Task Force
that releases RFC documents. Michael Banck [3]announced the
availability of X.org packages for the Hurd.

 1. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/11/msg00214.html
 2. http://www.ietf.org/
 3. http://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2006/01/msg00018.html

Status of the m68k Port. Wouter Verhelst [4]announced future plans of
the m68k port team after it lacks too many [5]requirements for
[6]etch. [7]Freescale's m68k successor, the [8]ColdFire variant
with MMU (memory management unit) would boost the buildds' speed by
factor 4 and more compared to the actual buildds. For the purpose of
evaluating the possibilities of such an hybrid port, Freescale offered
Debian five ColdFire boards which are currently on the way to the
Debian m68k port team.

 4. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2006/01/msg...
 5. http://release.debian.org/etch_arch_qualify.html
 6. http://www.debian.org/releases/etch/
 7. http://www.freescale.com/
 8. http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/homepage.jsp?nod...

Debian Mirror Split. Anthony Towns [9]announced that the primary
Debian mirror will soon only contain the [10]i386 architecture instead
of all, the [11]amd64 architecture may be added later. For other
architectures special host names will be created. He asked for help
communicating with mirror admins and maintaining the master mirror
list.

 9. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2006/01/msg...
 10. http://www.debian.org/ports/i386/
 11. http://www.debian.org/ports/amd64/

Releasing Software under the GPL. Svante Signell [12]wondered how to
mark files in a software package that is to be released under the GNU
[13]General Public License (GPL). Justin Pryzby [14]stated that all
files with creative content should be marked accordingly. Brian Nelson
[15]added that most of these questions are [16]answered by the Free
Software Foundation already.

 12. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/11/msg00202.html
 13. http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
 14. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/11/msg00204.html
 15. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/11/msg00206.html
 16. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.html

Discovering neglected Packages. Thomas Huriaux [17]wrote a number of
scripts to [18]discover packages that have been neglected by their
maintainers. The output should help developers to decide which package
to help working on. The list is sorted by the number of [19]bugs,
[20]date of the last maintainer upload, number of [21]non-maintainer
uploads and the number of [22]release-critical bugs.

 17. http://lists.debian.org/debian-qa/2005/12/msg00023.html
 18. http://haydn.debian.org/~thuriaux-guest/qa/
 19. http://haydn.debian.org/~thuriaux-guest/qa/bugs.html
 20. http://haydn.debian.org/~thuriaux-guest/qa/date.html
 21. http://haydn.debian.org/~thuriaux-guest/qa/nmu.html
 22. http://haydn.debian.org/~thuriaux-guest/qa/rc_bugs.html

Distributing GPL Software. Daniel Carrera [23]wondered how he is
supposed to fulfil the source code requirement of the GNU [24]GPL when
he is handing out OpenOffice.org CDs during an exhibition. Andrew
Suffield [25]explained that the easiest way is to prepare copies of
the source and give them to anybody who asks for them.

 23. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2006/01/msg00118.html
 24. http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
 25. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2006/01/msg00134.html

Collaborative Maintenance of Packages. Following the last discussion
at the Debian-QA meeting in Darmstadt, Raphaël Hertzog [26]described
the [27]basics for maintaining packages by a team using a version
control system. The goal is to find a decent way for Debian to let
external contributors integrate their work within Debian.

 26. http://lists.debian.org/debian-qa/2005/12/msg00026.html
 27. http://wiki.debian.org/CollaborativeMaintenance

Security Updates. You know the drill. Please make sure that you update
your systems if you have any of these packages installed.

 * DSA 935: [28]libapache2-mod-auth-pgsql -- Format string
   vulnerability.
 * DSA 936: [29]libextractor -- Arbitrary code execution.
 * DSA 937: [30]tetex-bin -- Arbitrary code execution.
 * DSA 938: [31]koffice -- Arbitrary code execution.
 * DSA 939: [32]fetchmail -- Denial of service.
 * DSA 940: [33]gpdf -- Arbitrary code execution.
 * DSA 941: [34]tuxpaint -- Insecure temporary file creation.
 * DSA 942: [35]albatross -- Arbitrary code execution.
 * DSA 943: [36]perl -- Arbitrary code execution.
 * DSA 944: [37]mantis -- Several vulnerabilities.
 * DSA 945: [38]antiword -- Insecure temporary file creation.

 28. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-935
 29. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-936
 30. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-937
 31. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-938
 32. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-939
 33. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-940
 34. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-941
 35. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-942
 36. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-943
 37. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-944
 38. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-945

New or Noteworthy Packages. The following packages were added to the
unstable Debian archive [39]recently or contain important updates.

 39. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main

 * [40]alacarte -- Easy GNOME menu editing tool.
 * [41]bcrelay -- Broadcast relay daemon.
 * [42]blinken -- KDE version of the Simon Says electronic memory
   game.
 * [43]bluemon -- Activate or deactivate programs based on bluetooth
   link quality.
 * [44]cue2toc -- Converts CUE files to cdrdao's TOC format.
 * [45]debian-archive-keyring -- GnuPG archive keys of the Debian
   archive.
 * [46]fatsort -- Utility for sorting FAT directory structures.
 * [47]freetalk -- Console based Jabber client.
 * [48]havp -- HTTP Anti Virus Proxy.
 * [49]k3dsurf -- Tool for mathematical surfaces.
 * [50]kanagram -- Letter order game for KDE.
 * [51]kitty -- Qt/KDE based RSS podcast and video aggregator.
 * [52]kmobiletools -- KDE control application for the mobile phone.
 * [53]knetwalk -- Game for system administrators.
 * [54]kthesaurus -- Thesaurus for the KDE Office Suite.
 * [55]kunittest -- Unit testing library for KDE.
 * [56]linuxprinting.org-ppds -- Linuxprinting.org printer support -
   PostScript PPD files.
 * [57]pcsx -- Sony PlayStation emulator.
 * [58]update-manager -- GNOME application that manages apt updates.
 * [59]zsnes -- Emulator of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
   (TM).

 40. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/alacarte
 41. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/bcrelay
 42. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/blinken
 43. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/bluemon
 44. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/cue2toc
 45. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/misc/debian-archive-k...
 46. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/fatsort
 47. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/freetalk
 48. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/havp
 49. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/k3dsurf
 50. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/kanagram
 51. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/kitty
 52. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/kmobiletools
 53. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/knetwalk
 54. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/kthesaurus
 55. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/kunittest
 56. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/text/linuxprinting.or...
 57. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/pcsx
 58. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/gnome/update-manager
 59. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/otherosfs/zsnes

Orphaned Packages. 7 packages were orphaned this week and require a
new maintainer. This makes a total of 171 orphaned packages. Many
thanks to the previous maintainers who contributed to the Free
Software community. Please see the [60]WNPP pages for the full list,
and please add a note to the bug report and retitle it to ITA: if you
plan to take over a package.

 60. http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/

 * [61]boson-base -- Core package for the Boson OpenGL war game.
   ([62]Bug#348062)
 * [63]installwatch -- Track installation of local software.
   ([64]Bug#347469)
 * [65]oneko -- Cat chases the cursor (now a mouse) around the
   screen. ([66]Bug#348199, [67]Bug#348205)
 * [68]wmtop -- Dockapp that displays 3 top memory or CPU using
   processes. ([69]Bug#347529)
 * [70]x-symbol -- WYSIWYG TeX mode for XEmacs. ([71]Bug#348060)
 * [72]xmix -- Xt based mixer for X11. ([73]Bug#348196)
 * [74]xtalk -- BSD talk compatible X Window System client.
   ([75]Bug#347571)

 61. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/boson-base
 62. http://bugs.debian.org/348062
 63. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/installwatch
 64. http://bugs.debian.org/347469
 65. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/oneko
 66. http://bugs.debian.org/348199
 67. http://bugs.debian.org/348205
 68. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/wmtop
 69. http://bugs.debian.org/347529
 70. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/editors/x-symbol
 71. http://bugs.debian.org/348060
 72. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/sound/xmix
 73. http://bugs.debian.org/348196
 74. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/xtalk
 75. http://bugs.debian.org/347571

Removed Packages. 22 packages have been [76]removed from the Debian
archive during the past week:

 76. http://ftp-master.debian.org/removals.txt

 * zope-backtalk -- Document annotation, editing, and production
   system - Zope
   [77]Bug#310673: Request of maintainer, orphaned package
 * eli -- Compiler construction kit
   [78]Bug#319463: Request of maintainer, very few users and up for
   adoption for several months
 * openmosix -- Open Source Linux Cluster Project
   [79]Bug#319817: Request of QA, outdated and buggy
 * polypaudio -- Development files for the polypaudio sound server
   library
   [80]Bug#339589: Request of maintainer, has never been part of a
   stable release; dead upstream
 * gwydion-dylan, libpng-dylan -- Gwydion Dylan
   [81]Bug#342860: Request of QA, FTBFS; RC-buggy; maintainer MIA?
 * torsmo -- System monitor that sits in the corner of your desktop
   [82]Bug#342919: Request of maintainer, superseded by conky; dead
   upstream
 * php-clamav -- PHP bindings for libclamav
   [83]Bug#343908: Request of maintainer, superseded by
   php-clamavlib; dead upstream
 * libtoolbutton-java -- extension of Java swing component JButton
   [84]Bug#344129: Request of maintainer, superseded by
   libtoolbar-java; no rev-deps
 * gtk-engines-icegradient -- Ice-Gradient theme for GTK+
   [85]Bug#344249: Request of maintainer, dead upstream
 * libbusiness-onlinepayment-bankofamerica-perl -- Bank of America
   backend for Business::OnlinePayment
   [86]Bug#344326: Request of maintainer, obsolete, doesn't work
   anymore
 * ubit -- Development files for libubit
   [87]Bug#344597: Request of QA, orphaned, out-of-date, unnoticed
   grave breakage
 * xerces25 -- Validating XML parser library for C++ (development
   files)
   [88]Bug#344860: Request of maintainer, superseded by xerces27
 * figfonts -- User contributed fonts for figlet
   [89]Bug#345743: included fonts are undistributable due to lack of
   license information
 * pmp-common -- hotplug/udev scripts for portable music players
   [90]Bug#346131: Request of maintainer, obsolete
 * rbscrobbler -- Send rhythmbox track information to audioscrobbler
   [91]Bug#347471: Request of maintainer, orphaned; obsolete
 * winesetuptk -- Windows Emulator (Configuration and Setup Tool)
   [92]Bug#347640: Request of maintainer, superseded by wine-fg,
   unmaintained
 * pcmcia-modules-2.4.26-i386 -- PCMCIA modules for Linux (kernel
   2.4.26-1-386)
   [93]Bug#344839: Request of QA, obsoleted, unusable in Debian
 * webmin-* -- Web interface for system maintenance, and modules
   [94]Bug#343897: Request of maintainer, outdated; unmaintained
 * zope-loginmanager, zope-zpatters -- Zope modules
   [95]Bug#312864: Request of maintainer, orphaned, superseded
 * 855resolution -- Resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset
   [96]Bug#347310: Request of maintainer, superseded by
   915resolution
 * mooix -- MOO built on top of the Unix system
   [97]Bug#347811: Request of maintainer, not suitable for release
 * oftc-hybrid -- Hybrid 7 IRC daemon - OFTC branch
   [98]Bug#347874: Request of maintainer, unmaintained

 77. http://bugs.debian.org/310673
 78. http://bugs.debian.org/319463
 79. http://bugs.debian.org/319817
 80. http://bugs.debian.org/339589
 81. http://bugs.debian.org/342860
 82. http://bugs.debian.org/342919
 83. http://bugs.debian.org/343908
 84. http://bugs.debian.org/344129
 85. http://bugs.debian.org/344249
 86. http://bugs.debian.org/344326
 87. http://bugs.debian.org/344597
 88. http://bugs.debian.org/344860
 89. http://bugs.debian.org/345743
 90. http://bugs.debian.org/346131
 91. http://bugs.debian.org/347471
 92. http://bugs.debian.org/347640
 93. http://bugs.debian.org/344839
 94. http://bugs.debian.org/343897
 95. http://bugs.debian.org/312864
 96. http://bugs.debian.org/347310
 97. http://bugs.debian.org/347811
 98. http://bugs.debian.org/347874

Want to continue reading DWN? Please help us create this newsletter.
We still need more volunteer writers who watch the Debian community
and report about what is going on. Please see the [99]contributing
page to find out how to help. We're looking forward to receiving your
mail at [100]dwn@debian.org.

 99. http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/contributing
 100. mailto:dwn@debian.org


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