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DistributionsNews and Editorials Unofficial Fedora SpinsMultimedia support has been and will continue to be an issue in the free software world, at least in those countries that allow software patents. Many multimedia codecs are patented. There are many small Linux distributions that include multimedia codecs and they all tend to be hosted in Europe or elsewhere in the world where software patents are not recognized.Fedora is a U.S. company and the U.S. does recognize software patents. Therefore Fedora does not play many multimedia files. We still have Ogg and FLAC providing free audio/video formats. However some people, many coming from the Windows world, expect their MP3s, and MPEG files to "just work" and they get frustrated when they find that these things are difficult. These codecs are not in the main Fedora repository, and never will be unless the U.S. suddenly reverses its decision on software patents (which doesn't seem likely). The Fedora-devel list had a lengthy discussion this week about creating a Fedora spin with multimedia support out of the box. The poster, Jóhann Guðmundsson of Iceland, wondered if such a spin (hosted in Iceland) could be considered an official Fedora spin, and if not how much work would be involved.
Since Iceland is one of those For those who still think that creating the Fedora-based "MyBlueCap" distribution would be a good idea, here's some places to start. A new wiki page on creating custom spins has been recently created. It only addresses official spins, of course, but it's a start. The Fedora Trademark Guidelines will help you figure out if your spin crosses the line into unofficial territory. More guidelines on redistributing Fedora can be found here. Changing the name of the project and replacing the artwork so that the new spin is no longer "Fedora" would seem to be a daunting task. But work is underway to make this easier. Feature generic logos are targeted for Fedora 8. According to the wiki page: "We want to enable generic branding for Fedora, such that a tree built without fedora-logos is still reasonably functional if done right, without excessive developer attention." Even with the Feature Generic Logos, the creator of "MyBlueCap" still has much work to do. It is nice of Fedora to supply some logos, but ultimately the Fedora developers have plenty to do and should not be expected to divert their efforts towards making it easy to create unofficial derivatives with software that is not free everywhere. Later on this page there is an interview with Clement Lefebvre, the creator of Linux Mint. Linux Mint (hosted in France) is making a Ubuntu derivative with all the multimedia codecs installed and ready to use.
New Releases Fedora Unity releases updated Fedora 7 Re-Spins.The Fedora Unity Project has announced the release of new ISO Re-Spins (DVD and CD Sets) of Fedora 7. These Re-Spin ISOs are based on Fedora 7 and all updates released as of September 12, 2007. The ISO images are available for i386 and x86_64 architectures via jigdo.
Musix GNU+Linux 1.0 R3 Test1 releasedMusix GNU+Linux 1.0 R3 test1 has been announced. "The Musix project has released the Musix GNU+Linux 1.0 R3 test1 Live-CD. This testing version was produced on the basis of the stable version 1.0 R2, based on Knoppix and Debian/Stable. Musix 1.0 R3 Test1 solves several problems, among them, the Inconsistent Filesystem Structure bug after an electrical shutdown. New functionalities were added, for instance: automount of CDs, DVDs and USB memories, or the "install" boot argument."
Ubuntu 7.10 Beta releasedA Beta release of Ubuntu 7.10 has been announced. "The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 7.10 and its variants, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu. Codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon", 7.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. Ubuntu 7.10 on the desktop features a cutting-edge graphical experience with composited desktop effects, fully automated printer installation, and superior support for Firefox browser plugins. Ubuntu 7.10 server edition brings enhanced security-in-depth with AppArmor and easy install-time options for multiple common server configurations."
Distribution News openSUSE is looking for a Chief Linux EvangelistThe openSUSE project is looking for an enthusiastic Chief Evangelist to promote and spread the adoption of openSUSE, be a public face for the project on conferences and events, act as voice of the community back to Novell's leadership team, develop and nurture the openSUSE communities and pro-actively drive openSUSE marketing.
[openSUSE] YaST Survey StartedopenSUSE is running a survey on YaST. "If you use any of the distributions openSUSE, SUSE Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, I encourage you to participate in our survey to support us improving YaST. The survey will be online until mid November and the results will be published on openSUSE.org."
Fedora-fr association is born !The French Fedora Team has announced the creation of the association of French speaking Fedora users. "Why an association ? * In order to promote Free software in general and the Fedora distribution in particular. This promotion will lead to the creation of support for the Fedora promotion, from simple flyers to CD/DVD for the installation of Fedora."
Second Call for votes for Constitutional amendment: reduce the length of DPL election processThe second and final call for votes has gone out on a constitutional amendment to reduce the length of the Debian Project Leader election process.
New Distributions Kiwi LinuxKiwi Linux is a modified Ubuntu live CD for the i386 architecture. It includes Romanian and Hungarian localization, multimedia codecs, encrypted DVD support, Flash and Java plugins for Firefox, PPPoE GUI for accessing local internet services (Clicknet and RDS) and write support for NTFS partitions. Kiwi uses the same software repositories as Ubuntu with one additional source added for the handful of artwork related or slightly modified packages. Kiwi has released the Kiwi 7.10 beta live CD.
Distribution Newsletters Fedora Weekly News Issue 103The Fedora Weekly News for September 24, 2007 has the following announcements: "Cast your vote for the Fedora 8 Codename", "Fedora Unity releases updated Fedora 7 Re-Spins", plus several other topics.
Gentoo Weekly NewsletterThe Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for September 24, 2007 covers the Council election results, Sparc team seeking AT's, KDE Tips and Tricks, and several other topics.
Full Circle Magazine #5The September edition of Full Circle Magazine (The FREE Independent Magazine for the Ubuntu Linux Community) is available in PDF format. This issue contains Fluxbuntu - Step-by-step Install, How-To : Report Bugs with LaunchPad, CoLoCo Edubuntu Presentation, From VMware to VirtualBox and Learning Scribus Pt.5, Review of Bridge Construction Kit, Preview of Gusty Gibbon, and more.
Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #59The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter for September 29, 2007 covers the Ubuntu 7.10 Beta release, newly approved LoCo team and Ubuntu members, LoCos participating in Ohio LinuxFest 2007, and much more.
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 222The DistroWatch Weekly for October 1, 2007 is out. "PC-BSD is fast becoming a highly usable alternative to Linux on the desktop and the project's latest release, version 1.4, is the most feature-full desktop FreeBSD ever. But can it stand tall against Linux? Read our review to find out. In the news section: openSUSE begins uploading the 10.3 CD images, Mandriva abandons its "Club" subscription service, Clement Lefebvre defends multimedia codecs in Linux Mint, Sabayon promises more bleeding-edge features in version 3.5, and Ubuntu closes on the upcoming "Gutsy Gibbon" release with a bunch of interesting new features. Finally, we are pleased to announce that the DistroWatch.com September 2007 donation goes to Damn Small Linux."
Newsletters and articles of interest Interview with Colin Walters about the online desktopThe Fedora project has an interview with Colin Walters about the GNOME online desktop and its status for Fedora 8. "The Big Board is a part of the Online Desktop effort; it's a new panel type component that is intended to display more relevant things to your online life than the traditional panel. You could think of it as a collection of custom "widgets" for things like Google Calendar or Docs, except we're less interested in some things that might spring to mind with the term widgets, such as gigantic meticulously rendered clocks."
Interview: Clement Lefebvre of Linux Mint by Tony Mobily (Free Software Daily)Tony Mobily talks with Clement Lefebvre, lead developer of Linux Mint. "TM: Clement, first of all please introduce yourself to our readers! Where are you from? What do you do? CL: My name is Clement Lefebvre--people usually refer to me as "Clem"--and I'm the founder of the Linux Mint distribution. I maintain the Main and Light Editions and also develop most of the mint tools (mintDisk, mintInstall, mintUpload..etc). I'm 29 years old and I'm passionate about Linux. I'm from Paris, France. I studied Computer Sciences over there and got a Masters Degree in IT. That was in 2001. Since then I basically worked for different companies in France and in Ireland, as a J2EE trainer, as a Web developer, as a Software Engineer and (at the moment) as a Java developer."
The Open CD forks to OpenDiscThe Open CD project has been moved to the new OpenDisc project, according to Gerald Stone's blog. "OpenDisc is a collection of high quality open source software for the Microsoft Windows platform, aimed at users exclusively using said operating system. The two goals of the disc are to provide free alternatives to otherwise costly equivalents, and to educate people about the Linux operating system." (Thanks to Jim Welch).
How things are going (in Sabayon Linux)Fabio Erculiani writes about Gentoo-based Sabayon Linux. "Even if I prefer coding rather than blogging about Entropy these days (eheh, let me keep this kind of secrecy for now), I can't hide the fact that today has been a great day for the whole project. I successfully upgraded a 3.4F installation to the current available binary packages using Equo (that contain X.Org 7.3 for example...). A lot of code is still missing (like etc-update alike function, env-update, post/pre install scripts and so on), but things are moving fast!"
Photo Gallery: Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 (TuxJournal)TuxJournal.net has a short article (in Italian) with lots of screen shots covering the first beta of Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10.
Distribution reviews openSUSE 10.3 RC 1 Report (TuxMachines)TuxMachines.org looks at the first release candidate of openSUSE 10.3. "OpenSUSE 10.3 final is due out in just a few days, so let's take a look at the progress. Folks have been testing this release candidate and posting their thoughts here and there. My own testing was delayed primarily due to the some of the joys of running Gentoo fulltime, but I was finally able to devote my full attention to openSUSE 10.3 RC1. As per my usual, I downloaded the DVD iso delta. This time it was 422 MB. I don't usually test everything with these developmental releases, but what I have tested is looking good."
Page editor: Rebecca Sobol |
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