Membership Boards: Restaffing and Reorganization

By pleia2 | Published: 2012-04-25

On May 5th we will have a large number of Regional Membership Board members with terms expiring. The Community Council decided to take this opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of these regional membership boards and how it make sense to go about restaffing them.

After several discussions, including those with sitting board members, we have determined that while there are values to region-based boards (there may be cultural and language similarities), it makes more sense for us to switch to time-based membership boards. We hope that with this change to time-based we can have a more established meeting times that the community is familiar with and more successful boards with board members being able to commit to a specific time rather than assuming evening is the best time in their time zone for them to attend.

The times selected are as follows:

12:00 UTC, meeting twice a month, specific days to be determined by the board

22:00 UTC, meeting twice a month, specific days to be determined by the board

These boards will each have 9 members with a quorum of 4. We are seeking to seat 10 new board members at this time across both boards (we have 8 board members whose terms are not ending).

We have the following requirements for nominees:

  • be an Ubuntu member
  • be confident that you can evaluate contributions to various parts of our community
  • be available during typical meeting times of the board in question
  • broad insight into the Ubuntu community at large is a plus

Those sitting on membership boards are people who are insightful. They are current Ubuntu Members with a proven track record of activity in the community. They have shown themselves over time to be able to work well with others and display the positive aspects of the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. They should be people who can discern character and evaluate contribution quality without emotion while engaging in an interview/discussion that communicates interest, a welcoming atmosphere, and which is marked by humanity, gentleness, and kindness. Even when they must deny applications, they should do so in such a way that applicants walk away with a sense of hopefulness and a desire to return with a more complete application rather than feeling discouraged or hurt.

To nominate yourself or somebody else (please confirm they wish to accept the nomination and state you have done so), please send a mail to the membership boards mailing list (ubuntu-membership-boards at lists.ubuntu.com). You will want to include some information about yourself (or the applicant you are nominating), a launchpad profile link and which time slot is being applied for.

We will be accepting nominations through Friday May 18 at 12:00 UTC. All nominations will be forwarded to the Community Council who will make the final decision.

Thanks in advance to you and thanks also to the dedication everybody has put into their jobs as board members.

Originally posted to the ubuntu-news-team mailing list by Elizabeth Krumbach on Wed Apr 25 16:24:34 UTC 2012

Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 262

By pleia2 | Published: 2012-04-23

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter. This is issue #262 for the week April 16 – 22, 2012, and the full version is available here.

In this issue we cover:

The issue of The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

  • Elizabeth Krumbach
  • Chris Druif
  • Nathan Dyer
  • Neil Oosthuizen
  • Matt Rudge
  • And many others

If you have a story idea for the Weekly Newsletter, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki!

Except where otherwise noted, content in this issue is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License BY SA Creative Commons License

Top 10 Ubuntu app downloads for March 2012

By David Planella | Published: 2012-04-17

We’re ramping up to the release of Ubuntu 12.04 and new and cool apps keep being added to the Software Centre. Check out last month’s most downloaded free and paid apps.

Top 10 paid apps

1. Steel Storm: Burning Retribution

Steel Storm: Burning Retribution marks the return of top-down shooters with new twists. The game has score oriented competitive gameplay, and is designed for people who like fast paced action, hordes of smart enemies, destructible worlds and ground shaking explosions.

2. Uplink

You play an Uplink Agent who makes a living by performing jobs for major corporations. Your tasks involve hacking into rival computer systems, stealing research data, sabotaging other companies, laundering money, erasing evidence, or framing innocent people. You use the money you earn to upgrade your computer systems, and to buy new software and tools. As your experience level increases you find more dangerous and profitable missions become available.

3. Oil Rush

Oil Rush is a real-time naval strategy game based on group control. It combines the strategic challenge of a classical RTS with the sheer fun of Tower Defence. Fight the naval war between furious armies across the boundless waters of the post-apocalyptic world.

4. Fluendo DVD Player

Fluendo DVD Player is a software application specially designed to reproduce DVD on Linux/Unix platforms, which provides end users with high quality standards.

5. Braid

Braid is a platform game in painterly style where you manipulate the flow of time to solve puzzles. Every puzzle in Braid is unique; there is no filler. Braid treats your time and attention as precious, and it does everything it can to give you a mind-expanding experience.

6. Ubuntu User

Ubuntu User is a smart, accessible journal of the Ubuntu user environment. Each issue offers a real-world glimpse at how the experts use Ubuntu in the wild. You’ll learn about Ubuntu tools for practical tasks such as working in the cloud, managing mobile devices, processing images, and making music.

7. World of Goo

Drag and drop living, squirming, talking globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins, and giant tongues. The millions of innocent goo balls that live in the beautiful World of Goo are curious to explore. But they don’t know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious. The most addicting and awe-inspiring puzzle game will set you on an adventure that you’ll never forget!

8. DEFCON

A stunning multiplayer simulation of global thermonuclear war. Take on the role of a General hidden deep within an Underground bunker. Compete against the computer or online against your friends for total world domination.

9. Family Farm

Work the farm in this game of 19th century farmsteading and build a home for your families. Clicking cows won’t earn you any cash. This is a simulation of a farmstead experienced in stories which span a generation. Keep them fed, develop their skills, and grow their land in to a Family Farm!

 10. Linux Format Magazine

Issue 156 (April) of Linux Format magazine – now on the Ubuntu Software Centre. We’re wildly excited about the Raspberry Pi, and you should be too. It’s a full, working PC, it runs Linux and it costs just $25. It’s not Windows 8-certified, but it’s going to change the way the world thinks about computing.

Top 10 free apps

1. Ryzom

Ryzom, one of the best role playing Massively Multiplayer Online Game of the moment (MMORPG), is set more than 2000 years in the future, on a living, evolving world: beautiful Atys!

2. Full Circle Magazine

Full Circle is a free, independent, monthly magazine dedicated to the Ubuntu family of Linux operating systems. Each month, it contains helpful how-to articles and reader submitted stories. Full Circle also features a companion podcast, the Full Circle Podcast, which covers the magazine along with other news of interest.

3. Crossover Games

Play Windows games like World of Warcraft on Ubuntu! CrossOver Games (Ubuntu Edition) makes it possible to play Windows games such as World of Warcraft and many others. CrossOver Games is built on the latest versions of Wine, based on contributions from both CodeWeavers and the open-source Wine community. CrossOver Games aims to bring you the latest, greatest, bleeding edge improvements in Wine technology.

4. CrossOver Pro (Trial)

CrossOver Linux allows you to install many popular Windows productivity applications, plugins and games in Linux. You can think of it as an emulator, but it’s different, because there’s no Windows OS license required. Your applications integrate seamlessly with your GNOME or KDE environment. It’s like running Windows on your Linux machine, but without Windows.

5. Vendetta Online

Vendetta Online is a 3D space combat MMORPG. This MMO permits thousands of players to interact as the pilots of spaceships in a vast universe. Users may build their characters in any direction they desire, becoming rich captains of industry, military heroes, or outlaws.

6. Marble Arena 2

Free, physics based, 3D marble game, featuring vibrant HD graphics, fun and addictive star zapping gameplay, and an easy to use built-in editor for creating custom levels.

7. CoreBreach Demo

CoreBreach is an anti-gravity racing game with combat-based gameplay. Its unique graphic style, with a cell-shaded look, sets up a very futuristic atmosphere with a wide range of choices for ships, race tracks and powerful weapons.

8. PDF Studio 7 Demo

Demo version of PDF Editor to evaluate both PDF Studio 7 Standard and PDF Studio 7 Pro and will add a watermark to the documents saved.

9. Tribal Trouble 2

Tribal Trouble 2 is a browser-based RTS game that takes place in the zany age of the Vikings. You are the Chief of a Viking tribe and are responsible for making a name for yourself by conquest and skill.

10. Manager

Manager is free accounting software for Ubuntu. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with modules such as cashbook, invoicing, receivables, payables, taxes and comprehensive financial reports.

Your app in Ubuntu

Would you like to see your app featured in this list and on millions of user’s computers? It’s a lot easier than you think:

Notes:

  • The lists of top 10 app downloads includes only those applications submitted through My Apps on the Ubuntu App Developer Site. For more information about of usage of other applications in the Ubuntu archive, check out the Ubuntu Popularity Contest statistics.
  • The top 10 free apps list contains gratis applications that are distributed under different types of licence, some of which might not be open source. For detailed licence information, please check each application’s description in the Ubuntu Software Centre.

Follow Ubuntu App Development on:

 

Social Media Icons by Paul Robert Lloyd

Read the original article on the Ubuntu App Developer Site

Developer Advisory Team Report 12.04: Feedback from new contributors

By dholbach | Published: 2012-04-17

Over the past development cycle, the Ubuntu Developer Advisory Team reached out to many new contributors. As part of that work, we solicited feedback about our development process. We have summarized this feedback in the attached report. It is our hope that it will help drive further discussion about our development processes, tools, and documentation in the lead up to UDS and over the course of the next cycle.

Attracting new developers and maintaining our welcoming environment for contributors is an important task for the project. We encourage both new contributors and existing developers to discuss your interpretations of the report as well as any other feedback you might want to share about your experience working on Ubuntu.

The full text is available as a PDF or Text version.

Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 261

By pleia2 | Published: 2012-04-16

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter. This is issue #261 for the week April 9 – 15, 2012, and the full version is available here.

In this issue we cover:

The issue of The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

  • Elizabeth Krumbach
  • Charles Profitt
  • Nathan Dyer
  • Chris Druif
  • Unit 193
  • And many others

If you have a story idea for the Weekly Newsletter, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki!

Except where otherwise noted, content in this issue is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License BY SA Creative Commons License