Announcing Ubuntu App Developer Week

By David Planella | Published: 2011-03-31

Ubuntu App Developer Week

I’m thrilled to announce the next edition of Ubuntu AppDeveloperWeek, from the 11th to 15th April 2011 at #ubuntu-classroom on IRC.

Ubuntu App Developer Week is a week of sessions aimed at enabling and inspiring developers to write applications that scratch their itches. Our goal is to give all attendees a taste of the wide variety of tools on the Ubuntu platform that can be used to create awesome applications, and to showcase some applications that have been created and explain how they were put together.

The Sessions

The whole week is packed with interesting subjects, aimed both at new and experienced developers. During the sessions you’ll get a solid overview on a broad range of the Free Software technologies that will enable you to create your applications in Ubuntu. At the same time, you’ll be able to chat and ask your questions directly to the true rockstars on those subjects.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • Integrating applications with Ubuntu tech: Unity, AppIndicators, Ubuntu One, the Sound Menu…
  • Enabling multitouch support in applications
  • Application development and testing with Python
  • Rapid Application Development with Qt Quick and QML
  • Rapid Application Development with Quickly
  • Using the Bazaar revision control to track source code history
  • Using Launchpad integration features to develop applications
  • … GObject Introspection, PyGI, Plasma, Zeitgeist, GStreamer, Touchégg, KDE, Thunderbird, Internationalization, the Application Review Process, Pkgme, Phonon… you name it. Learn more about the hottest topics and how to use the coolest technologies to write your applications, straight from the best experts in the Free Software world.
  • Check out the complete schedule.

Joining The Week

Getting involved is simple. You can connect using any IRC client or your browser. Simply go to:

Looking forward to seeing you all at App Developer Week!

Ubuntu 9.10 reaches end-of-life on April 30 2011

By pleia2 | Published: 2011-03-29

Ubuntu announced its 9.10 release almost 18 months ago, on October 29, 2009. As with the earlier releases, Ubuntu committed to ongoing security and critical fixes for a period of 18 months. The support period is now nearing its end and Ubuntu 9.10 will reach end of life on Friday, April 29, 2011. At that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 9.10.

The supported upgrade path from Ubuntu 9.10 is via Ubuntu 10.04. Instructions and caveats for the upgrade may be found at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LucidUpgrades. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS continues to be actively supported with security updates and select high-impact bug fixes. All announcements of official security updates for Ubuntu releases are sent to the ubuntu-security-announce mailing list, information about which may be found at https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-security-announce.

Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users in homes, schools, businesses and governments around the world. Ubuntu is Open Source software, costs nothing to download, and users are free to customise or alter their software in order to meet their needs.

Originally sent to the ubuntu-announce mailing list by Kate Stewart on Tue Mar 29 02:55:03 UTC 2011

Interview with Flavia Weisghizzi

By pleia2 | Published: 2011-03-26

Elizabeth Krumbach: Please tell us a little about yourself.

Flavia Weisghizzi: I’m Flavia Weisghizzi, I’m 34 years old and I live in that wonderful melting pot called Roma, Italy, where I was born, and from where, maybe, I’ll fly away someday. I’m a writer, I write poems and critical essays about literature. I also work as freelance journalist and radio speaker. Recently thanks to Ubuntu, I have become a conference speaker too.

That said, you can argue the story of my involvement with Ubuntu and FLOSS is really original. Everything began in 2001, the first time I wrote for an online magazine. They asked me to write something for IT news about an alternate office suite called StarOffice (yes, it was pre OpenOffice.org age). Here I learned about FLOSS philosophy, and I was definitively attracted by sense its of freedom.

EK: What inspired you to get involved in the Ubuntu community?

FW: On my first attempt I tried to approach the Linux OS as software to use, but it was really hard for a girl who studied had Italian Literature as her main field install it without help. But I continued in reading about open source and Linux. The year 2007 marked a turning point in my life: my Windows XP decided it was its “time to die”… taking a full month of my work with it! My boyfriend brought me a Live CD of Ubuntu 7.04, and so a Feisty Fawn slowly started to run on my PC, allowing me to access again to all my work, and documents!

It has been love at the very first glance!

After the installation of Ubuntu, it seemed obvious to me to take a look at the Italian community, and to take my first steps in IRC channels. I felt at home. Some weeks later I thought it would be nice to give a helping hand to the community, so I asked to join translation team. That time saw the release of the first issue of Full Circle Magazine. I also joined its translation team. Coming from publishing I could share my skills and my working experience.

I initially supposed that simply having communication skills would be useless in a software-oriented community, but I was wrong.

During the release of Ubuntu 8.04, I became the Media Relations Coordinator for the Italian LoCo Team, and I coordinated the Media Relations project, that aims to spread the spirit of Ubuntu beyond trade magazines in Italy.

It was a success for us. In fact, our community has been hosted many times by national broadcasts. To tell my story is important, because I believe too many people are shy, and underestimate the contributions they can give to the Ubuntu community.

EK: What are your roles within the Ubuntu community?

FW: At the moment, I’m member of Italian LoCo Team Community Council. Of course I still take care of Media relations, and recently I started promote, together with Silvia Bindelli, an Italian branch of Ubuntu Women project.

When I landed in Ubuntu (yes, landed) I had heard about this project, but there wasn’t a local branch. At the time there were two main ways to get help with my OS-related issues: connect to the IRC and forum, and chose between asking in the Italian LoCo team support channel in my own language, but in a male-dominated environment, or asking in a women-related channel, but in an “alien” language (not simply English, but English applied to computer science). Here in Italy we have some problems about how women are received in many work environments, and, unfortunately, this pertains also to open source. There are too many prejudices against women, not only from men, but also from many women. With this in mind, I hope to be able to enhance the status of women in the field of open source software.

I’m able to write, and I’m comfortable with public speaking. I published (with Luca Ferretti, member of GNOME Release Team) a couple of books about Ubuntu, and I’m often asked to speak in conferences or round tables about Ubuntu and FLOSS.

EK: Is there anything you haven’t done yet, but would like to get involved with in the Ubuntu community?

FW: Oh many, many things! But first of all, I’d participate in an UDS! I’d like to be face-to-face with people who build Ubuntu and whom I may know by their names or nicknames.

As a Media Relations Coordinator, I think it would be much more useful to spread out a single press-release announce, one shared between all local groups and Canonical. This could give more effectiveness to the news

Finally… I want make a package! Only one, just to say to have done the dirty work!

EK: What other things are you interested in outside of open source and Ubuntu?

FW: I’m interested in poetry. I teach creative writing, and I love reading and writing poems. I’m a curious women, enchanted by everything strange and new. I like observe the small things in the world, because I believe from the small things could come great changes. I like theater. Recently I’ve been studying Yoga Philosophy. You can find more about my ideas and my poems in Italian on my long-time running blog at http://weisghizzi.ilcannocchiale.it or in English at newborn Code Is Poetry http://deindre.wordpress.com.

Originally posted by Elizabeth Krumbach in Full Circle Magazine Issue #47 on March 25, 2011

Interview with CharlesA

By nhandler | Published: 2011-03-20

Today I would like to introduce fellow Ubuntu Forums staff member CharlesA.

1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real life” like name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.

My name is Charles Auer, and I’m just a guy from California. I got my Associates degree in Electronic Technology in 2004 and been working as Tech Support since. I usually play RPGs in my spare time.

2. When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?

I first got into computers back in 1995 or 1996, when I had a teacher who worked to get older PCs usable so they could be used in the classroom. Most of them were 386 or 486 machines running Windows 3.1, but it was better then nothing. I started learning a bit about Linux in a class I took in 2007, after that I decided to redo my home server and have it running *nix. Been using it ever since.

3. When did you become involved in the forums (or the Ubuntu community)? What’s your role there?

I started out on the forums back in October of 2009, when I first started messing around with Ubuntu and ran into a snag that I didn’t understand. I eventually figured it out on my own, but it was nice to put thoughts on “paper” so to speak. I’m now a member of staff, and have been since September of 2010.

4. Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?

Not an Ubuntu member yet.

5. What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?

I mostly stick to either Debian or Ubuntu, but I have used both CentOS and Fedora at times. I don’t really have a favorite application, per say, but I do use bluefish a lot when I’m working on my website.

6. What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?

Being asked to be a member of staff has got to be one of my fondest memories. Not sure if I have a worst memory from the forums, unless you count the  slowness we had due to hardware problems, but that wasn’t anyone’s fault.

7. What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?

Some mixed luck so far, but in the end it didn’t work out so well. My philosophy is to use what works best for the job you are trying to accomplish, and sometimes *nix isn’t the best for the job.

8. What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?

I’m not too sure, to be honest. I can see it growing in popularity, but time will tell which way it’ll go.

9. If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?

Always have backups of your data – anything you don’t have a backup of is not worth keeping.

Originally Posted here on 2011-03-20

Count down banner design contest

By nhandler | Published: 2011-03-18

Ubuntu 11.04 is just around the corner!

As in the past, we’d like to create a new countdown banner to share across the web. If you would like to make a highly visible contribution to Ubuntu, this is your chance.

Just shortly after the Beta launch we’d like to launch a new countdown banner that says something like "28 more days until Ubuntu 11.04" Each day the banner will decrease by one until the release day, April 28th. On the 28th it will say something like "It’s almost here" (or similar. Then when we do the release the slide will change to "it’s here!"

How can you help?

Create a graphic representing what you think the countdown should look like. It is not necessary to create an entire set of images. Instead, do a couple to demonstrate your idea. The community and Canonical staff will choose the official banners and maybe give some guidance in case a change is needed to polish it up. Lets aim to *get submissions in by Monday, April 4th*. But don’t wait until the end, release early, release often, so they say.

Guidelines

Detailed here, but in essence:

180px wide by 150px high. No PHP or flash. We’d like to make a static, plain image available but if the community would like to make an animated or interactive, iframe based image using js and static content we will gladly consider it. The community seems to have enjoyed the animated banner from the 9.04 release cycle. (I know I did)

Starting at the point of Beta Ubuntu changes from the code name of "Natty Narwhal" to "Ubuntu 11.04" it would probably be inappropriate to over-emphasize narwhal graphics.

We have some other opportunities to contribute. If you would like to make a Facebook app, that would be awesome, ours is now out-dated. We could do more! Also, I think it would be great to design an Android Widget for user’s home screens. We don’t have to do these but we certainly can!

Please attach your suggestions to the wiki page listed above. If you have questions or would like to discuss this, please email the Web Presence Team mailing list or hop onto the IRC chat room, #ubuntu-website on freenode.

I can’t wait to see your ideas!

Originally sent to the ubuntu-website mailing list by Matthew Nuzum on Fri Mar 18 16:28:25 UTC 2011