Ubuntu LoCo Team Directory Updates

By pleia2 | Published: 2010-11-30

The LoCo Directory Developers have been hard at work in the past few weeks and this morning pushed out a new release of the LoCo Team Directory. One of the major changes in the new version of the LoCo Team Directory is that local times are finally displayed on event pages thanks to Michael Hall. The time zone displayed is based upon the time zone specified for the venue that is used. For example, if the venue you are using for your event is in Orlando, Florida, you would need to set the time zone for the venue to US/Eastern and the event will display the time in EST. To make this work though, all venues that are currently in the LoCo Team Directory need to be updated to reflect their correct time zone.

There were many other bugs fixed in this release which you can view in Launchpad. Another big feature is that you can “turn off” registration to an event in the LoCo Team Directory for instances where registration is being handled elsewhere and providing a link to that registration site. We have also fixed the search function on the LoCo Team Directory which is now a site-wide search.

Something else that I wanted to mention is that there is now a mailing list specifically for discussion about the LoCo Team Directory. You can sign up for the mailing list and join the discussions by sending an email to loco-directory at lists.ubuntu.com.

Originally sent to the loco-contacts mailing list by Chris Johnston on Tue Nov 30 20:48:20 GMT 2010

Interview with Zach Kriesse

By nhandler | Published: 2010-11-23

This week we have zkriesse in the interview series. In my opinion, zkriesse is one of the Ubuntu community members who may not be well known, but certainly keeps things going as smoothly as possible. He’s involved in a great number of things, including the Ubuntu Beginners Team.

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

Name: Zach Kriesse
Age: 19 (20 in March WOO!)
Gender: Male
Location: Western, Rockford IL
Religion: Non-Denomination Christian
Profession: Student, Ubuntu Wiki/Doc Admin/Editor, Potential Army Recruit
Education: Some College Biology/Environmental Science
Hobbies: Medical Stuff, Computers, Fishing/Reading, Writing
Marital Status: Single

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

I started using computers when I was about 12, my dad made me take a computer learning program before I was allowed to really “use” it though…in/around 2007/2008 I started getting into Ubuntu/Linux, been using it on/off as the situation demands since then!

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

Ah the Ubuntu Forums…my home away from home…started hanging out there when I started using Ubuntu so probably around 2008 or so…after that I found the Beginners Team, and from there the rest is history. (Or, so they say… :D )
I’m just a regular user but I’m hoping to become a forum admin eventually down the road…more into the documentation side of things though…

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

TOTALLY! I do a bit of work through various teams…the most notable are the Ubuntu Beginners Team, the Ubuntu Youth Team, (Which I lead), the forums, the Lubuntu Project, and some other stuff…

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

Don’t really have a least favorite…my favorite would have to be Thunderbird…great email client, works well and it’s pretty damn fast! Ubuntu would have to be my regular distro but I’ve tinkered with Fedora, Open Suse, and Lubuntu…

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

Don’t really have a worst memory from the forums but a favorite? Jeez, every moment really! The ability to provide answers and insight while learning in that same step? It’s amazing!

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

I’ve introduced a few kids I know at my college and they’ve begun to enjoy it!

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

Linux? Well I’d like to see better support honestly…same for Ubuntu…I say this as we are an open source community which means most, if not all, of us are volunteers…this isn’t a paying OR a full time job which means we have real lives, real jobs, real concerns other than Ubuntu itself…

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

Don’t give up right away…Ubuntu/Linux can be tough to get used to right away so don’t be immediately discouraged!

Originally Posted here on 2010-11-21

New Operators

By nhandler | Published: 2010-11-22

Hi All,

I am pleased to bring you the results of the current recruitment drive. After consultation with our existing ops, we would like to appoint the following people:

For #ubuntu-ops:
IdleOne

For #ubuntu
Bilalahktar
Jordan_U
rww

For #ubuntu-offtopic
Tm_T
hypatia
maco
rww

Please join us in #ubuntu-ops as soon as you can.

We would like to thank all the applicants who applied.

We would also like to take this opportunity to re-open the application period for #ubuntu-ops (which is open only to current operators). We received only one application this time around, and we feel that more operators are still needed, so please feel free to apply. You can find the procedure here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IRC/IrcTeam/OperatorRequirements (if you had forgotten already).

We look forward to seeing the new ops, and seeing lots of applications for the positions in #ubuntu-ops

Originally sent to the ubuntu-irc mailing list by Benjamin Rubin on Mon Nov 22 22:59:16 GMT 2010

Patch Pilot Programme starts today

By nhandler | Published: 2010-11-22

Hello everybody,

we all know how important code review is for Ubuntu. It’s not only about spotting mistakes, but also about teaching new contributors how things are done. There’s always been busier times when we fell back in terms of code review and times where we did better.

At UDS we discussed this fairly extensively and decided we want to make code review a more central activity of Ubuntu development. We’d like to borrow an idea from the Bazaar team: the patch pilot programme.

Patch pilots essentially make themselves available in #ubuntu-devel, add their names to the topic and spend their time helping patches "come through congested waters safely in to harbor". The goal is not necessarily to do the upload, but help as good as they can to get the patch right and into a state where all conventions are followed.

Important points are:

  • thank the person for their work and time, make them feel welcome
  • help get it upstream
  • if you’re unfamiliar with a certain package, review as good as you can and get the contributor in touch with somebody who knows more – establishing contacts is very helpful
  • communicate clearly what needs improvement
  • you can improve the patch yourself if you like, just be clear on what you do
  • if you notice things that should be improved in the review process or in the tools, please speak up

More help, review tips and everything else can be found at:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment/CodeReviews

Patches and merge proposals can be picked up from:

http://reports.qa.ubuntu.com/reports/sponsoring/

Stats on how we are doing:

http://reports.qa.ubuntu.com/reports/sponsoring-stats/

I’m incredibly happy to also let you know that Canonical made it a requirement for Ubuntu Platform members that can do reviews to spend at least 4 hours per month on being patch pilots.

You can see the schedule at

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment/CodeReviews#Schedule

If you want to add yourself, please feel free to update the wiki schedule.

Originally sent to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list by Daniel Holbach on Mon Nov 22 10:01:18 GMT 2010

Ubuntu Global Jam: Let’s Make This Rock

By pleia2 | Published: 2010-11-17

Every cycle we organize the Ubuntu Global Jam; an event in which our global community gets together to help make Ubuntu better. The Ubuntu Global Jam is a great opportunity to get together and meet other Ubuntu fans and contributors, make new friends in your area, and help to make the next Ubuntu release a really rocking release!

Never before has the Ubuntu Global Jam been so important! In this cycle we are shipping Unity as the new desktop interface, and we are going to be working hard together to ensure that as many Unity bugs are squeezed out as possible. This is a great chance to come along and help test Unity, report bugs, triage problems, write documentation, help advocate Ubuntu in your area, and otherwise make a real difference that will benefit others. Together we can make Ubuntu 11.04 the best Ubuntu release yet!

So, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that the date of the Ubuntu Global Jam is 1st – 3rd April 2011. I know it is a way off yet, but I am really keen that everyone has as much notice as possible to get your events ready! Laura has added the Ubuntu Global Jam in the LoCo Directory so feel free to go and add your events there! We will also be having some tutorial sessions about how to organize events soon! When you add an event, but sure to Tweet/Dent/Facebook it and use the #ugj, #ubuntu, and #locoteams tags so others can see them!

This is going to be an awesome global event, and you can help this rock! For more detail of how to organize an event, see this guide.

Originally posted by Jono Bacon here on Wednesday, November 17th, 2010