Future Ubunteros swamp expo booth!

By boredandblogging | Published: 2006-08-17

Joe ‘Zonker’ Brockmeier over at Newsforge has been covering the current events at LinuxWorld San Francisco during this week. Today they ran an article that doesn’t surprise me one bit:

Many of the .Org booths, the Ubuntu booth in particular, seem to be swamped, while others have only a few attendees dropping by at a time.

Thank you to everyone who made it to the stand (we hope you found what you wanted) and a special warm thanks to all of the Ubunteros who have been running the booth. The complete article is posted on Newsforge for those interested in reading more.

For those wondering, an Ubuntero is an Ubuntu user who has read, agreed to, and signed the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. You too can became an Ubuntero and help out the Ubuntu community, head on over to the Ubuntu Community Participation page now to get started!

The expo comes to an end today, so check back here for more news and information about LinuxWorld and the Ubuntu coverage!

Launchpad Report for 17 August 2006

By boredandblogging | Published: 2006-08-17

Christian Robottom Reis (aka “kiko”) who heads up the Launchpad team has released the Launchpad Report for August 1st through to August 16th. Launchpad is a collection of online services for products in the open source and Free software universe.

Highlights for this Launchpad Report:

  • Staging Server up and running
  • Bug tracking on Malone (As in Bugsy Malone)
  • Source code imports to native Bazaar format deployed
  • Contextual Karma (How to total up your street cred)
  • Edgy Translations (Are you speaking your language?)

It may sound like a bunch of gibberish to me or you, but I must say this is really interesting stuff. Launchpad has already become the backbone of the Ubuntu distribution, providing access to various layers of support. The Launchpad Report for 2006-08-17 has the full juicy report.

The memorable https://launchpad.net address is your starting point and you can also join the Launchpad-Users mailing list and following up on previous happenings in the archives.

Happy Launchpadding! Have you got your account yet?

Official Ubuntu book published

By boredandblogging | Published: 2006-08-17

The Official Ubuntu Book is now available from booksellers, featuring everything you need to know about:

  • Ubuntu and Kubuntu as desktop operating systems
  • Ubuntu server installation and basic administration
  • the Ubuntu community, how it works and how you can get involved.

It also features a DVD with the latest Ubuntu version.

It’s written by our very own Benjamin Mako Hill, Jono Bacon, Corey Burger, Jonathan Jesse and Ivan Krstic, with contributions from many of Doc Team and other parts of the Ubuntu community.

You can order your copy now from your local book shop or:

Amazon UK
Amazon USA

Return of the billboards (a LinuxWorld connection?)

By boredandblogging | Published: 2006-08-16

After our previous story about an Ubuntu billboard being spotting in the US, it was tracked down by satellite to San Francisco in the United States. Standing next to Highway 101, the main Motorway/Autoroute in Silicon Valley, and right outside the headquaters of database company Oracle, an Oracle insider even asked on their blog if the sign was dropping hints at Oracle employees…

Hot on that news, Desktop Linux have spotted more Ubuntu billboards in the wild and come up with their own suggestion about a connection to the LinuxWorld Expo happening in California during this week (August 14th-17th).

From the same event, we hear that Ubuntu's Matt Zimmerman has been having a Q&A session with the press, trying to answer how Ubuntu has managed to gain so much popularity in a comparatively short amount of time.

what differentiates one distribution [from] another, more than anything else, is its community of users and developers: how well they organize themselves, the image they present to potential users, their grassroots role in spreading awareness about the distribution. The bulk of any distribution is made up of the same core components, while no two communities share the same character, and users gravitate toward a community that feels like a good fit for them.

Did you manage to attend LinuxWorld or spot any new billboards? Tell us about it!

Free Ubuntu stickers

By boredandblogging | Published: 2006-08-16

Ubuntu fan in the USA? You can get free Ubuntu case stickers!

System76, a PC manufacturer specialising in Ubuntu systems, is giving a free case sticker to United States residents who send in a stamped addressed envelope. System76’s Carl Richell says there’s no end in sight to the offer and they hope to extend it internationally.

Carl also told The Fridge about their new competition:

Put your sticker in the coolest place – take a picture – and post it. Everyone will get to vote on the best pic and the top ten winners get a System76 “Works Out of the Box” beer stein. Details will follow soon.

System76 has also made banners, featuring faux-quotes from historical figures. Our favourite has to be this odd one, which they attribute to Julius Caesar:

Rome wasn’t built in a day but it could have been with Ubuntu on System76.

Superb. Get your sticker.

[Discuss free Ubuntu stickers in the forums.]