Debian Weekly News - April 12th, 2005

Posted by dave on Apr 12, 2005 6:52 PM EDT
Mailing list; By Martin Schulze <joey@infodrom.org>
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Welcome to this year's 15th issue of DWN, the weekly newsletter for the Debian community. After an unscheduled downtime of one major host in the Debian network the machine is available again, but suffered from gross filesystem corruption.

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Debian Weekly News
http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2005/15/
Debian Weekly News - April 12th, 2005
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Welcome to this year's 15th issue of DWN, the weekly newsletter for the Debian community. After an unscheduled downtime of one major host in the Debian network the machine is [1]available again, but suffered from gross filesystem corruption.

1. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2005/04/msg00008.html

Debian Project Leader Election Result. Manoj Srivastava [2]announced the [3]results of the recent project leader [4]election. After running as project leader candidate since 2001 Branden Robinson eventually won the election in 2005. He [5]thanked those who voted for him and hoped to gain the confidence of those who didn't. 504 developers have casted a vote, which is 52.227 % of all possible votes.

2. http://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2005/04/msg00028.html 3. http://master.debian.org/~srivasta/leader2005_results.txt 4. http://www.debian.org/vote/2005/vote_001 5. http://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2005/04/msg00087.html

Why supporting PHP3? Marcelo Magallon [6]wondered why Debian still supports PHP3 in addition to PHP4 in the unstable (and testing) distribution. Gunnar Wolf [7]noted that those packages that depend on PHP3 are available for PHP4 as well or depend on either version. Andres Salomon [8]added that the license was changed which caused people to stay with PHP3 instead of upgrading.

6. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00216.html 7. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00234.html 8. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00244.html

Creative Commons License Committee. Evan Prodromou [9]reported that he was contacted by Creative Commons to work out the [10]issues over their licenses. The project leader has appointed him as official representative in this matter. He created a work group of Debian developers who will participate in the discussions.

9. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/04/msg00031.html 10. http://people.debian.org/~evan/ccsummary.html

Acenic Firmware Rewrite. Peter De Schrijver [11]wondered if people would be willing to work on a free firmware for the Tigon II chip. Looking at the [12]datasheet it doesn't seem to be a very complicated chip to code for. He was [13]thinking about somebody reading the existing firmware sources, writing a specification and a second person or group implementing the new free firmware based on the specs.

11. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00285.html 12. http://alteon.shareable.org/firmware-source/12.4.13/tigonbk.pdf.bz2 13. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00425.html

Automatic Testing of Debian Packages. Mads Lindstrøm [14]wondered if there are any tests that are or could be applied to Debian packages automatically. Petter Reinholdtsen [15]mentioned a prototype [16]script that will perform an automatic upgrade. Ola Lundqvist [17]added comments about functional tests and component tests which are both specific to the particular package.

14. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00377.html 15. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00380.html 16. http://developer.skolelinux.no/~pere/upgrade-testing/ 17. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00440.html

Help needed for Openswan 2.3.1. Rene Mayrhofer [18]called for help with packaging [19]openswan version 2.3.1 which is supposed to fix several problems in version 2.3.0. Since sarge is close to a release, packaging a new upstream version may not the best idea, even if it is supposed to fix a number of bugs. Rene has made [20]available preliminary packages for larger testing.

18. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/04/msg00411.html 19. http://www.openswan.org/ 20. http://www.gibraltar.at/~rene/openswan/

Packages for GNOME 2.10? Jordi Mallach [21]explained that the GNOME packaging [22]team is rather trying to stabilise the current GNOME 2.8.3 release for testing than to package the new release. If this works well, they will be starting to work on version 2.10.

21. http://oskuro.net/blog/freesoftware/debian-gnome-2.10-2005-03-10-14-49 22. http://pkg-gnome.alioth.debian.org/

SELinux Integration into Etch. Manoj Srivastava has [23]started a mini [24]project to bring Debian's SELinux patched packages back in sync with the latest upstream and the latest SELinux patches, and to make it easier for Debian developers to access SELinux patches. Its proper integration into the etch release after sarge is out could be a worthwhile release goal.

23. http://www.golden-gryphon.com/blog/manoj/software/security/manoj.2005.03.07.html 24. http://www.golden-gryphon.com/software/security/selinux.xhtml

Debian as a Web Serving Platform. Ladislav Bodnar [25]discussed several operating systems for web servers and compared the features and security aspects of Debian GNU/Linux with those of FreeBSD. With Debian's slow release cycle, the only way to upgrade some packages was to get them from [26]backports.org. The ability to upgrade the operating system painlessly to a newer version is one area where Debian enjoys a considerable advantage, says the author.

25. http://lwn.net/Articles/123949/ 26. http://www.backports.org/

Running a homeless non-profit Organisation. John Goerzen [27]wrote about running [28]Software in the Public Interest, Inc. (SPI) which has no physical home. Holding discussions, even board meetings and annual meetings online, is a confusing concept to many people, but it makes perfect sense to the developers. He also asked how SPI could attract more people into becoming involved.

27. http://changelog.complete.org/node/248 28. http://www.spi-inc.org/

New or Noteworthy Packages. The following packages were added to the unstable Debian archive [29]recently or contain important updates.

29. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main

* [30]855resolution -- Resolution modify tool for Intel graphic chipset. * [31]adesklets -- Interactive Imlib2 console for the X Window System. * [32]antennavis -- Antenna visualisation software. * [33]approx -- Proxy server for Debian archive files. * [34]ax25mail-utils -- Hamradio utilities for fbb. * [35]blktool -- Tune low-level block device parameters. * [36]coco-java -- Coco/R Compiler Generator (Java Version). * [37]confluence -- Language for synchronous reactive hardware system design. * [38]cuetools -- Tools for manipulating CUE/TOC files. * [39]drqueue -- Distributed render queue manager. * [40]e16menuedit2 -- Graphical menu editor for enlightenment. * [41]enscribe -- Convert images into sounds. * [42]flpsed -- WYSIWYG pseudo PostScript editor. * [43]freepops -- POP3 interface to several webmails. * [44]fyre -- Interactively renders Peter de Jong maps (chaotic functions). * [45]gff2aplot -- Pair-wise alignment-plots for genomic sequences in PostScript. * [46]gigtools -- Tools for Gigasampler and DLS Level 1/2 files. * [47]gimp-texturize -- Generates large textures from a small sample. * [48]glurp -- Gtk2.4+ frontend to the Music Player Daemon (MPD). * [49]gsoap -- SOAP stub and skeleton compiler for C and C++. * [50]hrd -- Puzzle game of HuaRongDao. * [51]ipmitool -- Utility for IPMI control with kernel driver or LAN interface. * [52]kboincspy -- Monitoring utility for the BOINC client. * [53]kexi -- Tool for manipulating database objects in KDE3. * [54]kleopatra -- KDE Certificate Manager. * [55]krename -- Batch renamer for KDE 3.x. * [56]ksh -- Real, AT&T version of the Korn shell. * [57]kxstitch -- Cross-stitch pattern creator and editor for KDE. * [58]llvm -- Low-Level Virtual Machine (LLVM) compiler for C/C++. * [59]moinmoin-common -- Python clone of WikiWiki - common data. * [60]moodle-book -- Module for Moodle to add multi-page resources. * [61]mouseemu -- Emulate mouse buttons and mouse wheel. * [62]mrxvt -- Lightweight multi-tabbed X terminal emulator. * [63]nsis -- Nullsoft Scriptable Install System. * [64]nvu -- Complete Web Authoring System. * [65]pdftoipe -- Converts arbitrary PDF file to XML file readable by Ipe. * [66]png2html -- Png2html transforms a PNG image to a web page. * [67]polyxmass -- Mass spectrometry software framework. * [68]praat -- Program for speech analysis and synthesis. * [69]pyrad -- Python module for creating and decoding RADIUS packets. * [70]qucs -- Universal Circuit Simulator. * [71]radeontool -- Utility to control ATI Radeon backlight functions on laptops. * [72]roxen4 -- Roxen Challenger Webserver. * [73]sam2p -- Convert raster images to EPS, PDF, and other formats. * [74]saods9 -- Image display tool for astronomy. * [75]shntool -- Multi-purpose tool for manipulating and analysing WAV files. * [76]skinedit -- Skin editor for TiEmu. * [77]specter -- Packet logger for netfilter's ULOG target. * [78]sshfs -- Filesystem client based on SSH File Transfer Protocol. * [79]starttls -- TLS encryption helper program. * [80]steam -- Environment for cooperative knowledge management. * [81]swscanner -- Simple Wireless Scanner. * [82]tea -- Text editor with syntax highlighting & UTF support. * [83]thescoder -- Compiler for OpenOffice 1.x thesaurus files. * [84]tiemu -- Texas Instruments calculators emulator. * [85]tinymux -- Text-based multi-user virtual world server. * [86]tutos2 -- The Ultimate Team Organisation Software. * [87]usbmount -- Automatically mount and unmount USB mass storage devices. * [88]visitors -- Fast web server log analyser. * [89]wmdrawer -- Button launcher. * [90]xresprobe -- X Resolution Probe.

30. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/855resolution 31. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/adesklets 32. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/hamradio/antennavis 33. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/admin/approx 34. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/hamradio/ax25mail-utils 35. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/admin/blktool 36. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/coco-java 37. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/electronics/confluence 38. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/cuetools 39. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/drqueue 40. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/e16menuedit2 41. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/sound/enscribe 42. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/flpsed 43. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/mail/freepops 44. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/fyre 45. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/science/gff2aplot 46. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/gigtools 47. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/gimp-texturize 48. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/glurp 49. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/gsoap 50. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/hrd 51. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/ipmitool 52. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/kboincspy 53. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/kexi 54. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/kleopatra 55. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/krename 56. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/shells/ksh 57. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/kde/kxstitch 58. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/llvm 59. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/moinmoin-common 60. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/moodle-book 61. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/mouseemu 62. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/mrxvt 63. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/nsis 64. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/nvu 65. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/pdftoipe 66. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/png2html 67. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/science/polyxmass 68. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/science/praat 69. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/python/pyrad 70. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/electronics/qucs 71. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/radeontool 72. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/roxen4 73. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/sam2p 74. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/science/saods9 75. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/shntool 76. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/math/skinedit 77. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/specter 78. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/sshfs 79. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/starttls 80. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/misc/steam 81. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/swscanner 82. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/editors/tea 83. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/text/thescoder 84. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/math/tiemu 85. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/tinymux 86. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/tutos2 87. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/admin/usbmount 88. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/visitors 89. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/wmdrawer 90. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/xresprobe

Orphaned Packages. 6 packages were orphaned this week and require a new maintainer. This makes a total of 228 orphaned packages. Many thanks to the previous maintainers who contributed to the Free Software community. Please see the [91]WNPP pages for the full list, and please add a note to the bug report and retitle it to ITA: if you plan to take over a package.

91. http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/

* [92]hfsutils -- Tools for reading and writing Macintosh volumes. ([93]Bug#303264) * [94]kannel -- WAP and SMS gateway. ([95]Bug#303610) * [96]libaudio-wav-perl -- Modules for reading & writing WAV files. ([97]Bug#303614) * [98]php4-imagick -- ImageMagick module for PHP4. ([99]Bug#303616) * [100]slimp3 -- MPEG Layer III Streaming Server. ([101]Bug#303617) * [102]toshutils -- Toshiba laptop utilities. ([103]Bug#304160)

92. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/otherosfs/hfsutils 93. http://bugs.debian.org/303264 94. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/kannel 95. http://bugs.debian.org/303610 96. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/perl/libaudio-wav-perl 97. http://bugs.debian.org/303614 98. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/web/php4-imagick 99. http://bugs.debian.org/303616 100. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/sound/slimp3 101. http://bugs.debian.org/303617 102. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/toshutils 103. http://bugs.debian.org/304160

Want to continue reading DWN? Please help us create this newsletter. We still need more volunteer writers who watch the Debian community and report about what is going on. Please see the [104]contributing page to find out how to help. We're looking forward to receiving your mail at [105]dwn@debian.org.

104. http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/contributing 105. mailto:dwn@debian.org

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