Gentoo Weekly Newsletter -- Volume 3, Issue 34

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for the confusion]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gentoo Weekly Newsletter
http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/current.xml
This is the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of August 23rd, 2004.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
=20

1. Gentoo News

 =20
Gentoo 2004 UK Meeting
----------------------
 =20
The first Gentoo UK Meeting will be held at Salford University,=20
Manchester, on Saturday 4th September 2004. The day's events will be a=20
mixture of presentations from invited speakers and break-out sessions=20
where you get the chance to discuss the aspects of Gentoo that matter to=20
you with the developers who will be attending on the day.=20

Confirmed Gentoo Linux developers attending include Stuart Herbert from=20
the PHP and web-app teams, Rob Holland from the tenshi project, and=20
Ciaranm McCreesh from the Sparc team.=20

We're also delighted that Harry Moyes from Manchester Wireless=20
(www.manchesterwireless.net) will be speaking at the event.=20

Full details can be found here: http://dev.gentoo.org/~stuart/2004/=20

Our thanks to Reuben Finch from Freenode[1] for organizing the event, and=
=20
to Ricky Clarkson and Andrew Young of Salford University for their=20
generous help and support.=20

 1. http://www.freenode.net
   =20
Successful 2004.2 Release via BitTorrent Distribution
-----------------------------------------------------
 =20
With only limited publicity for its debut, the latest release of Gentoo=20
Linux was the first to try an additional method of distribution besides=20
the usual HTTP or FTP downloads: BitTorrent filesharing. Looking at the=20
data volume that has been piped through in the two weeks since the=20
release, the introduction of such a P2P service for downloading Gentoo=20
Linux was immediately very popular with users. The BitTorrent service=20
provided by the German NPO Gentoo e.V.[2] reports that already more than=20
two terabytes worth of data have been processed by the tracker, with=20
roughly one TB for the x86 and Athlon/P4 LiveCD images alone. Unlike other=
=20
filesharing services, the MIT-licensed BitTorrent builds peer networks=20
flexibly for each individual file, so that clients desiring information=20
about download locations may get different partners for every downloadable=
=20
item, and eventually provide chunks of data they've already got to others=
=20
in the process.

 2. http://www.gentoo-ev.org
   =20
Gentoo Forums receive a hardware upgrade
----------------------------------------
 =20
The Gentoo web forums recently received a much needed hardware upgrade.=20
Many users have been commenting on the recent poor performance of the=20
forums, which was caused by the site's continued growth and popularity.=20
The new hardware, graciously provided by the OSU Open Source Lab[3], is=20
nearly twice as powerful as the old system and should hopefully provide=20
some breathing room for further growth. The Gentoo Foundation wishes to=20
thank the OSU OSL for their continued support of the Gentoo Linux project.=
=20

 3. http://www.osuosl.org
   =20

2. Projects Update

  =20
Releng
=20
The Release Engineering team has named a new Operations Lead: Chris=20
Gianelloni[4] (wolf31o2). The group is starting to get back into the swing=
=20
of things after a well-deserved hiatus following the 2004.2 release. John=
=20
Davis (zhen) has put together and released catalyst-1.0.9, which=20
incorporates complete support for cascading profiles and preliminary=20
X/GameCD support, which should completed by 2004.3's release.=20

 4. [e-mail:wolf31o2@gentoo.org]
   =20

3. Gentoo Security

  =20
rsync: Potential information leakage
=20
rsync fails to properly sanitize paths. This vulnerability could allow the=
=20
listing of arbitrary files and allow file overwriting outside module's=20
path on rsync server configurations that allow uploading.
=20
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[5]

 5. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200408-17.xml
=20
xine-lib: VCD MRL buffer overflow
=20
xine-lib contains an exploitable buffer overflow in the VCD handling code
=20
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[6]

 6. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200408-18.xml
=20
courier-imap: Remote Format String Vulnerability
=20
There is a format string vulnerability in non-standard configurations of=20
courier-imapd which may be exploited remotely. An attacker may be able to=
=20
execute arbitrary code as the user running courier-imapd (oftentimes root).
=20
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[7]

 7. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200408-19.xml
=20
Qt: Image loader overflows
=20
There are several bugs in Qt's image-handling code which could lead to=20
crashes or arbitrary code execution.
=20
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[8]

 8. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200408-20.xml
=20
Cacti: SQL injection vulnerability
=20
With special configurations of Cacti it is possible to change passwords=20
via a SQL injection attack.
=20
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[9]

 9. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200408-21.xml
=20
Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird: New releases fix vulnerabilities
=20
New releases of Mozilla, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Mozilla Firefox fix=20
several vulnerabilities, including remote DoS and buffer overflows.
=20
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[10]

 10. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200408-22.xml
   =20
=

4. Featured Developer of the Week
=

 =20
Christian Andreetta
=20
Figure 4.1: Christian Andreetta
http://www.gentoo.org/images/gwn/20040823_satya.jpg
=20
This week, we are featuring Christian Andreetta[11] (satya), one of=20
several developers supporting samba[12] under Gentoo. In addition to the=20
traditional developer activities of creating and supporting ebuilds,=20
Christian focuses on providing support for antivirus integration,=20
printing, and authorization tools like kerberos and ldap. He has also=20
contributed to a number of other FOSS projects, like the python-based=20
skunkweb[13] and postgresql[14]. He is also looking forward to becoming=20
active working with the clusters and app-sci herds in Gentoo. When pressed=
=20
for an example of work he was particularly proud of, he confessed to being=
=20
pleased about the resolution to Bug #48871[15], a new Samba ebuild that=20
resolved a number of other bugs.=20

 11. [e-mail:satya@gentoo.org]
 12. http://www.samba.org
 13. http://skunkweb.sourceforge.net/
 14. http://www.postgresql.org/
 15. http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id48871
=20
Christian completed a Bachelor's degree in Information Engineering,=20
specializing in biomedical and control systems. He is currently employed=20
as a Technology Officer for the University of Padova in Italy, but hinted=
=20
that he would be interested in working in Applied Research in other=20
European countries. Christian began using Unix in the early 90s, with=20
Solaris and HP-UX. In 1997, he was looking for a Unix-like operating=20
system for his home computers and experimented with Red Hat and Slackware=
=20
before settling on Mandrake. A magazine article in 2002 led hem to Gentoo,=
=20
and he "converted all of [his] systems as soon as possible." He became a=20
Gentoo developer by being active on bugzilla as a user, contributing=20
patches and ebuilds. When a call went out for samba maintainers, he=20
volunteered and was accepted based on his earlier work.=20
=20
Christian usually develops using the Scintilla[16] text editor, with the=20
amaroK[17] radio streamer running. kgpg[18], kworldclock[19] and=20
distcc-gnome[20] are launched automatically when his system starts. He=20
works on an Asus L3C laptop that is abundantly supplied with RAM, and uses=
=20
KDE for his desktop environment. When away from his computers, Christian=20
practices shiatsu massage. He prefers having people around him, which=20
extends to a development philosophy that he describes as preferring "group=
=20
work over lone", adding his pleasure at working with the other members of=
=20
the Samba team. He closed with the observation that Gentoo provides=20
"simple tools and is very well documented. Every user is easily a=20
developer."=20

 16. http://www.scintilla.org/
 17. http://amarok.kde.org/
 18. http://devel-home.kde.org/~kgpg/
 19. http://docs.kde.org/en/3.2/kdetoys/kworldclock/
 20. http://distcc.samba.org/
  =20

5. Heard in the Community

 =20
Web Forums
----------
 =20
Don't Drink and Sing - Gentoo Song Revisited=20
=20
Forum userKen{NoBeeb}[21] aka Kristoffer Ericson from Sweden checked back=
=20
on a thread he created in January, and was pleasantly surprised that=20
apparently thousands of people had listened to the Gentoo song he recorded=
=20
(while inebriated, or so he claims), and evidently liked it! So he=20
re-mastered his old tune and put a new version up for download, this time=
=20
in almost acceptable sound quality:=20

 21. http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?modeviewprofile&u14901
=20
 * Gentoo Song[22]=20
 22. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t121752

=20
Booting from Floppies=20
=20
For users with historic hardware, the standard installation method of=20
booting from a Gentoo LiveCD can be challenging at times. Many alternative=
=20
procedures including netbooting via PXE, rescue floppies borrowed from=20
minimal Linux distributions exist, but for those who actually have a=20
CD-ROM drive that's just refusing to boot from the media, the GPL'ed Smart=
=20
Boot Manager may provide an easy solution:
=20
 * Installing from floppy [Solved][23]=20
 * Smart Boot Manager Website[24]=20
 23. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t67849
 24. http://btmgr.webframe.org

   =20

6. Gentoo International

  =20
UK: Gentoo Meet-Up Car Sharing Exchange=20
=20
Since the venue for the planned UK meet-up in September has been decided,=
=20
users have begun making travel arrangements to get to Manchester.=20
Sheffield-based Gentoo developer Tomk[25] has set up a tool on his website=
=20
at dev.gentoo.org that helps tackling the UK Gentoo community's geographic=
=20
challenges. If you plan on coming to Manchester by car, or seek=20
opportunities to hitch a ride to take you there, check the UK Meet-Up Car=
=20
Pool[26] page provided by Tom.=20

 25. [e-mail:tomk@gentoo.org]
 26. http://dev.gentoo.org/~tomk/gentoo-uk/car-pool/
   =20

7. Bugzilla

 =20
Summary
-------
 =20
 * Statistics=20
 * Closed Bug Ranking=20
 * New Bug Rankings=20
   =20
Statistics
----------
 =20
The Gentoo community uses Bugzilla (bugs.gentoo.org[27]) to record and=20
track bugs, notifications, suggestions and other interactions with the=20
development team. Between 14 August 2004 and 20 August 2004, activity on=20
the site has resulted in:=20

 27. http://bugs.gentoo.org
=20
 * 689 new bugs during this period=20
 * 534 bugs closed or resolved during this period=20
 * 26 previously closed bugs were reopened this period=20
=20
Of the 6889 currently open bugs: 135 are labeled 'blocker', 194 are=20
labeled 'critical', and 554 are labeled 'major'.=20
   =20
Closed Bug Rankings
-------------------
 =20
The developers and teams who have closed the most bugs during this period=
=20
are:=20
=20
 * PPC Porters[28], with 62 closed bugs[29] =20
 * Portage Team[30], with 43 closed bugs[31] =20
 * Gentoo Gnome Team[32], with 31 closed bugs[33] =20
 * Gentoo Games[34], with 28 closed bugs[35] =20
 * Gentoo KDE Team[36], with 24 closed bugs[37] =20
 28. [e-mail:ppc@gentoo.org]
 29.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusRESOLVED&bug_statusCLOSE=
D&ch
fieldbug_status&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto2004-08-20&resoluti=
onFIX
ED&assigned_toppc@gentoo.org
 30. [e-mail:dev-portage@gentoo.org]
 31.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusRESOLVED&bug_statusCLOSE=
D&ch
fieldbug_status&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto2004-08-20&resoluti=
onFIX
ED&assigned_todev-portage@gentoo.org
 32. [e-mail:gnome@gentoo.org]
 33.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusRESOLVED&bug_statusCLOSE=
D&ch
fieldbug_status&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto2004-08-20&resoluti=
onFIX
ED&assigned_tognome@gentoo.org
 34. [e-mail:games@gentoo.org]
 35.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusRESOLVED&bug_statusCLOSE=
D&ch
fieldbug_status&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto2004-08-20&resoluti=
onFIX
ED&assigned_togames@gentoo.org
 36. [e-mail:kde@gentoo.org]
 37.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusRESOLVED&bug_statusCLOSE=
D&ch
fieldbug_status&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto2004-08-20&resoluti=
onFIX
ED&assigned_tokde@gentoo.org

   =20
New Bug Rankings
----------------
 =20
The developers and teams who have been assigned the most new bugs during=20
this period are:=20
=20
 * Gentoo Kernel Bug Wranglers and Kernel Maintainers[38], with 19 new=20
bugs[39] =20
 * Gentoo Sound Team[40], with 14 new bugs[41] =20
 * Gentoo Science Related Packages[42], with 11 new bugs[43] =20
 * OSX Porters[44], with 11 new bugs[45] =20
 * Gentoo Core System Packages Team[46], with 11 new bugs[47] =20
 38. [e-mail:kernel@gentoo.org]
 39.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusNEW&bug_statusASSIGNED&b=
ug_s
tatusREOPENED&chfieldassigned_to&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto=
2004-08
-20&assigned_tokernel@gentoo.org
 40. [e-mail:sound@gentoo.org]
 41.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusNEW&bug_statusASSIGNED&b=
ug_s
tatusREOPENED&chfieldassigned_to&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto=
2004-08
-20&assigned_tosound@gentoo.org
 42. [e-mail:sci@gentoo.org]
 43.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusNEW&bug_statusASSIGNED&b=
ug_s
tatusREOPENED&chfieldassigned_to&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto=
2004-08
-20&assigned_tosci@gentoo.org
 44. [e-mail:osx@gentoo.org]
 45.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusNEW&bug_statusASSIGNED&b=
ug_s
tatusREOPENED&chfieldassigned_to&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto=
2004-08
-20&assigned_toosx@gentoo.org
 46. [e-mail:base-system@gentoo.org]
 47.=20
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_statusNEW&bug_statusASSIGNED&b=
ug_s
tatusREOPENED&chfieldassigned_to&chfieldfrom2004-08-14&chfieldto=
2004-08
-20&assigned_tobase-system@gentoo.org

   =20

8. Tips and Tricks

 =20
Comparing Files
---------------
 =20
Often people compare the differences between two files using diff. But if=
=20
you needed to do a comparison of similarities between files, comm is the=20
command to use.=20
=20
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Code Listing 8.1:                                                       |
| comm usage syntax                                                       |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                                         |
|comm [option]  file1  file2                                              |
|                                                                         |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
=20
Note: both file1 and file2 need to be sorted before using comm as it does=
=20
a line by line comparison.
=20
comm outputs three columns: lines that are unique to file1, lines that are=
=20
unique to file2, and lines that are common to both files. The options=20
'-1', '-2', '-3' will suppress the corresponding columns.=20
=20
Running comm -2 file1 file2 with the following files, would output five.=20
=20
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Code Listing 8.2:                                                       |
| comm output                                                             |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                                         |
|File1:                                                                   |
|one                                                                      |
|two                                                                      |
|three                                                                    |
|                                                                         |
|File2:                                                                   |
|one                                                                      |
|five                                                                     |
|three                                                                    |
|                                                                         |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   =20
=

9. Moves, Adds, and Changes
=

 =20
Moves
-----
 =20
The following developers recently left the Gentoo team:
=20
 * None this week=20
   =20
Adds
----
 =20
The following developers recently joined the Gentoo Linux team:
=20
 * None this week=20
   =20
Changes
-------
 =20
The following developers recently changed roles within the Gentoo Linux=20
project:
=20
 * None this week=20
   =20

10. Contribute to GWN

  =20
Interested in contributing to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter? Send us an=20
email[48].

 48. [e-mail:gwn-feedback@gentoo.org]
   =20

11. GWN Feedback

  =20
Please send us your feedback[49] and help make the GWN better.

 49. [e-mail:gwn-feedback@gentoo.org]
   =20
=

12. GWN Subscription Information
=

  =20
To subscribe to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter, send a blank email to=20
[e-mail:gentoo-gwn-subscribe@gentoo.org].
=20
To unsubscribe to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter, send a blank email to=20
[e-mail:gentoo-gwn-unsubscribe@gentoo.org] from the email address you are=20
subscribed under.
   =20

13. Other Languages

  =20
The Gentoo Weekly Newsletter is also available in the following languages:
=20
 * Danish[50]=20
 * Dutch[51]=20
 * English[52]=20
 * German[53]=20
 * French[54]=20
 * Japanese[55]=20
 * Italian[56]=20
 * Polish[57]=20
 * Portuguese (Brazil)[58]=20
 * Portuguese (Portugal)[59]=20
 * Russian[60]=20
 * Spanish[61]=20
 * Turkish[62]=20
=20
 50. http://www.gentoo.org/news/da/gwn/gwn.xml
 51. http://www.gentoo.org/news/be/gwn/gwn.xml
 52. http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/gwn.xml
 53. http://www.gentoo.org/news/de/gwn/gwn.xml
 54. http://www.gentoo.org/news/fr/gwn/gwn.xml
 55. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ja/gwn/gwn.xml
 56. http://www.gentoo.org/news/it/gwn/gwn.xml
 57. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pl/gwn/gwn.xml
 58. http://www.gentoo.org/news/br/gwn/gwn.xml
 59. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pt/gwn/gwn.xml
 60. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ru/gwn/gwn.xml
 61. http://www.gentoo.org/news/es/gwn/gwn.xml
 62. http://www.gentoo.org/news/tr/gwn/gwn.xml

  =20
Yuji Carlos Kosugi  - Editor
AJ Armstrong  - Contributor
Brian Downey  - Contributor
Kurt Lieber  - Contributor
Ulrich Plate  - Contributor
Sven Vermeulen  - Contributor
Simon Holm Thagersen  - Danish Translation
Jesper Brodersen  - Danish Translation
Arne Mejlholm  - Danish Translation
Hendrik Eeckhaut  - Dutch Translation
Jorn Eilander  - Dutch Translation
Bernard Kerckenaere  - Dutch Translation
Peter ter Borg  - Dutch Translation
Jochen Maes  - Dutch Translation
Roderick Goessen  - Dutch Translation
Gerard van den Berg  - Dutch Translation
Matthieu Montaudouin  - French Translation
Xavier Neys  - French Translation
Martin Prieto  - French Translation
Antoine Raillon  - French Translation
Sebastien Cevey  - French Translation
Jean-Christophe Choisy  - French Translation
Thomas Raschbacher  - German Translation
Steffen Lassahn  - German Translation
Matthias F. Brandstetter  - German Translation
Lukas Domagala  - German Translation
Tobias Scherbaum  - German Translation
Daniel Gerholdt  - German Translation
Marc Herren  - German Translation
Tobias Matzat  - German Translation
Marco Mascherpa  - Italian Translation
Claudio Merloni  - Italian Translation
Stefano Lucidi  - Italian Translation
Katuyuki Konno  - Japanese Translation
Hiroyuki Takeda  - Japanese Translation
Masato Hatakeyama  - Japanese Translation
Shigehiro Idani  - Japanese Translation
Masayoshi Nakamura  - Japanese Translation
Tomoyuki Sakurai  - Japanese Translation
Lukasz Strzygowski  - Polish Translation
Karol Goralski  - Polish Translation
Atila "Jedi" Bohlke Vasconcelos  - Portuguese=20
(Brazil) Translation
Eduardo Belloti  - Portuguese (Brazil) Translation
Jo=C3=A3o Rafael Moraes Nicola  - Portuguese (Brazil)=
=20
Translation
Marcelo Gon=C3=A7alves de Azambuja  - Portuguese=
=20
(Brazil) Translation
Otavio Rodolfo Piske  - Portuguese (Brazil)=20
Translation
Pablo N. Hess -- NatuNobilis  - Portuguese=20
(Brazil) Translation
Pedro de Medeiros  - Portuguese (Brazil) Translation
Ventura Barbeiro  - Portuguese (Brazil)=20
Translation
Bruno Ferreira  - Portuguese (Portugal)=20
Translation
Gustavo Felisberto  - Portuguese (Portugal)=20
Translation
Jos=C3=A9 Costa  - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Luis Medina  - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Ricardo Loureiro  - Portuguese (Portugal) Translation
Aleksandr Martyncev  - Russian Translator
Sergey Galkin  - Russian Translator
Sergey Kuleshov  - Russian Translator
Alex Spirin  - Russian Translator
Denis Zaletov  - Russian Translator
Guillermo Juarez  - Spanish Translation
Fernando J. Pereda  - Spanish Translation
Juan Diego Guti=C3=A9rrez Gallardo  - Spanish Translation
Nicolas Silva  - Spanish Translation
Aycan Irican  - Turkish Translation
Bugra Cakir  - Turkish Translation
Cagil Seker  - Turkish Translation
Emre Kazdagli  - Turkish Translation
Evrim Ulu  - Turkish Translation
Gursel Kaynak  - Turkish Translation


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