Debian Weekly News - August 22nd, 2006
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Debian Weekly News
http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2006/34/
Debian Weekly News - August 22nd, 2006
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Welcome to this year's 34th issue of DWN, the weekly newsletter for
the Debian community. Jörg Jaspert [1]announced that the
[2]backports archive also understands the tilde character in version
strings and that packages are set to NotAutomatic so that they
shouldn't be updated automatically anymore. [3]HP recently
[4]announced that they support Debian GNU/Linux on its ProLiant,
BladeSystem servers, and the new HP t5725 Thin Client server.
1. http://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2006/08/msg00118.html
2. http://www.backports.org/
3. http://www.hp.com/
4. http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;311998848;fp;2;fpid;1
Event Coordination in the German-speaking Area. Meike Reichle
[5]announced a new Wiki [6]page for coordinating public events in
the German-speaking area such as fairs, exhibitions and conferences in
which the Debian projects participates. This is one result of a
[7]meeting of Debian event organisers last weekend. Alexander Schmehl
[8]added that the events [9]section on the Debian website will be
overhauled in the near future.
5. http://lists.debian.org/debian-events-eu/2006/08/msg00019.html
6. http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEventsDe
7. http://lists.debian.org/debian-publicity/2006/08/msg00031.html
8. http://lists.debian.org/debian-events-eu/2006/08/msg00022.html
9. http://www.debian.org/events/
WNPP Bug Report Page. Hendrik Sattler [10]noticed that the [11]page
for Work-Needing and Prospective Packages (WNPP) in the [12]bug
tracking system causes problems with Konqueror and Firefox due to the
sheer size of 3 MB. Ben Armstrong [13]reminded the existence of light
[14]pages with direct links to the different WNPP packages sections.
10. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/08/msg00236.html
11. http://bugs.debian.org/wnpp
12. http://www.debian.org/Bugs/
13. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/08/msg00237.html
14. http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/
Review of Debian Development Tools. As part of his research on Debian,
Martin Krafft [15]asked about the tools that have been successfully
adopted or those that have been rejected by the developers. Michael
Banck [16]mentioned [17]CDBS, [18]Alioth and Debian's [19]Subversion
repository, but [20]Debhelper, patch management systems and
distributed version control systems have also been widely adopted.
Debian Developers also appreciated [21]devscripts and package checkers
like [22]lintian, [23]linda and [24]piuparts. A list of tools is
[25]available.
15. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/07/msg01358.html
16. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/07/msg01360.html
17. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/cdbs
18. http://alioth.debian.org/
19. http://svn.debian.org/
20. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/debhelper
21. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/devscripts
22. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/lintian
23. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/linda
24. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/piuparts
25. http://wiki.debian.org/madduck/adoptions
New Desktop Features. Gustavo Noronha Silva [26]announced the upload
of a new version of [27]update-notifier. This tool, that was initially
made by Ubuntu, puts a notification icon in the notification area and
warns the user about updates being available. The version of the
Debian package notifies about reboot requirements for critical
packages only and informs about Debian CDs/DVDs inserted in the drive.
Such features should contribute to make Debian a nicer desktop
distribution.
26. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/08/msg00629.html
27. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/gnome/update-notifier
Publicity for Debian Events. Joey Schulze [28]asked to emphasise
events a bit more again. He suggested also more talks and workshops
with a Debian background and more promotion. This would generate more
interest by users to meet Debian people at exhibitions and conferences
and would give developers a better chance to talk to users in person.
It would also be nice if a [29]report would be written after the
event.
28. http://lists.debian.org/debian-events-eu/2006/08/msg00000.html
29. http://www.debian.org/events/2006/0624-froscon-report.wml
Alioth Updates. Roland Mas [30]reported that the [31]Alioth host costa
now supports both git and bzr for hosting source archives. He added an
explanation how to use both systems to access the repositories. User
replication has also been improved so that the downtime drops from 15
minutes to only a few seconds.
30. http://roland.entierement.nu/blog/2006/08/17/bits-about-alioth.html
31. http://alioth.debian.org/
Etch Kernel Schedule Proposal. Frederik Schüler [32]suggested to
select 2.6.18, which is to be released within the next four weeks, as
final kernel for [33]etch and freeze it at the beginning of November.
Frans Pop, however, would [34]prefer the kernel to remain in
[35]unstable at least one month before it migrates into [36]testing.
32. http://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2006/08/msg00413.html
33. http://www.debian.org/releases/etch/
34. http://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2006/08/msg00415.html
35. http://www.debian.org/releases/unstable/
36. http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/
New Architectures for Packages. Ludovic Brenta [37]wondered how to
inform [38]build daemon that a package should be built on another
architecture than before. Luk Claes [39]answered that the maintainers
of [40]Packages-arch-specific need to be contacted. Wouter Verhelst
[41]added an explanation why the wanna-build database doesn't use
control files but archive index files.
37. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/07/msg00537.html
38. http://www.debian.org/devel/buildd/
39. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/07/msg00538.html
40. http://cvs.debian.org/srcdep/Packages-arch-specific?cvsroot=dak
41. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/07/msg00583.html
Managing Packages with Subversion. Marcus Better recently [42]started
to use [43]subversion to maintain his packages and wondered what the
recommended repository layout would be. The point of having a common
layout is that it would be possible to write support tools that make
this layout less cumbersome to work with.
42. http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2006/07/msg00835.html
43. http://packages.debian.org/subversion
Creative Commons 3.0 Public Draft. Evan Prodromou [44]reported on the
[45]public [46]draft of the next version of Creative Commons licenses.
The changes from the 2.x version are largely due to an effort to make
the licenses compatible with the Debian Free Software [47]Guidelines
(DFSG). He wondered if the anti-DRM requirement in the license draft,
without a parallel distribution proviso, make it incompatible with the
DFSG?
44. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2006/08/msg00051.html
45. http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/6017
46. http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/cc-licenses/2006-August/003855.html
47. http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines
Security Updates. You know the drill. Please make sure that you update
your systems if you have any of these packages installed.
* DSA 1152: [48]trac -- Information disclosure.
* DSA 1153: [49]clamav -- Arbitrary code execution.
* DSA 1154: [50]squirrelmail -- Information disclosure.
48. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-1152
49. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-1153
50. http://www.debian.org/security/2006/dsa-1154
New or Noteworthy Packages. The following packages were added to the
unstable Debian archive [51]recently or contain important updates.
51. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main
* [52]flamerobin -- Graphical database administration tool for
Firebird DBMS.
* [53]gcdmaster -- GNOME GUI for cdrdao.
* [54]kildclient -- Powerful MUD client with a built-in Perl
interpreter.
* [55]page-crunch -- Frontend to psutils programs, like psnup,
psbook.
* [56]seccure -- Tools for using algorithms based on elliptic curve
cryptography (ECC).
* [57]sim-qt -- Simple Instant Messenger (Qt).
* [58]subcommander -- Graphical client for subversion.
* [59]subtitleeditor -- Graphical subtitle editor with sound waves
representation.
* [60]videolink -- Assembles a DVD video filesystem from HTML pages
and video files.
* [61]xmms2 -- Client/server based media player system.
52. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/flamerobin
53. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/sound/gcdmaster
54. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/games/kildclient
55. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/text/page-crunch
56. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/seccure
57. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/net/sim-qt
58. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/subcommander
59. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/gnome/subtitleeditor
60. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/videolink
61. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/sound/xmms2
Orphaned Packages. 12 packages were orphaned this week and require a
new maintainer. This makes a total of 334 orphaned packages. Many
thanks to the previous maintainers who contributed to the Free
Software community. Please see the [62]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. To find out which orphaned packages are
installed on your system the wnpp-alert program from devscripts may be
helpful.
62. http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/
* [63]gdtclft -- Tcl interface to GD graphics creation library.
([64]Bug#383651)
* [65]libtk-img -- Extended image format support for Tcl/Tk.
([66]Bug#383652)
* [67]pgpdump -- PGP packet visualiser. ([68]Bug#383129)
* [69]rsjog -- Handler for Sony Vaio "Jog Dial". ([70]Bug#383134)
* [71]tclmagick -- Tcl bindings for ImageMagick. ([72]Bug#383653)
* [73]tclparser -- Tcl extension to access Tcl's internal parser.
([74]Bug#383654)
* [75]tclsoap -- SOAP implementation for Tcl. ([76]Bug#383530)
* [77]tclthread -- Tcl extension implementing script level access to
Tcl threading capabilities. ([78]Bug#383655)
* [79]tclvfs -- Exposes Tcl 8.4's virtual filesystem C API to the
Tcl script level. ([80]Bug#383656)
* [81]tdom -- XML/DOM/XPath/XSLT implementation for Tcl.
([82]Bug#383657)
* [83]tkcon -- Enhanced interactive console for developing in Tcl.
([84]Bug#383658)
* [85]zapata -- Zapata telephony interface library (development).
([86]Bug#383834)
63. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/gdtclft
64. http://bugs.debian.org/383651
65. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/libtk-img
66. http://bugs.debian.org/383652
67. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/pgpdump
68. http://bugs.debian.org/383129
69. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/x11/rsjog
70. http://bugs.debian.org/383134
71. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/tclmagick
72. http://bugs.debian.org/383653
73. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/interpreters/tclparser
74. http://bugs.debian.org/383654
75. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/interpreters/tclsoap
76. http://bugs.debian.org/383530
77. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/interpreters/tclthread
78. http://bugs.debian.org/383655
79. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/interpreters/tclvfs
80. http://bugs.debian.org/383656
81. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/interpreters/tdom
82. http://bugs.debian.org/383657
83. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/interpreters/tkcon
84. http://bugs.debian.org/383658
85. http://packages.debian.org/unstable/libs/libzap1
86. http://bugs.debian.org/383834
Removed Packages. 24 packages have been [87]removed from the Debian
archive during the past week:
87. http://ftp-master.debian.org/removals.txt
* fidogate -- Gateway Fido <-> Internet
[88]Bug#374520: Request of QA, security issues, RC-buggy,
orphaned, few users.
* gnat -- GNU Ada 95 compiler
[89]Bug#377331: Request of maintainer, superseded by gcc-defaults.
* eskuel -- Pretty PHP administration tool for MySQL databases
[90]Bug#380202: Request of maintainer, abandoned upstream,
superseded by phpmyadmin.
* gch -- Ada quality & style checker
[91]Bug#380193: Request of QA, abandoned upstream, unmaintained,
superseded by adacontrol, RC-buggy.
* 44bsd-rdist -- 4.4BSD rdist.
[92]Bug#380192: Request of QA, RC-buggy, few users, orphaned.
* kernel-patch-nfs-swap -- Patch to Linux to enable swapping over
NFS
[93]Bug#379328: Request of QA, has never been part of a stable
release; orphaned; RC-buggy.
* python-parted -- Python bindings for GNU parted
[94]Bug#379034: Request of QA, has never been part of a stable
release, orphaned, RC-buggy.
* libhoard -- Fast memory allocation library
[95]Bug#332538: Request of QA: orphaned, out of date, few users.
* qmailadmin -- Web interface for managing qmail with virtual
domains
[96]Bug#333082: Request of QA, has never been part of a stable
release, few users.
* libgtk2-podviewer-perl -- Perl Gtk2 widget for displaying Plain
Old Documentation (POD)
[97]Bug#351889: Request of maintainer, superseded by
libgtk2-ex-podviewer-perl.
* net-dict-leo -- Perl module to translate English words to German
and vice versa
[98]Bug#362016: Request of maintainer, no longer legally usable.
* libaudio-flac-perl -- Perl interface to FLAC file information and
comment fields
[99]Bug#344077: Request of maintainer, superseded by
libaudio-flac-header-perl.
* ipchains -- Network firewalling for Linux 2.2.x
[100]Bug#382665: Request of QA, kernel 2.2 only.
* kernel-patch-2.4-supermount-ng -- Automatically mount and unmount
removable media
[101]Bug#298998: Request of QA, orphaned, out of date.
* kernel-image-2.4.27-[!i386,!m68k] -- Linux 2.4.27 kernel images
[102]Bug#383553: Request of maintainer, obsolete.
* amap -- Network protocol probing tool
[103]Bug#381185: Request of maintainer, non-free.
88. http://bugs.debian.org/374520
89. http://bugs.debian.org/377331
90. http://bugs.debian.org/380202
91. http://bugs.debian.org/380193
92. http://bugs.debian.org/380192
93. http://bugs.debian.org/379328
94. http://bugs.debian.org/379034
95. http://bugs.debian.org/332538
96. http://bugs.debian.org/333082
97. http://bugs.debian.org/351889
98. http://bugs.debian.org/362016
99. http://bugs.debian.org/344077
100. http://bugs.debian.org/382665
101. http://bugs.debian.org/298998
102. http://bugs.debian.org/383553
103. http://bugs.debian.org/381185
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
This issue of Debian Weekly News was edited by Mohammed Adnène
Trojette and Martin 'Joey' Schulze.
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