Debian Weekly News - April 12th, 2005
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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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