path: root/english/News/weekly/2005/06/index.wml

#use wml::debian::weeklynews::header PUBDATE="2005-02-09" SUMMARY="Kernel, Packaging, Events, Mac, Vendors, Usernames, License, Election"
# $Id$

<p>Welcome to this year's 6th issue of DWN, the weekly newsletter for the
Debian community.  Andreas Barth told us privately that the mipsel
architecture is back in the list of supported architectures for testing.
It's been <a
href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39186360,00.htm">\
reported</a> that Bdale Garbee's young daughter Elizabeth, who has been a
Debian user since she was nine, will deliver a <a
href="http://linux.conf.au/abstract.php?id=199">talk</a> about extending
Tuxracer at the upcoming <a href="$(HOME)/events/2005/0418-linuxconf">Linux
conference Australia</a>.</p>

<p><strong>Debian Kernel IRC Meeting.</strong> Maximilian Attems <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2005/01/msg00896.html">\
announced</a> an IRC meeting of Debian's kernel maintainers in order to decide
the kernel versions for the sarge release.  Dann Frazier <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2005/02/msg00015.html">added</a> a
<a href="http://people.debian.org/~dannf/kernel-stats/kernel-avail.html">\
table</a> of available kernels.  Steve Langasek provided a <a
href="http://minbar.dodds.net/~vorlon/kernel-2.6.10-discussion.log">log</a> of
the discussion where the pros and cons of the 2.6.8 and 2.6.10 kernel trees
were identified.  2.6.10 is not in a releasable condition for sparc
currently, hence, the installer will <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2005/02/msg00244.html">stay</a> with
2.6.8 for now.</p>

<p><strong>Package Uploading without FTP.</strong> Since the <a
href="$(HOME)/News/2003/20031202">compromise</a> of Debian servers in 2003
normal developers don't have SSH access to ftpmaster.  As a result, Bartosz
Fenski <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/01/msg01960.html">\
wondered</a> if there was a way to upload packages without using FTP.  Andreas
Barth <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/01/msg01965.html">\
suggested</a> using the <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00068.html">delayed
queue</a> on gluck which <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00007.html">forwards</a>
packages every 15 minutes.</p>

<p><strong>Report from Solutions Linux.</strong> Julian Blache submitted a <a
href="$(HOME)/events/2005/0203-solutionslinux-report">report</a> about the
Debian booth at this year's <a
href="$(HOME)/events/2005/0203-solutionslinux">Solutions Linux</a> exhibition
in Paris.  Apparently this was the best booth they ever managed at this type
of exhibition.  Many visitors were interested in sarge release plans and in
Babelbox, a demonstration machine that reinstalls itself automatically with a
different language at each iteration.</p>

<p><strong>Debian on the Mac Mini.</strong> William Sowerbutts <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-powerpc/2005/02/msg00095.html">reported</a>
that he has Debian running on his new <a href="http://www.apple.com/macmini/">\
Mac Mini</a>, a PowerPC system in a small,
quiet and attractive chassis.  He has written up some
<a href="http://sowerbutts.com/linux-mac-mini/">notes</a> on the installation process and
explained partitioning.  Basically, only a recent CD-R of the new
<a href="$(HOME)/devel/debian-installer/">installer</a> and a
weak lemon drink are all one needs.</p>

<p><strong>Becoming a Debian Developer.</strong>  Bruce Byfield
<a href="http://programming.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/28/1618201">explained</a>
how one becomes a Debian developer (DD).  The process includes agreeing to the
<a href="$(HOME)/social_contract">Social Contract</a>, an
identity check, and proving the candidate has the required technical skills.
All candidates must be recommended by an advocate who is already a DD.  In
recent years the pass rate for those who complete the various hurdles has been
almost 100&nbsp;%, though the drop-out rate is high as well.</p>

<p><strong>Software Vendors supporting Debian.</strong> Christian Perrier <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00030.html">reported</a>
about a software vendor that approached Debian during the <a
href="$(HOME)/events/2005/0203-solutionslinux">Solutions Linux</a> exhibition
due to the growing demand for supporting Debian.  They didn't know how to
support Debian and its kernels best.  In France, some ministries are requiring
contractors to support Debian.  Joey Schulze <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00362.html">explained</a>
that it's probably a good idea to follow Debian development by using an idle
sid box.</p>

<p><strong>A Peek into the NEW Queue.</strong> Al Stone <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00087.html">wondered</a>
how to see what's in the NEW queue of the Debian archive. Jeroen van
Wolffelaar <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00090.html">pointed
out</a> the <a href="http://developer.skolelinux.no/~pere/debian-NEW.html">\
queue summary</a>.  Steve Langasek <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00127.html">explained</a>
that increasing the rate at which new packages flow into unstable is not
something that should be a priority when Debian is trying to fix
release-critical <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/release-critical/">bugs</a>
in preparation of a new release.</p>

<p><strong>Valid and invalid Usernames.</strong> Marc Haber <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00226.html">sought</a>
public opinion on usernames with dots and starting with digits.  Alastair
McKinstry <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00229.html">added</a>
that POSIX already permitted dots in the username and Michelle Konzack <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00231.html">revealed</a>
that <code>chown</code> from woody already supported this.  Usernames starting
with digits probably <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00234.html">ask</a> for
trouble.  A new <a href="http://packages.debian.org/adduser">adduser</a>
package has been uploaded to experimental to implement this.</p>

<p><strong>Debug Packages in the Archive.</strong> Josselin Mouette <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00257.html">noticed</a>
an increasing number of <code>-dbg</code> packages in the archive that are
only useful for debugging.  Joey Hess <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00278.html">proposed</a>
to introduce a separate section in the archive or a separate archive dedicated
to debug packages.</p>

<p><strong>Naming wireless Interfaces.</strong> Wichert Akkerman <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00307.html">brought</a>
up a discussion on naming wireless interfaces in Debian and Linux since some
are called eth* while others are named wlan*.  Christoph Hellwig <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00327.html">asserted</a>
that all drivers in the mainline kernel use eth*.  David Goodenough <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/02/msg00314.html">added</a>
that some drivers use other interface names and that wlan* is far from being
the standard name.</p>

<p><strong>Choice of Venue.</strong> Glenn McGrath <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/02/msg00036.html">wondered</a>
why a license which states the choice of venue is non-free.  Steve Langasek <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/02/msg00037.html">explained</a>
that the problem with choice of venue clauses is that anyone who accepts the
license must also accept the burden of defending themselves against charges of
license violation in a court which is likely to have an implicit bias in favour
of the copyright holder.</p>

<p><strong>Debian Project Leader Elections.</strong> Manoj Srivastava <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2005/02/msg00004.html">announced</a>
the opening of the nomination period for this year's Debian Project Leader <a
href="$(HOME)/vote/2005/vote_001">elections</a>.  <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2005/02/msg00006.html">Matthew
Garrett</a> and <a
href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2005/02/msg00011.html">Andreas
Schuldei</a> have nominated themselves already.  Further nominations will be
accepted until February 28th, followed by the campaigning period until March
21st and the voting period until April 11th.</p>

<p><strong>Security Updates.</strong> You know the drill.  Please make sure
that you update your systems if you have any of these packages installed.</p>

<ul>
<li>DSA 664: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-664">cpio</a> --
    Insecure file permissions.
<li>DSA 665: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-665">ncpfs</a> --
    Unauthorised file access.
<li>DSA 666: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-666">python2.2</a> --
    Unauthorised XML-RPC internals access.
<li>DSA 667: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-667">squid</a> --
    Several vulnerabilities.
<li>DSA 668: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-668">postgresql</a> --
    Arbitrary library loading.
<li>DSA 669: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-669">php3</a> --
    Several vulnerabilities.
<li>DSA 670: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-670">emacs20</a> --
    Arbitrary code execution.
<li>DSA 671: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-671">xemacs21</a> --
    Arbitrary code execution.
<li>DSA 672: <a href="$(HOME)/security/2005/dsa-672">xview</a> --
    Potential arbitrary code execution.
</ul>

<p><strong>New or Noteworthy Packages.</strong> The following packages were
added to the unstable Debian archive <a
href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main">recently</a> or contain
important updates.</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/gnome/evince">evince</a>
    -- Document (postscript, pdf, dvi) viewer.
<li><a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/doc/maint-guide-ko">maint-guide-ko</a>
    -- Korean translation of Debian New Maintainers' Guide.
<li><a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/text/myspell-he">myspell-he</a>
    -- Hebrew dictionary for myspell.
<li><a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/text/myspell-nl">myspell-nl</a>
    -- Dutch dictionary for myspell.
</ul>

<p><strong>Orphaned Packages.</strong> 2 packages were orphaned this week and
require a new maintainer.  This makes a total of 226 orphaned packages.  Many
thanks to the previous maintainers who contributed to the Free Software
community.  Please see the <a href="$(HOME)/devel/wnpp/">WNPP pages</a> 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.</p>

<ul>
<li> <a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/bootcd-dvdplus">bootcd-dvdplus</a>
     -- Bootcd extension to use DVD+ media.
     (<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/293909">Bug#293909</a>)
     </li>
<li> <a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/devel/prcs">prcs</a>
     -- The Project Revision Control System.
     (<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/293805">Bug#293805</a>)
     </li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Want to continue reading DWN?</strong> 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 <a
href="$(HOME)/News/weekly/contributing">contributing page</a> to find out how
to help.  We're looking forward to receiving your mail at <a
href="mailto:dwn@debian.org">dwn@debian.org</a>.</p>

#use wml::debian::weeklynews::footer editor="Andre Lehovich, Martin 'Joey' Schulze"