FWN/Issue94

= Fedora Weekly News Issue 94 =

Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 94[1] for the week of June 24th through June 30th 2007. The latest issue can always be found here[2] and RSS Feed can be found here[3].

[1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue94

[2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/LatestIssue

[3] http://fedoranews.org/cms/FWN/feed

Announcements
In this section, we cover announcements from various projects.

Contributing Writer: ThomasChung

Fedora Board elections - Voting Open
MaxSpevack announces in fedora-announce-list[1] ,

"Voting is now open for the Fedora Board elections. As a reminder, we are electing 3 of the 9 seats during this election."

"Voting will end at Jul 8 23:59:59 UTC Please go to [2] ."

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-June/msg00009.html

[2] https://admin.fedoraproject.org/voting/

Fedora 8's FUDCon Cancelled
MaxSpevack announces in fedora-devel-announce[1] ,

"Yesterday the Fedora Board made the decision not to hold an in-person FUDCon for F8. Like you, I'm a disappointed, but I'm also excited for us to try out an organized, weekend-long virtual hackfest (more below)."

"The feature list for Fedora 8 is coming together very well, and we're planning over the next few weeks how we can do a virtual hackfest for F8. The idea is to pick some days, probably the same weekend (4, 5 August), and organize energy around people having an IRC-based hackfest that weekend."

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-announce/2007-June/msg00011.html

Planet Fedora
In this section, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet

Contributing Writers: ThomasChung

Fedora Translation Project
FabianAffolter points out in his blog[1] ,

"The Fedora Translation Project has now a logo. If you want to help translate applications, documentation, and websites check out this web page for futher information. We are still looking for fellows for ther german team (for the other teams of course, too)."

[1] http://fabaff.blogspot.com/2007/06/fedora-translation-project.html

[2] http://translate.fedoraproject.org/

Max Talks to the Children 2.0
MaxSpevack points out in his blog[1]

"I spent 45 minutes the other day at Shodor Education Foundation[2] . They were having a career day, and they invited 4 people from companies in the Raleigh/Durham area to talk to a group of kids. I would say there were about 30 kids total, ranging from probably 7th grade through early college-age, with most of them in the 8th-11th grade group."

[1] http://spevack.livejournal.com/22033.html

[2] http://www.shodor.org/

Smolt passes the 50k mark
RolandWolters points out in his blog[1] ,

"Smolt[2], Fedora’s tool of choice to collect information about uses hardware, showed once again that it has a healthy growth: in the night from Thursday to Friday last week the 50k-users line was crossed."

[1] http://liquidat.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/smolt-passes-the-50k-mark-and-enters-opensuse-support/

[2] http://smolt.fedoraproject.org/

Creating Re-Spins with Revisor
JeroenVanMeeuwen points out in his blog[1]

"Creating re-spins has never been this easy. Of course we had pungi and livecd-tools to which we had added this GUI thing in Revisor[2], but since I've re-enabled the CLI mode in Revisor, re-spins go even easier and quicker by just copying these lines..."

[1] http://kanarip.blogspot.com/2007/06/creating-re-spins-with-revisor.html

[2] http://revisor.fedoraunity.org/

Developments
In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments.

http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list

Contributing Writer: KarstenWade

(This week's Developments section is being covered by KarstenWade while OisinFeeley is on vacation.)

Fedora Features Process
For the first time, Fedora is working on a feature tracking process. JohnPoelstra presented an initial proposal[1], which did not get much on-list discussion. ChristopherAillon wondered[2] what exactly a feature is, but his major point was around feature-driven versus time-driven release scheduling. His concern was that tracking features in this fashion is orthogonal to the Fedora time-driven release schedule. JeremyKatz[3] replied with a list of reasons to track featurs in a time-driven schedule.

1. You have an idea of things that people are working on. This can help in getting feedback or suggestions that could improve it; 1. You get people interested in it. And perhaps even helping out; 1. You get some idea of areas that are going to need testing so that testers can build up experience and knowledge about the area; 1. You generate some excitement around what's being worked on."

This list was identified in the discussion on this topic during the FESCo meeting[4] as being essential to understanding the reason for the new process. The result from that meeting[5] was to have John work on the next version of the draft based on the in-meeting discussion.

[1] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02382.html

[2] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02567.html

[3] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02587.html

[4] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras/SteeringCommittee/Meeting-20070628

[5] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-July/msg00025.html

Changing the Default Syslog Package
In response to an apparently dead upstream for sysklogd, SteveGrubb proposed[1] a change to the default syslog package. The reason is to gain an active upstream that has, or is working on, features that are generally desired. Steve's team reviewed a number of choices and settled on rsyslog, a fork of the current default daemon with many new features[2]. JasonLTibbets wondered[3] what happened to syslog-ng as the choice for a syslog replacement in Fedora. Steve's reply[4] mentioned licensing concerns and compatibility issues; one advantage he sees for rsyslog is backwards compatibility so no changes to existing installations should be needed.

[1] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02375.html

[2] http://www.rsyslog.com/module-Static_Docs-view-f-features.html.phtml

[3] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02381.html

[4] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02385.html

NicolasMailhot expressed the view that syslog_ng's log format is much nicer to look at, compared to traditional syslog format. He was also sure that people who are not running default configurations would not have any issues with syslog-ng's format. JeremyKatz asked for specific use cases that switching supports, and he pointed Steve at the release feature template in order to fill out a full feature description for the wiki.

[5] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02401.html

[6] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02383.html

Maintainers
In this section, we cover Fedora Maintainers, the group of people who maintain the software packages in Fedora.

https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-maintainers

Contributing Writer: MichaelLarabel

A Mass Rebuild For Fedora 8
RahulSundaram asked on the fedora-maintainers-list[1] whether there will be a mass package rebuild for Fedora 8 or if it was already done. JesseKeating replied that the rebuild should be coordinated with the glibc, gcc, and tools packagers, while David Woodhouse added that any new secondary architectures (Alpha or SPARC) should be merged before the rebuild as well.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-June/msg00763.html

Package Name Change
QuentinSpencer asked the Fedora Maintainers[1] what to do when a package name changes. JasonTibbitts responded with a link to the Fedora Project Wiki[2] that details the Fedora CVS Admin Procedure for handling package changes.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-June/msg00806.html

[2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PackageMaintainers/CVSAdminProcedure

Documentation
In this section, we cover the Fedora Documentation Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject

Contributing Writer: JonathanRoberts

Status Update
The FDSCo meeting was canceled this week, for a number of reasons[1], and in lieu of this KarstenWade posted a status update of various DocsProject activities to the docs-list[2]. He points out that the task of porting content from the Software Management Guide to the User Guide and Administration Guide is now complete, and the focus is now on getting the User Guide in shape for a new release. Also talked about was the new publication system, which is being held up as we wait for a new Plone release before deploying; the new translation system which went live this week[3] ; the project to create a web interface to reading and editing man/info pages is also making progress[4].

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-June/msg00173.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-June/msg00180.html

[3] http://translate.fedoraproject.org/

[4] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/SummerOfCode/2007/VillePekkaVainio

Translation
This section, we cover the news surrounding the Fedora Translation (L10n) Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/L10N

Contributing Writer: JasonMatthewTaylor

More Bugzilla
DimitrisGlezos[1] had more this week on fine tuning Bugzilla for the Translation team. Specifically concerning bug reports and which mailing lists they are sent to.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-June/msg00163.html

Wiki Localization
SamuelBizien[1] has started some discussion about how to localize the wiki pages for various browser locales. With the international nature of Fedora it would be a nice feature to have. The Infrastructure team has also been involved[2], and we look forward to seeing what they come up with.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-June/msg00178.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-June/msg00364.html

Infrastructure
In this section, we cover the Fedora Infrastructure Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure

Contributing Writer: JasonMatthewTaylor

New Test Server
MikeMcGrath, working feverishly as always, got a new test server, publictest1.fedora.redhat.com, up and running this week[1]. A public test group[2] has also been added.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-June/msg00362.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-June/msg00376.html

Streamlining Account Signups
RayVanDolson had this[1] post about observations of the current account creation and CLA procedure. The various teams are aware that this process is slightly archaic and a new process which is much more intuitive has been designed and will be implemented shortly[2].

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-June/msg00386.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-June/msg00395.html

Artwork
In this section, we cover Fedora Artwork Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Artwork

Contributing Writer: JonathanRoberts

Fedora 8 Deadlines
NicuBuculei writes to the art-list to remind everyone that, due to the short release schedule of Fedora 8, the deadline for the first round of theme submissions is fast approaching[1]. He also points out that the first round of submissions are just concept ideas, so polish is not required[2]. Seeing this post, MairinDuffy updated the schedule and slipped the date for this deadline to the 11th July[3].

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00211.html

[2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Artwork/F8Themes

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00241.html

Community Artwork
In response to questions about whether the art work will end up being created by Red Hat, as in the previous release schedule[1], it was pointed out that Red Hat no longer has an employee focused on Desktop Artwork, and so the artwork for Fedora 8 will be down to the Art team[2].

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00216.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00220.html

Nodoka Metacity Theme
MartinSourada, who has been developing the Nodoka metacity theme in correspondence with the art-list, has posted the 0.2 release of his metacity theme[1]. Testers will be appreciated and feedback welcome.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00232.html

Theme Proposals
MairinDuffy sent a theme proposal to the list[1], entitled Fedora Infinity. MolaPahnadayan also sent a message to the list linking to two backgrounds he'd created[2], along with a theme proposal for Fedora 8[3].

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00242.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00246.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-art-list/2007-June/msg00252.html

Security Week
In this section, we highlight the security stories from the week in Fedora.

Contributing Writer: JoshBressers

Red Hat Linux Gets Top Government Security Rating

 * http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,132978-c,redhat/article.html

The news of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 attaining EAL4 + LSPP is important to the entire Linux community. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 now holds the highest possible government security rating that can be acquired by an off-the-shelf operating system. A great deal of work has gone into this certification, but it speaks volumes about the maturity of Linux. It is unlikely that any other operating system in history has progressed so quickly in so many directions. No doubt this is a great example of how impressive the open source development model can be.

This particular certification is due to the progress made with SELinux. SELinux is still a relatively young addition to the Linux kernel. No doubt great things will be accomplished with SELinux in the future.

Third-Party Severity Ratings

 * http://www.press.redhat.com/2007/06/27/third-party-severity-ratings/

The above story compares how Red Hat rated the severity of a number of security flaws compared to how The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) rated the same flaws. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux ratings are comparable to how the same flaws are rated for Fedora. The one sentence summary is that the way Red Hat rates flaws and the way NVD rates flaws is different. The analysis in the article does a nice job of explaining why this likely is.

Fedora Security Response Team
The Fedora Security Response Team is still moving along. Things aren't moving terribly fast, but they are moving. The team is still primarily slogging through the list of old CVE ids to ensure that we've not missed anything in Fedora 7. I hope to use this article to keep the community in general up to date on the progress of security issues in Fedora.

Advisories and Updates
In this section, we cover Secuirity Advisories and Package Updates from fedora-package-announce.

Contributing Writer: ThomasChung

Fedora 7 Security Advisories

 * [SECURITY] c-ares-1.4.0-1.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0724
 * [SECURITY] firestarter-1.0.3-16.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0700
 * [SECURITY] gimp-2.2.15-3.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0725
 * [SECURITY] HelixPlayer-1.0.7-6.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0756
 * [SECURITY] httpd-2.2.4-4.1.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0704
 * [SECURITY] krb5-1.6.1-2.1.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0740
 * [SECURITY] perl-Net-DNS-0.60-1.fc7 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/F7/FEDORA-2007-0668

Fedora Core 6 Security Advisories

 * [SECURITY] evolution-data-server-1.8.3-7.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-594
 * [SECURITY] gimp-2.2.15-3.fc6  - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-619
 * [SECURITY] kernel-2.6.20-1.2962.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-600
 * [SECURITY] krb5-1.5-21.1 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-621
 * [SECURITY] libexif-0.6.15-2.fc6 - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FSA/FC6/FEDORA-2007-614

Events and Meetings
In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various projects.

Contributing Writer: ThomasChung

Fedora Board Meeting Minutes 2007-06-26

 * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-advisory-board/2007-June/msg00152.html

Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2007-MM-DD

 * No report

Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2007-06-28

 * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-July/msg00025.html

Fedora Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux Meeting 2007-06-27

 * http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/EPEL/Reports/Week26

Fedora Infrastructure Meeting (Log) 2007-06-28

 * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-June/msg00394.html

Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2007-06-26

 * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-June/msg00790.html

Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2007-06-25

 * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-June/msg02589.html

Fedora Translation Project Meeting 2007-06-26

 * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-June/msg00192.html

Feedback
This document is maintained by the Fedora News Team[1]. Please feel free to contact us to give your feedback. If you'd like to contribute to a future issue of the Fedora Weekly News, please see the Join[2] page to find out how to help.

[1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject

[2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join