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Fedora Weekly News Issue 82

Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 82 for the week of April 1st through April 7th, 2007. The latest issue can always be found here .


Announcements

In this section, we cover announcements from various projects.

Aurora SPARC Linux Build 2.98 (Beta 1 for 3.0)

TomCallaway announces in fedora-test-list[1] - The Aurora SPARC Linux project[2] has released Build 2.98 which is a Sparc Linux Distribution based on Fedora Core 6. This is a BETA release, for what will become 3.0.

[1] http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-test-list/2007-April/msg00047.html

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

Seeking reviewers for Summer of Code applications

PatrickBarnes announces in fedora-devel-list[1] - We've got nearly 40 applications, not counting those that have been marked as ineligible, from potential Summer of Code[2] students. We must review these applications and select which ones will be most valuable to the Fedora Project and have a real chance of success.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00144.html

[2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/SummerOfCode

Fedora Account System Changes

ToshioKuratomi announces in fedora-maintainers[1] - As discussed for the past couple weeks here and within fedora infrastructure, we've been working on a few related enhancements to the Fedora Account system[2] . Today we enabled code that does two things:

  • When you are approved for cvsextras, you are automatically approved for fedorabugs.
  • Since Red Hat legal has decided that Red Hat employees have the equivalent of signing the CLA because of the terms of their employment, we needed to restructure the cla_done group.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-April/msg00072.html

[2] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure/AccountSystem

Developments

In this section, we covers the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on fedora-devel-list.

Rawhide Report

The April 3rd rawhide report[1] contained a patch to add multilib support for the alpha architecture, which led to the revelation that a volunteer port of Fedora for HP's Alpha servers [2] exists. This project, known as alphacore[3] , is working to merge their changes with upstream. Questions as to why a 64bit-only architecture would need multilib support were answered[4] by DonDutile and JakubJelinek[5]

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00083.html

[2] These are probably known to most by their original name of DEC Alpha, which then became Compaq, and then HP.

[3] http://alphacore.info/

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00097.html

[5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00098.html

Overview of Mirrors for Merged Core and Extras

JesseKeating called for feedback[1] on a restructuring of the mirrors. Jesse suggested this could happen as early as Monday 9th of April. In response to RolandMcGrath's query, Jesse clarified that there would be a transition period during which core/development and extras/development would linger and become symlinks to the new linux/development.

AxelThimm and DennisGilmore had some suggestions[2] regarding the use of rsync and avoiding relative symlinks. DavidWoodhouse made a case[3] for making the change at the start of the weekend so that DSL bandwidth caps would not be as huge a problem for home mirrors. ThorstenLeemhuis remembered a previous solution to which Jesse assented[4] .

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00226.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00240.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00257.html

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00269.html

Google SoC Application Reviews

Forty, or so, projects were submitted to the Fedora Project, to be considered for sponsorship to the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) process. An urgent request[1] was submitted for more people to help reviewing these submissions in only a couple of days. GregDeKoenigsberg pointed out that it was pretty easy to do and much needed.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00144.html

KDE Live CD

RexDieter and SebastianVahl continued to wrestle with the problem of slimming down the available packages for a KDE-based LiveCD. JeremyKatz[1] noted that some bloat was due to pirut requiring gnome-session for /etc/xdg/autostart and he had solved this by splitting the directory into the filesystem package. Sebastian and Jeremy further wondered[2] whether images should be relesed more frequently as torrents. RahulSundaram noted[3] that DavidZeuthen had already suggested daily LiveCD releases for both the Gnome and KDE LiveCDs.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00013.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00024.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00025.html

Presto Server Back Up. Interesting %doc Behaviour. Presto Now in Extras!

Problems with the testserver for Presto due to a lack of diskspace[1] were sorted out, problems with logging were resolved and JonathanDieter noted[2] that packages with large amounts of documentation showed few savings because rpm itself unsets the verify bit on %docs.

AhmedKamal introduced separate threads[3] for Presto-0.3.4's rebuilding and deltarpm downloading processes, so that they could occur in parallel. LeszekMatok provided a bugreport and a concrete example[4] of why this was of value (on a slow machine with a fast network).

In response to a query[5] , on April 4th, JonathanDieter pointed out that he hopes that Presto will be ready for F7, but that it's really alpha right now for FC6, has known issues with rawhide, and needs some more testers[6] . The immediate goals[7] of the project have seen good progress.

By April 7th someone had waved a magic wand and Presto had evolved[8] to version 0.3.7, had popped out of the Extras review process, and is ready for more testing. Jonathan was clear in pointing out that users should ensure their configuration should not point to the presto test server, which is not part of Fedora Infrastructure. TillMaas and RexDieter wondered whether the official Fedora repositories were presto-enabled and if not what needed to happen. Jonathan replied[9] that he needed to finish a tool for presto that was compatible with the currently existing createrepo. Rex's post was responded[10] to by MichaelSchwendt, who wondered about the fate of repoview vis-a-vis its potential replacement PackageDB. ToshioKuratomi then gave[11] a brief summary of the state of play of PackageDB as it pertains to Koji.[12]

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00017.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00139.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00089.html

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00106.html

[5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00118.html

[6] https://hosted.fedoraproject.org/projects/presto

[7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00081.html

[8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00167.html

[9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00175.html

[10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00194.html

[11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00225.html

[12] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure/KojiBuildSystem

Creating a Backtrace when GDB hangs X?

A short, but useful thread[1] opened by "dragoran" and answered by MatthiasClasen and AdamJackson suggested ways of obtaining a backtrace in a tricky situation.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00010.html

Removable Media Mounting Bug Due to SELinux?

ThomasJBaker reported[1] that since the updates of 3 April 2007 he could not hotplug his iPod as usual. WillWoods quickly replied with a known bugzilla entry, which Thomas then updated with the information that selinux=permissive silenced the error.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00127.html

New Firewire Stack. Minor Bugfixing

F7 contains a new IEEE-1394/Firewire stack. JosephESacco noticed that while his Epson 2450 Perfection scanner worked perfectly on either USB or Firewire with FC6, it only worked with USB for FC7. KristianHogsberg[1] identifed the problem as being due to a need to propagate some special-case error handling from the old sbp2 (firewire scsi) driver into the new stack.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00142.html

JBoss and Java Libre?

TimothySpaulding wondered whether there were Fedora packages of JBoss being prepared. JBoss[1] is one of Red Hat's most significant recent acquisitions. NicolasMailhot drove home the point[2] that packages are needed that can be dropped into a yum repo, and that this logically implied packaging a JVM. AndrewHaley disputed Nicolas' contention[3] that a consensus existed among Red Hat java developers that waiting for Sun to release Java 7 under GPLv3 (as promised) was more efficient than making gcj feature complete.

Attention was drawn[4] by MarkWielaard to the need for clarity and communication, and more importantly to the ability of Fedora to take initiative independently from Red Hat. He also pointed to the original plans for a Libre Java for FC7. In another branch of the same discussion, JesseKeating and RahulSundaram both pointed out that Sun's Java was not Free enough (yet) for inclusion into Fedora.

Nicolas and JefSpaleta remained cautious, with Jef calling for Red Hat's JBoss team to provide leadership and co-ordination of volunteers, while SethVidal and others argued[5] that there was no reason that this was not within the purview of the Fedora Project and invited clarifying contrary opinions.

TomTromey posted a link to the good news[6] that much of JBoss is working with gcj already and this was confirmed[7] by MarkWielaard, whose post also echoed OliverFalk's concern that rebuilding Sun's JVM for many platforms[8] will be "fun".

[1] http://jboss.org

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00254.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00303.html

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00307.html

[5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00313.html

[6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00293.html

[7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00306.html

[8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00281.html

"buildsys-macros" To Be Provided

JesseKeating reported[1] that based on the feedback received, the project would go ahead with adding macro definitions to the installed system to ease building packages and that he had requested this of the redhat-rpm-config maintainer.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00069.html

Rawhide-in-Mock Build Results

MattDomsch of Dell continues to supply the results of rebuilding rawhide in mock. The April 2nd logs reveal:

Dell Firmware Arch/Noarch Debate Continues

Following on from last week's debate, MatthiasSaou noticed that he had been bitten[1] by the same problem. MichaelSchwendt provided[2] a solution and explained how the push-script was able to do the right thing. MichaelEBrown argued that for Matthias' particular case (firmware for the ipw2200) it would be appropriate[3] to consider it as cross-platform code, if anything.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00039.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00043.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00066.html

Tcpreplay

BojanSmover proposed[1] including tcpreplay packages for FE/EPEL. The tcpreplay application allows the modification and replay of pcap formatted network traffic for testing network devices. Interest was expressed, problems noted, and a Package Review bugzilla entry[2] was opened.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00028.html

[2] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=234812

Where did FC7's New Init System Go?

Mark wondered[1] what had happened to a replacement for SysVInit? This had been suggested for FC7 to decrease boot times. DavidZeuthen responded[2] that fixing readahead was a more promising direction and that the maintainer was hard at work on this. BernardoInnocenti begged to differ, citing the lack[3] of dynamism of readahead and SysVInit and his personal experience with Ubuntu's Upstart and InitNG as datapoints. DavidZeuthen and TomLane argued[4] that while Upstart was promising it was no magic bullet. RudolfKastl reported[5] that InitNG was working well for him and that the next release would be LSB compatible. This led to a discussion of what might be the political impact of adopting a different new init system than Ubuntu or Debian. In any event, a lot of research has gone into this problem and no replacement system has advanced far enough to make the cut for Fedora 7.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00019.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00023.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00073.html

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00077.html

[5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00086.html

Temporary Pgadmin3 Maintainer Requested

GavinHenry posted a request[1] for a temporary (circa 3 weeks) maintainer of the pgadmin3 package for FC7. DevrimGunduz picked up the baton, and Gavin requested assistance in adding him as a co-maintainer. WarrenTogami pointed out how this could be done[2] and JonCisela[3] suggested a more formal method.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00109.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00146.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00134.html

JPGraph License Query Shows How To Remove A Package

AurelienBompard, package maintainer for JPGraph (an Object-Oriented library in PHP for producing graphs), wondered[1] about its confusing license. Further discussion[2] involving JoshBoyer, RahulSundaram, and others led to a decision to remove the package unless it could be clarified to be free. In part the concerns are actuated by considering EPEL. The full process[3] for removing packages was indicated by VilleSkytta. A suggestion[4] by GianlucaSforna to follow Debian's lead in packaging an older version was argued against by NicolasMailhot as it might mislead developers into assuming that later versions would be supported.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00253.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00323.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00327.html

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00282.html

Fedora Extras Package Build Reports

On April 1st 2007 there were thirty-five packages built and released for Fedora Core 6:

https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00001.html


These packages included:

ClanLib-0.8.0-4.fc6
GeoIP-1.4.2-1.fc6
NEW  SimGear-0.3.10-4.fc6
NEW  audacious-plugins-nonfree-mp3-1.2.5-2.fc6
NEW  audacious-plugins-nonfree-wma-1.1.2-7.fc6
azureus-2.5.0.4-2.fc6
bzr-gtk-0.14.0-1.fc6
cvs2cl-2.60-1.fc6
exaile-0.2.9-4.fc6
facter-1.3.7-1.fc6
NEW  ffmpeg-0.4.9-0.35.20070204.fc6
git-1.5.0.6-1.fc6
NEW  gstreamer-ffmpeg-0.10.2-3.fc6
jd-1.8.8-0.3.rc070330.fc6
NEW  lame-3.97-5.fc6
NEW  latexmk-3.08n-4.fc6
libmtp-0.1.5-1.fc6
libsexy-0.1.11-1.fc6
NEW  madplay-0.15.2b-5.fc6
mecab-0.95-2.fc6
NEW  mplayer-1.0-0.73.20070325svn.fc6
ntfs-3g-1.328-1.fc6
NEW  nvidia-kmod-1.0.9755-2.2.6.20_1.2933.fc6
perl-Contextual-Return-v0.2.1-1.fc6
perl-Module-ScanDeps-0.73-1.fc6
perl-aliased-0.21-1.fc6
php-pear-Net-SMTP-1.2.10-1.fc6
php-pear-Net-Socket-1.0.7-1.fc6
puppet-0.22.3-1.fc6
qascade-0.1-7.fc6
qt4-4.2.3-7.fc6.1
tinyerp-4.0.3-1.fc6
tuxpuck-0.8.2-3.fc6
NEW  vlc-0.8.6a-2.fc6
zabbix-1.1.7-1.fc6

Ten packages were built[1] for Fedora Extras Development according to the Sunday 8 April 2007 report.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00350.html

HAL Multilib Packaging or "David Woodhouse made me do it"!

On April 5th, someone noted[1] that an update resulted in downloading 230 packages and finished with an error. It all seemed to be due to a hal packaging problem. An early response[2] suggested that this was a multilib problem and could be solved by removing the i386 version of hal, which was confirmed by the poster. However, the underlying problem is intricate.

DavidZeuthen was aware[3] of the problem (which already had a bugzilla entry), and sought help in solving it.

Following input, from MichaelSchwendt and SethVidal, David wondered if he should reverse[4] the separation of hal and hal-libs. This split itself was the result of earlier attempts[5] to solve the hal multilib problem. MichaelSchwendt made an argument[6] for using "obsoletes" to force replacement with the appropriate architecture, and suggested that this was broken in Fedora7 if it didn't work.

BillNottingham noted that Michael's theory seemed to be confirmed by looking at the CVS. Jesse decided to reproduce the problem in full to investigate it. The result of this led to differing conclusions from MichaelSchwendt and JesseKeating.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00191.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00193.html

[3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00199.html

[4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00204.html

[5] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=231200

[6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-April/msg00216.html

Extras

In this section, we cover the world of interesting packages that are comunity maintained and may not be part of standard Fedora distribution ISO. These packages were formerly part of the Fedora Extras set of packages:

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PackageMaintainers

Audacious 1.3 In Extras

Audacious 1.3.0 was released back on March 2nd of this year but for over a month[1] sitting in Fedora Extras has been version 1.2.1 of this media player. Audacious 1.3.1 finally hit development testing this week and by the time you're reading this, it's likely entered the Fedora Core 6 Extras repository.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-extras-list/2007-April/msg00000.html

Extras Rawhide Rebuild in Mock Status

MattDomsch reported in again with i386 and x86_64 Rawhide mock status 2007-04-02 results[1] . Last week there were 65 x86_64 packages that failed to build but this time around there are only 54. Likewise, there have also been a drop for the i386 packages going from 34 to 29 package failures.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-extras-list/2007-April/msg00004.html

Documentation

In this section, we cover the Fedora Documentation Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject

Summer of Code Mentors

It is expected that there are going to be three or four Google Summer of Code projects running this year, which is too many for a single mentor - making this your lucky chance! Not only do mentors have the pleasure of making a project happen, they get a GSoC T-shirt, a chance at other goodies, and the possibility of attending events like last year's Mentors' Summit, where you can meet mentors from all over the world at the famous Google Mountain View campus. Contact either KarstenWade or PatrickBarnes if you are interested.[1]

[1] [1]

Fedora Documentation Steering Committee Meeting

The meeting log[1] and summary[2] were posted to the Fedora-docs-list.

[1] [2]

[2] [3]

Fedora 7 Test 4 Release Notes Available to Translators

The POT for Fedora 7 Test 4 release notes is now available to translators in the Fedora Docs CVS[1] .

For instructions on how to translate Fedora documentation, refer to the Translation Quick Start Guide[2] ; make sure you apply for 'cvsl10n' access[3] to commit your translations. The deadline for PO files is 2359 UTC April 14th 2007.

[1] [4]

[2] [5]

[3] [6]

New Targets In Makefile.common

New targets have been added to Makefile.common for use by translators and repository managers. These targets, make postat and make postat-${LANG}, give information on the current statistics for all languages or a specific language.[1]

[1] [7]

Common Snippets

It has been proposed that a proper strategy is needed for dealing with snippets - small pieces of XML that are common across many documents (e.g. CVS instructions, legal notices, bug reporting etc...). This could be achieved by converting all common snippets into gettext form using one basic XML (en_US) and POT/PO to translate the snippet.[1]

[1] [8]

Translation

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

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/L10N

Entity Substitution

DimitrisGlezos sparked conversation with his request for comments in this thread[1] about the Fedora Documentation Project's desire to use XML entities in all documentation. The idea is that commonly used words or XML snippets such as 'Fedora 7' and '<application>Pirut</application> can be represented as '&FED; &FEDVER;' and '&PIRUT;'. This allows for fewer keystrokes, reduction in typos, consistency of usage, and so forth.

Objections were raised[2] , with the main concern being that some languages need to change a word to fit a localization need, such as in Polish, where the word 'Fedora' may appear as 'Fedora, 'Fedory', and 'Fedorę'.

Some further discussion between quaid (KarstenWade) and stickster (PaulWFrields) in IRC (#fedora-docs) on 6-April-2007 lead to the possiblity of a per-locale setting in the Makefile, which would allow a per-language choice to use entities or not. This would ideally alleviate the objections/problems raised.

Translation ease-of-use changes in the near future? We hope so....

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

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-April/msg00015.html

FC7test4 POT Available

PaulFrields posted[1] that the Fedora Core 7 test 4 POT is now available. As of 4-April-2007, POs were available in the following languages: ca, cs, da, de, el, es, fi, fr, gu, hr, it, ja, ml, ms, nb, nl, pa, pl, pt_BR, pt, ru, sr@Latn, sr, sv, ta, uk, zh_CN, and zh_TW. The languages ca, cs, fi, gu, hr, ml, ms, nb, sr@Latn, ta, and zh_TW still required common entity PO files.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-trans-list/2007-April/msg00006.html

Infrastructure

In this section, we cover Fedora Infrastructure Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure

Fedorapeople.org and planet.fedoraproject.org

SethVidal proposed in his a message to fedora-infrastructure-list[1] that the existing fpserv.fedoraproject.org server be converted to provide Fedora account holders with storage space for files and planet code. His suggestion was widely accepted as a good idea and folks look forward to seeing the changes. As part of this work, old and not used services were removed from fpserv.fedoraproject.org.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-April/msg00001.html

Wiki Performance Issues

The esteemed MikeMcGrath in his review of recent wiki performance problems posted a solution[1] . The idea is to delete the unused wiki accounts; there are nearly 10,000 wiki accounts, yet only 600 have edit privileges. Mike has identified as subset of users who cannot edit and are not watching any pages, and wants to delete them to speed page processing. The idea was met with approval from list members, with the addition of a couple of caveats[2] from KarstenWade.

[1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-April/msg00027.html

[2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2007-April/msg00029.html

Artwork

In this section, we cover Fedora Artwork Project.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Artwork

Echo Icon Theme Development

There have been several new draft icons submitted to the list this week.

The initial draft of the new keyboard icon[1] was well received although criticized for being too dark and a discussion arose about localization issues surrounding the use of a QWERTY based icon. The concerns were fixed through a series of drafts resulting in the final draft, which is lighter and now uses a fictional key layout using the "E" "H" "C" "O" characters[2] .

[1] [9]

[2] [10]

Work continued on the gnome-devel icon[3] , with the current iteration being added to the Echo Development Wiki[4] . The "Go-up" and "Go-down" icons have also been reworked and are planned to be used for future software update icons[5] .

[3] [11]

[4] [12]

[5] [13]

Finally, drafts of a menu editor and Pirut icon were submitted[6] : some concerns were voiced that the pen on the menu editor icon was confusing, making it appear to represent a text editor rather than a menu editor; regarding the Pirut icon, some people were worried that it didn't represent the most common software installation source - the Internet[7] . Changes have already been made to the menu editor icon[8] .

[6] [14]

[7] [15]

[8] [16]

Echo Cursors

This week saw the announcement[1] of a gallery page[2] for Echo cursors providing a detailed list, along with a place to display, all the cursors needed for a complete theme. The naming specification[3] is mostly complete but still needs more work done to it, which should achieved as development progresses.

Anybody who has ideas for an Echo cursor theme is invited to add it to a draft section on the wiki page to help drive creativity and get the project moving forward[4] .

[1] [17]

[2] [18]

[3] [19]

[4] [20]

Events and Meetings

In this section, we cover event reports and meeting minutes from various projects.

Event Report: BarCamp Bangalore

https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-April/msg00093.html

French Ambassadors Meeting: 2007-04-01

https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-ambassadors-list/2007-April/msg00105.html

Packaging Committee Meeting: 2007-04-03

https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-maintainers/2007-April/msg00074.html

Security and Updates

In this section, we highlight the security updates from the week in Fedora.

This week's report by JoshBressers

Fedora Security Response Team

The Fedora Security Response Team[1] is slowly taking shape. The team is responsible for all Fedora security updates in Fedora 7 and beyond. Creating a security team is not a trivial task, and I believe it's best done in an organic manner. Anytime anyone tries to create a process around anything regarding security, it often ends up being overly complex. By keeping things simple from the start and adding process as needed, it's more likely the security team will be a success. If you have an interest in helping the Fedora Security Response Team, more information can be found here:

[1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security/ResponseTeam

krb5

The biggest update last week would have to be Kerberos[1] . There were three flaws fixed, but the really scary one was a flaw in the MIT krb5 telnet daemon. The telnet daemon shipped in krb5 allows for encrypted telnet sessions. As most people know, it is unwise and unsafe to use unencrypted telnet to connect to a remote machine. The flaw could allow a remote user to login as root, without a password. Anytime there is a remote flaw such as this, it's rather scary given the potential for a worm attack.

[1] http://web.mit.edu/Kerberos/advisories/

Security Advisories

Fedora Core 6 Updates

Fedora Core 5 Updates

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