Ubuntu Down Under (UDU) was the third Ubuntu conference and was held in Sydney, Australia. The first was held in Oxford, United Kingdom and the second one in Barcelona, Spain. The conference went for a whole week, starting on Monday 25th of April.This date turned out to be a good choice (for me anyway) since that Monday was ANZAC day, a national holiday. This meant that I had to push my way through crowds of spectators watching the ANZAC day parade on my to the conference, but it also meant that since I didn’t have to work, I was able to go in the first place. Having found the hotel where the conference was held (in a very fancy suburb), the place looked quite welcoming. In the reception area of the hotel, a pole was put up with colorful signs pointing the way of the Canonical conference rooms. The first room I entered was the install fest room, which had been organised by SLUG (Sydney Linux User Group). There was only a handful of people there getting Ubuntu Hoary installed. I had a chance to get a pressed Hoary CD, since they had boxes full of them standing around. One fellow started installing Ubuntu on his Apple laptop which must have been quite dated because when I came back to the install fest hours later, the installation still wasn’t done.
I went on to check out the other rooms. Unfortunately there was no schedule of talks and BOFs to be found in the hotel so I had to ask one of the SLUG guys to look up the schedule on the UBU wiki through the wireless access point, which they had set up. Each room pretty much looked the same: many small tables with developers huddled around them and a few white boards to put down important points. There were free snacks and soft drinks available, so I grabbed a lemonade and sat down at one of the tables with all the Ubuntu developers. Many of them were pretty big guys wearing geeky t-shirts promoting Debian, Python or encrypted emails.
They all had laptops. I don’t know what they used them for (besides to update the UBU wiki), but it definitely looked very good. The majority of the German KDE hackers had brought their white Apple ibooks. But of course their operating system wasn’t named after big catlike predators but rather had a penguin as its logo.
A lot of the BOFs started of with “Feature x does not work properly / at all in Hoary, what can we do about it?”. For example, there was the issue of video playback. Within in 15 minutes the Canonical employees had identified the problem, proposed possible solutions and assigned work to developers (which happened rather dictatorial). In this case Sebastian Bacher got the job of trying to integrate Xine with Ubuntu. Another topic was blue tooth support. Matthew Garret had noticed that currently under Ubuntu it is possible to list all blue tooth devices in the area, but he said that he also wanted to do useful stuff with those devices. For that purpose Windows was booted up from Matthew’s laptop (just to see what the competitor has to offer). Right at that moment Mark Shuttleworth came over to tell the teams to make sure they sum up each BOF with a list of points to work on. When Mark noticed that Windows was running on Matthew Garret’s laptop he got slightly upset (who wouldn’t if one spends millions of dollars (assumption) in the development of an alternative operating system, just to find one’s employees to be playing around with the competitor’s product) and made a gesture as if he was feeling sick and wanted to puke, which made the whole team laugh.
The team borrowed a blue tooth mouse from one of the KDE guys to see how it would work under Windows. The mouse worked fine, besides all those hackers had heaps of problems trying to figure out which buttons to press (and in what order) to turn the mouse on and off. The Windows experience ended with a “Windows is not really good a operating system.” by Matthew Garret.
At the end of the day UBU was a good experience, but I did feel very uncomfortable among all those developers, since there were hardly any (maybe 2-3) other non-developers there. On the wiki it said that everyone was welcome to attend, but the conference wasn’t set out that way. It was merely a bunch of hackers sitting together and more informally then formally discussing what they should do for the next release of Ubuntu: Breezy Badger (due for release in October this year). And from having met the people who work on this release, I think it’s going to be a good one.
About the author:
Michael Sacher currently studies,lives and works in Sydney, Australia. His homepage is here.
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And one test for ubuntu … another one in fact. each day a new test of ubuntu on osnews …
And one test for ubuntu … another one in fact. each day a new test of ubuntu on osnews …
Of course,Ubuntu is one of the few distros (maybe the only one) that is very polished installed from just one CD and everything works.I have used SuSE 7.1 upto 9.2,debian,mandrake (8.2-2005),slackware,FreeBSD,OpenBSD,Solaris,windows(3.11-server2003).
All hat their quirks more or less,however personal i would recommend Ubuntu to every average PC user.Ubuntu has the least quirks for my every day usage,install and it just works with minor configurations.The first distro that lets you work instead of maintain mostly.The humane theme isn’t bad either,what can one wish more?
I tried it all, and I would say it was pretty decent. Was it fabulous? Not a chance. 2 reasons why I erased it off my hard drive. Tried updated packages, certain ones, and kept saying got the latest one, even though some were 2 or like gaim 3 releases behind, unless all the bug fixes, security updates, enhancements were all backported like to gaim, firefox, and others. Other reason, I did apt-cache search for package after package after package, and was getting a lot of messages saying it can not be found, and is in referance to something somewhere else. Where do I get something if apt is saying it is somewhere else? Plus there was something with Ubuntu’s KDE that I didn’t like, can’t quite remember. So I just said screw this, and wiped Ubuntu in favor of SimplyMEPIS. I found SimplyMEPIS to do a couple things I was doing better, and eveything I apt-cache search in MEPIS I found everyone of them, no problem. Although now I’m using SUSE 9.3 Pro, I do not recommend this distro for people wanting to just download off websites and install. I have yet to be able to install one thing in SUSE. So I am against Ubuntu, I am not willing to support it by any means, and I do not make mention of it to other people.
I suffered a big problem with Ubuntu. Everything installed okay but when it began time to start the login all I got a black screen. I could hear sound in the back ground telling me it was working, but I just couldn’t see it.
I looked over the Ubuntu user forums and I’m not the only one. Seems there’s a problem with an “x” failing. I have a new Dell Latitude 110L. I tried my best to follow the suggestions people gave to get it fixed. It didn’t work.
I’m desperate to get Linux on this thing. Already removed the “Designed for Windows XP” sticker. I’m trying Fedora to see if I fair better.
One thing that was supposed to be revealed at the conference was the Breezy Badger logo, of which there is still no sign on the internet…was anyone there and have any news?
I tried to like hoary…. it completely freezes the machine after about 2 minutes of using it,
I reinstalled it this time selecting noapic and nolapic…. and it worked sweet
until I did an apt-get dist-upgrade, then it gave me piss off and went back to dying every 2 minutes.
I went back to Mandriva !
Bad carma.
When you did the apt-get dist-upgrade, that’s not a Ubuntu specific problem. I did the same thing in SimplyMEPIS, and after I did, I couldn’t use Firefox to access my ISP’s email website, said there was some sort of conflict or incompatibility. But if I used the Mozilla browser in SimplyMEPIS, Mozilla always worked fine for accessing email website to login. So I guess that’s just one command that’s off limits to ensure full usability with all packages.
Ironic that so many refused to take part in OpenBSD’s campaign for freeing WLAN drivers and docs…
this news is about the one week conference, not about whining or telling us how you installed ubuntu
Wish I could have been there.
…but some sentences look like they were written by a 12 year old child. However overall the article gives a nice impression about such conferences.
For the people who don’t know, the vast majority of people who work on Ubuntu are employees of Canonical and work from their own homes in some form of “distributed” model. So every now and then they find it very valuable to actually get together in the same room and talk through all the issues they have been having. That’s what this conference was and it was open to the public because that small minority of people who work on Ubuntu but are not Canonical employees can also benefit from this “face time” with the people they work with.
That said, I was not surprised when I found a bunch of geeks working on stuff and quickly fell asleep. It wasn’t a social event.
“So I am against Ubuntu, I am not willing to support it by any means, and I do not make mention of it to other people.”
Yeah man, you’re really hurting them too, they’re not #50 on distrowatch and dropping fast.
ok, that’s just funny. It’s the kind of quality you’d expect from a Slashdot submission.
As one of the attendees of the UDU conference, we have identified the problem with people coming and expect a user conference. Therefore, we have agreed upon in the next conference anytime at the end of the year that we might allocate at least a day for end users and other prospective developers who might want to dive in. It can be very intimidating to attend a BOF for the first time.
“Tried updated packages, certain ones, and kept saying got the latest one, even though some were 2 or like gaim 3 releases behind, unless all the bug fixes, security updates, enhancements were all backported like to gaim, firefox, and others.”
You are kept update with the repositories. Sercurity fixes are back ported. Perhaps you are in too much of a hurry.
You might be happier with Breezy or perhaps you could roll your own.
In my case the only think is missing in Ubuntu is bluetoot support. At home I can connect to the internet via GPRS only. Since there is no bluetooth stuff on the installation CD I’m in trouble – I cannot connect to universe repositories. Can anyone tell my what I need to download (at work for example) for off-line installation ? And some good ‘howto’ would be great too.
Thanks in advance.
Arturas B.
“Tried updated packages, certain ones, and kept saying got the latest one, even though some were 2 or like gaim 3 releases behind, unless all the bug fixes, security updates, enhancements were all backported like to gaim, firefox, and others.”
Ubuntu’s programs are pretty much on the edge. I’m using Firefox 1.03 and Gaim 1.2.1. I don’t know how close to the edge you want to be. As far as apt-get dist-upgrade; One of the things I learned in my early years is NOT adding any and every repository people recommend. It’s a trap I fell into early on. Someone would say ” I got package XYZ from (fill in the blank) repository”. And off I’d go to put it in my source list. Of course I’d end up with all kinds of problems and depencies loops. And more often than not a dist-upgrade was borked. This was in my RPM days. I’ve since learned two things. One; go over to a debian based distro. And two; keep your source list to just a trusted few.
That said, Ubuntu is top drawer in my book. Clean and light (who the hell needs 4 editors, 2 word processors, 5 terminals, etc). But if you want package XYZ, you can get it.
It’s poslished, it’s more than just funcitional and it flat-out works without the hair pulling, teeth gnashing and eye gouging quite a few distros put user through.
No sir, you’ll never be able to convince me Ubuntu isn’t a top notch distro.
Are not as helpful as the Gentoo forums
“Yeah man, you’re really hurting them too, they’re not #50 on distrowatch and dropping fast.”
you vist distrowatch pages and you can increase the counter for any page. keep visiting a particular distro page with a good amount of “friends” and puff there you are on the top.
“No sir, you’ll never be able to convince me Ubuntu isn’t a top notch distro. ”
bias at its best
“Tried updated packages, certain ones, and kept saying got the latest one, even though some were 2 or like gaim 3 releases behind, unless all the bug fixes, security updates, enhancements were all backported like to gaim, firefox, and others.”
you are using linux distributions the windows-way, and thats probably not a good idea. windows means: install windows and then install some 3rd party programmes. then check constanly for updates on the various websites and, if available, download and install them.
the linux way is: install any distribution and update via the built in update managers. don’t go and download 3rd party packages, stay with the ones the your distribution offers. really, why risk your systems stability just to run gaim 1.2.2 instead of gaim 1.2.1? does it really offer new features you desperately need? probably no. wait 6 months (it’s really not that long…) and then update your whole system to the new stable version. this way you don’t risk the stability of your system.
regards,
christian
Small minority? Over half the people there weren’t Canonical employees. I’m certainly not paid by them.
You need gnome-phone-manager to make a connection to your phone. Once you’ve done that, use the gnome modem applet to configure a dial-up connection on /dev/rfcomm0. Improving this is a definite goal for the next release – http://udu.wiki.ubuntu.com/BluetoothSupport describes the basic implementation plan.
” Can anyone tell my what I need to download (at work for example) for off-line installation ? And some good ‘howto’ would be great too.
Thanks in advance.
Arturas B ”
dpkg-scanpackage is your friend.
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/apt-howto/ch-basico.en.html#s-dpk…
cd /var/www
ln -s /var/cache/apt/archives /var/www/debian
cd debian
dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null > Packages && gzip -9c Packages > Packages.gz
Then:
add in apt sources file of your workstation at home
deb file:/<Directory containing Packages.gz> .
Abhay
PS: I forgot to mention that you have to copy the contents of /var/www/debian folder to the PC you want install debs on.
I used the multiverse repository included with the Ubuntu update program.
opened a console and typed apt-get dist-upgrade
I have also typed the same thing on simplymepis… without a problem, I might add.
see the dist upgrade is different from upgrade, in that, it will have a look at what is there before it attempts the upgrade
in fact, does the latest version of synaptic not even go as far as calling it “Smart Upgrade” ????
Everyone here calls apt-get a wonderful tool… it is OK, but fundementally still prone to errors.
If you have given Ubuntu a try this serious, why didn’t you write a review for OSNews?
You should probably look at the hoary backports project. http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=47 they package up newer version of software such as gaim firefox and the gimp. some of the packages come from debian, some from breezy, and soon some from grummpy.
there is a rational behind the only-fix-security-bugs in a stable release. but it can sometimes be frustrating. at least with the 6 month release cycle you never have to wait more than 6 months for the latest.
a lot of the security fixes are backported as -ubuntu1 versions, rather than taking a the new release number. sometimes these fixes get into ubuntu faster than the are released in the official version, so you get critical stuff faster.
and before you complain that the repositories are devoid of software, did you enable the universe and multiverse? there is a lot there.
have you tried fedora? i think they accept new versions of packages into the stable release.
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/HardwareSupportMachinesLaptopsDell/…
attempt to move to (k)ubuntu from mandrake failed … installing grub to boot ubuntu from an xfs partition failed. booting froma preinstalled grun CLI works if you type the magic spells. trying to install grub from a booted kubuntu fails. i don’ want to use lilo for many reasons.
ubunto forums say you can’t boot off an xfe partition.
then how did mandrake 9.x and 10.x do it?
Currently it’s the only OS on my laptop, and I’ve been using it for awhile.
My issue with it is the lack of support for a dual monitor setup. I have a CRT on my desk that I like to have video/IRC up on.
Windows, it works out of the box.
Ubuntu is just shows what’s on my LCD. What kind of feature is that? Why would I want to see what I’m doing on TWO screens?
It would be nice if there was a tool to set up a dual monitor configuration. (Since searching the forums has come up with no config that seems to work for me).
only have two monitors at work, which is windows only
try looking at http://sourceforge.net/projects/xinerama/, which is the x extension for multi-head monitor setups. never used it, so i cant say how hard it is to get running.
More Hype. Nothing to see. Move it along.
I’ve tried to like Ubuntu. I’ve been using SimplyMEPIS for awhile but had the opportunity to get a amd64 board and chip for cheap so I wanted to try out a 64bit OS which MEPIS isn’t at this time. I tried both KUbuntu and regular Ubuntu, and while it was fast, it crashed randomly every 15-30 minutes doing normal tasks, I hated the way the upgrades and packages were handled, hated how it took so much longer to boot and just generally didn’t see what everyone was hooping and hollering about. Maybe those people that were excited about it had never tried MEPIS.
I think you made a valid point there, that everyone who goes around hollering how good Ubuntu is have “probably” never tried Mepis or any other Debian based Linux.
Out of the two, I much prefer SimplyMepis, because it has never died on me. However, my main machine runs Mandriva 2005. Mandriva is so easy to set up and keep running, it is what us “lazy-linux” users need
Been using SimplyMEPIS for a month before trying Ubuntu. Have been using Ubuntu for 5 months now. Nothing wrong againts SimplyMEPIS, I guess it’s just wrong timing. Ubuntu seems friendlier because I’ve been using SimplyMEPIS for a month.
If it had been the other way around, there’s a big possibility I would be using SimplyMEPIS now and not Ubuntu.
what were you using before simplymepis ?
was mepis your introduction to Linux ?
see the difference is that mepis is KDE based and ubuntu is gnome based.
I think kde is more user friendly than gnome, but that is my personal opinion. I like gnome for the clarity of its layout, but finding “how” to do things is not really that straight forward.
Yes, SimplyMEPIS was my introduction to Linux. I have to agree with KDE being friendlier than GNOME. KDE “feels” more like MS Windows and I guess most new users will find the interface reassuring.
But after using Ubuntu for more than a week, I was finding myself liking GNOME.
Yeah, it’s all up to personal opinion and personal taste. Reason XYZ for person A to like KDE might be person B to dislike KDE and vice versa.
I guess that’s why discussion about GNU/Linux distribution and desktop environment tends to go round & round in circle, heated and emotional.
”
More Hype. Nothing to see. Move it along.
”
Ummm, this had nothing to do with the distro, it was about a conference. Are you mentally retarded? Do you need me to draw you a diagram and give you some definitions, or do you think you can handle understanding this concept? If not, I’ll certainly be happy to do this for you.
Yes please do so