This is the GNOME Summary for 2003-12-28 - 2004-01-03 ============================================================== Table of Contents -------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Gnumeric 1.2.4 Released 2. Need D-BUS Volunteers 3. Gnomoradio 0.8 Released 4. Gnome System Tools 0.31.0 Released 5. BEAST/BSE 0.5.6 6. Interview with Robert Love 7. Translation Status 8. Hacker Activity 9. Gnome Bug Hunting Activity 10. New and Updated Software ============================================================== 1. Gnumeric 1.2.4 Released -------------------------------------------------------------- Gnumeric releases a bug fix and some final features to the charting engine. This is the final stable release. Gnumeric has now branched to a new development tree. Gnumeric is a spreadsheet program and is a part of GNOME Office. ============================================================== 2. Need D-BUS Volunteers -------------------------------------------------------------- Havoc Pennington is looking for help and volunteers for the D-BUS todo list. There are a lot of things that need fixing before D-BUS can release. D-BUS is a message bus system; a simple way for applications to talk to one another. http://freedesktop.org/Software/dbus/doc/TODO ============================================================== 3. Gnomoradio 0.8 Released -------------------------------------------------------------- A new version of Gnomoradio is out. This release contains ogg vorbis support and numerous interface improvements. Future priorities include improving the user interface. Gnomoradio is a program that can find, fetch, share, and play music that is freely available for file sharing. http://gnomoradio.org http://gnomoradio.org/screenshots ============================================================== 4. Gnome System Tools 0.31.0 Released -------------------------------------------------------------- Gnome System Tools is released. Exciting changes are Fedora Core 1 support for all tools, Slackware 9.1 support for all tools and yaboot support for boot tool. http://www.gnome.org/projects/gst ============================================================== 5. BEAST/BSE 0.5.6 -------------------------------------------------------------- A new version of BEAST/BSE 0.5.6 is out. BEAST is the GTK+/GNOME based front-end to BSWE (the Bedevilled Sound Engine). The rough goal of this project is to get an audio system that supports multiple song and sample formats as well as synthesis networks and allows full fledged editing and manipulation of them. ============================================================== 6. Interview with Robert Love -------------------------------------------------------------- We who bring you the Gnome Weekly Summaries thought that it was a really special event that Robert Love, the famous kernel hacker, has joined Ximian (now part of Novell). So we decided to bring you a special interview with Robert Love that is not located anywhere else on the Internet - it only exists in this weeks Gnome Weekly Summary! We hope that you enjoy this special feature. 1. What will be your new role at Ximian? In short, as a kernel hacker doing whatever is necessary to advance the state of the Linux desktop. More specifically, I am going to be tackling kernel and system-level projects to improve the desktop. Ximian is committed to improving the Linux desktop user experience, and there are a few issues at the system-level where Linux is behind our competitors. Specifically, integration of the entire Linux system -- from the kernel up through desktop applications -- is pretty weak. We can do better. 2. Why have you decided to focus on tuning the Linux kernel for desktop use as opposed to the fantastic, but more general work you have done on the kernel in that past? Well, I feel a lot of my previous work has been oriented toward the desktop. I have always touted the preemptive kernel as a step toward improved desktop performance. My interest in the O(1) scheduler was because I saw in it a better general purpose desktop-capable scheduler than that clunker in 2.4 kernels. Of course, a lot of momentum in Linux is toward advancing Linux in the server-space, and my previous employer was an embedded Linux company... but I have always found the desktop an interesting problem in need of creative solutions. 3. What types of things do you see yourself tackling about the Linux kernel as it pertains specifically to a desktop role? Events layer, hardware integration, and performance are my first and second-order priorities. Right now, I am working on tackling the first two. I basically look at it as "getting information up to the desktop from lower layers and doing something useful with it." A lot of players are involved: udev, D-BUS,HAL, this gnome-volume-manager I am working on, etc. But the end result is to Make Hardware Just Work. This is more than plug and play at the kernel-level, but a complete and elegant solution to hot plugging, device naming, hardware event notification, and desktop policy. For example, when you plug in your digital camera, a few things need to automatically happen: a kernel module loaded, a sysfs entry created, a device node created, registration in a device database via HAL, generation of a "yo, new hardware" event, the new volume is automounted, and an icon placed on the desktop. Finally, we can detect that there are photos on the camera and ask the user if she wants to export them into her photo album. Oh, and this needs to be done with finesse: in user-space, without hackish polling, via elegantly designed systems. 4. Since you'll be working at Ximian which produces a version of the Gnome desktop, I'll assume that you're a Gnome user or at least have used it. What do you like best about the Gnome desktop and what is the thing that bugs you the most about it? Dude, I am a huge GNOME user and fan. ;-) I like the elegance, simplicity, and design of GNOME. I like the fact that it is rooted in C; founded and managed by smart, creative folks with a background in UNIX/Linux; has and enforces a HIG; and has cool companies like Ximian and Red Hat deeply involved in it. Nothing bugs me that goes unfixed. 5. In general, what types of things have to be accomplished on the Linux desktop, be it Gnome or KDE, etc, before it can be a replacement to Microsoft Windows in the enterprise sector and also for the average home user? We are really close. Improved applications. Improved multimedia. Improved integration, on both the application-to-application level (see the Novell bounties) and on the system-to-desktop level (what I am working on). ============================================================== 7. Translation Status -------------------------------------------------------------- http://stara.kvota.net/sri/stats26.php?end=2003-12-28& start=2004-01-03 ============================================================== 8. Hacker Activity -------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for Paul Warren for these lists. Most active modules: 45 beast 33 yelp 33 gtk+ 31 epiphany 31 gimp 28 gdm2 27 gnomeweb-wml 27 balsa 27 gdesklets 26 gnome-games 25 toolchain-tests 24 optimystic 23 gnome-control-center 23 gnumeric 22 gnome-mime-data 22 nautilus 22 evolution 22 gnomemeeting 22 nautilus-cd-burner 21 gedit [134 active modules omitted] Most active hackers: 211 delacko 51 dnloreto 47 badaa 46 mitr 43 gorkem 36 timj 34 menthos 33 danilo 33 thomasvs 32 serrador 25 redfox 23 pycage 23 aasmunds 21 chpe 21 alexl 20 aflinta 20 PeterB 20 jody 18 andersca 18 mr [118 active hackers omitted] ============================================================== 9. Gnome Bug Hunting Activity -------------------------------------------------------------- This information is from http://bugzilla.gnome.org, which hosts bug and feature reports for most of the Gnome modules. If you would like to join the bug hunt, subscribe to the gnome-bugsquad mailing list. Currently open: 10503 (In the last week: New: 413, Resolved: 361, Difference: +52) Modules with the most open bugs (excluding enhancement requests): nautilus: 742 (In the last week: New: 41, Resolved: 37, Difference: +4) gtk+: 647 (In the last week: New: 12, Resolved: 8, Difference: +4) control-center: 251 (In the last week: New: 13, Resolved: 10, Difference: +3) gnome-vfs: 244 (In the last week: New: 4, Resolved: 1, Difference: +3) GnuCash: 222 (In the last week: New: 6, Resolved: 5, Difference: +1) gnome-panel: 214 (In the last week: New: 19, Resolved: 15, Difference: +4) gnome-applets: 166 (In the last week: New: 13, Resolved: 9, Difference: +4) GIMP: 158 (In the last week: New: 16, Resolved: 16, Difference: 0) dia: 154 (In the last week: New: 6, Resolved: 7, Difference: -1) galeon: 150 (In the last week: New: 28, Resolved: 13, Difference: +15) epiphany: 119 (In the last week: New: 20, Resolved: 14, Difference: +6) gnome-terminal: 118 (In the last week: New: 9, Resolved: 7, Difference: +2) sawfish: 118 (In the last week: New: 1, Resolved: 0, Difference: +1) balsa: 117 (In the last week: New: 3, Resolved: 12, Difference: -9) gnome-session: 111 (In the last week: New: 0, Resolved: 3, Difference: -3) Gnome Bugzilla users who resolved or closed the most bugs: louie ximian com: 38 bugs closed. maggi athena polito it: 21 bugs closed. walters verbum org: 13 bugs closed. hadess hadess net: 12 bugs closed. chbm gnome org: 12 bugs closed. martin wehner epost de: 12 bugs closed. chpe+gnomebugz stud uni-saarland de: 11 bugs closed. callum physics otago ac nz: 10 bugs closed. martin pycage de: 8 bugs closed. heath pointedstick net: 8 bugs closed. simon gimp org: 8 bugs closed. lrclause uiuc edu: 7 bugs closed. poobar nycap rr com: 7 bugs closed. murrayc usa net: 7 bugs closed. rbultje ronald bitfreak net: 7 bugs closed. ============================================================== 10. New and Updated Software -------------------------------------------------------------- GChemPaint - 2D chemical structures editor gLabels - gLabels is a lightweight program for creating labels and business cards for the GNOME desktop environment. It is designed to work with various laser/ink-jet peel-off label and business card sheets that you'll find at most office supply stores. gURLChecker - Graphic web links checker Pigeon CD Recorder - A Gnome2 CD Recorder gnome-mud - GNOME-Mud is a Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) client, which aims to make mudding a bit easier. It can define aliases, triggers, and variables. It can also keybind shortcuts and has a connection wizard to easily manage different player characters and MUDs. Gnomoradio - Peer to peer music system GST: a Generic Seismic Tool with GTK+ - Seismic data processing Genius - A programable calculator gdm - GNOME Display Manager Gfax - Fax hylafax efax facsimile Gweled - A Bejeweled/Diamond Mine clone for Gnome gQueue - Gnome frontend for CUPS queues gDesklets - GNOME Desktop Applets GtkSourceView - Source editor widget BEAST/BSE - Synthesis/Audio Framework For more information on these packages visit the GNOME Software map: http://www.gnome.org/softwaremap/latest.php Gnome Summary is brought to you by: Sri Ramkrishna, Sayamindu Dasgupta, Jim Hodapp, and Andrew Coulam. gnome-summary@xxxxxxxxx Join the Friends of GNOME! http://www.gnome.org/friends _______________________________________________ gnome-list mailing list gnome-list@xxxxxxxxx http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-list