usb-creator-kde... for karmic

So, during UDS, the Kubuntu team decided it would be nice to work on making Kubuntu easier to install on netbooks.

The are several things that need to be adjusted to make the netbook experience enjoyable, but the first real thing required is a native client for putting a Kubuntu desktop image into a usb stick.

There already exists a PyGtk front-end, but no PyKDE one. At UDS I decided to take on the task of porting the existing PyGTK client to PyKDE.

At this point, I have ported much of the required code base to support a native client for Kubuntu. There are still some bugs to fix, and some of the new code for the PyGTK front-end does not yet work 100%, and hence neither does the PyKDE front-end.

If anyone is interested in looking at the code and feels like offering advice, it can be found here: https://launchpad.net/usb-creator

To check out the code: bzr branch lp:usb-creator

Anyway, I am working closely with the usb-creator team, and hope to get this working/completed within the next couple of weeks.

Thanks to all who have helped thus far.

Where have I Been?

Wow, I can't believe it's been about 5 months since I last blogged. That will tell you how hectic my life has been lately.

What's been happening? Well, for one, I'm about to be an uncle... my little sister is having a baby due in less than 7 weeks. I think I am almost as excited as she is! :) I can't wait to spoil the little tyke .. hahah!

Besides that, I have been really busy with work. We are undergoing some changes, and as a result, it has pulled me away from my normal Kubuntu packaging. However, I now have things mostly back in order, and am back to my packaging duties.

Finally, I am typing this at the airport, on my way to UDS Barcelona. I think this trip will be much more interesting than the California one, and definately hotter. I don't think I packed enough shorts... :)

Anyway, here's to hoping I have more time to blog and more frequently.

UDS Jaunty - My Two Day Replay

The last two days have been very busy indeed, so much so that I missed blogging about Day 1, hence the "Two Day Replay".

Day 1:

I awoke at 6:40AM, not to my alarm, but just by mere fluke. A certain roomie (who shall remain nameless), made certain to set the alarm for 6... AM, but missed the fact that the clock itself was not set correctly for AM. So, when I awoke, the clock was actually showing 6:40PM. The day was off to a great start, as luck was apparently on my side.

After a much to large breakfast, we headed outside to get the bus to Google. I was really excited to be a part of this great community and be afforded the opportunity to go to UDS.

The summit began with an introduction, and a brief overview of things to come. Mark provided some keen insights on where we are headed, what the market is doing, and how we are going to get there. Now I was really getting pumped.

Here's how the days sessions ran for me...

Desktop Experience Plans
The Ubuntu Desktop team outlined their plans for notifications in Jaunty, which are similar to what we have in Kubuntu with KDE 4. While not terribly exciting to most, it does show their interest in both usability while adding in some nice bling.

Debian / Ubuntu Relations
We had a great discussion here about how the various Ubuntu flavors could work together to foster better relations and involvement for the core/motu Ubuntu developers. A lot of ideas were presented, and hopefully, something good will materialize.

Upcoming Launchpad Features
Kiko gave a great talk on Launchpad 3.0. Lots of upcoming features and of course, the big one, open sourcing Launchpad.

NetworkManager connection policies
There were some discussions about how to handle 3G, wireless, and wired and how best to setup policies on creation and tear down of these connections. Currently NM will keep up multiple connections, but there was a con-census that this is not our desired behavior. We discussed some use cases to present upstream.

Kubuntu Jaunty Gap Analysis
A lot of items got covered in this one, like auto-installing flash for KDE 4. The discussion then lead to the whole kubuntu-restricted extras and the fact that the user generally doesn't know to install this package to get flash, mp3, etc, unless they read it in some wiki or forum. So we decided to add this as a check to update-notifier-kde, and provide the user a chance to install some or all these packages. This is a great thing for our users. There were a lot of other things discussed, so feel free to review the spec

The day ended with a great meal at a local Tai restaurant. I had Tom Kha soup and Spicy Peanut something or other. It was pretty good. Some found it spicier than others (/me points to Tonio).

Day 2:

Ubuntu Developer Process Review
A great session by Daniel. It has inspired me to seek developer (MOTU or "insert new name here") status in the near future. I think once I get past Jaunty release, that will be the time to apply, as I will have gone through a complete development cycle, having only started near the end of Jaunty.

Jaunty Ubiquity Usability
We discussed a few UI changes to the installer to improve usability. One of the major changes is to the timezone chooser, which should definitely be an improvement over the existing one.

Kubuntu Jaunty documentation
We need lots of help getting the docs updated, both in upstream KDE as well as for Kubuntu specific packages, etc. If you can use a text editor, you can help.

Tonight I had one of the best burgers, from Chili's. 3 different cheeses, thick back bacon and a pattie which was about an inch thick. After supper, we had a great jam session at the hotel. Everyone sang, played guitar, drums, etc. I'll try and post some pics later, but it's late now and I must get some sleep for Day 3 is fast approaching.

ufw-kde - a simple firewall for Kubuntu users

Well, as I head out to UDS, I am putting together my demo of ufw-kde, a GUI front-end to ufw (the Uncomplicated Firewall), which is command line based only.

Here is a preview screenshot:

California, here I come...

So, I am sitting at the St. John's International airport, waiting to board my flight to UDS in California. Last night was a beautiful night, but today it's snowing, limited visibility and 70Kph winds. I wonder if I will get out on time? The flight is listed as on-time, so that certainly looks promising.

Tomorrow begins what promises to be an interesting week. Not only will I be a part of helping shape the next Ubuntu release, I also get to meet some great people in person, and I am really looking forward to that.

So California, here I come... look out!