Archive for August, 2008

Posted on August 29, 2008 - by jono

Crazy

Just wanted to provide a quick update on life – things have been absolutely crazy recently. Literally, a-grade crazy. There are some fairly hefty changes going on in my life right now, and this combined with nearly two months of solid travelling, finishing up LugRadio, an incredibly busy worklife and recording the debut Severed Fifth record has mean’t life has been hectic – its been tough to get all these things done when I have not been home a huge amount. All is good though, and although the Severed Fifth album has been delayed a little, it should be ready soon.

Posted on August 27, 2008 - by jono

Arf. Arf.

419 Eater always amuses me – it is a website scam-baiters follow through with those Nigerian scam emails. Today though I read a case where someone manages to persuade the scammer to tattoo Baited By Shiver on his leg.

Read it here.

Comedy.

Posted on August 27, 2008 - by jono

Ubuntu Developer Week II: This Time Its Personal

DIGG THIS!

I am really pleased to see that Horseman Holbach has announced Ubuntu Developer Week.

Ubuntu Developer Week is a more detailed continuation of Ubuntu Open Week in which we have a week of IRC tuition sessions, but in this week very much focused on technical developer topics. The week runs from Mon Sep 1st to Fri Sep 5th and the fun happens in #ubuntu-classroom on irc.freenode.net.

The week is jammed with a range of incredible sessions, including Packaging 101, Upstream Bug Linkages, Introduction to MOTU, Soyuz and all that Jazz, Working with Ubuntu<->GNOME QA (tips&tricks), How do I fix an Ubuntu bug, Introduction to BZR, Kernel module packaging with DKMS, Using the Launchpad Web Service API, Launchpad Hacks, bzr for packaging, How do I update a package properly, Introduction to PPA, Introduction to the Server Team, Various ways to patch a package, Automated Testing for the Desktop, A WebKit browser in PyKDE, Having fun with the Mozilla Team, How to avoid making Archive Admins unhappy, Ask Matt, Unit testing Python code, with code coverage measurement, Introduction to the Installer Team, Introduction to the Security Team, Kernel Discussion…

Daniel provides an overview of each session here.

Ubuntu Developer Week is just one of many initiatives that we have been working on to help the Ubuntu community grow and develop in the right direction. Others include Release Parties, Ubuntu Open Week, Global Bug Jam, Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase, 5-A-Day, Harvest, Brainstorm, Ubuntu Developer Summit and many more in the pipeline. I am really proud of the work the horsemen are doing, and I am looking forward to hiring the fourth horseman/woman – if you are excited at the prospect of working on my team and alongside Daniel and Jorge, do apply.

I look forward to seeing the new blood that comes into the project to join the existing, well-oiled, arse-kicking blood that we have right now. Rock and roll.

Posted on August 25, 2008 - by jono

mdzlog

The unstoppable Matt ‘mdz’ Zimmerman has caved in and now has a blog. He has posted some interesting stuff already, so go and check it out. He is also on Planet Ubuntu.

Posted on August 24, 2008 - by jono

Whoa Yeah-yeah! Oah!

Fellow horseman, Jorge, and I are both big Metallica fans. Although we largely agree on what constitutes a great Metallica album (Master Of Puppets and …And Justice For All), Metallica have seen such a diverse change in their style, that fans have many different views on what makes the perfect ‘tallica album. Metallica really started off as a balls to the wall thrash band, back when Kill ‘Em All came out, which was reminiscent of other Bay Area thrash metal bands such as Exodus and Testament and other bands such as Slayer, Annihilator and Overkill. They then refined their art with Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets, stepped into thrash-by-very-detailed-numbers with the super-technical and rhythmic …And Justice For All before heading in a more commercial chunky style of radio metal with their self-titled album, known as The Black Album to fans.

Then, it went downhill. After the stunning Black album, they toured like crazy and years later released their next full original album with Load which was about as exciting and metal as a toy soldier, wrapped in a roll of bubble wrap at a plastics convention. It was just booooring. Stock, very stock, predictable, not-all-that-heavy rock tunes – Metallica seemed to have really lost their way. But wait…we then received the good news that Load was actually only half of the songs that they recorded, and we would be treated to yet another bucket-of-dull with the rather imaginatively titled…Re-Load. Woo. Hoo. Ahem.

Then the Metallica hype machine started to roll again and we heard they were working on a new, angrier album, and Hetfield (their singer) had been a little too frisky with the ‘ol sauce and was in rehab for alcohol addiction, but was out and raring to channel his new-founded life experience and world-view into their music, with an undertone of anger…which would naturally translate well to metal. What resulted was St Anger, a pretty desperate attempt at sounding modern and heavy, complete with a snare drum that is reminiscent of the sound of a nun riding into a steel bin on a push-bike. Although it was heavier in places, it felt unimaginative and a bit of a reach – not like their previous works in which they knew how to push every button in your brain that makes you move to their music. It was just unnatural and desperate, and once again Metallica felt like they were losing their way.

So, Metallica have not released a decent album since The Black Album, and they have not released a decent thrash album (the reason why most of us love Metallica), since …And Justice For All – that is 16 years since a good album. Good grief.

Some of you may be wondering why on earth I have decided to blather on about Metallica today. Well, right now we Metallica fans, who have been treated to the audio equivalent of a train bacon sandwich for the last 16 years are once again getting our hopes up for the next Metallica album, named Death Magnetic, and due for release on the 12th September. Metallica have been treating the world to sneak peeks for the last few weeks and for the last half year or so we have heard the usual highly trumpeted reports that Metallica are back to their roots and once again the fans are hoping for a Puppets or at least a Black Album. So far, Metallica released a live recording of a song called Cyanide and their latest airing of a single called The Day That Never Comes as well as a bunch of 30 second or so snippets. So, are they any good?

So far it is a bit early to tell. I always like to let music sink in for a while before passing a firm opinion, but thus far I have to be honest that I am not exactly grabbed by the material. While I consider it a really great trait of a metal band to grab your attention within minutes (something which bands such as Hatebreed, The Acacia Strain, Heaven Shall Burn, Slipknot and All Shall Perish are great at), some bands need a good listening (such as King Diamond, Blind Guardian, Cannibal Corpse and Anata).

The main thing I am taking away from the situation with Metallica is that I am beginning to lose a little patience with them as a band. I totally agree that bands change styles, thats fine – I understand they don’t want to be playing speed metal any more, but I also listen to a bunch of bands that play the kind of music that Metallica seem to be going for (Black Label Society, Megadeth, Blaze etc), but I just don’t know if Metallica’s version of it is my cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, they are a stunningly talented band, but I feel that the complexities in the band and the comfort they have carved out (as can be seen in Some Kind Of Monster) has mean’t that they have lost the hunger somewhat. It has long been known that more deprived surroundings have formed some of the greatest metal bands (as well as other artists such as Hip Hop and Rap). Of course, everyone wants to live a nice, lavishly comfortable lifestyle – I am no exception – but I get the impression that these comforts have overtaken their hunger for the music. This is not an endemic problem – there are plenty of bands who live great, comfortable lifestyles (just look at Iron Maiden for example) and still release rocking music, but Metallica feel distracted by it.

In my mind, Music is evolutionary, and we see different generations coming in, taking what went before and stepping up the plate. Metallica will always hold a place in my heart for releasing some of my most loved albums (in fact, I wore out my Master Of Puppets cassette from over-playing when I was a yoof), but I think these days I am more interested in checking out the amazing new talent with bands like *The Acacia Strain, Job For a Cowboy, All Shall Perish, Divine Heresy, The Red Chord, Blood Red Throne, Hatebreed, Arsis, Aborted, A Perfect Murder, Lamb Of God, Made Of Hate, Necrophagist, Nonpoint, Hatesphere etc.

Posted on August 17, 2008 - by jono

Taxi Cab Deathmatch

One of the fun aspects of my job has been the opportunity to travel and see the world. In the last few years I have had the chance to visit some stunning places – Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Australia, Czech Republic, Portugal, USA, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and various other places. Of course there are many differences between all of these places – the sights, the sounds, the culture, the religion, the people, the food, the booze, the music, the weather etc, but there is one critical cultural variance that always strikes me when I travel – taxi cabs.

They vary on two critical levels – (1) how chatty and worldly cabbys are, and (2) how much they like to gently teeter their passengers on the edge of death.

So, first up it is how chatty a taxi driver is. Am I the only person who has noticed that particularly in London and the US (notably San Francisco and Portland), there are a large collection of frustrated academics driving cabs? The US particularly so – I have had conversations about Chinese politics, historical events in the UK, the industrial revolution, the development of the American constitution, the philosophical changes in the US since Bush came into power and various other topics. In London in particular, cabbys like to serve this kind of discussion with a garnish of comedy and sensationalism. I was once in a cab with Matt Revell heading to Millbank when a cabby expressed his not-particularly-happy views about David Cameron (current leader of the Conservative party) and then underlined them with the fact that “he had heard” that David Cameron takes Cocaine in very, very unconventional way. Matt and I were left stunned.

But the real gem is the second element – the variations in how a cabby likes to walk up to death and poke fun at it. Please, please don’t do that, think of the children. There are more than a few occasions when I have got into a cab and felt like my life was about to flash through my eyes. This was most notable in Porto Allegre in Brazil where it seemed the goal was to drive as fast as possible, discouraging the use of seat belts, and then drive as physically close to the car in front of you. I will be honest with you – I very nearly shit myself a number of times while in some of those cabs. I don’t mind hoying along at high speed, but holy mother of all that is good and sweet…that was just a whole new level. Oh, and then there was Istanbul. Aside from when a cabby drove Mirco Muller, Michael Dominik and I 30KM outside of Istanbul as something of a con, there was one particular incident when said cabby decided to overtake traffic by driving onto the wrong side of the freeway, swerving from on-coming traffic, and then driving back onto our side. I think I must have buried eight holes into the sides of that car seat with my fingers. My most recent trip in Argentina was pretty similar – it seems the goal there is to drive the smallest possible car in the world, with un-adjustable seats designed for children, equipped with some kind of jet engine in it to drive as fast as possible, and…and this is the important bit…brake as late as humanly possible. Oh fun. Believe me, after two days of solid travelling and getting to Mar Del Plato at around midnight, that particular experience bloody wakes you up.

Despite this world of academia, decedent exploration of the unusual, and rollercoaster-like fun, it most be difficult being a cabby – how many times do you really want to be asked whether you have been busy on your shift and what time you finish? I got a little concerned about this with the cabbys that drive me to the train station in Wolves when I travel to London or Heathrow, so I try to mix it up and ask more unconventional questions. Then again, maybe this is why I get myself into these odd conversations with cabbys. Hmmm…

Posted on August 17, 2008 - by jono

Keynoting OhioLinuxFest

I am pleased to announce that I will be keynoting at the Ohio LinuxFest. I have heard great things about the show, and never been there before, so I look forward to seeing everyone there.

The talk will be brand new, and I am just solidifying a bunch of ideas around it right now – I will be announcing the topic of the talk in the coming weeks.

Look forward to seeing those of you who are going in Ohio.

Posted on August 16, 2008 - by jono

Overkill. London. Monday.

I am planning to go and see Overkill on Monday night in at Islington Academy in London, but…alas…all on my lonesome. Anyone heading down to the gig?

would be fun to meet any Ubuntu / LugRadio / Free Software or otherwise people there for a night of thrash metal.

Posted on August 16, 2008 - by jono

Linking Bugs As Part Of Your 5-A-Day

You know what, 5-A-Day is doing really, really well. The idea is simple – much in the same way people are encouraged to eat five portions of fruit or vegetables a day, we encourage our incredible community to work on five bugs a day. If everyone does five bugs a day, amazing progress gets made. And, amazing progress has been made by the 5-a-day volunteers so far.

So, when we talk of working on five bugs a day, you would imagine this typically involves triage, filling out bug details, fixing bugs etc. It certainly does include each of these elements, but it also includes one really critical way in which you can help with your 5-a-day – linking bugs – something we have not talked a lot about and something we feel is a really great contribution that we would love you amazing 5-a-day-ers to do as part of your magic.

Many bugs that are reported in Ubuntu are actually bugs that exist in one of the pieces of software that we package for Ubuntu (known as an upstream). A feature that has been built into Launchpad is the ability to say that a bug in Ubuntu actually refers to a bug in an upstream bug tracker. Rather cleverly, Launchpad can in many cases sync some of the information from that bug report back into Launchpad. This means that we can communicate with upstreams more effectively about their bugs. The Launchpad team are continuing to refine this functionality, but right now linking bugs is an excellent way of ensuring that the right people see the right bugs.

And the great thing is that you don’t need to be a packaging expert or a programmer to help with linking bugs – you just need to be able to find the bug on the upstream bug tracker and hook the Ubuntu one and the upstream one together, which is as simple as filling in a form in Launchpad. Simple…but hugely helpful.

So what is involved in linking a bug? Well, in a nutshell:

• Find a reported bug in Ubuntu in Launchpad. Ensure the bug is not a duplicate.
• Ensure that the bug is actually a bug in the upstream application, and if so, find a bug report for the same bug in the upstream bug tracker.
• On the Ubuntu bug, link the bugs – this is as simple as filling in a form.

Instructions for linking bugs can be found here.

We are really keen to make this process as simple and effective as possible. If anything seems overly complex or unclear, let us know and we will fix it.

Posted on August 15, 2008 - by jono

Balancing Respect and Diversity

Just got back home from attending DebConf over in Argentina. I would like to send out a big thankyou to my Debian friends for making me feel incredibly welcome. I was there with a bunch of other Canonical people – Mark Shuttleworth, Jorge Castro, Matthias ‘doko’ Klose, Kees Cook, Steve Langasek and Celso Providelo. It was a really productive few days, and I had some great conversations with a bunch of people, while also sharing more than a few glasses of something hops-ee, or possibly tequila-ee. It was also an excellent opportunity to meet up with some Debian peeps I have been chatting with online for a long time.

Historically, the relationship between Debian and Ubuntu has been strained at times. There are various technical and social reasons behind this discomfort in our relationship, and while there is still work to be done to ensure we are working effectively together, the relationship has most certainly improved in recent years. I think there are many reasons for this, again technical and social, but I think you can boil it down to a critical evolution in our relationship – we have learned more about how a large derivative (such as Ubuntu) and Debian insect, mirror, and vary in different ways, and this takes time.

I am a firm believer in listening and learning from evolution in any distributed community. There are many, many examples where the theoretical blueprint of the best way of managing a community, software project or relationship makes perfect sense on paper, but the many variables in collaborative development result in the actual methodology being quite different. There are thousands of these examples everywhere in our fishbowl – distros should really ship pristine, unpatched upstream code, there should be a stable ABI, all bugs should be filed in the same place, there should be one primary desktop environment, there should be a set of standards across all desktops at a widget and user interaction level, all teams should report regularly – these are all examples of viewpoints that make sense on paper to different people, but in practise the reality is very different.

A relationship in general is no different, be it between you and your parents, you and your partner, you and your boss, different political parties or different distributions. The concept of a relationship on paper and the reality of that relationship can often be very different. On paper the core elements of the relationship are typically clear, but it is the execution of ideas, plans and decision-making as well as additional unforeseen variables that help the relationship really find its natural ebb and flow. Of course, this is fine – this is how things work, but the critical foundation needs to be there. When communication is strong, issues are discussed, with a sensitivity to the impact of those issues on both parties, a relationship can be strong and long-lasting. The greatest relationships have one consistent meme, irrespective of the hundreds of variables – a foundation of respect and openness between both parties to always discuss and drive to a conclusion that is a good medium for all involved.

And this is where we focus the microscope on the most critical ingredient in a relationship – an always present consciousness to find solutions to problems, discuss issues in a calm and focused way and to have a sensitivity for the other party at all times. The longest running bands, the greatest political partnerships, the longest marriages and the most incredible collaborations occur when these ingredients are present – they are not optional, they are required. People often talk about give and take in a relationship, and the above quality fundamentally defines the right balance of give and take – it solidifies the rules of engagement that form the foundation for two parties reading from the same page and moving forward together. This is the microcosm…the branch on the tree, at an atomic level…that when combined with other likewise relationships, connects together to form what we consider a community.

I feel this is where the relationship with Debian has evolved and needs to continue to evolve. There needs to be a fundamental requirement in engaging together on the same terms to foster a partnership where both Debian and derivatives in general are happy. We need to not only foster a close connection and commitment to exploring and respecting the goals of both parties, but we critically need to also not tolerate a culture of disrespect and criticism without evidence and rationale. Flaming is unacceptable – sensible, adult, evidence-led debate is glorious. Really…stunningly glorious. Flaming is the antithesis of the foundational attributes I discussed above – it demonstrates disrespect, arrogance and bad attitude. I have seen it in every community, Ubuntu included, and none of us should tolerate it. We are all together with the same ethos, however you label it, quantify and justify it – when we let this kind of flaming prosper, it weakens our crusade.

Debian kicks arse. Ubuntu kicks arse. They just kick arse in slightly different ways with a strong connection. DebConf, my first one, demonstrated such arse kicking, and I look forward to continuing to work with our friends there.