The second of my reports as Debian Project Leader is now available. You may read it in HTML format at: http://people.debian.org/~branden/dpl/reports/2005-05-08.html
...or in ReStructured Text format[1], below. If you find ReStructured text format difficult to understand, you can use lynx to dump a plain text version of the URL above: $ lynx -dump http://people.debian.org/~branden/dpl/reports/2005-05-08.html [1] http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html Debian Project Leader Report for 2005-05-08 =========================================== Overview -------- This report begins with some big news, so let's get right to it... Sarge Release Challenges and Progress ------------------------------------- Those who have been living in a cave for the past few days will be pleased to know that `Sarge has frozen`_. Needless to say, our work is far from finished; now, more than ever, we need people testing upgrades from woody and testing fresh installs based on `debian-installer`. The release management team has been kept busy processing last-minute force-it-into-sarge requests, and combatting the onslaught of `release critical bugs`_, which is always a challenge -- today, for example, nine release-critical bugs were closed, but nine were opened as well. While there is much work before us before we can truly celebrate, it's not too soon to let ourselves feel a bit of satisfaction in achieving this milestone. It's been a very long time in coming, and every developer who has worked on our archive, build daemon, and security infrastructures, every developer who has fixed a release-critical bug, every developer who has worked on `debian-installer`, every developer who has provided a translation for a user interface or piece of documentation, and every developer who has contributed to making Debian GNU/Linux better documented, easier to use, and more powerful deserves a share of the credit. I personally feel a bit of renewed vigor and determination towards getting this release out the door, and I hope you do too. With our critical infrastructure in place and humming along, it's just a matter of some hard work to make the Sarge release happen. That doesn't daunt me; we've always been good at hard work. Hardware Infrastructure Issues ------------------------------ In my `first DPL report`_, I mentioned that Steve McIntyre had helped get us out of the bad situation we were in with respect to ARM build daemons. He helpfully followed up with some more details. These machines, which were purchased from `Simtec Hardware`_, look beefy indeed to those used to NetWinders and PDAs. * `toffee`: 300 MHz StrongARM-110, 256 MB RAM, 40GB IDE HDD * `grieg`: 300 MHz StrongARM-110, 160 MB RAM, 160GB IDE HDD * `cats`: 380 MHz StrongARM-110, 64 MB RAM, 20GB IDE HDD Steve is hosting `toffee` and `grieg`, and Vince Sanders is hosting `cats`. On 29 April, `europa` and `elara`, two malfunctioning ARM machines that were putting the hurt on us in the first place, were restored to working order by Woody Suwalski, the site administrator at Xandros_. On each machine, a new hard drive has been installed, and each is running up-to-date Debian unstable with 2.6.11 kernels. A decision is still pending from DSA on whether to put these machines back into the build daemon network. Even if not, the machines may be useful as general development machines accessible to Debian developers -- presently, there is only one, `debussy` and it is running Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 ("woody"). Another, `rameau`, is `listed as down and being relocated`_. Wichert Akkerman and the other Debian System Administrators are concerned about the persistent shortages of disk space on `costa` and `klecker`. These are only machines that appear to be in urgent need of upgrades over the next year or so. I'll be working with the system administration team and potential donors to get this situation squared away. Woody Security Update Challenges and Progress --------------------------------------------- In my `first DPL report`_, I observed that some security updates had been stalled for weeks because the unavailability of build daemons for the ARM architecture. In speaking with people, I've found out why this is, and as you might expect it has to do with manageability issues. If a security upload that is missing one or more arches is approved, that architecture never appears on `security.debian.org`, unless a binary-only NMU is later done for the architecture. That in turn makes point releases more of a headache, with version skew (even if binary-only) among the architectures. Debian Assets ------------- Since my previous report I've gotten a somewhat clearer picture of Debian's worldwide asset situation, though it's still not perfect. Here's a summary of what I've learned. * United States and Canada: `Software in the Public Interest, Inc.`_ (SPI), has USD 52,108.36, of which most (probably on the order of USD 45k) is Debian's. John Goerzen is the President, and Jimmy Kaplowitz is the Treasurer. The most recent Treasurer's report is for March 2005, and is available to SPI members on the `spi-private` mailing list (`Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>`). Remember that all Debian developers are eligible to become `members of SPI`_. * United Kingdom: Debian UK Society, has GBP 1774.22. The only officer I know of in this organization is Steve McIntyre, but he appears to be doing plenty. The `Debian UK Society Treasurer's report for April 2005`_ is online. (Beware, `chiark`'s `pipermail` installation apparently doesn't grok quoted-printable message contents.) * Italy: Christian Surchi is managing some funds for Debian within the Assoli Association, but I haven't yet received a reply from him. * Switzerland: Marc Schaefer periodically collects donations and sends them along to another organization, which I think is `ffis e.V.`_. Unfortunately, I have not been able to reach Marc to clarify this because he has been (probably inadvertently) `blocking my mail`_. * France: Julien Blache currently holds EUR 477 for Debian. He is working on setting up a charitable organization in France. * Germany: `ffis e.V.`_ holds an undetermined amount of money for Debian. Joey Schulze, who wears many hats in Debian (and is also a Board member of SPI), is the only contact I know of. I haven't yet mailed him an inquiry. * Brazil: `Associação SoftwareLivre.org`_ (ASL) holds approximately USD 10,000 for Debian. Gustavho Noronha Silva is our primary contact. My previous report was mistaken due to misinterpretation on my part -- there are no plans to create a new organization. The Brazilian Debian developers who have been in touch with me seem to be perfectly happy with ASL. * Australia: `Linux Australia`_ (LA) holds funds for Debian. Anthony Towns is their Treasurer, and ask me last month to get back in touch with him in mid-May for a summary of Debian's finances with LA, and I plan to do so over the coming week. Hardware Donation Offers ------------------------ Klaus Ade Johnstad of `Skolelinux`_ has "tons of old equipment" he'd like to donate to Debian developers in or near Norway. He has some old SPARCs, SGI O2 boxes, some RAID controllers, and other unmentionables. Mr. Johnstad says he's already donated one SGI O2 to each of two Debian developers in Greece. I've put him in touch with our `Hardware Donations Team`_, so please contact them, and maybe we can make a match. Jorge Valente has an Digital Workstation system he'd like to donate to a Debian developer in the United Kingdom. He says it consists of an Alpha processor, 2GB RAM, a couple of SCSI drives and some odds and ends. Again, if you're in the U.K. and interested, please contact our `Hardware Donations Team`_. It's worth noting that the Alpha port is in need of personnel -- perhaps you can help! Leadership Team Status Report ----------------------------- The DPL Team has not formally met since 24 April, mainly due to numerous scheduling conflicts among its members. We're working to arrange a meeting this week. The `minutes of the 24 April DPL Team meeting`_ were posted on 29 April. Interviews and Public Appearances --------------------------------- On 25 April, I had a `brief IRC interview with Sean Michael Kerner`_ which focused on vendor sponsorship and Debian asset management. Along with a number of Debian Developers, both Bdale Garbee and Enrico Zini of the leadership team were on hand from 5 to 6 May in Castellon, Spain (near Valencia), at Lliurex's second annual `Congrés de Programari Lliure`_. Lliurex is a Custom Debian Distribution (CDD), and a CDD working group meeting was held alongside the main conference. My employer, `Progeny` is sponsoring my travel to `FISL 6.0`_, at the end of the month, and the organizers are sponsoring my lodging. I am scheduled to give a `presentation on where Debian is going`_, which I was just told about this week. :) Internal Communications ----------------------- Some highlights from the [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailbox over the past couple of weeks follow. I received several replies to my previous report, most of which offered information about Debian's assets in various countries, or contact information for people who do. I have also communicated with several people regarding ARM hardware -- clearly, many people are desirous of ensuring that we never again face the type of bad situation we just extricated ourselves from. I also received the DebConf 5 attendance sponsorship budget from Andreas Schuldei. Assuming all expenditures are approved, the rest of the budget works out, and we have no cancellations (there will inevitably be some), we'll be spending about EUR 28,000 to bring 75 people to the conference. There will be many people in attendance that I look forward to meeting or seeing again, including someone named "Brandon Robinson" [sic]. :) I received an interview request from Andy Channelle of the UK publication Linux Format, but unfortunately was unable to get my response to him because he's `blocking my mail`_. A freelancer for the `Gartner Group`_ also contacted me with a very long message, to which I'm not sure how to reply yet. Conclusion ---------- I'm curious to know how you feel I am fulfilling my responsibilities as Debian Project Leader. You can reach me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ``$Id: 2005-05-08.rst 170 2005-05-09 06:07:42Z branden $`` .. _Sarge has frozen: http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2005/05/msg00001.html .. _release critical bugs: http://bugs.debian.org/release-critical/ .. _first DPL report: http://people.debian.org/~branden/dpl/reports/2005-04-24.html .. _Simtec Hardware: http://www.simtec.co.uk/ .. _Xandros: http://www.xandros.com/ .. _listed as down and being relocated: http://db.debian.org/machines.cgi?host=rameau .. _Software in the Public Interest, Inc.: http://www.spi-inc.org/ .. _members of SPI: http://www.spi-inc.org/membershipguidelines .. _Debian UK Society: http://wiki.earth.li/DebianUKSociety .. _Debian UK Society Treasurer's report for April 2005: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/pipermail/debian-uk/2005-May/010317.html .. _ffis e.V.: http://www.ffis.de/ .. _blocking my mail: http://deadbeast.net/~branden/homepage/mailblock.html .. _Associação SoftwareLivre.org: http://www.softwarelivre.org/ .. _Linux Australia: http://www.linux.org.au/ .. _Skolelinux: http://www.skolelinux.org/no/ .. _Hardware Donations Team: http://www.debian.org/donations#equipment_donations .. _minutes of the 24 April DPL Team meeting: http://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2005/04/msg00401.html .. _brief IRC interview with Sean Michael Kerner: http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3500321 .. _Congrés de Programari Lliure: http://www.lliurex.net/congresii/val/index.htm .. _FISL 6.0: http://fisl.softwarelivre.org/6.0/ .. _presentation on where Debian is going: http://fisl.softwarelivre.org/papers/pub/ .. _Gartner Group: http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=27311 .. vim:set ai et sts=4 sw=4 tw=72: -- G. Branden Robinson Debian Project Leader [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://people.debian.org/~branden/
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