wanted: sponsors for developer gatherings
This is a call for sponsors to donate locations, work and money for debian developer gatherings. Why? SLX Debian Labs has funded and organized numerous developer gatherings in the past (e.g. for debian-edu, debian-installer or the release team). They are highly effective to solve problems in small groups and normally more fun then working at home alone. Especially problems that require group discussion and focused cooperation over an extended periode of time would best be solved during such gatherings. Debian should have many such gatherings whenever they are needed. In order to have more of them help from sponsors would be welcome. Gatherings in planning that i know of are debian-qa, debian-java, debian-installer and debian-edu. How? The standard of living during such gatherings is usually not high. People sleep on (air)mattresses on the floor, perhaps in the same building they hack on or at local peoples's place in order to keep costs low. Food (simple breakfast/brunch and dinner) could be provided. Travel costs for people who have contributed to the particular project (e.g. debian-installer) before and who can not afford the trip themself were usually payed for. A location can be chosen to minimize travel costs for all participants. These ground rules allow for very cost efficient yet productive gatherings. How to sponsor == - Locations should have good network conectivity, preferably usable computers and wireless. Several big rooms for working and seperate ones in close proximity for sleeping are a plus. Otherwise benevolent local residents with room for developers to crash at would be nice. - Work is needed to prepare the location before and after the event. Shopping for supplies (breakfast/brunch), finding suitable places for dinner, providing travel instructions and perhaps picking people up from the airport all take time and efford. - Money is needed for paying the food and travel bills. Debian has several accounts around the world. If you would like to know where you can transfer money without additional fees please contact me and i will try to find a debian account near you. In order to keep track of what money is intended for these kind of gatherings, please note this both on the money transfere/cheque and mail me so we know what is incoming and can plan accordingly. If you want to donate money to one small gathering specificially that is possible as well. If you have an idea for a specific gathering or would like to organize one and have further questions (e.g. about planning gatherings) please contact me, too. signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Debconf5 update
Hi! Working on DebConf gives me the unique opportunity to talk to a lot of people when asking for sponsorship. This year I was once again taken aback by the way how highly companies value us and the work we do and how that expresses itself in how they support us. This year we got more then 100,000Euro (or 13$US) in cash donations and several very valuable donations of goods. These are the companies that committed to sponsorship until now: HP, Intel, Nokia, IBM, Linux Magazine, Linux Aktivaattori, Movial, SLX Debian Labs, Helsinki University, Hostway, O`Reilly, Progeny, Ubuntu, Damicon and Univention. I think we need to re-calibrate how we think of Debian ourself and remind us that we managed to create an enormously valuable system. Now lets get our act together and lets become the kick-ass Über-distro that rules the world! Yay! Ok, back to the DebConf update. We got enough sponsorship commitments to allow us again to provide everyone with free food and accommodation. All that requested travel support can be accommodated. If you requested travel support and have not yet heard from me, please contact me, perhaps mail got lost. From the 47 received proposals we selected 14 for talks. This is the preliminary list: Andreas Barth Debian release management Erinn Clark, Magni Onsoien Debian Women and Women in Free Software Tollef Fog Heen Multiarch - An a proposal and an implementation Dann Frazier Debian-Kernel Team Oveview and Status Matthew Garrett "DFSG-free" panel discussion Dafydd Harries Debian New Maintainer Process: History and Aims Joey Hess Securing the testing distribution Steve Kowalik Linda - A Debian package checker written in Python Frank Lichtenheld Debian Website Round Table Margarita Manterola Are we really devoted to our users? Christian Perrier, Holger Levsen, Joey Hess Debian Installer - a developers view on it's past, present & future Branden Robinson WTFM: Write the Fine Manual Andreas Tille Custom Debian Distributions Anthony Towns Debbugs, tips, tricks and hacks Enrico Zini Debtags We hope to see the remaining proposals as bofs. Soon we will reopen the proposal page where all bofs should be registered to allow proper scheduling. For people that want to hack together in a focused way, the location is available ahead of time. Note that it has proven to be of limited productivity to come and "just work on something" or "just help". You can read mail and browse the web at home. If you however work on a team (e.g. d-i, debian-edu, debian-cd, ...) you are very welcome: This is your opportunity for tight face-to-face cooperation and team work! Please let us know how many you are and when you want to come. The dorm is available for you from the 3rd. We will still be setting up the infrastructure, but basic net access will be there from the start. As a novelty this year we will have the "Debian Day" on the 9th (before DebConf starts on the 10th), where we will present Debian to the natives. The target groups are press, users and interested techies. We will have a special track of talks and tutorials so that people might see the Light. Preparations for the Debian Day are still under way. Lets meet and make magic happen! /andreas signature.asc Description: Digital signature
debconf5 CFP reminder and update
Hi! The period to submit papers for debconf5 will expire March 15th 2005, 23h59 UTC, so you have a few days left to think up a good talk to propose. The steps to follow are here: http://www.debconf.org/debconf5/news/call_for_papers Jeff Bailey (who is responsible for the talks) works on an update to change the license for the recordings into a DFSG-free one. On the page above is still the old wording. An other recent addition to the talks-proposal page is the "round table" panel discussion option. If you can think of a good topic relevant to Debian please submit it. See you in HELsinki! /Andreas signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Debian-Edu developer meeting in Nafplion, Greece
This is a cunning plot to increase developer interest in debian-edu: Debian-Edu will hold a Developer Gathering in Nafplion, Greece, from the 15th to 17th of April. http://www.debian.gr/~bilbo/nafplion/CANON0216.jpeg There are other pictures with palm trees available, too. People working on Debian-Edu can register[1] and (based on first come, first serve) can get sponsored for trip and accommondation. Everyone else is welcome to just drop by. Further details and a list of sponsors will be available from the event page[2] by next weekend. See you in Nafplion! /Andreas [1] Registration is possible either directly in cvs or in the registration thread ( http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2005/03/msg5.html ) on the debian-edu list. [2] There will be a link on the http://www.skolelinux.org site. signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Call For Papers for DebConf5 in Helsinki
Call for Papers and Presentations Debconf 5 Helsinki, Finland The annual Debeconf conference is the technical and social forum for Debian developers, sponsors, affiliates, and friends. It allows various groups within Debian a chance to come together and network. We invite you to submit a proposal to present a technical paper or tutorial, or to host a meeting (BoFS, or Birds of a Feather Session). Step 1. Submit Proposal This is the first year that we are asking for proposals. The proposal lets us know in advance what sort of talks we will have. This helps us in attracting developers and potential sponsors to the conference. Your proposal can be a rough outline, but should be at least 500 words in length (and ideally no more than 1500 words). Your proposal should be clear about whether your proposal is political (Free Software, dealing with traditionally marginalised groups, etc.), technical, or social (Dealing with debian structures and groups). It's okay to hit all three of these. Your proposal should also include some information on why you're qualified to talk about this. Ideally it will also include links to posts your have made to Debian mailing lists. A presentation is not the best place to mention your idea for the first time. Proposals will be accepted until March 15th 2005, 23h59 UTC. To submit your proposal, go to http://comas.linux-aktivaattori.org/debconf5/ and register as an attendee. Once you are registered, there is a "Submit a proposal" link. You will see your proposal on the site. If it's not there for some reason, please tell us right away! Step 2. Committee Review The review committee for this year consists of Jeff Bailey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Andreas Schuldei <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, and Amaya Rodrigo Sastre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> This committee will make its decision by April 1st. If you aren't available between March 15th and April 1st for questions, please let us know your schedule. All correspondance will be done by email. Step 3 Paper Submission For the first time, we are asking for papers to be submitted along with the presentations. The goal is to provide written information along with transcripts of the sessions for later viewing. Having written papers in advance will allow us to get translations done, to help non-native-English speakers feel more comfortable with the topics presented. Papers are due by June 1st, and should cover the topic in reasonable depth. Any formatting requirements will be given to you on March 15th when your paper is accepted. Step 4 Live Presentation Presentations are either 45 minutes or 90 minutes in length. 90 minute presentations have a break in the middle and should include workshop items that directly involve the participants. Fine Print Publication Rights Debconf requires non-exclusive publication rights to papers, presentations, and any additional handouts or audio/visual materials used in conjunction with the presentation. The authors retain all copyrights. The presentations will be recorded, and may be broadcast over the Internet. Any copies of the presentation will be made available under a creative commons license.=20 Failure to Submit In the event that a deadline is missed we reserve the right to revoke any offer to present. signature.asc Description: Digital signature
debconf5 registration is open
Hi! With this mail debconf5 organisation team declares the registration to the sixth debian conference as open. *GONG* go to http://comas.linux-aktivaattori.org/debconf5 and register. Unlike the sarge release we can just decide that we dont want to wait any longer, eventhough there are some minor/major issues left: - the website http://www.debconf.org/debconf5 still misses some content, but we hope the one relevant for travel planning is there. ask on the mailing list for specific information that you find lacking. that should bring us up to speed. - we cant yet support https for the registration, we wait for an additional IP for that. http works fine. - the good looking css is still missing. Due to generous committment to sponsorship by HP, Nokia, IBM and Hostway we allready have the better part of the budget covered, and only about 50kUS$ are missing. /andreas signature.asc Description: Digital signature
generic sponsorship offer for debconf5 in Helsinki
The official part of DebConf5 will take place from the 9/10th to the 16/17th of July in Helsinki, Finland. (It is preceded by an inofficial hack camp.) To be able to plan and budget for this better than in previous years we ask for people who need travel support a bit earlier, like 9 month in advance. This is done so that we might take advance of better flight prices and special offers you can find. Are you interested to attend DebConf5, but can't afford the entire trip and/or the stay? Are you working on any aspect of Debian? Then please contact me in private mail and list - the area you work on within Debian - the approximate travel costs, if booked well in advance (accomodation and food is taken care of) - how much of that costs are you able to pay yourself - your name and contact info We, the DebConf5 organizers together with the DPL, will apply some common sense and fuzzy-logic filters and match the incoming requests against our vague idea of how the budget will look like and come back to you for further planning and information. We will try to handle this process in a semi-open way, since many are not compfortable about sharing travel dates and intentions publicly and might feel that their financial make up is a private issue. the "open" part about this will be that the decisions about sponsorship won't be drawn by lot or decided on arbitrarily but according to our general consensus. General registration is not open until after Christmas. signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Re: Second Call for votes: General resolution: Sarge Release Schedule in view of GR 2004-003
> -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > [ 2 ] Choice 1: Postpone changes until September 2004 [needs 3:1] > [ 1 ] Choice 2: Postpone changes until Sarge releases [needs 3:1] > [ 3 ] Choice 3: Add apology to Social Contract [needs 3:1] > [ 7 ] Choice 4: Revert to old wording of SC[needs 3:1] > [ 4 ] Choice 5: "Transition Guide" foundation document [needs 3:1] > [ 5 ] Choice 6: Reaffirm the current SC[needs 1:1] > [ 6 ] Choice 7: Further discussion > -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- signature.asc Description: Digital signature
travel support for the needy
After finalizing our budget and cutting some costs (no notebooks to sensible prices in brazil) we now are able to offer travel support for some Debian Developers of up to 500$ each. If you would like to make use of this offer and are not able to afford the trip on your own (and have not reconfirmed your registration, or havent even registered yet), please let us know your flight costs, and how much you can afford yourself. If you require less the 500$USD chances are that the spare money lasts longer and more can come. so be modest, if possible. Since we expect some demand, we impose a "first come, first serve" system.· signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Talks at debconf4
We have prepared a final preliminary talks and bof schedule. you can find it on the debconf4 site at http://www.debconf.org/debconf4/?q=node/view/35 now that you can estimate better what you would miss if you wouldn't come you should consider all possible options: play the lottery, sell your car, ... even if the official registration periode is over you have a short time left to get in contact with us and slip in if you are a Debian Developer. See you in Porto Alege! signature.asc Description: Digital signature
debconf4 CFP
Hello, All. General Information The 5th Debian Conference (DebConf4)[1] will take place from May 26 to June 02 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Such a large gathering of Debian developers and enthusiasts gives the unique opportunity to reach a highly skilled and interested audience with a variety of topics. We'll have two talks a day and plenty of space for BOFs. We are pleased to invite speakers to submit proposals for a talk to be given either in the morning or in the evening. On day one there will be an introductory talk for all speakers: Public Speaking. Altough it's mainly directed for DebConf speakers, everyone is invited. Themes * General talk topics could be, but are not limited to: * Debian subprojects or architecture projects * Social and organizational topics * Enterprise involvement, advantages, legal issues * Maintainer-upstream groups and their relationships How to submit Initially, please only submit a short (about two paragraphs) description of your presentation and please, answer the following questions sending e-mail to the DebConf 4 Team - [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Tell us about yourself and what you have been doing for Debian or another Free Software Project * Anything else we should know about you (allergies, diet, medical condition, special needs) * Will you need to receive a participation fee subsidy in order to attend DebConf4? Why? If so, please estimate how much your round-trip travel to Porto Alegre will cost. Would you be able to attend without it? * Will you need a visa to come to Brazil[2]? * Telephone and emergency contact number(s) If your presentation is accepted, you should send us the full paper, less than ten pages long in LaTeX, DocBook SGML, plain text, or any suitable format. Deadline The deadline for submissions is April, 1st. If your presentation is accepted, we'll contact you to send us your full paper and let us know about specific needs for your talk before April, 15th. BOFs Even if BOFs can be scheduled "just in time" locally, it would be nice to plan in advance if you would like to organize one. Feel free to send a mail for a BOF, as soon as you know you want to hold one. Our growing list of sponsors already includes: (*) HP (*) PSL-RS (the International Free Software Forum organizers) (*) O'Reilly (*) Lindows 1. http://www.debconf.org/debconf4 2. http://www.debconf.org/debconf4/visa See you at DebConf4, The DebConf4 Team -- -- Michelle Ribeiro signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Debain-Edu and Skolelinux
Hi all! The Skolelinux project, started in Norway but in the meanwile grown to be an international project, wants to integrate even better with Debian, and for that reason thankfully accepts Raphael Herzogs offer to continue its effords as the Debian-Edu subproject, taking it over. Why? * To avoid the Knoppix-effect. We are debian developers and users, and we would like Debian to be better and more widely recognized for its achivements. * To work more closely with other debian developers on packageing and development issues. * To make use of the debian infrastructure (see below). The goal of Skolelinux/Debian-Edu is to create a debian distribution especially geared towards easy and largescale deployment in schools. Development wise we have pushed the debian-installer for some time and worked on norwegian internationalisation a bit. For the future the Debian-Edu subproject has the follwing additional objectives: - push the norwegian openoffice translation further to the debian maintainer for inclusion upstream, - create courseware (lessons, homework, exams, solutions to exams) compatible with debian. - create/improve LSSAE (Large Scale System Administration) support in debian (e.g. ldap). - continue the debian-installer work - write a Debian-Edu system administration handbook Todays skolelinux infrastructure will partly be merged into the debian infrastructure: website and mailinglists should not be a big problem, the cvs which is used by many non-debian-developers will remain. Debian developers involved will sponsor the packages for inclusion into the debian archive. We hope that the use of the debian bts will help to get integration problems on the package level sorted out fast... Technically inclined persons might want to check out the http://developer.skolelinux.no/arkitektur/arkitektur.html.en to learn more how skolelinux works. NUUG-Foundation has agreed to sponsor an office in oslo called "nordic debian labs", together with IBM, HP and InOut Data. It will be used to accommodate test equipment. The plan is to let interested people (teachers...) come to this place and let them test-install the distribution and play with the system. Schoolings and courses could also be provided. new releases will be tested here by developers, too. The office will also be used by the different free software user groups for meetings, parties etc. We are looking forword towards all the debian developers doing our work now (yeah, sure) and close collaboration with all of you. Feel free to voice your opinons and ideas on [EMAIL PROTECTED] signature.asc Description: Digital signature
debconf - conclusion
we have put out a pressrelease at the debconf website: http://www.debconf.org/debconf3/pressrelease.php It reads: Unexpectedly many Debian developers and users participated in the annual debconf (18th-20th of July) and the first debcamp (12th-17th of July) at University of Oslo. Debcamp, a work camp for development, bug fixing and workshops, was held for the first time ever. Attendance for both debcamp and debconf was better then expected: circa 90 people came to debcamp and circa 140 to debconf. Thanks to strong sponsorship from HP, NUUG Foundation, Lindows, Trolltech, the University of Oslo, O'Reilly and Linpro (with Dell) food, facility, abundant computing power and accommodation were free and many developers both from Europe and abroad could be supported in their travels. The strong support from the Norwegian Unix User Group (NUUG) in planning and organisation made the event go smoothly and left a professional impression. During debcamp the future debian-installer made great progress, over 200 bugs got fixed and lot of time was spend discussing and socialising. At the conference people could communicate, coordinate further development and enjoy a wide variety of talks. The current Debian Project Leader, Martin Michelmayr was especially impressed with debcamp: "This year's debconf and especially the preceding debcamp were a great success. The idea of having a debcamp in which people can work on various projects together was born during last year's debconf and got realized this year. We have seen that it is very effective when you can put people who normally work together via the Internet in a room. Many design and implementation issues have been discussed and have successfully been resolved. We will try to hold more debcamps in the future, possibly smaller ones in different countries." Debian's coordinator for the conference, Andreas Schuldei, concluded: "Especially mostly virtual communities need these kind of events and gatherings to become more relevant to real life. I think this event has fulfilled its goal to inspire and motivate everyone attending. This was a striking example of Debian's vibrant community and amazing variety." Hurd developer Neal Walfield (front) discussing release details with Debian's Release Manager Anthony Towns (back): http://delta.nisa.net/~jbailey/pictures-2/55.html pgpd37suyuJrz.pgp Description: PGP signature
Talks at DebConf in Oslo
I invite everyone to take a look at this years schedule for the talks and events at DebConf in Oslo. http://www.debconf.org/debconf3/schedule.php If you come to Oslo, take a look around the website. We hope to provide all the info you need. If you miss something, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you can't come to Oslo, take a look at the site and feel sorry for yourself and what you are missing out on. Hope to see you there, the DebConf Team pgpwaUoiQmrbf.pgp Description: PGP signature
End of Deb{Conf,Camp} Registration on 16th of june
For logistical and organisational reasons we have to close the
registration for debconf 3 and debcamp on the 16th of june.
Numbers of new registrations have dropped off over the last few
days, so we assume that most people who want to come have made
arrangements and plans by now.
Some people have wondered how they could afford Norways food and
accommodation prices. Thanks to several sponsors (HP, Norwegian
Unix User Group (NUUGF), Lindows, Trolltech, O'Reilly) we will be
able to offer very competitive food prices. Accommodation in
Oslo is available for free, in a gym hall, in close proximity to
the camp/conference location, together with other debcamp/conf
participants. One would just need to bring his/her own
sleepingbag/mattress. Frequent personal hygiene is encouraged.
(c:
All this makes it easier and cheaper for the participants but
requires planning and arrangements.
On the 16th we will send out a mail to all who registered, asking
for reconfirmation of their attandence (and some other minor
details). It will be necessary to answer that mail within one
week (untill the 23th of june).
This aggravation is necessary due to the fact that at the last
debconf only 80 out of 150 registered participants actually
attended.
People who want to participate in deb{conf,camp} but prefer not
to register by the 16th of june are welcome anyway, but should
not expect accommodation, food, tshirts, books, nametags, printed
conference materials, cars or personal conference hostesses.
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