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Contributing Writer: [[User:Ush|Oisin Feeley]]
Contributing Writer: [[User:Ush|Oisin Feeley]]


=== Fedora Intrusion Update ===
=== Would You Like to Write This Beat ? ===


[[User:Pfrields|Paul W. Frields]] broke radio silence to provide<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2009-March/msg00010.html</ref> a detailed explanation of last August's (2008-08-12) security problem. Briefly, a <code>Fedora Project</code> systems administrator used a pass-phraseless SSH key. This was copied from the administrator's machine and used to gain access to Fedora infrastructure. Subsequently trojaned versions of <code>OpenSSH</code> and <code>rpm</code> were built and deployed on Fedora infrastructure. The investigation concludes that these packages were detected and removed before any <code>rpms</code> were built with them or distributed to Fedora users.  The full, detailed communication includes a time-line.
Following this issue (FWN#178) I will, with regret, no longer be covering the @fedora-devel list. If you are interested in writing this weekly summary of the deeds and doings on the list then please contact fedora-news-list@redhat.com or [[User:Pcalarco|Pascal Calarco]]. A short overview of what you may need to do can be obtained by reading the workflow<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/WorkFlow</ref> section of the wiki. The @fedora-news list is also extremely open and helpful. Joining<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/NewsProject/Join</ref> the News Project is quite straightforward.


=== Emacs Cabal Disables Xorg Ctrl-Alt-Backspace ===
<references/>


Much work has been done on the <code>Fedora 11</code> release notes<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_11_Beta_release_notes</ref> to advise users of significant changes. A thread started<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01682.html</ref> by [[GerryReno|Gerry Reno]] to question the disabling of Ctrl-Alt-Backspace as a key combination to kill the X server shows that these beta release notes are an important means to notify prospective users of new features of the operating system. Gerry was among many contributors to the thread that preferred to keep the traditional functionality enabled. This change was an upstream Xorg decision apparently taken to prevent users from accidentally killing their X servers. Although there had previously been extensive discussion (reported in FWN#162<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue162#Fedora_11_Alpha_Released</ref>) and a nice, hot flamewar on the upstream lists<ref>http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg/2008-September/038786.html</ref> the change seemed to take many by surprise. This prompted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01705.html</ref> accusations that "[...] big changes like this need to be advertised extensively instead of just quietly slipped in."
=== Is gNaughty a Hot Babe ? ===


[[RolandMcGrath|Roland McGrath]] suggested<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01691.html</ref> ways in which <code>xorg.conf</code> could be changed using a <code>kickstart</code> post-scriptlet but preferred that such choices would be pushed into the users' "keyboard shortcut" preferences. Gerry raised<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01697.html</ref> the issue of the use of the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace combination being essential to virtual machine management.
[[User:Sundaram|Rahul Sundaram]] posted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02071.html</ref> the results of a survey conducted, primarily on @fedora-list and on the forums, to discover which non-repository-packaged software Fedora consumers were using.  


Another dissatisfied user was [[ArthurPemberton|Arthur Pemberton]]. He requested<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01770.html</ref> discussion of why such large changes as disabling Ctrl-Alt-Backspace, removing <code>Xorg.conf</code> in favor of auto-detection, and others had been made without what he considered to be enough discussion. Response to this line of questioning suggested<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01791.html</ref> variously that the change had been made "secretly" upstream in order to appease an emacs-using cabal, and that Fedora had adopted the changes solely because Ubuntu had done so. This latter accusation was disputed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01888.html</ref> by [[MatthewGarrett|Matthew Garrett]].  The <code>emacs</code> angle seems to come from the fact that the <code>emacs</code> key-combinations "Ctrl-Alt-End" and "Ctrl-Alt-\" are, with certain keyboard layouts, a danger to fumble-fingered users. Arthur pointed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01732.html</ref> to an added complication in a use case in which booting with the monitor powered off requires restarting the X server.
One interesting point is that CMUCL<ref>One of the Common Lisp implementations: http://www.cons.org/cmucl/</ref> was revealed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02088.html</ref> to be only available for 32-bit systems. However what got people really excited was<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02136.html</ref> Rahul's question about what to do concerning the <code>gNaughty</code> package. Its sole purpose seemed<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02203.html</ref> to be downloading pornography. Rahul referenced the <code>hot-babe</code> CPU monitor which enjoyed controversy in Debian packaging circles due to its use of female nudity.  Rahul wanted to find out "[...] is this allowed in Fedora?"


[[FelixMiata|Felix Miata]] mentioned<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01820.html</ref> that OpenSuSE's solution was to require that the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace sequence be struck twice before it took effect. This was also suggested<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01804.html</ref> by Gerry during a thread in which [[MatthewGarrett|Matthew Garrett]] and [[MatthiasClasen|Matthias Clasen]] explained that the <code>Terminate_Server</code> symbol could be bound to any desired key-binding through <code>XKB</code> maps.
Amusingly a good deal of the controversy focused on whether the content was freely redistributable, but a predictable moral angle was raised<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02242.html</ref> by [[User:Alsadi|Muayyad AlSadi]] who asked for help in producing a spin which removed content deemed objectionable. Muayyad is a Jordanian developer who has been producing an Arabic-localized Fedora spin named "Ojuba" for some time. Muayyad sought a way to make identifying and tagging packages easier to facilitate this spin. [[User:Notting|Bill Nottingham]] was<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02312.html</ref> skeptical about the chances of tags keeping meaning unless there was some sort of review board. Equally predictable was<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02295.html</ref> the reaction typified by [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]] which resisted any attempt to restrict packages according to standards which had nothing to do with licensing or patent issues. [[User:bochcecha|Mathieu Bridon]] thought<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02355.html</ref> that the creation of a wiki-page by Muayyad would allow anyone interested in co-ordinating work on "Inappropriate Content" to just go ahead and do it without dragging in bureaucracy.


[[AhmedKamal|Ahmed Kamal]] suggested<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01708.html</ref>: "To anyone wanting to kill X when it hangs, why not login through a VC and `pkill X' .. Just like any process, why do we have to have magic keys!" Similarly [[AdamJackson|Adam Jackson]] challenged<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01989.html</ref> the assertion that it would be possible to use the key combination to deal with faulty drivers.
<references/>


=== ZFS-based Upgrades ===
=== Chrome9 Vx800 Graphics Support on LiveUSB ===


[[NealBecker|Neal Becker]] posted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01597.html</ref> a link to an interesting way to use the capabilities of the <code>ZFS</code> filesystem to take snapshots of the system and provide a safe, stable way to upgrade. [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]] seemed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01599.html</ref> sanguine that this would be relatively easy with a <code>YUM</code>-based system.
[[KristapsViesalgs|Kristaps Viesalgs]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02146.html</ref> for help in getting the Fedora Live USB to boot correctly on a machine using a Via Vx800 "Chrome9" GPU. Kristaps had some success with the latest upstream version (from their subversion repository) and asked: "Is there any brutal option how to properly boot X with vesa driver, install Fedora, then make openchrome svn installation? Is Fedora planning to make for VIA graphic chipset autoconfiguration utility?"


=== Repoview Temporarily Bust in Fedora 10 ===
[[User:Ajax|Adam Jackson]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02154.html</ref> for a more specific bug report because the chip should be supported. He preferred not to ship an autoconfiguration utility instead of just getting the driver correct. Similar points were made by [[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson]] and [[User:|Xavier Bachelot]]. The latter asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02163.html</ref> any interested developers to help out the openchrome project in both the 2D and 3D(Gallium) sides.


After a report from [[UweKiewel|Uwe Kiewel]] that he could not create a repoview for <code>Fedora 10</code> Everything [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]] posted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01585.html</ref> that there was a fix available in rawhide but it had not got into <code>Fedora 10</code> yet. [[KonstantinRyabitsev|Konstantin Ryabitsev (Icon)]] built the updated packages and [[User:Jwboyer|Josh Boyer]] posted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01648.html</ref> that they would be available very shortly.
<references/>


=== LGPL Qt-4.5 in Fedora 10 and Fedora 9 ===
=== Who Wants a Pony? ===


[[User:Kkofler|KevinKofler]] announced<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-March/msg01696.html</ref> updates of <code>Qt-4.5</code> for <code>Fedora 10</code> and <code>Fedora 9</code>. He detailed the advantages of this backwards-compatible update and suggested that maintainers of <code>Qt-4</code>-based packages do some quick checks to ensure that there would be no snags.
[[User:Kushal|Kushal Das]] promised<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02139.html</ref> a pony to anyone that would take the trouble to review<ref>http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=503021</ref> one of his packages.
 
<references/>
 
=== Firestarter Retired as Unportable to PolicyKit ===
 
[[User:Maxamillion|Adam Miller]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02089.html</ref> whether he should just retire the <code>Firestarter</code><ref>Firestarter is a firewall configuration GUI</ref> package for which he had recently become the maintainer. His query was based on the recent filing of RFEs to integrate <code>Firestarter</code> with <code>PolicyKit</code>. These suggested to Adam that a large amount of work would be needed due to the lack of any upstream activity for four years and the need to grok <code>PolicyKit</code>.
 
Following confirmation from [[User:Sundaram|Rahul Sundaram]] and [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]] a decision was made<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02094.html</ref> by Adam: "I would honestly rather retire the package than do a WONTFIX, if the project as a whole is going the direction of PolicyKit and upstream is dead then I don't want to keep old and busted cruft around the repositories as Fedora continues to look towards the future."
A further suggestion from "Cry" prompted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02122.html</ref> Adam to start filing RFEs against <code>system-config-firewall</code> for any features present in <code>Firestarter</code> but missing in <code>system-config-firewall</code>.
<references/>
 
=== Russian Fedora ? ===
 
When [[User:Peter|Peter Lemenkov]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02013.html</ref> about the idea of creating a Fedora Foundation outside of the U.S.A. the usual arguments from the past few years were rehashed. [[User:Kkofler|Kevin Kofler]] gave<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02025.html</ref> an able summary why this would still present Red Hat with a problem.
 
An assertion by [[User:|Alexey Torkhov]] that there existed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02390.html</ref> a Red Hat-sanctioned "RussianFedora" spin which contained mp3 codecs and other material excluded from the actual Fedora Project repositories drew demands for proof from [[User:Sundaram|Rahul Sundaram]].
 
<references/>
 
=== Will FESCo Revisit Kmods ? ===
 
A discussion of why <code>VirtualBox</code> will not be a feature due to its code not yet heading upstream and consequently remaining as <code>kmods</code> drew a statement of support from [[User:Kkofler|Kevin Kofler]] for reverting the current banning of <code>kmods</code> should he become a FESCo member. Upon request from [[RichardJones|Richard W.M. Jones]] for a dispassionate summary of the reasons to avoid <code>kmods</code> drew<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02254.html</ref> a concise response from [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]].
 
[[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson]] and [[User:Mdomsch|Matt Domsch]] (Dell's DKMS mastermind) kicked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02368.html</ref> some ideas back and forth over the advantages of <code>akmods</code> versus <code>kmods</code>.
 
<references/>
 
=== Upgrade from Fedora 10 to Rawhide (Fedora 11) ===
 
Following a report from [[UweKiewel|Uwe Kiewel]] that a <pre>yum upgrade</pre> had spewed all sorts of errors the supported methods for upgrades were re-stated<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02041.html</ref> by [[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson]]: "[I]f you talk to the people most involved in implementing it (Seth) and testing it (Will) they will tell you that doing live upgrades via yum can't really ever be 100% safe for various reasons, but preupgrade can get very close and is useful in all the same cases. So their position is, we support preupgrade, we don't support yum. If yum works, great, if it doesn't, you can bug people to fix whatever it stopping it working, but it's not 'required' by any policy or guideline."
 
<references/>

Latest revision as of 01:15, 1 June 2009

Developments

In this section the people, personalities and debates on the @fedora-devel mailing list are summarized.

Contributing Writer: Oisin Feeley

Would You Like to Write This Beat ?

Following this issue (FWN#178) I will, with regret, no longer be covering the @fedora-devel list. If you are interested in writing this weekly summary of the deeds and doings on the list then please contact fedora-news-list@redhat.com or Pascal Calarco. A short overview of what you may need to do can be obtained by reading the workflow[1] section of the wiki. The @fedora-news list is also extremely open and helpful. Joining[2] the News Project is quite straightforward.

  1. ↑ http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/WorkFlow
  2. ↑ http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/NewsProject/Join

Is gNaughty a Hot Babe ?

Rahul Sundaram posted[1] the results of a survey conducted, primarily on @fedora-list and on the forums, to discover which non-repository-packaged software Fedora consumers were using.

One interesting point is that CMUCL[2] was revealed[3] to be only available for 32-bit systems. However what got people really excited was[4] Rahul's question about what to do concerning the gNaughty package. Its sole purpose seemed[5] to be downloading pornography. Rahul referenced the hot-babe CPU monitor which enjoyed controversy in Debian packaging circles due to its use of female nudity. Rahul wanted to find out "[...] is this allowed in Fedora?"

Amusingly a good deal of the controversy focused on whether the content was freely redistributable, but a predictable moral angle was raised[6] by Muayyad AlSadi who asked for help in producing a spin which removed content deemed objectionable. Muayyad is a Jordanian developer who has been producing an Arabic-localized Fedora spin named "Ojuba" for some time. Muayyad sought a way to make identifying and tagging packages easier to facilitate this spin. Bill Nottingham was[7] skeptical about the chances of tags keeping meaning unless there was some sort of review board. Equally predictable was[8] the reaction typified by Seth Vidal which resisted any attempt to restrict packages according to standards which had nothing to do with licensing or patent issues. Mathieu Bridon thought[9] that the creation of a wiki-page by Muayyad would allow anyone interested in co-ordinating work on "Inappropriate Content" to just go ahead and do it without dragging in bureaucracy.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02071.html
  2. ↑ One of the Common Lisp implementations: http://www.cons.org/cmucl/
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02088.html
  4. ↑ https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02136.html
  5. ↑ https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02203.html
  6. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02242.html
  7. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02312.html
  8. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02295.html
  9. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02355.html

Chrome9 Vx800 Graphics Support on LiveUSB

Kristaps Viesalgs asked[1] for help in getting the Fedora Live USB to boot correctly on a machine using a Via Vx800 "Chrome9" GPU. Kristaps had some success with the latest upstream version (from their subversion repository) and asked: "Is there any brutal option how to properly boot X with vesa driver, install Fedora, then make openchrome svn installation? Is Fedora planning to make for VIA graphic chipset autoconfiguration utility?"

Adam Jackson asked[2] for a more specific bug report because the chip should be supported. He preferred not to ship an autoconfiguration utility instead of just getting the driver correct. Similar points were made by Adam Williamson and [[User:|Xavier Bachelot]]. The latter asked[3] any interested developers to help out the openchrome project in both the 2D and 3D(Gallium) sides.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02146.html
  2. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02154.html
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02163.html

Who Wants a Pony?

Kushal Das promised[1] a pony to anyone that would take the trouble to review[2] one of his packages.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02139.html
  2. ↑ http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=503021

Firestarter Retired as Unportable to PolicyKit

Adam Miller asked[1] whether he should just retire the Firestarter[2] package for which he had recently become the maintainer. His query was based on the recent filing of RFEs to integrate Firestarter with PolicyKit. These suggested to Adam that a large amount of work would be needed due to the lack of any upstream activity for four years and the need to grok PolicyKit.

Following confirmation from Rahul Sundaram and Seth Vidal a decision was made[3] by Adam: "I would honestly rather retire the package than do a WONTFIX, if the project as a whole is going the direction of PolicyKit and upstream is dead then I don't want to keep old and busted cruft around the repositories as Fedora continues to look towards the future."

A further suggestion from "Cry" prompted[4] Adam to start filing RFEs against system-config-firewall for any features present in Firestarter but missing in system-config-firewall.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02089.html
  2. ↑ Firestarter is a firewall configuration GUI
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02094.html
  4. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02122.html

Russian Fedora ?

When Peter Lemenkov asked[1] about the idea of creating a Fedora Foundation outside of the U.S.A. the usual arguments from the past few years were rehashed. Kevin Kofler gave[2] an able summary why this would still present Red Hat with a problem.

An assertion by [[User:|Alexey Torkhov]] that there existed[3] a Red Hat-sanctioned "RussianFedora" spin which contained mp3 codecs and other material excluded from the actual Fedora Project repositories drew demands for proof from Rahul Sundaram.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02013.html
  2. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02025.html
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02390.html

Will FESCo Revisit Kmods ?

A discussion of why VirtualBox will not be a feature due to its code not yet heading upstream and consequently remaining as kmods drew a statement of support from Kevin Kofler for reverting the current banning of kmods should he become a FESCo member. Upon request from Richard W.M. Jones for a dispassionate summary of the reasons to avoid kmods drew[1] a concise response from Seth Vidal.

Adam Williamson and Matt Domsch (Dell's DKMS mastermind) kicked[2] some ideas back and forth over the advantages of akmods versus kmods.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02254.html
  2. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02368.html

Upgrade from Fedora 10 to Rawhide (Fedora 11)

Following a report from Uwe Kiewel that a 

yum upgrade

had spewed all sorts of errors the supported methods for upgrades were re-stated[1] by Adam Williamson: "[I]f you talk to the people most involved in implementing it (Seth) and testing it (Will) they will tell you that doing live upgrades via yum can't really ever be 100% safe for various reasons, but preupgrade can get very close and is useful in all the same cases. So their position is, we support preupgrade, we don't support yum. If yum works, great, if it doesn't, you can bug people to fix whatever it stopping it working, but it's not 'required' by any policy or guideline."

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02041.html
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