Biker|Geek

Not only is Windows XP Service Pack 3 alive and kicking, but Microsoft also managed to leak details about what the refresh will contain. The Redmond Company’s policy when it comes down to future releases of the Windows platform is to gag all details. Windows
XP SP3 is old news for Microsoft.

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Bit-tech.net Linux expert Ken Gypen returns once more to offer a comprehensive how-to guide to one of Linux’ most powerful features – using scripts to automate common tasks. Perfect for both Linux newcomers and old hacks, the article shows you step-by-step how to write your own image editing scripts as a time-saver.

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For the uninitiated, bash is the default shell in many Linux distros, including Fedora, Ubuntu, Redhat etc etc. If you use a Linux based OS, then chances are that you are using bash. For this reason, I outline a few common annoyances, and the simple ways to overcome them.

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http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ubuntu-804-hardy-heron-release-dates.html

In addition to Ubuntu 6-months stable releases and the next version of ubuntu is 8.04 with Code Name “Hardy Heron” but this release will proudly wear the badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates for five years on the server and three years on the desktop.

Hardy Heron was announced on Wednesday(29th August 2007) on the blog of Jono Bacon, the Ubuntu community manager for Canonical, the operating system’s commercial sponsor.

Jono Bacon about Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)

Each new release gives us all an opportunity to shine, irrespective of which bricks in the project we are laying, and this is at the heart of our belief — working together to produce an operating system that will empower its users and shape the IT industry, putting free software at the cornerstone of our direction,” wrote Bacon. “Thousands of us get out of bed every day, united behind Ubuntu, ready to make a difference, working together to make our vision happen. Importantly, our ethos of collaboration and freedom extends to the development process as well as the end product.”

Important Dates

October 2007

October 25th – Toolchain Uploaded

November 2007

November 1st – Development Summit

November 8th – Canonical AllHands

November 22nd – Specifications must be finalized, Translations exported from LP

November 29th – Alpha 1

December 2007

December 13th – DebianImportFreeze ,Remaining upstream merges completed, Rebuild Test

December 20th – Alpha 2

January 2008

January 10th – Alpha 3

January 24th – Developer Sprint

January 31st – Alpha 4

Feburary 2008

February 14th – FeatureFreeze,UpstreamVersionFreeze ,ArtworkDeadlineOne,UVF Universe,Rebuild Test, Upgrade Testing begins

February 21st – Alpha 5

February 28th – ArtworkDeadlineTwo,NewPackagesFreezeUniverse

March 2008

March 13th – StringFreeze

March 20th – BetaFreeze,FeistyArtworkFinalDeadline

March 27th – BetaRelease

April 2008

April 10th – NonLanguagePackTranslationDeadline,KernelFreeze, Rebuild Test

April 17th – ReleaseCandidate,LanguagePackTranslationDeadline

April 24th – FinalRelease

Details about Each Release

Feature Freeze

The point at which we cease creating and modifying internal features and packages. This means we’re pretty much locked down for bugfixes only.

Exceptions requiring confirmation

Packages in or relating to high-priority ReleasenameFeatureGoals

Major/minor fixes, within reason

Exceptional circumstances

Upstream Version Freeze

The point at which we cease accepting new upstream versions of packages, whether they are sourced from Debian or not. Selected Debian releases of the same upstream versions may still be pulled in for bug-fixes, but this would be a manual process.

Exceptions requiring confirmation

Packages in or relating to FeatureGoals

Minor fixes, if the upstream change is a micro-increment (or equivalent)

Major fixes, particularly blockers, if the upstream change is a minor-increment (or equivalent)

Exceptional circumstances

String Freeze

A string freeze is initiated in the project when all the human readable portions of code are no longer allowed to change. This gives the translation teams a chance to complete their translations without having to redo changed text. It also allows documentation to mention the actual UI names and messages.

Beta Freeze

Anal-retentive, high-caution period until the Beta Release goes out. Release and relevant section team confirmed fixes only! Once the BetaRelease is shipped, we roll back to FeatureFreeze status.

Exceptions requiring confirmation

ReleaseCriticalBug

SecurityCriticalBug

Exceptional circumstances

Beta Release

The BetaRelease is a testing oriented pre-release, usually one month before the Final Release.

Non Language Pack Translation Deadline

Some translation data cannot currently be updated via the language pack mechanism. Because these items require more disruptive integration work, they are subject to an earlier deadline. Translations which fall into this category are:

The Ubuntu installer

Translations which don’t use gettext, including:

Firefox

debconf templates

desktop notifications via notification-daemon

Strings visible in the default desktop (live CDs don’t get language pack updates)

Default menu items

Panel strings

All menu entries in KDE applications, which does not support translation via language packs

Kernel Freeze

The kernel freeze is a deadline for kernel updates, since they require several lockstep actions which must be folded into the CD building process. As with other freeze dates, exceptional circumstances may justify exemptions to the freeze, at the exception of the release managers.

Release Candidate (RC)

The release candidate is a production-quality pre-release one week before the final release.

Language Pack Translation Deadline

Translation data using the Language Pack mechanism is due at this deadline.

See NonLanguagePackTranslationDeadline for non Language Pack data.

Final Release

The final release is the finished product which is distributed with an official Ubuntu release number.

If you are looking for a way to try out an easy to use BSD based distro, this is a great place to start that will make it easy on the first timers. http://www.pcbsd.org
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A update to PC-BSD has been released today, version 1.4.1. This new version may be obtained from our download page , additionally users who are running version 1.4 may download a patch to upgrade.

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