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the avatar of Andres Silva
the avatar of Andres Silva

openSUSE Conference - Chameleon Ad

The openSUSE Conference 2013 is ad portas and the media has already caught on to this Open Source event in Thessaloniki, Greece. There was a recent request for having an ad about the openSUSE Conference featured in a German Linux magazine. I quickly jumped to the action looking for ideas on what ways are more effective in delivering an ad about our project.

The first thought was to make something that talked about the conference and the things that will make the conference shine. However, a second thought also came through. The openSUSE Conference is just the result of a much bigger project, the openSUSE Project. If we are to feature an ad about our conference it should be centered on the project and not the conference necessarily.

Why? Because there are many conferences and events every year. It is hard for the general public to know and acknowledge the differences of conferences around the Linux world. However, there is only 1 openSUSE Project. The conference's main event is not the conference itself, it is openSUSE. Therefore, I thought that rather than having the conference-made logos and graphics, we should focus on the main event, openSUSE.

In the end, this is what will go on the magazine. I hope you like it!


a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar

4.11 beta 1 packages available for openSUSE 12.3

As a consequence of [the recent changes in the repositories]({{ site.url }}/2013/06/upcoming-changes-to-opensuse-kde-repositories), the openSUSE KDE team is happy to announce the availability of packages containing the first beta of the KDE Platform, Workspaces and Applications 4.11.

Packages are available in the KDE:Distro:Factory repository. As it is beta software, it may have not-yet-discovered bugs, and its use is recommended only if you are willing to test packaging (reporting bugs to Novell’s bugzilla) or the software (reporting bugs directly to KDE). For specific queries on the 4.11 beta not related to specific openSUSE packaging, use the KDE Community Forums 4.11 Beta/RC area.

Have a good test!

the avatar of Andrés G. Aragoneses
the avatar of Andrés G. Aragoneses

Modernizing blam's autotools (or shaving the yak to move out from GoogleReader...)

Before focusing my spare time completely on the GSoC* (as I have mentoring responsibilities this year \o/ ), I wanted to solve a problem that cannot wait after July...

Yes, I've been victim of Google's cuts too... And I was wondering, where should I move? Feedly? ThingyBob? Well, I shouldn't make the same mistake twice, right?

Actually, some time ago I was using a desktop app to avoid relying on software that I cannot control (yes, vendor lock-in, the most important thing that open source tries to solve, right?): Thunderbird. But somehow the convenience of a web app (that I can access from any computer) and the hassle of using my mail client for RSS reading made me move to the web.

I should be able to find a replacement that no company or individual can "take down", and which feels less clunky than Thunderbird for reading RSS. So, enter blam (in the future I'll figure out how to sync its state between computers, maybe using SparkleShare?, to achieve that same convenience that a web-app provides), that Gnome app that has strangely managed to not catch my eye until now...

Well, maybe because if I install it from debian sid and I try to import my very first RSS feed from my GoogleReader list it doesn't work? Well, apparently it is a bug that is already fixed upstream, thanks to Carlos which has modernized the way that the program deals with XML and serialization.

Then I went ahead and tried to compile master myself... and guess what, the autogen.sh execution fails. Here the yak shaving begins, when I feel like this when trying to fix the autotools stuff:


Fortunately, after some tinkering (and some copy&paste from banshee's build scripts), I managed to fix the problem, and also modernized a bit some things (like using the brand new ".ac" extension instead of ".in" for the configure script, or using properly the AC_INIT and AM_AUTOMAKE_INIT macros,...).

Anyway, the real thing to highlight here is that while I was fixing this stuff and pushing to the repository...


... I saw some really good stuff committed by Carlos: using the new .NET 4.5 C# async patterns to get rid of those ugly callbacks! Kudos to him.

And if you're willing to help more with our autotools housekeeping, please do, I still feel this autogen.sh is way too long and needs some ironing.

* And if you're wondering what's up with GSoC (aka Google Summer of Code):

  • I had Nicholas Little lined up to work on Rygel+Banshee integration, but sadly he couldn't apply due to work commitments (hopefully he will still work with me on it in his spare time).
  • I had Rashid Khan lined up to work on Cydin+Banshee integration, but sadly there were not enough GSoC spots for him :( (fortuntately he told me he still wanted to work on it with me in his spare time).
  • I had Tomasz Maczyński lined up to work on Banshee integration with more REST APIs, and fortunately he was selected! So expect some nice FanArt.TV and SongKick plugins soon!


a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar

Upcoming changes to openSUSE KDE repositories

Since KDE has released the first beta of Platform, Workspaces, and Applications 4.11, there will be some changes in the packages offered in the openSUSE repositories.

In short:

  • KDE:Distro:Factory will now start tracking 4.11 betas and RCs: packages are being worked on. Use this version to test packages and to report bugs upstream.
  • KDE:Release:410 has been decoupled from KDE:Distro:Factory. If you were using 4.10 packages from KDF, you’re highly encouraged to move to this repository.
  • KDE:Unstable:SC will keep on carrying snapshots from KDE git repositories.

If you test the 4.11 packages, report bugs in the packaging (or openSUSE-specific functionality) to Novell’s bugzilla, and bugs in the software to bugs.kde.org. Also, please use the dedicated area on the KDE Community Forums to discuss issues.

Let the testing commence!

the avatar of Andrew Wafaa
the avatar of Andrew Wafaa

Changed Blogging System Again

It’s been almost 18 months since I last made any change to this site, and I’ve been meaning to do it for a while. In all honesty, it’s been a while since I last blogged so I thought it was as good a time as any. Thanks to the likes of Twitter and Google+, and my corporate blog I’m finding myself blogging less an less. As my blog is getting less content, is it really worth running an sql server etc?

a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar

Installing Realtek 8273AE driver on openSUSE 12.3

This was a problem I didnt think I would face while getting a new laptop. I got the Toshiba C580 laptop, which has quite decent specifications. It is a nifty machine, and openSUSE works more or less flawlessly. The only issue I faced was with the Wireless card. It is a Realtek device, which is usually well supported, but this particular model, the 8273AE is yet to be fully supported by the kernel. I had to dig around a lot to get this to work, but received a lot of help from the openSUSE forums, and managed to get it to work. Thanks to lwfinger for writing the patch to get it to work properly.

1.) Use YaST to install the Kernel Development, C/C++ development and Base Development patterns

2.) Download the compat-wireless package from
http://linuxwireless.org/download/compat-wireless-2.6/compat-wireless-2012-10-03.tar.bz2

3.) Download the patch from
http://www.lwfinger.com/realtek_drivers/rtl8723ae_master_patch

4.) Run the following commands

tar jxvf compat-wireless-2012-10-03.tar.bz2
cd compat-wireless-2012-10-03/
patch -p1 < ../rtl8723ae_master_patch
make
sudo make install

5.) Check if the driver is working with
sudo modprobe -v rtl8723ae

This should get the driver working properly

Source: http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/wireless/477285-rtl8723ae-realtek-wirless-driver-hell-3.html

a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar

Organizing oSC13 - 38 days before(a conference without history is a tree without roots)

Today I feel like talking about history. The history of all the openSUSE confernces in the past. If I made my research right the first openSUSE Conference was in 20-23 of October in 2010.


Here are some graphics that was used at that time. I really find them interesting since I like history and I believe that a lot of lessons can be tought by history. I don't really know much about oSC10 since I was really new to the openSUSE project at that time and I hessitated on going there at that time. Looking back now I think I made a mistake not going there. Of course I found this out when joined the second conference in 2011 which also took place in Nuremberg from 11 to 14 of September in 2011. This was a lifetime experience. If you ever joined an openSUSE conference I am sure you all remember your first time there. It was amazing since I was a volunteer and I went to Nuremberg one day before the conference and there I had Allan Clark making pins, Juergen Weigert making the lights and a bunch of other top coders carring arround stuff in order to set up the venue. No Rock stars there, just people who are devoted in openSUSE and in making the conference work, for all.

 Then it was oSC 2012. This was different for me. The Greeks were so close at taking oSC2012 but when Prague also claimed it we took a step back since we understood and we knew that we were not 100% ready for it. We needed more people for the Greek community to get practically involved with it so that next year we would have even more experience and feedback. You see sometimes stepping back is better.
We joinned oSC12 more active than oSC11 and we tried to do the most we could and we learned a lot there. The idea though was the same, people hanging around and talk to each other. There was no need to know someone from before or to be friends from before. Afterall the meaning of the conference is also to have people meet and talk F2F. I have to say here that I made actuall friends in all oSC's, people that I am happy to hear their news beyond openSUSE matters. People from all over the planet and this is something you can't do sitting in front of a keyboard.



 Then we finally got the oSC13 to Greece. Not many things stayed as originally planned but this is only a good thing. We are prepairing a conference that for the first time is organized exclusively by the community and it is planned to be friendly to everybody and to produce a lot of work for the project. If you have any hessitations on comming to the conference because you don't know people or you fear that you will be a stranger among strangers forget it. Just track someone you really like from irc or from wherever and go say a hello, there is a big posbility a long time friendship to start with that hello. Any problem you might have will be solved. Ask anyone that ever joined an oSC. Come to share thoughts and learn from people. Come as you are and don't hessitate to deploy your personallity. There is enough place for everyone here.
Hope to see you all there.

a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar

KDE Platform Workspace, and Applications 4.10.4 for openSUSE

These posts kind of sound like a broken record, right? ;) Anyway, since KDE has released new versions of Platform, Workspaces and Applications as part of the stable release cycle, thanks to the OBS we have packages available for openSUSE 12.2 and 12.3. The 4.10.4 update will also be released as an official update for 12.3 in due time.

Where you can get the packages? Two places, as usual:

  • KDE:Distro:Factory in case you are interested in contributing to packaging for the next openSUSE release;
  • KDE:Release:410 (openSUSE 12.3 or openSUSE 12.2) in case you just want to upgrade to the latest and greatest version

What to look forward to in this release? More than 50 bugs being fixed, including:

  • CSS compliance fixes in KHTML
  • Bug fixes in Gwenview (display after image rotation, duplicate entries in recent folders)
  • Assorted fixes in KMail: polishing of external editor support, CalDAV fixes, UI adjustments…

For more you can always turn to the [full list of fixed bugs](https://bugs.kde.org/buglist.cgi?query_format=advanced&bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=VERIFIED&bug_status=CLOSED&bugidtype=include&chfieldfrom=2013-01-01&chfieldto=Now&chfield=cf_versionfixedin&chfieldvalue=4.10.4&order=Bug Number&list_id=675254).

As with any good broken record, some more repetition: report bugs in packaging to Novell’s Bugzilla, and bugs in the software directly to KDE.

Have fun with 4.10.4!

a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar
a silhouette of a person's head and shoulders, used as a default avatar

YaST is being rewritten in Ruby; Geeko gets a nosejob


For those not intimately familiar with +SUSE and +openSUSE , it bears mentioning what YaST actually is. YaST is our administrative control panel, composed of numerous modules for Software Management, User Management, Partitioning, and a variety of other tasks. It has interfaces implemented with +GTK , +Qt Project , and a command line interface. The command line interface is particularly nice in the case that you are running a server without a graphical environment, or if for some reason your graphical environment is not working. YaST even powers our very advanced graphical installer, providing us with power and stability during the install process that I haven't seen any other distribution able to replicate. WebYaST brings the power of YaST to remote administration, allowing you to remotely administer your machines from a comfortable web-based graphical interface.

For a couple of years now I've been hearing rumors about YaST being switched to +Ruby from the proprietary YCP language. However, up to recently I haven't stumbled across any substantiating evidence. Fact of the matter now though is that it is happening, and the next openSUSE release may even use the new Ruby based YaST.

Firstly though, why bother? It after all does work, and quite well for that matter. There are numerous reasons why this transition is being made. Firstly, YCP is a language developed explicitly for YaST development, and thus the only people who know it are YaST developers. This cuts out many people who would otherwise be able to contribute to it's continued evolution and maintenance. But why Ruby? Other similar (and inferior in my opinion) tools are usually written in +Python . Largely this is due to the simple fact that SUSE has many proficient Ruby developers. But, Ruby in it's own right is an excellent choice due to it's simplicity, flexibility, and the rapid development it enables. Also, it bears mentioning that WebYaST is based on Ruby, and so this would enable tighter integration and remedy duplication of effort enabling the two implementations to share more code.

The new Ruby implementation is being worked on by SUSE developers in Prague. It appears they are using a code translation scheme as the starting point similar to what +Xamarin used when they rewrote the +Android OS to use Mono. The new code has already been used to effectively install and administer an experimental build of openSUSE, and the developers feel confident of having it ready to begin integration by Milestone 4 of our next openSUSE release 13.1.

Personally I think this is an excellent move, as it would allow us to do more rapid development and innovation around YaST. Also, it would make YaST more accessible to other projects that might be interested in using or adapting parts of it for their own purposes. However, it should come as no surprise that if it does make it into openSUSE 13.1 it may introduce some new bugs that could prove a pain during installation or for new users. Nonetheless, I feel that this is certainly the right direction and will point us towards a promising future of innovation with YaST.