Gnumeric releases a bug fix and some final features to the charting engine. This is the final stable release. Gnumeric has now branched to a new development tree.
Gnumeric is a spreadsheet program and is a part of GNOME Office.
Havoc Pennington is looking for help and volunteers for the D-BUS todo list. There are a lot of things that need fixing before D-BUS can release.
D-BUS is a message bus system; a simple way for applications to talk to one another.
http://freedesktop.org/Software/dbus/doc/TODO
A new version of Gnomoradio is out. This release contains ogg vorbis support and numerous interface improvements. Future priorities include improving the user interface.
Gnomoradio is a program that can find, fetch, share, and play music that is freely available for file sharing.
http://gnomoradio.org/screenshots
Gnome System Tools is released. Exciting changes are Fedora Core 1 support for all tools, Slackware 9.1 support for all tools and yaboot support for boot tool.
http://www.gnome.org/projects/gst
A new version of BEAST/BSE 0.5.6 is out.
BEAST is the GTK+/GNOME based front-end to BSWE (the Bedevilled Sound Engine). The rough goal of this project is to get an audio system that supports multiple song and sample formats as well as synthesis networks and allows full fledged editing and manipulation of them.
We who bring you the Gnome Weekly Summaries thought that it was a really special event that Robert Love, the famous kernel hacker, has joined Ximian (now part of Novell). So we decided to bring you a special interview with Robert Love that is not located anywhere else on the Internet - it only exists in this weeks Gnome Weekly Summary! We hope that you enjoy this special feature.
1. What will be your new role at Ximian?
In short, as a kernel hacker doing whatever is necessary to advance the state of the Linux desktop. More specifically, I am going to be tackling kernel and system-level projects to improve the desktop. Ximian is committed to improving the Linux desktop user experience, and there are a few issues at the system-level where Linux is behind our competitors. Specifically, integration of the entire Linux system -- from the kernel up through desktop applications -- is pretty weak. We can do better.
2. Why have you decided to focus on tuning the Linux kernel for desktop use as opposed to the fantastic, but more general work you have done on the kernel in that past?
Well, I feel a lot of my previous work has been oriented toward the desktop. I have always touted the preemptive kernel as a step toward improved desktop performance. My interest in the O(1) scheduler was because I saw in it a better general purpose desktop-capable scheduler than that clunker in 2.4 kernels. Of course, a lot of momentum in Linux is toward advancing Linux in the server-space, and my previous employer was an embedded Linux company... but I have always found the desktop an interesting problem in need of creative solutions.
3. What types of things do you see yourself tackling about the Linux kernel as it pertains specifically to a desktop role?
Events layer, hardware integration, and performance are my first and second-order priorities. Right now, I am working on tackling the first two. I basically look at it as "getting information up to the desktop from lower layers and doing something useful with it." A lot of players are involved: udev, D-BUS,HAL, this gnome-volume-manager I am working on, etc. But the end result is to Make Hardware Just Work. This is more than plug and play at the kernel-level, but a complete and elegant solution to hot plugging, device naming, hardware event notification, and desktop policy. For example, when you plug in your digital camera, a few things need to automatically happen: a kernel module loaded, a sysfs entry created, a device node created, registration in a device database via HAL, generation of a "yo, new hardware" event, the new volume is automounted, and an icon placed on the desktop. Finally, we can detect that there are photos on the camera and ask the user if she wants to export them into her photo album. Oh, and this needs to be done with finesse: in user-space, without hackish polling, via elegantly designed systems.
4. Since you'll be working at Ximian which produces a version of the Gnome desktop, I'll assume that you're a Gnome user or at least have used it. What do you like best about the Gnome desktop and what is the thing that bugs you the most about it?
Dude, I am a huge GNOME user and fan. ;-) I like the elegance, simplicity, and design of GNOME. I like the fact that it is rooted in C; founded and managed by smart, creative folks with a background in UNIX/Linux; has and enforces a HIG; and has cool companies like Ximian and Red Hat deeply involved in it. Nothing bugs me that goes unfixed.
5. In general, what types of things have to be accomplished on the Linux desktop, be it Gnome or KDE, etc, before it can be a replacement to Microsoft Windows in the enterprise sector and also for the average home user?
We are really close. Improved applications. Improved multimedia. Improved integration, on both the application-to-application level (see the Novell bounties) and on the system-to-desktop level (what I am working on).
http://stara.kvota.net/sri/stats26.php?end=2003-12-28& start=2004-01-03
Thanks for Paul Warren for these lists.
| Most active modules: | Most active hackers:
|
Currently open: 10503 (In the last week: New: 413, Resolved: 361, Difference: +52)
Modules with the most open bugs (excluding enhancement requests):
| Module | Open Bugs | New/Opened in last week | Resolved in last week | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nautilus: | 742 | 41 | 37 | +4 |
| gtk+: | 647 | 12 | 8 | +4 |
| control-center: | 251 | 13 | 10 | +3 |
| gnome-vfs: | 244 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| GnuCash: | 222 | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| gnome-panel: | 214 | 19 | 15 | +4 |
| gnome-applets: | 166 | 13 | 9 | +4 |
| GIMP: | 158 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| dia: | 154 | 6 | 7 | -1 |
| galeon: | 150 | 28 | 13 | +15 |
| epiphany: | 119 | 20 | 14 | +6 |
| gnome-terminal: | 118 | 9 | 7 | +2 |
| sawfish: | 118 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| balsa: | 117 | 3 | 12 | -9 |
| gnome-session: | 111 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
Gnome Bugzilla users who resolved or closed the most bugs:
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