[gentoo-gwn] Gentoo Weekly Newsletter 28 August 2006

[Chris Gianelloni]

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Gentoo Weekly Newsletter
http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/current.xml
This is the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of 28 August 2006.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
==============
1. Gentoo news
==============
  
Gentoo Linux 2006.1 released
----------------------------
  
The Gentoo Release Engineering[1] project is proud to announce the release 
of Gentoo Linux 2006.1, aptly code named "Project Mayhem." After months of 
living in an existence similar to that of many secret societies, with code 
words and secret hand shakes, the releng team's adherence to eight simple 
rules, the first two being "You do not talk about 2006.1," has paid off. 

 1. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng
 
It has been a hard road of blood, sweat, and tears. The team has been 
stressed to their limits of patience (and sometimes beyond), but they've 
learned that with enough perserverence and enough soap, that they can blow 
up the world! For the team, it is time to celebrate as the work is over. 
For you, the fun is just getting started! This release brings a host of 
improvements to the flexible and powerful community-based Linux 
distribution. 
 
Some highlights from the release include the AMD64, HPPA, x86, PowerPC, 
and 64-bit PowerPC with a 32-bit userland releases being built with 
version 4.1 of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). AMD64, PowerPC, and x86 
also feature version 2.4 of the GNU C library (glibc), while all 
architectures use baselayout 1.12.1, which features many improved startup 
scripts. 
 
Alpha, x86 and AMD64 feature a new profile layout. These architecture 
profiles now have 'desktop' and 'server' varieties, allowing for quicker 
and easier customization as fewer desktop-specific options are enabled by 
default. 
 
For more information on the release, please visit the release page[2], as 
well as the  press release[3]. To get your copy of Gentoo Linux 2006.1, 
use our bouncer system[4] or get it via BitTorrent at our tracker[5]. 

 2. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/releases/2006.1/2006.1.xml
 3. 
http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/releases/2006.1/2006.1-press-release.t
xt
 4. http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/where.xml
 5. http://torrents.gentoo.org
    
GCC 4.1.1 and glibc 2.4 stable
------------------------------
  
Initially reported last week[6], the x86 and AMD64 architectures have 
marked sys-devel/gcc-4.1.1 and sys-libs/glibc-2.4-r3 stable to coincide 
with the 2006.1 release. The new GCC and GNU C library (glibc) versions 
mark a transition in Gentoo's supported configurations. Starting with 
glibc 2.4, the LinuxThreads[7] threading library is no longer supported in 
the default configuration. LinuxThreads is replaced with NPTL, or the 
Native POSIX Thread Library[8]. Support for the older versions of glibc 
with LinuxThreads will remain for x86 in a limited fashion for an 
undertimed time. This is primarily due to a shift in support from the 
upstream glibc developers. 

 6. 20060821-newsletter.xml
 7. http://pauillac.inria.fr/~xleroy/linuxthreads
 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_POSIX_Thread_Library
 
Users on x86 wishing to continue using LinuxThreads are asked to switch to 
using the "no-nptl" profile for default-linux, or to switch to using a 
hardened profile. 
  The hardened profiles are much more minimalistic than the default-linux 
profiles that you may be accustomed to using. Switching to a hardened 
profile will likely require enabling many more USE flags in make.conf to 
retain the same functionality.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Code Listing 1.1:                                                       |
|Switching to the no-nptl profile                                         |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                                         |
|# cd /etc                                                                |
|# rm -f make.profile                                                     |
|# ln -sf ../usr/portage/profiles/default-linux/x86/no-nptl make.profile  |
|                                                                         |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Note:  There is also a 2.4 sub-profile, which uses the 2.4 kernel and 
headers. 
 
This also marks a major upgrade of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) to 
version 4.1.1 on Gentoo. This upgrade requires the user to perform certain 
tasks outlined in the GCC Upgrading Guide[9], which has recently been 
updated with information on GCC 4.1.1 for Gentoo users. 

 9. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gcc-upgrading.xml
 
Users who do not wish to upgrade to GCC 4.1.1 will require a few more 
steps to ensure their systems are not upgraded. 
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Code Listing 1.2:                                                       |
|Masking GCC 4.1.1                                                        |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                                         |
|# mkdir -p /etc/portage                                                  |
|# echo ">=sys-devel/gcc-4.0" >> /etc/portage/package.mask                |
|                                                                         |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
Gentoo Summer Camps in Germany and Russia
-----------------------------------------
  
Figure 1.1: Some of the activities from the German Gentoo Summer Camp
http://www.gentoo.org/images/gwn/20060828_gsc2006-1.jpg
 
Two Gentoo Summer Camps were held last weekend, one in the northern part 
of Germany and the other one in Russia. After the huge success of last 
year's Summer Camp, about 10 people from all over Germany and a visitor 
from Greece attended this year. Some of the attendees had already arrived 
some days before the "official" camp started and combined this event with 
their vacations. During the week, everyone visited a wind energy plant, 
did a boat-tour on a little river nearby, and walked through watt, a 
narrow strip of coastal land which is dry at low tide. 
 
Figure 1.2: Find out who these people at the watt are...
http://www.gentoo.org/images/gwn/20060828_gsc2006-2.jpg
 
Gentoo user "gd", hailing from Greece, took the chance to visit the camp 
crew during his holiday journey across Germany. Though the weather wasn't 
warm and sunny as expected, it was possible to fire up the barbeque in the 
evening to recover from a long, hard day (and even longer nights). Thanks 
to one of the members of the organization team, Hilefoks, there was a 
local distfiles and rsync mirror, which gave everyone the opportunity to 
exhaustly "evaluate" games-* packages, all night long. 
 
A little review and some pictures should show up on the GSC 2006 
webpage[10] within the next few days. All participants are looking forward 
to meet again in 2007, possibly in the southern part of Germany. 

 10. http://gsc2006.nachtnebelnelken.de
    
Gentoo overlays project provides social workspaces
--------------------------------------------------
  
The Gentoo Overlays[11] project, together with other projects including 
Infrastructure and User Relations, has officially announced the overlays 
service to provide a single source for development overlays for Gentoo. 
Stuart Herbert[12], the founder of the project, hopes to see the Overlays 
project used to create a more intimate and positive collaboration between 
developers and other members of the Gentoo community. 

 11. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/overlays
 12. stuart@g.o
 
These overlays are individual collections of additional packages for 
Gentoo which are maintained and distributed separately from the main 
package tree. This allows for non-developers to be given commit access and 
builds a stronger relationship between the developers and members of the 
community by encouraging them to work closer together. Users interested in 
joining the volunteer-driven Gentoo project gain experience working in an 
open source project and doing development in a real-world setting. 
 
For more information on the Gentoo Overlays project, visit the project 
page[13], and also the Overlay project home page[14]. 

 13. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/overlays
 14. http://overlays.gentoo.org
    
=========================
2. Heard in the community
=========================
    
planet.gentoo.org
-----------------
  
Gentoo treecleaners status
 
Steve Dibb[15] posted a status of the treecleaners project[16], which is 
right now in the development phase. A tool (GPNL) helping to figure out 
which packages needs some loving and which are unmaintained is to be 
written. Also former Gentoo Developer Daniel Ahlberg provided the script 
he used to create a website[17] showing the current state of packages. 

 15. beandog@g.o
 16. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/qa/treecleaners/
 17. http://gentoo.tamperd.net/stable/
 
 * Gentoo treecleaners status[18] 
 18. http://wonkabar.org/?p=158

 
The future of SELinux (or how we are going to take over the world)
 
Joshua Brindle[19] wrote an article on the future of SELinux, on things 
he'd like to happen, and steps that need to be taken to get SELinux to 
become a part of the system, not an add-on. 

 19. method@g.o
 
 *  The future of SELinux (or how we are going to take over the world)[20] 
 20. 
http://securityblog.org/brindle/2006/08/24/the-future-of-selinux-or-how-we-are-going-to-take-over-the-world/

    
======================
3. Gentoo in the press
======================
  
Linux Journal (25 Aug)
----------------------
  
Linux Journal is running an article, entitled "Do-It-Yourself Robots with 
Linux[21]". The article describes Michael Surran's Robotics class as 
Greater Houlton Christian Academy in Houlton, Maine. The robots on are 
based on regular PC components running Gentoo Linux, of course. In the 
article, Michael describes three different robots that his class has 
built, and goes into some detail on how they accomplished the task. Aside 
from the robots, the school itself has switched to running Gentoo Linux. 
This is just one more step towards Gentoo's eventual world domination, and 
you saw it first here! 

 21. http://www.linuxjournal.com/comment/reply/9103
    
=========================
4. Gentoo developer moves
=========================
  
Moves
-----
  
The following developers recently left the Gentoo project: 
 
 * none this week 
    
Adds
----
  
The following developers recently joined the Gentoo project: 
 
 * Jorge Vicetto (jmbscicetto) forums 
    
Changes
-------
  
The following developers recently changed roles within the Gentoo project: 
 
 * none this week 
    
==================
5. Gentoo security
==================
   
Heimdal: Multiple local privilege escalation vulnerabilities
------------------------------------------------------------
  
Certain Heimdal components, ftpd and rcp, are vulnerable to a local 
privilege escalation. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[22] 

 22. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200608-21.xml
    
fbida: Arbitrary command execution
----------------------------------
  
The fbgs script provided by fbida allows the execution of arbitrary code. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[23] 

 23. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200608-22.xml
    
Heartbeat: Denial of Service
----------------------------
  
Heartbeat is vulnerable to a Denial of Service which can be triggered by a 
remote attacker without authentication. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[24] 

 24. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200608-23.xml
    
AlsaPlayer: Multiple buffer overflows
-------------------------------------
  
AlsaPlayer is vulnerable to multiple buffer overflows which could lead to 
the execution of arbitrary code. 
 
For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[25] 

 25. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200608-24.xml
    
===========
6. Bugzilla
===========
  
Summary
-------
  
 * Statistics 
 * Closed bug ranking 
 * New bug rankings 
    
Statistics
----------
  
The Gentoo community uses Bugzilla (bugs.gentoo.org[26]) to record and 
track bugs, notifications, suggestions and other interactions with the 
development team. Between 21 August 2006 and 28 August 2006, activity on 
the site has resulted in: 

 26. http://bugs.gentoo.org
 
 * 714 new bugs during this period 
 * 358 bugs closed or resolved during this period 
 * 16 previously closed bugs were reopened this period 
 
Of the 11012 currently open bugs: 42 are labeled 'blocker', 129 are 
labeled 'critical', and 526 are labeled 'major'. 
    
Closed bug rankings
-------------------
  
The developers and teams who have closed the most bugs during this period 
are: 
 
 * Gentoo KDE team[27], with 42 closed bugs[28]  
 * Gentoo Games[29], with 14 closed bugs[30]  
 * Gentoo's Team for Core System packages[31], with 14 closed bugs[32]  
 * Perl Devs @ Gentoo[33], with 12 closed bugs[34]  
 * Gentoo Toolchain Maintainers[35], with 11 closed bugs[36]  
 * media-video herd[37], with 11 closed bugs[38]  
 * Gentoo Release Team[39], with 10 closed bugs[40]  
 * Java team[41], with 10 closed bugs[42]  
 27. kde@g.o
 28. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=kde@g.o
 29. games@g.o
 30. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=games@g.o
 31. base-system@g.o
 32. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=base-system@g.o
 33. perl@g.o
 34. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=perl@g.o
 35. toolchain@g.o
 36. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=toolchain@g.o
 37. media-video@g.o
 38. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=media-video@g.o
 39. release@g.o
 40. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=release@g.o
 41. java@g.o
 42. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=java@g.o

    
New bug rankings
----------------
  
The developers and teams who have been assigned the most new bugs during 
this period are: 
 
 * Default Assignee for New Packages[43], with 32 new bugs[44]  
 * AMD64 Project[45], with 12 new bugs[46]  
 * Gentoo Sound Team[47], with 10 new bugs[48]  
 * Gentoo Games[49], with 9 new bugs[50]  
 * Gentoo net-im Herd[51], with 8 new bugs[52]  
 * Netmon Herd[53], with 7 new bugs[54]  
 * Gentoo Linux Gnome Desktop Team[55], with 7 new bugs[56]  
 * Gentoo KDE team[57], with 6 new bugs[58]  
 43. maintainer-wanted@g.o
 44. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=maintainer-wanted@g.o
 45. amd64@g.o
 46. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=amd64@g.o
 47. sound@g.o
 48. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=sound@g.o
 49. games@g.o
 50. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=games@g.o
 51. net-im@g.o
 52. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=net-im@g.o
 53. netmon@g.o
 54. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=netmon@g.o
 55. gnome@g.o
 56. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=gnome@g.o
 57. kde@g.o
 58. 
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-08-21&chfieldto=2006-08-28&assigned_to=kde@g.o

    
===============
7. GWN feedback
===============
   
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 59. gwn-feedback@g.o
    
===============================
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===============================
   
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==================
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==================
   
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Ulrich Plate <plate@g.o> - Editor
Tobias Scherbaum <dertobi123@g.o> - Author
Christel Dahlskjaer <christel@g.o> - Author
Chris Gianelloni <wolf31o2@g.o> - Author



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