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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Gentoo Weekly Newsletter |
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http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/current.xml |
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This is the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of 16 January 2005. |
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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|
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============== |
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1. Gentoo news |
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============== |
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|
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New USE defaults in the making |
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------------------------------ |
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|
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For some packages portage has auto-use entries, which means that unless |
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you explicitly override a USE flag it will be enabled after emerging a |
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package and disabled after unmerging it. Example: after "emerge sqlite" |
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the sqlite flag will show up as enabled in "emerge info" and "emerge -vp" |
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of something that has sqlite in iuse unless you have "-sqlite" or "-*" in |
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USE in make.conf. If you unmerge sqlite the USE flag will show up as |
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disabled again (unless you have sqlite in USE in make.conf of course). |
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|
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This has caused some annoyances as USE flags tend to "randomly" jump when |
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a new package triggers auto-use (either because you emerged or unmerged it |
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or because the package.use file in the tree was edited). Many bugs have |
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been filed, the general consensus is to phase out auto-use. |
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|
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The change will happen in one of the next Portage 2.1 releases - it is in |
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the tree and marked ~ARCH on almost all arches. "Stable" users will stay |
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unaffected for some time since Portage 2.0.x will not change its |
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behaviour, but upgrades can and will change USE flags. If you just |
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upgraded to a portage 2.1 release you will probably want to look at the |
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"emerge -DuvpN world" output and add flags that you want to keep enabled |
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to make.conf if they show up as "-foo*". |
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|
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Baselayout changes |
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------------------ |
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|
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The Gentoo baselayout team is pleased to release baselayout-1.12.0_pre14 |
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to the eagerly awaiting public. Here's a summary of the major changes |
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since 1.11: |
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|
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* Network backgrounding support from wpa_supplicant, ifplugd and netplug |
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with service dependency restart -- Typically ifplugd is used to monitor |
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ethernet cable being in/out and start/stop the network service |
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accordingly, along with the services depending on that network service. |
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The problem was that when ifplugd re-started the network service it didn't |
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restart the services it stopped! Now ifplugd and netplug support have been |
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merged into baselayout, we have more direct control and can remember which |
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services were stopped by the network service so we can re-start them. |
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wpa_supplicant can now do this too. |
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* Separate network configuration per interface -- Each interface is now |
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able to have its own resolv.conf and default route. We also prioritize |
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wired over wireless and merge resolv.confs together. This works great for |
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roaming laptop users. |
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* Interactive startup -- Do you have a service that causes serious issues |
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when booting? You should not, but if you do then you can now choose to |
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start, skip, continue or drop to shell for each service interactively. |
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Using generic stty and shell calls we do this in a non-blocking way |
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without the need for a daemon. |
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* Parallel startup/shutdown improvements -- Parallel startup and shutdown |
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didn't really do what it claimed to in previous releases, but now it's |
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very parallel and much faster than before. Which leads us onto .... |
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* Improved service dependency ordering (albeit slower) -- Thanks to |
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parallel startup, we found that our service ordering was totally wrong. So |
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we had to re-write it entirely. So far it's in its fourth re-write using a |
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topological sort written in bash and has been doing a very good job for |
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around three months now so we think we've finally cracked it. |
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* Service daemon status checks -- Services that launch daemons via |
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start-stop-daemon now ensure that they really start instead of start - |
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become daemon - die due to invalid config fooling rc into thinking they |
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have started. Also, if you check a service status we check if the daemon |
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is still running or not. If not then we stop the service and dependencies. |
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We also really stop the service, which fixes an issue where you start |
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cups, re-emerge cups and then it cannot stop or restart. |
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|
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Gentoo PPC meeting defines roadmap for 2006.0 and beyond |
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-------------------------------------------------------- |
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|
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The PPC developers spent three hours on Sunday night to discuss what lies |
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ahead of them. The 2006.0 release for PowerPCs will include generic stages |
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1, 2 and 3, specific stage3 tarballs for G3 and G4, both a minimal and a |
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complete install CD, plus GRP packages on a separate CD image. All 2006.0 |
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profiles, generic and optimized, will include NPTL support. |
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|
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The PPC team will tackle some of the open bugs when another PPC bugday |
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will focus the efforts of developers and users. If you'd like to |
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participate in weeding out some of the undergrowth, tune into #gentoo-ppc |
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on irc.freenode.net next Saturday, 21 January 14:00 UTC. Before starting a |
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recruitment campaign for new develpers, the team is currently evaluating |
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who among the 21 listed PPC devs is currently active or de-facto retired. |
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Along with boosting the activity level within the team, they're also |
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planning to enhance communication with other architectures and users by |
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starting a mark-up of their blog posts and sending heads-up to the GWN |
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team on a regular basis. |
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|
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AMD 64 project update |
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--------------------- |
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|
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Major highlights from the Gentoo Linux for AMD64 activities have been |
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included in a status report published by the Gentoo AMD64 project last |
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week. As the hardware has become more affordable, 2005 saw the user base |
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grow a lot, and the number of developers didn't stand back: The AMD64 team |
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started with nine developers at the beginning of 2005, and currently |
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counts 32 active developers, plus 16 "arch testers", i.e. power users |
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putting the development under close scrutiny and filing bug reports. The |
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"arch testers" concept works so well that the idea has gained popularity |
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with other architectures who are now considering setting up tester teams |
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of their own. See the entire report[1] for more accomplishments of the |
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AMD64 team. |
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1. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/base/amd64/status/status_20060110.xml |
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|
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========================= |
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2. Heard in the community |
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========================= |
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|
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Web forums |
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---------- |
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|
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New toolchain on SPARC |
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|
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The Gentoo SPARC developers are getting ready for the 2006.0 release. |
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Gustavo Zacarias[2] has marked a new gcc (3.4.5) and glibc plus 2.6.11 |
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kernel headers stable. The change will not affect those still using the |
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old 2005.1 profile, but as this upgrade demands users to re-emerge their |
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entire system, you may want to check the thread for useful information |
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before you get bitten by anything that didn't go as planned: |
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2. gustavoz@g.o |
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|
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* New stable toolchain stuff on SPARC, read before using![3] |
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3. https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-419845.html |
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|
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======================= |
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3. Gentoo international |
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======================= |
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|
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USA: Gentoo classes at MIT |
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-------------------------- |
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|
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Gentoo developer Rajiv Manglani[4] will again hold two evening seminars |
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about Gentoo Linux for students of the Massachusetts Institute of |
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Technology in Boston, MA. The first one (tomorrow, Tuesday) will give an |
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introduction to Gentoo, while the follow-up course on Thursday will |
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provide a more detailled look at Portage and the creation of ebuilds. If |
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you would like to attend one or both meetings, please contact |
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sipb-iap-gentoo@×××.edu today! |
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4. rajiv@g.o |
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|
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* Introduction to Gentoo Linux: Tuesday, 17 January 2006, 20:00-22:00, |
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MIT Building 2, room 105 |
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* Advanced Gentoo Linux:Thursday, 19 January 2006, 20:00-22:00, same |
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location |
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|
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Note: Check the announcement at the MIT website for more details and |
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instructions how to get to the venue on campus. |
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|
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USA: Utah Gentoo user group |
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--------------------------- |
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|
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Steve Dibb[5] is the founder of a group of Gentoo users in Utah. Located |
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in West Jordan, he's recently set up a website[6] that uses "a vanilla |
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install of Geeklog" to provide state-wide support and articles about |
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Gentoo (first entry is a review of Damien Krotkine's[7] flagedit tool), |
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and serves as a starting point for future activities like meetings and |
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installfests. "Utah is actually a cool place for all the Linux support |
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going around," says Steve, which orginally made him worry a bit: "I had |
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sent out an e-mail[8] a few months earlier to see if there was any |
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interest, and to my surprise there was quite a positive response to the |
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idea, despite that fact that there are already a lot of local Linux, Unix |
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or other FOSS groups and mailing lists in the state." The one-month-old |
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Gentoo Utah group now counts eleven members, all of whom use Gentoo in |
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both production and private environments. On top of the website Steve is |
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hosting a mailing list where "we don't get flamed for using Gentoo like we |
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would on the other local mailing lists" and which benefits from being |
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small and local: "The list gives us a chance to discuss Gentoo, without |
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being flooded from a larger userbase." |
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5. sdibb@×××××.com |
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6. http://utah-gentoo.org |
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7. dams@×××××.org |
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8. http://uphpu.org/pipermail/uphpu/2005-October/004078.html |
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|
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====================== |
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4. Gentoo in the press |
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====================== |
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|
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Allround PC (9 January 2006, in German) |
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--------------------------------------- |
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|
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Building a home theater PC (HTPC) with Gentoo Linux is a typical example |
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of the benefits obtained from setting up only a minimal installation. It's |
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been done several times before, of course, but this step-by-step |
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description[9] of the process provides a concise overview of which |
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hardware to use, where to configure which modules, how to integrate remote |
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controls and more. As some of the elements used are not yet part of the |
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official Portage tree, the article also points to the gentoo.de |
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overlay[10] that contains additional VDR plugins needed for the HTPC |
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setup. |
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9. http://www.allround-pc.com/index.php?reviews/06009/bericht.htm |
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10. http://www.gentoo.de/main/de/downloads.xml |
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|
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Distrowatch (9 January 2006) |
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---------------------------- |
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|
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Ladislav Bodnar from Distrowatch picked up a piece of Gentoo |
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documentation, the new Gentoo Linux LiveUSB Howto[11] that "has now become |
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part of the project's official documentation," and which he finds[12] |
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"particularly useful for installing Gentoo Linux on a modern laptop with |
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no CD-ROM drive." |
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11. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/liveusb.xml |
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12. http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20060109#1 |
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|
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Linuxdevices.com (11 January 2006) |
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---------------------------------- |
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|
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An article about a Linux robot site[13] that launched a user-controllable |
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robot appeared on the pages of the embedded online magazine |
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Linuxdevices.com last week. |
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13. http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4842769131.html |
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|
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========================= |
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5. Gentoo developer moves |
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========================= |
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|
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Moves |
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----- |
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|
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The following developers recently left the Gentoo project: |
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|
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* None this week |
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|
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Adds |
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---- |
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|
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The following developers recently joined the Gentoo project: |
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|
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* Martin Ehmsen (ehmsen) - TeX |
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* Michal Kurgan (moloh) - Polish GWN lead translator |
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|
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Changes |
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------- |
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|
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The following developers recently changed roles within the Gentoo project: |
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|
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* None this week |
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|
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================== |
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6. Gentoo Security |
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================== |
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|
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mod_auth_pgsql: Multiple format string vulnerabilities |
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------------------------------------------------------ |
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|
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Format string vulnerabilities in mod_auth_pgsql may lead to the execution |
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of arbitrary code. |
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|
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For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[14] |
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14. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200601-05.xml |
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|
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xine-lib, FFmpeg: Heap-based buffer overflow |
259 |
-------------------------------------------- |
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|
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xine-lib and FFmpeg are vulnerable to a buffer overflow that may be |
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exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code. |
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|
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For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[15] |
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15. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200601-06.xml |
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|
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Blender: Heap-based buffer overflow |
268 |
----------------------------------- |
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|
270 |
Blender is vulnerable to a buffer overflow that may be exploited by |
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attackers to execute arbitrary code. |
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|
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For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[16] |
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16. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200601-08.xml |
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|
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Wine: Windows Metafile SETABORTPROC vulnerability |
277 |
------------------------------------------------- |
278 |
|
279 |
There is a flaw in Wine in the handling of Windows Metafiles (WMF) files, |
280 |
which could possibly result in the execution of arbitrary code. |
281 |
|
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For more information, please see the GLSA Announcement[17] |
283 |
17. http://www.gentoo.org/security/en/glsa/glsa-200601-09.xml |
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|
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=========== |
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7. Bugzilla |
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=========== |
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|
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Statistics |
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---------- |
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|
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The Gentoo community uses Bugzilla (bugs.gentoo.org[18]) to record and |
293 |
track bugs, notifications, suggestions and other interactions with the |
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development team. Between 08 January 2006 and 15 January 2006, activity on |
295 |
the site has resulted in: |
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18. http://bugs.gentoo.org |
297 |
|
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* 799 new bugs during this period |
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* 447 bugs closed or resolved during this period |
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* 37 previously closed bugs were reopened this period |
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|
302 |
Of the 9083 currently open bugs: 77 are labeled 'blocker', 176 are labeled |
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'critical', and 489 are labeled 'major'. |
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|
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Closed bug rankings |
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------------------- |
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|
308 |
The developers and teams who have closed the most bugs during this period |
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are: |
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|
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* Gentoo Linux Gnome Desktop Team[19], with 29 closed bugs[20] |
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* AMD64 Porting Team[21], with 22 closed bugs[22] |
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* Printing Team[23], with 17 closed bugs[24] |
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* PPC Porters[25], with 15 closed bugs[26] |
315 |
* Gentoo Games[27], with 14 closed bugs[28] |
316 |
* Perl Devs @ Gentoo[29], with 11 closed bugs[30] |
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* Daniel Black[31], with 10 closed bugs[32] |
318 |
* SpanKY[33], with 9 closed bugs[34] |
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19. gnome@g.o |
320 |
20. |
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http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=gnome@g.o |
322 |
21. amd64@g.o |
323 |
22. |
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http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=amd64@g.o |
325 |
23. printing@g.o |
326 |
24. |
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http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=printing@g.o |
328 |
25. ppc@g.o |
329 |
26. |
330 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=ppc@g.o |
331 |
27. games@g.o |
332 |
28. |
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http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=games@g.o |
334 |
29. perl@g.o |
335 |
30. |
336 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=perl@g.o |
337 |
31. dragonheart@g.o |
338 |
32. |
339 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=dragonheart@g.o |
340 |
33. vapier@g.o |
341 |
34. |
342 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=RESOLVED&bug_status=CLOSED&chfield=bug_status&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&resolution=FIXED&assigned_to=vapier@g.o |
343 |
|
344 |
New bug rankings |
345 |
---------------- |
346 |
|
347 |
The developers and teams who have been assigned the most new bugs during |
348 |
this period are: |
349 |
|
350 |
* Default Assignee for New Packages[35], with 49 new bugs[36] |
351 |
* Default Assignee for Orphaned Packages[37], with 12 new bugs[38] |
352 |
* Mozilla Gentoo Team[39], with 10 new bugs[40] |
353 |
* AMD64 Porting Team[41], with 10 new bugs[42] |
354 |
* Gentoo Games[43], with 8 new bugs[44] |
355 |
* Gentoo Security[45], with 7 new bugs[46] |
356 |
* Luis Medinas[47], with 7 new bugs[48] |
357 |
* Gentoo KDE team[49], with 7 new bugs[50] |
358 |
35. maintainer-wanted@g.o |
359 |
36. |
360 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=maintainer-wanted@g.o |
361 |
37. maintainer-needed@g.o |
362 |
38. |
363 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=maintainer-needed@g.o |
364 |
39. mozilla@g.o |
365 |
40. |
366 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=mozilla@g.o |
367 |
41. amd64@g.o |
368 |
42. |
369 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=amd64@g.o |
370 |
43. games@g.o |
371 |
44. |
372 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=games@g.o |
373 |
45. security@g.o |
374 |
46. |
375 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=security@g.o |
376 |
47. metalgod@g.o |
377 |
48. |
378 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=metalgod@g.o |
379 |
49. kde@g.o |
380 |
50. |
381 |
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&chfield=assigned_to&chfieldfrom=2006-01-08&chfieldto=2006-01-15&assigned_to=kde@g.o |
382 |
|
383 |
=============== |
384 |
8. GWN feedback |
385 |
=============== |
386 |
|
387 |
Please send us your feedback[51] and help make the GWN better. |
388 |
51. gwn-feedback@g.o |
389 |
|
390 |
=============================== |
391 |
9. GWN subscription information |
392 |
=============================== |
393 |
|
394 |
To subscribe to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter, send a blank email to |
395 |
gentoo-gwn+subscribe@g.o. |
396 |
|
397 |
To unsubscribe to the Gentoo Weekly Newsletter, send a blank email to |
398 |
gentoo-gwn+unsubscribe@g.o from the email address you are |
399 |
subscribed under. |
400 |
|
401 |
=================== |
402 |
10. Other languages |
403 |
=================== |
404 |
|
405 |
The Gentoo Weekly Newsletter is also available in the following languages: |
406 |
|
407 |
* Danish[52] |
408 |
* Dutch[53] |
409 |
* English[54] |
410 |
* German[55] |
411 |
* French[56] |
412 |
* Korean[57] |
413 |
* Japanese[58] |
414 |
* Italian[59] |
415 |
* Polish[60] |
416 |
* Portuguese (Brazil)[61] |
417 |
* Portuguese (Portugal)[62] |
418 |
* Russian[63] |
419 |
* Spanish[64] |
420 |
* Turkish[65] |
421 |
52. http://www.gentoo.org/news/da/gwn/gwn.xml |
422 |
53. http://www.gentoo.org/news/nl/gwn/gwn.xml |
423 |
54. http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/gwn.xml |
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55. http://www.gentoo.org/news/de/gwn/gwn.xml |
425 |
56. http://www.gentoo.org/news/fr/gwn/gwn.xml |
426 |
57. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ko/gwn/gwn.xml |
427 |
58. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ja/gwn/gwn.xml |
428 |
59. http://www.gentoo.org/news/it/gwn/gwn.xml |
429 |
60. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pl/gwn/gwn.xml |
430 |
61. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pt_br/gwn/gwn.xml |
431 |
62. http://www.gentoo.org/news/pt/gwn/gwn.xml |
432 |
63. http://www.gentoo.org/news/ru/gwn/gwn.xml |
433 |
64. http://www.gentoo.org/news/es/gwn/gwn.xml |
434 |
65. http://www.gentoo.org/news/tr/gwn/gwn.xml |
435 |
|
436 |
Ulrich Plate <plate@g.o> - Editor |
437 |
Roy Marples <uberlord@g.o> - Author |
438 |
Marien Zwart <marienz@g.o> - Author |
439 |
-- |
440 |
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