[17:22]  * jcastro taps the mic
[17:22] <jcastro> hello, anyone there?
[17:23] <bjf> jcastro, nope
[17:23] <jcastro> alright!
[17:25] <jcastro> 5 minute warning!
[17:25] <jcastro> how's everyone doing today?
[17:27] <sconklin> oh, heh
[17:27] <sladen> afternoon
[17:27] <rickspencer3> hi all
[17:28] <jono> hey all
[17:28] <jono> two mins :-)
[17:28]  * rickspencer3 closes irc channels and email
[17:28] <jono> I see my Facebook post worked :-)
[17:29] <shah> yes
[17:29] <shah> i have some question about Ububut
[17:29] <shah> i have some question about Ubuntu
[17:29] <mhall119> shah: support questions should be asked in #ubuntu
[17:30] <mhall119> this channes is used for teaching
[17:30] <mhall119> channel
[17:30] <jcastro> let's just give it one more minute for the stragglers
[17:30] <rickspencer3> jcastro, do I have voice?
[17:30] <jcastro> yeah, the bot will kick in and set all the modes
[17:31] <monish> What are we going to learn today?
[17:31] <sladen> MootBot: depends what you ask rickspencer3
[17:31] <rickspencer3> is it out yet?
[17:31] <rickspencer3> j/k
[17:32] <ardchoille> jono: what facebook page? I want to follow it
[17:32] <rickspencer3> classbot is not responding to me yet
[17:32] <kilian_> HELL SHIT YEAH!!!!!!
[17:32] <jono> ardchoille, http:://www.facebook.com/ubuntulinux
[17:32] <ardchoille> thanks
[17:32] <kilian_> HELL SHIT YEAH!!!!!! lol
[17:32] <rickspencer3> jcastro, shall we start?
[17:33] <jcastro> yeah, why don't you introduce yourself while I sort out the bot
[17:33] <rickspencer3> sure
[17:33] <rickspencer3> hi all
[17:33] <popey> it is here
[17:33] <rickspencer3> thanks for coming
[17:33] <rickspencer3> I am Rick Spencer
[17:33] <kilian_> HELL SHIT YEAH!!!!!! lol
[17:33] <rickspencer3> hmm
[17:33] <maco> kilian_: please watch the language, and also don't talk in here, keep it to -chat
[17:34] <rickspencer3> oh, there he goes
[17:34] <rickspencer3> hi all
[17:34] <rickspencer3> so, starting again
[17:34] <rickspencer3> I am Rick Spencer
[17:34] <rickspencer3> I'm the current Director of Engineering for Ubuntu Engineering
[17:35] <rickspencer3> I've been doing this particular role since last June, I think
[17:35] <rickspencer3> before that I was Engineering Manager for the Desktop for a couple of years
[17:35] <rickspencer3> good times ;)
[17:35] <rickspencer3> anyway, I'll try using Classbot ...
[17:35] <rickspencer3> see if there are any questions
[17:35] <rickspencer3> feel free to ask me about anything
[17:36] <jcastro> ok folks
[17:36] <jcastro> line up the questions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat
[17:36] <jcastro> remember to preface them with QUESTION: so the bot can pick them up
[17:36] <jcastro> for example
[17:36] <jcastro> QUESTION: How are you today?
[17:37] <rickspencer3> jcastro, should I go now?
[17:37] <jcastro> By all means!
[17:37] <rickspencer3> coolio
[17:37] <rickspencer3> basically, my job is to help all the people who create the Ubuntu Community Open Source Distros to ship the Ubuntu, Ubuntu Server, ARM images, etc...
[17:37] <rickspencer3> but you can ask me anything, I'll do my best to answer
[17:38] <rickspencer3> nothing? ok, cool, ttyl!
[17:38] <rickspencer3> :)
[17:39] <rickspencer3> jcastro, classbot isn't replying to me, can you paste in questions?
[17:39] <jcastro> QUESTION: Do you know when we'll see Ubuntu Monospaced font... and will it be ready in 11.04?	
[17:39] <rickspencer3> good question
[17:39] <rickspencer3> I know it is being worked on, but I'm not aware of the exact schedule
[17:40] <rickspencer3> I'll gladly chase that down
[17:40] <jcastro> sladen is the font guy
[17:40] <rickspencer3> you might ask sladen, as I believe he is responsible for that
[17:40] <rickspencer3> thanks for steelign my thunder jcastro ;)
[17:40] <jcastro> Question: How do we contribute monetarily to Ubuntu?
[17:40] <rickspencer3> interesting question
[17:41] <rickspencer3> for direct donations ... I believe the web site used to have a "donate" button somewhere
[17:41] <rickspencer3> sladen pasted this link for me: http://www.ubuntu.com/community/get-involved/donate
[17:41] <rickspencer3> thanks sladen
[17:41] <rickspencer3> however, while that is a good way to do it
[17:42] <rickspencer3> there are other ways to support the project in terms of making it financially viable
[17:42] <rickspencer3> for instance, if you work somewhere that uses Ubuntu on servers or desktops, maybe they need a support contract?
[17:43] <rickspencer3> maybe convince your friends that a Ubuntu1 account would be really useful
[17:44] <rickspencer3> a lot of people help a lot by marketing Ubuntu
[17:44] <rickspencer3> getting more users who might need services or who might contribute in other ways to the project helps make it sustainable
[17:44] <rickspencer3> I'm sure there are other great ideas as well
[17:45] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[17:45] <jcastro> QUESTION: I am newbie to Ubuntu developer community. How can i start contributing? I mean which part do i start with?
[17:45] <rickspencer3> well ...
[17:45] <rickspencer3> there are lots of ways that people first get involved, it tends to depend on what you are good at and passionate about
[17:46] <rickspencer3> it's really great that you want to contribute, joining hte Ubuntu community had a hugely positive impact on my life, I hope you find the same for yourself
[17:46] <rickspencer3> so, some ways to get started ...
[17:46] <rickspencer3> if there is an app that you really love, a good way to get started is to help a team with bug triaging
[17:47] <rickspencer3> care and feeding of bug reports, helping users to get information that developers need, that can really make you invaluable to a developer community and has a low barrier of entry
[17:47] <rickspencer3> if you are a developer, you can pick off smallish bugs and offer back merge proposals with bug fixes
[17:48] <rickspencer3> you don't have to know everything about how an app works to fix some of the smaller bugs
[17:48] <rickspencer3> and most developers are really happy to get merge proposals, and will help you learn more and more about the app you are contributing to
[17:49] <rickspencer3> you could also try your hand at writing a small but useful app, and work to get it into Ubuntu via Debian, another good way for someone with some coding skills to go
[17:49] <rickspencer3> if you are more interested in evangelism and such, you can join or start a loco
[17:49] <rickspencer3> there are also things like helpign with ISO testing
[17:50] <rickspencer3> those are some thoughts that come to mind, but I guess the most important thing is to just find something and start, be open to feedback, and have fun
[17:50] <rickspencer3> jcastro, are there more questions?
[17:50] <jcastro> Question: Can you do more to make the Ubuntu Store more widely known? I have used Ubuntu since 2005 and just now learned of the store.
[17:50] <rickspencer3> if by Ubuntu Store, you mean Software Center ....
[17:51] <rickspencer3> hmmm, it's been in Ubuntu for about 3 or 4 versions
[17:51] <jcastro> I think he means the place to buy tshirts
[17:51] <rickspencer3> oh
[17:51] <jcastro> and other assorted swag!
[17:51] <rickspencer3> hmmm
[17:51] <rickspencer3> good to know that is important to you
[17:52] <rickspencer3> I think I should talk to our marketing team and let them know that there is interest in making that more disoverable
[17:52] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[17:52] <jcastro> QUESTION: Will ATI-graphics get better driver support in the future versions? Or is the available information still too limited to advance? - (Comparing against Nvidia hardware)
[17:52] <rickspencer3> this is multi-faceted
[17:52] <rickspencer3> from my perspective there are two avenues for support for ATI
[17:53] <rickspencer3> most people are thinking about the closed-source binary driver
[17:53] <rickspencer3> since it's not Open Source, we're all pretty much at the mercy of the developers of that driver for the quality of the driver itself
[17:54] <rickspencer3> I think people like bryce, tselliot, and RAOF do a great job of working with them so the developers can work with our schedule
[17:54] <rickspencer3> and we do work to make them easy to test and install
[17:54] <rickspencer3> so, I suspect that will get better
[17:54] <rickspencer3> but then there are Open Source drivers
[17:55] <rickspencer3> I believe that there are some projects to produce open source drivers, but of course, creating a driver is non-trivial, and without a lot of support from the hardware vendor, it's hard to stay up to date
[17:56] <rickspencer3> so, until graphics chip vendors start emulating Intel and creating their drivers in the open, there is little we as a community can do to help them improve
[17:56] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[17:56] <jcastro> [QUESTION] if someone is interested in packaging is MOTU still the prefered path or should someone focus on a particular package and work on per package upload rights.
[17:56] <rickspencer3> oooh
[17:56] <rickspencer3> well, tbh, I don't feeling comforatable speaking for motu on this
[17:57] <rickspencer3> not that it's a contentious issue, I'm  just not sure it's for me to say
[17:57] <rickspencer3> I guess would say that if you have a very strong interest in a specific package, you should go that route
[17:58] <rickspencer3> hold on, it looks like my good friend maco wants to add something, and she *can* speak for motu ;)
 rickspencer3: it all depends on what you want to end up doing. if you have a specific interest, then PPU is fine. if you want to make sure that the quality level of the entirety of packages that don't have specific caretakers is high, then motu. personal preference
[17:58] <rickspencer3> ok, so consistent with my POV, which is good ;)
[17:58] <rickspencer3> jcastro, are there more questions?
[17:58] <jcastro> Question: As regards to upgrading in the future to Ubuntu 11.04 (Not alpha release) can I keep my current Gnome (2.30.2) version if I wish?
[17:59] <rickspencer3> well, you can easily keep 2.3x
[17:59] <rickspencer3> I'm not sure what specific GNOME version you will get
[17:59] <rickspencer3> but what you *will* get is something that the desktop team is calling "classic desktop"
[17:59] <rickspencer3> so in GDM you will be able to choose between the desktop that you currently know, and Unity
[18:00] <rickspencer3> for some people, classic will be their only option, as Unity requires 3D hardware support
[18:00] <rickspencer3> if you have specific questions about supporting specific GNOME package versions, the people in #ubuntu-desktop are generally very helpful, assuming it's not a Thursday ;)
[18:01] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[18:01] <jcastro> QUESTION: will Ubuntu be participating in GSOC-2011 and how can one make his application strong enough to be selected as a student developer ?	
[18:01] <rickspencer3> good question
[18:01] <rickspencer3> we have discussed this
[18:01] <rickspencer3> I would like us to participate, and do a really awesome job
[18:02] <rickspencer3> in terms of being selected, I'm probably not a great person to ask, as I have only been involved in looking at a couple of applications
[18:02] <rickspencer3> so, take this advice with a grain of salt
[18:02] <rickspencer3> but ... I looked for someone who seemed like they would stick to it for the whole project
[18:02] <rickspencer3> so that my investment as a mentor would pay off
[18:02] <rickspencer3> and also, I looked for projects that I personally found interesting, so that I would be a better mentor
[18:03] <rickspencer3> so, if I were you, I would ask people who have been succesfully chosen what htey think, but I would think of a possible mentors, and projects that they would be interested in
[18:03] <rickspencer3> and then I would talk to them about my application (via IRC most likely) before I made the application
[18:04] <rickspencer3> jcastro, are there more questions?
[18:04] <jcastro> Question: Rick Spencer are you in favor of removing X11 from Ubuntu gfx stack?
[18:04] <rickspencer3> I think the question is about "should Ubuntu move to Wayland"
[18:05] <rickspencer3> well, I don't have a lot of emotional attachment either way
[18:05] <rickspencer3> I think the Ubuntu community should stay focused on:
[18:05] <rickspencer3> 1. what is the latest and greatest in open source
[18:05] <rickspencer3> 2. what is the best thing for our users
[18:05] <rickspencer3> and let that answer the question
[18:06] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[18:06] <jcastro> QUESTION: Would it be right to say that Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu differs the way as Ubuntu differs from debian OS? and other ones like openSUSE or redHat	
[18:06] <rickspencer3> hmmm
[18:07] <rickspencer3> can you tell me more about your question? do you mean technical differences, communities?
[18:07] <rickspencer3> no?
[18:08] <jcastro> I'll ask for a follow up
[18:08] <jcastro> QUESTION: Considering Software Center is written in Python (and some other tools am guessing). Is Ubuntu planning on opening a spot for a Python developer. At the moment you are accepting only C++ programmers (according to web site).
 rickspencer3: I have used Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu and they seem to be essentially the same save for the desktop environment
[18:08] <rickspencer3> jcastro, let me answer the othe one first
[18:08] <jcastro> oops sorry, let's hold on that
[18:08] <rickspencer3> sure, I'll get back to it
[18:08] <rickspencer3> so ...
[18:08] <rickspencer3> Ubuntu is based on Debian
[18:09] <rickspencer3> so, there should be a lot of similarity between Ubuntu and Debian at the plumbing and infrastructure level
[18:09] <rickspencer3> please be clear, that Debian is part of the foundation of Ubuntu
[18:09] <rickspencer3> without Debian, Ubuntu could not be as good as it is (at least imnsho)
[18:10] <rickspencer3> so, similarities between Debian and Ubuntu, that's by design and a compliment to Ubuntu
[18:10] <rickspencer3> (again, imnsho)
[18:10] <rickspencer3> in terms of Kubuntu, Edubuntu, *buntu ...
[18:10] <rickspencer3> I think the relationship is a bit less straightforward
[18:11] <rickspencer3> certianly the infrastructure (repositories, package format, etc..) is shared
[18:11] <rickspencer3> kernels and most of the plumbing is shared
[18:11] <rickspencer3> and obviously the dekstop environments are way different
[18:11] <rickspencer3> but I don't see Kubuntu, for example, as downstream from Ubuntu, more like a sister project

 QUESTION: Considering Software Center is written in Python (and some other tools am guessing). Is Ubuntu planning on opening a spot for a Python developer. At the moment you are accepting only C++ programmers (according to web site).
[18:12] <rickspencer3> in general, and this is a generalization, not a rule ...
[18:12] <rickspencer3> in general, in Ubuntu we write applications in Python, libraries in vala, and the system is, of course, in C
[18:13] <rickspencer3> but of course, the libraries and applications that other upstreams create are written in the languages they choose
[18:13] <rickspencer3> so ...
[18:14] <rickspencer3> this means that, in general, I look for devleopers who have demonstrated that they are awesome in some language, but can learn to do anything in other languages
[18:14] <rickspencer3> because you never know what you might need to do
[18:14] <rickspencer3> so, to answer your specific question, I expect there will be positions opened from time to time that require awesome Python chops
[18:15] <rickspencer3> but since we hire for specific roles, the status of the web site just means that we currently only have open positions to support things that require C++
[18:15] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[18:15] <jcastro> QUESTION: Will the SC be able to manage software updates on Natty?	
[18:16] <rickspencer3> no
[18:16] <rickspencer3> that's still update manager
[18:16] <rickspencer3> I'm not sure what the plans are there for the future though
[18:17] <rickspencer3> please feel free to contribute to any blueprints on this topic for Natty +1 if it's an area you are passionate about
[18:17] <rickspencer3> jcastro, are there more questions?
[18:17] <rickspencer3> (whilst we wait, I've been PM'ed with a couple of questions)
[18:18] <rickspencer3> please note that I'm not in a good position to answer suppor questions, I usually suggest #ubuntu for those
[18:18] <rickspencer3> and also, to ask a question, please use #ubuntu-classroom-chat, and start your question with "QUESTION:"
[18:19] <jcastro> waiting on questions
[18:19] <jcastro> about 10 minutes
[18:19] <rickspencer3> while we're waiting, can I get on a soapbox?

[18:20] <rickspencer3> thanks for coming her and asking questions
[18:20] <rickspencer3> one thing that I sincerely hope is that anyone who wants to join the Ubuntu community in whatever way suits their interests
[18:20] <rickspencer3> can do so
[18:21] <rickspencer3> there are a lot of ways to contribute, but I understand that it can be hard to see how to get started at times
[18:22] <rickspencer3> Canonical pays a lot of developers to work on Ubuntu and to support Open Source
[18:22] <rickspencer3> helping people contribute in whatever way is part of the job description
[18:22] <rickspencer3> Canonical employees are part of the Ubuntu community, afterall
[18:23] <rickspencer3> so what that means for you is that you shouldn't feel that must wait for invitation to events like this to communicate and ask questions
[18:23] <rickspencer3> irc and mailings lists are great resources

[18:23] <rickspencer3> jcastro, are there more questions while i was boring people with my speach?
[18:24] <jcastro> jcastro: Question: Ubuntu has the titlebar buttons moved to the left. What is being planned for the right side of the titlebar?	
[18:24] <jcastro> 5 minutes left!
[18:24] <rickspencer3> a design question! not exactly my forte, but I can say what I think
[18:25] <rickspencer3> I believe that what ended up happening was that with the global menu (titlebars appearing on the top panel) ...
[18:25] <rickspencer3> the right hand side is not all indicators
[18:25] <rickspencer3> I remember there was talk about indicators that were offered by specific applications, but I haven't seen a spec or any work related to that recently
[18:26] <rickspencer3> there is an ayatana mailing list that might be a good place to discuss that
[18:26] <rickspencer3> jcastro, more questions?
[18:26] <jcastro> jcastro: QUESTION: will the upgrades to ubuntuone-client that are in 11.04 make there way to 10.10?
[18:26] <jcastro> last one!
[18:26] <rickspencer3> hmmm
[18:26] <rickspencer3> I don't know for sure
[18:27] <rickspencer3> I think that would be a hard sru (Stable Release Update) to get through
[18:27] <rickspencer3> Ubuntu has a strong ethic of being predictable, not changing the user experience during a stable release
[18:27] <rickspencer3> and that seems like a pretty big change, and would be risky
[18:27] <rickspencer3> perhaps it could be made available in backports or a PPA
[18:28] <rickspencer3> I believe there is a #ubuntuone or similar where you might find someone to discuss that with in more detail, though
[18:28] <rickspencer3> jcastro, was that really the last one?
[18:28] <rickspencer3> I can do 1 more, if there is one
[18:28] <jcastro> QUESTION: QT will be included in Natty yes?, but since nokia has announced it is moving to Windows Mobile, isnt QTs future abit uncertian?	
[18:29] <rickspencer3> dang it, out of time!
[18:29] <rickspencer3> j/k
[18:29] <rickspencer3> so, QT is not in Ubuntu by default
[18:29] <rickspencer3> of course Kubuntu is a different matter
[18:30] <rickspencer3> however, it is easy to install
[18:30] <rickspencer3> for instance if you install version of Unity that uses Qt, Qt will be installed for you
[18:30] <rickspencer3> in terms of the uncertainty, speaking for myself ...
[18:30] <rickspencer3> yeah, I think we should wait and see
[18:30] <rickspencer3> however, Qt is a strong toolkit
[18:30] <rickspencer3> with great tools
[18:31] <rickspencer3> I expect it to stick around and be well supported, even if someone takes a fork
[18:31] <rickspencer3> should be interesting!
[18:31] <rickspencer3> ok, I think that's time
[18:31] <rickspencer3> everyone ....
[18:31] <jcastro> yep
[18:31] <jcastro> thanks everyone for showing up!
[18:31] <rickspencer3> please please please don't consider me inaccessible
[18:31] <rickspencer3> you have my irc nick, feel free to use it!
[18:31] <rickspencer3> that's what I'm here for