Foresight Linux Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 3 (May 2007)
Welcome to the third issue of the Foresight Linux Newsletter! In this month's edition we update you with the latest Foresight Linux news, security updates, tips and tricks, a look at this month's Package of the Month, F-Spot, and a peek in to the future of Foresight Linux 2.0. The newsletter is written by users and developers just like you, and if you're interested in helping contribute, we'd love to have you and more information is available at the end of the newsletter.
In this issue:
- Foresight Linux 1.3 released
- GNOME 2.18.2 Live Media
- Installation and Package updates
- Documentation Updates
- Recent packages updated to fix security flaws
- Keep up to date with Foresight security notices via email
- Brazilian Newsletter translation
- Foresight Linux 2.0 development
- Package and software requests
- Conary's rollback feature
- Testing Cameras and Scanners
- Send us your feedback
Foresight Linux News
Foresight Linux 1.3 Released May 30th
May was a quiet month for Foresight Linux, but behind the scenes the developers continued the hard work of laying the foundation for the next generation of Foresight, Foresight Linux 2.0. More details on Foresight Linux 2.0 are below in the In Development Section.
Foresight Linux saw a minor release with 1.3, released May 30th, which includes the latest version of GNOME, 2.18.2, also released May 30th.
Foresight Linux 1.3 is available for download on 1 DVD, 2 CDs, or through a number of different virtualization images. Visit the download page for more information.
GNOME 2.18.2 Live Media
Using the toolset behind the creation of Foresight Linux, rBuilder and Conary, Foresight developers were able to develop and release GNOME Live Media day and date with the GNOME 2.18.2 release. Making it simple for users who want to test the latest GNOME release, four images are available for testing GNOME without having to install it directly on your hard drive. These images include a LiveCD, VMWare image, and a Parallels / QEMU image. GNOME Live Media is available for download at http://torrent.gnome.org.
Installation & Package Updates
Installation Updates
- An additional virtualization image was added for download by the Foresight Linux team. A Xen domU image is now available for download at http://www.rpath.org/rbuilder/project/foresight/ and click on the x86 Mountable Filesystem (Xen Virtual Appliance) link.
- Pidgin, the instant messaging software formerly known as GAIM, was updated to 2.0
Documentation Updates
Getting Started with Foresight Linux
The Getting Started with Foresight Linuxwas updated to cover printing on Foresight Linux. For more information, visit the Printingsection of the Getting Started user guide.
Misc. Documentation
Security Updates
Security updates are published on the Foresight Security mailing list. This month's security updates include:
| FLEA-2007-0016-1 |
dist |
2007-05-08 |
Previous versions of the Linux kernel are vulnerable to a local user Denial of Service attack in which local users can trigger a kernel stack overflow using the netlink layer, and to one remote Denial of Service attack in which if IPv6 routing has been configured, a remote user can cause the system to use all
available network bandwidth by sending a specially-crafted IPv6 packet. |
| FLEA-2007-0017-1 |
samba
|
2007-05-15 |
Previous versions of the samba package are vulnerable to multiple attacks in which remote attackers may be able to run arbitrary code as the root user on samba servers. The default install of Foresight is not vulnerable - one must manually configure samba for these vulnerabilities to be exposed. |
| FLEA-2007-0018-1 |
libpng |
2007-05-17 |
Previous versions of the libpng package can cause applications to crash when loading malformed PNG files. It is not currently known whether this vulnerability can be exploited to execute malicious code. |
| FLEA-2007-0019-1 |
dist |
2007-05-21 |
Previous versions of the freetype package were vulnerable to an issue whereby a specially crafted ttf file could execute arbitrary code at the permission level of the use running freetype. |
| FLEA-2007-0020-1 |
python
|
2007-05-21 |
Previous versions of the python package have a weakness that can expose memory contents, leading to potential information exposure. |
| FLEA-2007-0021-1 |
file
|
2007-05-24 |
Previous versions of the file package are vulnerable to two attacks in which a maliciously crafted file can cause the file command, and any other application using libmagic, to use excessive CPU resources (Denial of Service), crash, or execute arbitrary, attacker-provided code. |
| FLEA-2007-0022-1 |
madwifi
|
2007-05-24 |
Previous versions of the madwifi kernel module were vulnerable to three issues whereby malicious remote users can cause a crash via specially formed packets sent to the vulnerable system. |
Bug Fixes
Major bug fixes fixed in May include:
| FL-99 |
X-Chat
|
X-Chat-GNOME now supports spell checking. |
| FL-287 |
Totem
|
Totem was not playing OGG Vorbis files, and is now fixed. |
| FL-318 |
Seahorse
|
The Seahorse plugin for Epiphany was crashing Epiphany when you tried to encrypt or decrypt text. |
| FL-320 |
USB-Storage
|
Module USB-Storage is now loaded by default, making it easier for users who have USB card readers to be loaded on start up. |
Translation and Localisation
- The Foresight Linux Newsletter is now available in Portugese, translated by Foresight's Brazilian translation team helped by Vladimir Melo. Visit the Newsletter wiki space for more information.
Development News
Developers have been laying the foundation for Foresight's next major release, Foresight Linux 2.0. Based on rPath Linux 2.0, Foresight 2.0 will feature a x86_64 build for the first time, in addition to a x86 build, as well as being built against a new toolchain, gcc 4.1.2. Progress has also been made using these new tools to reduce the total installation size, in some cases 800 MB less than today's typical installation.
A major enhancement in Foresight Linux 2.0 will be the inclusion of a graphical user interface for Conary, Foresight's package management tool. Codenamed Eyesight, users will be able to install and remove software much easier thanks to Eyesight's packaging tools and ability to add or remove additional repositories.
Additionally, there has been a major reorganization of the groups, which defines what packages go in the distribution. This will make it more manageable for developers, as well as making it easier for new volunteers to help patch or submit new packages, including testing and quality assurance of these packages.
Documentation for new users will also be included in Foresight Linux 2.0, and is currently available for testing and additions in the development branch as foresight-documentation. We are also looking for volunteers for documentation, as this package only contains the FAQ at the moment, and is available in German or English.
For new package maintainers, a new package, foresight-recipes is available for installation and includes a default set of recipes to help learn how to package software for Foresight.
More information on Foresight Linux 2.0 will be available soon, and we hope to release Foresight Linux 2.0 in the next few months.
Tips and Tricks
Requesting packages
In last month's newsletter, we covered searching for packages that are available for installation in Foresight Linux using Conary, the Foresight System Manager, or the online repository search tool. But what happens when you search for a package and it's not available on Foresight?
A new wiki page has been set up named [Package Requests], and users are encouraged to add requests to the wiki page. Package maintainers and volunteers are monitoring the page, and try to add new packages to Foresight as time allows.
Conary's Rollback Feature
One of the more innovative features of Conary, the distributed package management tool for Foresight Linux, is Conary's ability to rollback package installations. If you update a package, and the software has bugs in the new version, or you've installed a package from a 3rd party repository that Foresight doesn't support. To rollback the software to the previous version you were using, in a terminal type:
This will install the previous version of the package you had previous to the update.
Package of the month: F-Spot Photo Manager
F-Spot is a fully featured photo manager for the GNOME desktop. F-Spot allows you to organize, edit, tag and share your photographs.
F-Spot offers additional features other than just the standard importing and organizing of your photos.
You can apply tags, also called labels, to your photos, to quickly sort and search through. F-Spot comes with a number of default tags, including Events, People, Favorites and Places. To create a new label, right click in the label menu on the left, and click create new tag. Enter the name of your tag, and define a parent, such as Places. To add the tag to a photo, right click on the photo (or photos) you want to tag, highlight "Attach Tag", and click on the tag you would like to apply. You can also view photos by tag, clicking on the tag on the left hand menu will display all photos labeled with that particular tag.
F-Spot has built in functionality to perform minor edits to your photos. You can adjust the color of your photos, crop the picture, remove red-eye, straighten your photo, or add a description.
F-spot also gives you the ablity to export your photos to a number of popular photo sharing services, including Flickr, Gallery or Picasa. You can also export to a CD or folder to backup your photos. Choose the service you would like to export to, by clicking the File menu, Export and click on the service. F-spot will need you to authorize your account the first time by clicking the Authorize button, which will open a web page for you to log in to. Click on the files you would like to export, and click on the Export button.
To learn more about using F-Spot, visit theF-Spot page[F-Spot] in the Getting Started with Foresight Linux user guide or visit F-Spot's home page for more information.
Contributing to Foresight Linux
Contribute to Foresight Linux
Foresight Linux could use your help testing cameras and scanners. We are looking for specific feedback on which cameras and scanners do and do not work with a default Foresight Linux installation. If you can take 5 minutes to list whether your model number works or not on the Hardware Supportwiki pages, we would appreciate your help so we can make Foresight Linux better.
For other oportunities to contribute to Foresight Linux, visit the Getting Involved pageon the Getting Started with Foresight Linux user guide.
Contribute to the Foresight Linux Newsletter
Have a package or piece of software you want to share in the monthly newsletter? Send it in! We are always looking for more writers or contributors, and building the newsletter is a collaborative process using the Foresight Linux Newsletter wiki. We are also looking for volunteers to interview people in the Foresight and GNOME communities, links to news articles on the web or in print regarding Foresight Linux, and all the other content that makes up the newsletter.
Have thoughts or comments on the newsletter? Email feedback@foresightlinux.org and your letter may be published in the next issue!
Contributors to Issue #3: Paul Cutler (editor), Ken Vandine, Thilo Pfennig, Jonathan Smith, António Meireles
Portuguese translation by Vladimir Melo
Downloading and Getting Help with Foresight Linux
Download and install Foresight Linux:
Live Media, including Live CD, VMWare image, and QEMU and Parallels images
Help is available in many forms, and you can choose what you're most comfortable with.
- IRC: Visit the Foresight IRC channel, #foresighton Freenode, and ask questions. We have one of the most friendly IRC channels you'll come across with everyone from users to developers reaching out to help answer questions.
- Forums: Our forums continue to grow, and are a good source of information to check if a specific problem or question has come up before.
- Wiki: Documentation on the wiki is growing on a daily basis, with updates often to the Frequently Asked Questions and other how-to's to get you going with Foresight Linux.
- Mailing Lists:
- General List: General discussion around Foresight Linux
- Commits list:(high traffic): All package commits are emailed to this list
- Packagers List: Discuss packaging applications for Foresight using Conary and rBuilder
- Developers List: Discuss topics related to Foresight development projects
- Translation List: Help translate Foresight Linux into many different languages
Foresight Linux Information
Learn more about Foresight Linux at Foresight's homepage, http://www.foresightlinux.org.
Read what the developers are working on via their blogs, aggregated at Planet Foresight, http://www.foresightlinux.org/planet/ or subscribe via RSS at http://web.foresightlinux.org/planet/feed/rss/.
Subscribe to the newsletter via RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/foresightnewsletter.
Have feedback on Foresight Linux or the newsletter? Email feedback@foresightlinux.org and share your thoughts, we'd love to hear from you!
News Operations
Browse Space
