AboutUbuntu

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 * '''Packages affected''':  * '''Interested''': VincentUntz, MatthewEast, SivanGreen
 * '''Packages affected''': `AboutUbuntu`, `ubuntu-artwork`
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To make Ubuntu more polished and easier to support, it will have an About box that displays the Ubuntu version and basic information about the system.
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Professional operating systems have About boxes that display the operating system version, copyright info, and a few important details about the computer the system is running on. These About boxes do not have Back buttons, tables of contents, scrollbars, or other junk. Ubuntu should be just as polished. People are used to "About ''Name of Program''" showing a window that gives the software version details, and copyright info. Since many people do not distinguish between the computer and the operating system, other operating systems also include in their About box basic info about the computer the system is running on. Ubuntu should be just as polished.
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== Scope ==  * Stephanie installed Ubuntu a couple of months ago, from a CD she picked up at an Internet cafe. Now she has found the Ubuntu Web site, sees that the latest version of Ubuntu is ''x''.''y'', and wants to know whether she's running the latest version.

 * Jeff, a marketing hack and propagandist, wants to make sure people using Ubuntu can find more information about the system.

 * Claude, a recent Gentoo convert, follows the bleeding edge of Grumpy Groundhog. He wants an easy way of seeing what kernel version he's running.

 * Jacinda, a sysadmin, wants an easy way for his users to check some basic specifics of their system, so he can diagnose problems more quickly.
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Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

 * Choosing the "About Ubuntu" menu item opens the About window, visually centered on the screen. It behaves properly with respect to startup notification and session saving. The window is closable using either Ctrl+W or the close button.

 * The About window includes:
  * Ubuntu logo and version number (most prominent)
  * A sentence describing Ubuntu, with a "More Information" button linking to [http://ubuntu.com/ ubuntu.com]
  * computer model, if available
  * CPU speed and amount of RAM on the system
  * a "Hardware Details" button that opens the Device Manager
  * Linux kernel version number
  * Gnome version number.

 * Any of the informative text can be dragged and dropped as plain text into another program.
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A small `pygtk` program. AboutUbuntu is implemented as a small `pygtk` program.

`dmidecode` cannot supply the information about the computer, because it requires administrator access. Therefore:
 * The computer model is read from `lshal | grep procfs.cpuinfo.model_name`, or left blank if that line is not present.
 * The CPU speed is read from `cpufreq` if it exists, or from `/proc/cpuinfo` otherwise. (If `cpufreq` doesn't exist, the CPU probably isn't slowed down, so `/proc/cpuinfo` will be accurate.)
 * The amount of RAM is read from `free` or `/proc/meminfo`.

=== Current bugs ===

 * code to close window has broken
 * need to get version details in some way that doesn't include '\n \l'
 * '"Breezy Badger"' needs stripping from version details
  * ColinWatson: As discussed, the above two points can be resolved by using `lsb_release`.
 * `lshal | grep procfs.cpuinfo.model_name` isn't behaving as expected
 * "Hardware Details..." needs to open hal-device-manager
 * drag and drop isn't implemented
 * not launch-friendly
 * not session-manager-friendly
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== Outstanding issues ==

== BoF agenda and discussion ==		  * The current "About Ubuntu" page is removed from `ubuntu-artwork`, as it is redundant with the front page of ubuntu.com, which is linked to by the About box. ''See also'' BrowserDefaults.
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CategorySpec

Summary

To make Ubuntu more polished and easier to support, it will have an About box that displays the Ubuntu version and basic information about the system.

Rationale

People are used to "About Name of Program" showing a window that gives the software version details, and copyright info. Since many people do not distinguish between the computer and the operating system, other operating systems also include in their About box basic info about the computer the system is running on. Ubuntu should be just as polished.

Use cases

  • Stephanie installed Ubuntu a couple of months ago, from a CD she picked up at an Internet cafe. Now she has found the Ubuntu Web site, sees that the latest version of Ubuntu is x.y, and wants to know whether she's running the latest version.

  • Jeff, a marketing hack and propagandist, wants to make sure people using Ubuntu can find more information about the system.
  • Claude, a recent Gentoo convert, follows the bleeding edge of Grumpy Groundhog. He wants an easy way of seeing what kernel version he's running.
  • Jacinda, a sysadmin, wants an easy way for his users to check some basic specifics of their system, so he can diagnose problems more quickly.

Design

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

  • Choosing the "About Ubuntu" menu item opens the About window, visually centered on the screen. It behaves properly with respect to startup notification and session saving. The window is closable using either Ctrl+W or the close button.
  • The About window includes:
    • Ubuntu logo and version number (most prominent)

    • A sentence describing Ubuntu, with a "More Information" button linking to [http://ubuntu.com/ ubuntu.com]

    • computer model, if available
    • CPU speed and amount of RAM on the system
    • a "Hardware Details" button that opens the Device Manager
    • Linux kernel version number
    • Gnome version number.
  • Any of the informative text can be dragged and dropped as plain text into another program.

Implementation

Code

AboutUbuntu is implemented as a small pygtk program.

dmidecode cannot supply the information about the computer, because it requires administrator access. Therefore:

  • The computer model is read from lshal | grep procfs.cpuinfo.model_name, or left blank if that line is not present.

  • The CPU speed is read from cpufreq if it exists, or from /proc/cpuinfo otherwise. (If cpufreq doesn't exist, the CPU probably isn't slowed down, so /proc/cpuinfo will be accurate.)

  • The amount of RAM is read from free or /proc/meminfo.

Current bugs

  • code to close window has broken
  • need to get version details in some way that doesn't include '\n \l'
  • '"Breezy Badger"' needs stripping from version details

    • ColinWatson: As discussed, the above two points can be resolved by using lsb_release.

  • lshal | grep procfs.cpuinfo.model_name isn't behaving as expected

  • "Hardware Details..." needs to open hal-device-manager
  • drag and drop isn't implemented
  • not launch-friendly
  • not session-manager-friendly

Data preservation and migration

  • The current "About Ubuntu" page is removed from ubuntu-artwork, as it is redundant with the front page of ubuntu.com, which is linked to by the About box. See also BrowserDefaults.

CategorySpec