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Ubuntu Open Week - Community Q+A - Jono Bacon - Wed, Oct 24, 2007

15:08 <+jono> the aim of this session is in which you can ask me anything you like
15:08 <+jono> it is usually about Ubuntu, but people also ask some odd questions too
15:09 <+jono> the way it works is that you post a question in #ubuntu-classroom-chat and prefix it with QUESTION
15:09 <+jono> this way they stand out and PriceChild will paste them in here for me
15:09 < annma> hi jono :)
15:09 <+jono> I will answer your questions, and then my boss and your friend, Mark Shuttleworth will be here in the next session for two hours to answer more questions
15:10 <+jono> hey annma :)
15:10 <+jono> ok, so we all ready?
15:10 <+jono> I guess its time to begin
15:10 < PriceChild> <dee> Question: Are there enough Ubuntu developers? There are many (major) unresolved bugs in Gusty, e.g. ISDN-users with FritzCards (quasi-standard in Germany) could not use the internet. Ubuntu will lose much users with such errors. :(
15:11 -!- mode/#ubuntu-classroom [+o PriceChild] by ChanServ
15:11 <+jono> dee: we could always use more developers, thats for sure
15:11 <+jono> but we are not understaffed with contributors in the community
15:11 <+jono> but one of my main interests is growing the developer base in Ubuntu
15:12 <+jono> and one of the key areas to do this is MOTU - if you have an interest in getting involved as an Ubuntu developer, packaging is a great way to get started
15:12 <+jono> in fact, there is a packaging 101 session later today to help you all get started - delivered by dholbach
15:12 <@PriceChild> <DrDabbles> QUESTION: Who is welcome at UDS and is their a list of daily topics so we can choose which days to attend?
15:13 < jcastro> https://blueprints.edge.launchpad.net/sprints/uds-boston-2007/   <-- list of topics
15:13 <+jono> DrDabbles: everyone is welcome, but remember it is a developer summit, and we are all working hard at it to discuss features and specs
15:13 <+jono> thanks jcastro
15:13 <+jono> there is a timetable available at http://people.ubuntu.com/~scott/uds-boston-2007
15:13 <+jono> feel free to come along to the sessions and get involved :)
15:14 <@PriceChild> <mzungu_> QUESTION Hey Jono - how did you get involved in Ubuntu originally, and what is your current range of activities?
15:14 <+jono> mzungu_: heya :) well, I first heard of Ubuntu back when it was on the rumour mill and not announced
15:15 <+jono> I started using it, and after a while I was looking to move roles so I emailed  Mark and asked if there is anything I could do at Canonical (I had met him a few times before, so he knew what I did)
15:15 <+jono> he said there was a job called Ubuntu Community Manager, so I applied, four interviews later (last one being in his kitchen, which was a little odd :) I got it
15:15 <+jono> in terms of activities, my job falls into a few areas:
15:16 <+jono>  * working to help the many Ubuntu teams work well together, and efficiently as possible
15:16 <+jono>  * resolving conflict in various teams and helping to provide a different viewpoint in debates
15:16 <+jono>  * writing and developing governance to ensure the community is open, independent and effective
15:16 <+jono>  * acting as the community guy at Canonical to ensure we always have a good relationship with the community
15:17 <+jono>  * and I also have dholbach and jcastro working on my team, and we work together to kick as much ass as six legs can achieve
15:17 <@PriceChild> <BonesolTeraDyne> QUESTION: What is your opinion on Kevin Carmony joining the Ubuntu community?
15:18 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: I know Kevin, and I am really proud to welcome as well as anyone else to our community
15:18 <+jono> I know he is a keen desktop Linux user, and I am pleased he has come to the Ubuntu family :)
15:18 <@PriceChild> <kotfic_> QUESTION: Im a US peace corps volunteer working in west Africa,  the ONG I work for is interested in giving formations in Linux and Server Administration,  Ive looked at the LoCo wiki resources alot and saw on Canonical a section for becoming training partners,  are there other resources that I should be looking into?
15:19 <+jono> kotfic_: I recommend you email me with the details and I can help you out - jono AT ubuntu DOT com
15:19 <@PriceChild> <dee> QUESTION: Thanks for the answer. But what can _users_ do to get such major bugs fixed in time (before a new release)?
15:20 <+jono> dee: a great way is really caring about getting that bug fixed - so, do lots of testing to work to try and reproduce the bug, ensure there is a bug report and it is up to date, and ask developers in #ubuntu-devel about the current state of the bug
15:21 <+jono> a big part of getting a bug fixed is ensuring the bug report is complete, has plenty of details of how to reproduce the bug and is ready for a dev to look at and fix
15:21 <+jono> this saves time for a dev to work to try and reproduce the bug themselves
15:21 <@PriceChild> <DrDabbles> QUESTION: What efforts are going into the CNR features, and other pay-for services for things like CODECs for those of us in the US?
15:21 <+jono> DrDabbles: this is not really my area, and more something that the business team at Canonical works on
15:22 <+jono> what I can say is that we are keen to offer additional applications and services for the Ubuntu desktop and server
15:22 <+jono> and there is a bunch of people in London working on this, complete with their keen business wit and expertise
15:22 <@PriceChild> <_nand__> QUESTION: A new dev cycle begin. What will be the next major focus of this cycle? Quality Assurance? Marketing? Development of support/OEM programs?
15:22 <+jono> _nand__: all of the above :P
15:23 <+jono> _nand__: each release has a focus on fixing all things - and many teams each work on different things
15:23 <+jono> for Hardy we are keen to make it a really rock solid release, it is an LTS and we want to spend more time on bugfixing, and more time desktop polish
15:23 <+jono> but also, we are growing our training/oem and isv offerings, and you can see Ubuntu appearing on more machines around the world
15:24 <+jono> I would also like to see community marketing become much more focussed in the next release too
15:24 <+jono> I would love to see the wider community market Ubuntu in lots of areas, and this is where the loco teams come in very well
15:24 <+jono> so, its all systems go for all teams - a new Ubuntu release basically means "lets all make it even better", and I am keen to see progress in all teams
15:24 <@PriceChild> <Sodki> QUESTION: Do you feel that Ubuntu still has some critical growing pains that need to be fixed or that it has resolved them all (if any)?
15:25 <+jono> Sodki: we certainly have our share of growing pains, the sheer growth of Ubuntu has been so quick, that the community has sometimes struggled a little to keep up
15:26 <+jono> a good example is the loco project, there are just so many new teams being formed, that we have experienced a few bottleneck problems for resources - so a new loco council is being created to help tend to these requests more effectively
15:26 <+jono> much of my job is identifying these scaling issues an helping to fix them, and if you see any, do get in touch with me
15:27 <+jono> in terms of Ubuntu itself as a distro having growing pains, I think we are doing well - the software is maintaining a quality that people appreciate, and is growing steadily
15:27 <+jono> its a hugely exciting time for all of us, we are seeing real growth and taking Linux and free software our to *real* people
15:27 <+jono> bring it on! :)
15:27 <@PriceChild> <harrisony> QUESTION: (Hey jono :D) were do you see Ubuntu and the community in 5 years time
15:28 <+jono> harrisony: I can see us growing more and more and Ubuntu being a real force in the computing industry, not just the Linux world
15:28 <+jono> I think Ubuntu will be a household name that people are aware of
15:28 <+jono> and lots of people around the world in businesses and at home will be using it
15:29 <+jono> the community will have also grown hugely, and there will be a number of additional teams working on different parts of the system
15:29 <+jono> I can also see Ubuntu going into other areas more such as security, appliances, vehicles, etc
15:29 <+jono> we are all determined to take free software and Linux to the masses
15:30 <+jono> and in five years, I think we will be largely there
15:30 <@PriceChild> <Jucato> QUESTION: Jorge Castro was hired by Canonical to do community relations with upstream (like GNOME, KDE, etc) and downstream (derivative distros) projects. with such a large number of these projects, will poor jcastro be able to do all that alone? (poor guy)
15:30 <+jono> Jucato: well, jorge won't be dealing with every single upstream in the world, he will be working with key upstreams
15:31 <+jono> and jorge will also be spending time working on elements that are common to all upstreams
15:31 < mmcgrath> it hasn't been asked yet in the classroom
15:31 <+jono> he will also be jamming with me to some metal
15:31 < jcastro> lots of metal
15:31 < Jucato> haha :)
15:31 <+jono> \m/
15:31 < annma> ;)
15:32 <+jono> also, upstreams are something that everyone on my team will work with, jorge will be mainly the guy who will overview our general relationship with upstreams
15:32 <@PriceChild> <BonesolTeraDyne> QUESTION: Which part of Ubuntu do you think needs more work: Documentation or Development?
15:32 < jcastro> Right now we have some key core ones we're focusing on, for example there will be KDE people at FOSSCamp I look forward to working with. From there I expect I'll move to the other ones that are part of what we ship out of the box (Like X.org, GNOME, pidgin, etc.). So if you think of Ubuntu as a big pie, I'm starting from the middle and working my way outwards. Obviously Debian is a huge part of that pie, so that's on the list as well.
15:32 < jimbo> welcome to nicargua team
15:32 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: I would say both, but to pick one, documentation - we need a lot more docs for software in Ubuntu, how the community works and how to get started
15:33 <@PriceChild> <dgjones> QUESTION: How long is the development cycle for Ubuntu, although there's 6 monthly versions, when does the initial wish list for a version to be released in say 2 years start
15:33 <+jono> dgjones: we literally propose new features for the next release, but then sometimes that feature may not be ready in time, so it gets deferred, but the general aim is always the next release
15:34 <@PriceChild> <DrDabbles> QUESTION: Will there be any integration of LP Answers, Forums, mailing lists, etc. with OEM's such as Dell? What kind of community sharing can we expect from these relationships as they develop? What is your best case scenario from a community perspective?
15:34 <+jono> sure, we would love OEMs to work with LP, thats certainly something we are keen to do
15:34 <+jono> its not something I work on myself, so again, I can't really provide specific details on the current state of this
15:35 <+jono> I also actively encourage all OEMs to participate in the community and we also encourage them to participate in their development through MOTU
15:35 <+jono> I don't understand the last bit of the question DrDabbles
15:36 <@PriceChild> <no_mind> QUESTION: Who comes comes up with the names of Ubuntu releases ?
15:36 <+jono> no_mind: we take a bunch of suggestions from the community (you can find the page on the wiki) and generally mark decides on the name
15:36 <@PriceChild> <BonesolTeraDyne> QUESTION: When do you think we will start seeing TV adverts for Ubuntu?
15:37 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: not for a while yet, TV advertising is *hugely* expensive, and often not that much of a return on the investment
15:37 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: I personally think we should get all new born babies stamped with the Ubuntu logo on their back
15:37  * jono chuckles
15:37 <@PriceChild> <madmetal_spyros> QUESTION: Hey Jono , as Ubuntu Community Manager how important is for you communication with other Linux communities such as Debian or Fedora ? do you think Ubuntu community as part of debian community in general ? thanks.
15:38 <+jono> madmetal_spyros: nice nick, btw :)
15:38 <+jono> madmetal_spyros: its really important for me to have a good relationship with other companies - two good examples here are Red Hat, with my good friend Max Spevak, and Ted Haeger when he was at Novell
15:38 < madmetal_spyros> thanks jono :)
15:39 <+jono> I am always keen to engage in discussion with other companies, and I have been kicking around the industry for a while now, and I tend to see a lot of these people when I am on the road
15:39 <+jono> as for Debian, the Debian project is *hugely* important to us
15:39 <+jono> we are grateful for the incredible work that goes on in Debian
15:39 <@PriceChild> <mmcgrath> QUESTION: What is Canonical doing to be more transparent to the community?
15:40 <+jono> mmcgrath: good question
15:40 <+jono> this is something that is really important to me, but it is a tough problem
15:41 <+jono> I am keen that we are transparent as possible, so as an example, our distro team (who works on Ubuntu) work and discuss Ubuntu in public channels such as #ubuntu-devel
15:41 <+jono> I have also worked with various departments to engage with the community, such as the marketing and training teams
15:41 <+jono> who hold meetings with the community regularly
15:41 <+jono> I also have a phone call the majority of new employees to discuss the community and how important it is to us
15:42 <+jono> I am very much committed to ensuring that I play my part in keeping Canonical "not evil"
15:42 < hugolp> jaja
15:42 < hugolp> nice one
15:42 <+jono> obviously some things need to be secret, its the nature of business
15:42 <+jono> but for community interaction, transparency is the key
15:42 <@PriceChild> <davmor2> QUESTION: Jono why do you hate smiley winks ;).  More seriously though,  How do you see the role of the community as a help service?
15:43 <+jono> davmor2: heh, let me clear this up - I don't hate smiley winks, I hate their over use
15:43 <+jono> an example:
15:43 <+jono> <dude> hi jono ;)
15:43 <+jono> <jono> hello, dude, hows things
15:43 <+jono> <dude> good, thanks ;) ;)
15:43 < davmor2> :)
15:43 <+jono> <jono> ...ok, something wrong with you?
15:43 <+jono> <dude> no I am fine ;)
15:43 <+jono> <jono> go away please
15:44 <+jono> :)
15:44 <+jono> onto the question in hand...
15:44 <+jono> the community is critical in helping Ubuntu users, and the work in #ubuntu, on the forums and on the LP answer tracker is nothing short of amazing
15:44 <+jono> helping people with Ubuntu is a really important community contribution, and keep up the great work :)
15:45 <@PriceChild> <bahadunn> QUESTION: Hi.  As a business person selling computers with Ubuntu pre-installed are there any marketing materials or other forms of resources available for that purpose?
15:45 <+jono> bahadunn: send me an email, and I will forward it to the right person
15:45 <+jono> bahadunn: our OEM could probably help here
15:45 < jimbo> will you raise the support for the LoCo ?
15:46 <+jono> jimbo: questions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat please
15:46 < bahadunn> jono: okay no problem
15:46 <@PriceChild> <Sodki> QUESTION: Opeth or Symphony X? :-)
15:46 <+jono> Sodki: ooooh....I like Opeth, if not a little emo at times, Symphony X are a great power metal band, so both :)
15:46 <@PriceChild> <savvas> QUESTION: Have you ever considered merging communities and available packages with other desktop-oriented distributions? E.g. Fedora?
15:47 <+jono> savvas: where it makes sense, its always wise to merge communities, but the direction and focus of a community such as Fedora is different
15:48 <+jono> there are different technological differences and different direction and scope
15:48 < jcastro> (also) we're not just a desktop-oriented distro, we have an awesome server piece as well
15:48 <+jono> again though, where it makes sense to combine forces, lets go, but I think its fairly rare that happens
15:48 < savvas> (Followup) where is actually Ubuntu heading?
15:49 <@PriceChild> <pdragon> QUESTION: Do you think Ubuntu will be an option to have pre-installed from major brick & morter stores like Best Buy & CompUSA? If so, how long do think until we see that?
15:49 <@PriceChild> <harkonen> QUESTION: has there been any thought to boxing and selling Ubuntu in CompUSA or Best Buy or whatever big computer store?  At least a good number ofAmercians oddly seem to want the box and printed manual and pre pressed CD yet dont want to wait to order one online...
15:49 <+jono> savvas: world domination, one computer at a time
15:49 <+jono> pdragon: absolutely, its gonna happen, its just a matter of time
15:49 <+jono> pdragon: as for timescales, I have no idea, but I hope in the next year or so
15:50 <+jono> harkonen: right now boxed copies are not on our roadmap, but who knows? this is not really something I do - more of a business team thing
15:51 <+jono> problem with boxed sets is that they age quickly for a produce that appears every six months
15:51 <@PriceChild> <BonesolTeraDyne> QUESTION: Do you think Ubuntu will ever be used by big name video game console makers, such as Nintendo?
15:51 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: depends on what you mean? if you mean running on the console, then Ubuntu already runs on PS3
15:52 <+jono> if you mean as a development workstation, I think it could really happen - we have already seen large CGI studios using Linux
15:52 < BonesolTeraDyne> No, I mean used as the default OS for the console handheld.
15:52 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: right, I think it could be an option - particularly with Ubuntu mobile work going on - its a big question, but who knows what is possible? Ubuntu mobile offers lots of potential for mobile devices
15:53 <@PriceChild> <stebandido> QUESTION: jono, many people judge the community due to the fact that LAUNCHPAD is Closed source. what can we as community say to avoid conflict and still look good
15:53 <+jono> stebandido: well, the LP issue is there, and LP will be open source at some point
15:54 <+jono> but personally, I care for Ubuntu, and Ubuntu is an open source operating system
15:54 <+jono> sure, LP is a key chunk of how we make Ubuntu, but everyone needs to make their own opinion on how much that affects their use of Ubuntu
15:54 <+jono> for some, LP being closed source will prevent them using Ubuntu, and there is nothing we can do about that until LP is open sourced
15:55 <+jono> to be honest, It think its an edge case, few people cite LP being closed source as a real blocker for using Ubuntu
15:55 <@PriceChild> <Bonzodog> QUESTION: Is there more likelyhood of seeing the Ubuntu developers and teams participate more in the forums, and any chance we might see mark in there a little more often?
15:56 <+jono> Bonzodog: the thing about developers it that they typically use tools and processes that suit them, and for communication this has traditionally been mailing lists - I know some devs go on the forums, and we are keen to help the forums community contribute ideas and features to Ubuntu, but most devs seem to prefer using mailing lists
15:57 <+jono> this is not a smite on the forums, its just the way certain groups of people tend to work, in the same way that programmers live in bug trackers but artists often don't
15:57 <@PriceChild> <BonesolTeraDyne> QUESTION: Which do you perfer, Yahoo or Google?
15:57 <+jono> BonesolTeraDyne: Google
15:57 <+jono> :)
15:57 <@PriceChild> <peppych> QUESTION: First of all thanks to you guys for your work Ubuntu is just awesome ;) Here's my question what would be the impact on Ubuntu if Debian would collapse.
15:57 <+jono> peppych: thanks! :)
15:57 <+jono> peppych: if Debian went away, that would be very, very bad
15:58 <+jono> Debian is hugely important to us
15:58 <+jono> but its very unlikely Debian will go away, in the same way the kernel won't go away
15:58 <+jono> it is a strong, community centric project - this means it will always be
15:58 < Gareth> .
15:58 < jcastro> Debian is more popular than ever from what I've seen
15:58 <+jono> so its not a worry for me, but I am keen to ensure our relationship with Debian is strong
15:59 <@PriceChild> <urbanf> Question: Do you meet in a Regular basis with the local Team Leaders, so you can debate common strategy's for the community? Do you feel important to this kind of things happen (discuss common strategy's)?
15:59 <+jono> urbanf I meet loco leaders whenever I can when I am on the road
15:59 <+jono> and there are regular loco meetings
15:59 <+jono> but I will also be looking to hold a loco sprint in London sometime soon and I will invite some key loco leaders to that sprint
16:00 <@PriceChild> <bahadunn> QUESTION: Speaking of metal my favorite is living sacrifice.  What is your favorite band?
16:00 <+jono> bahadunn: fave band is Overkill, followed by Cannibal Corpse, then Decapited, then AC/DC :)
16:00 < bahadunn> ah
16:00 <@PriceChild> <no_mind> QUESTION: Any plans for Canonical to dive into creating community/ open hardware along with software. Something like openmoko and neo 1973
16:00 < bahadunn> sounds like my style
16:00 < Mez> woo for cannibal corpse ;)
16:00 <+jono> bahadunn: send me a mail with that band's detail - would love to check them out
16:01 <+jono> no_mind: ooh, good question - no plans of yet, we are focussing our efforts on getting Ubuntu out to the masses
16:01 <+jono> the hardware game is an expensive one
16:01 <+jono> and we need to focus our efforts on key targets
16:01 < bahadunn> jono: no problem
16:02 <+jono> one big misconception with Canonical is that because Mark is a millionaire and runs the company, that we somehow have an unlimited pot of money - we still have budgets, strategy and business plans, so we need to be focussed on key areas
16:02 <@PriceChild> <Mez> QUESTION: what do you plan to do on the community side to promote the Kubuntu/Edubuntu/Xubuntu communities, (if anything)
16:02 <+jono> Mez: I will be working with Jorge to ensure those distros get the focus and attention they need
16:03 < Mez> jono, that depends on your definition of "need"
16:03 <+jono> we want to encourage and promote all of them, as they kick major chunks of undercarriage :)
16:03 <+jono> Mez: inded
16:03 <+jono> indeed
16:03 < no_mind> jono, question is about extending the reach of Ubuntu. Something like a "Ubuntu machine" on the lines of apple
16:03 <+jono> its a big subject, and one I can't really cover in detail in 3 mins here
16:04 <+jono> no_mind: right, like I say we are focussing on the Ubuntu software right now
16:04 <@PriceChild> <seer-as-shubhu> <QUESTION>how active is Ubuntu mobile at moment i mean progress?
16:04 <+jono> seer-as-shubhu: it is making great progress, lots of work is going into the project, and see the latest team report at wiki.ubuntu.com/TeamReports for details on recent progress
16:05 <@PriceChild> <Bonzodog> QUESTION: How does project indiana and Ian Murdock's work at Sun affect Ubuntu and Debian
16:05 <+jono> Bonzodog: not something I have looked into in any great detail, but I do have a TODO list item to call Ian
16:05 <@PriceChild> <laco> QUESTION: Hi, Don't you plan to develop together with Debian things like base-install, apt, dpkg, modconf etc ? (If I have mentioned some which are not developed by Debian sorry)
16:06 <+jono> laco: I recommend you speak to dholbach about this
16:06 <+jono> he is a better person to answer
16:06 <+jono> right, my time is up!
16:06 <+jono> thanks everyone for your questions!
16:06 < jimbo> thx for the answers
16:06 < seer-as-shubhu> thnx jono
16:06 < harrisony> jono is cool
16:06 < hendrixski> thank you jono
16:06 < BonesolTeraDyne> thanks jono
16:06 < tuxmaniac> :)
16:06 < peppych> thanks you jono
16:06 < Bonzodog> Thanks Jono
16:06 < dee> thx jono
16:07 -!- PriceChild changed the topic of #ubuntu-classroom to: Ubuntu Open Week info: Information and Logs: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuOpenWeek | Ubuntu classroom transcripts: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ClassroomTranscripts | Please ask questions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat not here | Current Session:  Ask Mark - Mark "sabdfl" Shuttleworth
16:07 < stebandido> jono,  you rock
16:07 <+jono> thanks everyone! :)
16:07 <+jono> keep up the great work everyone :)