NateMuench
About Me
My name is Nate Muench (pronounced "Mink"), I live in Wisconsin, and I'm 26 years old. Ubuntu (and Linux in particular) is kind of a hobby because it's a cool alternative to Windows, and did I mention you can do cool stuff in Ubuntu. I should note I use Windows as my primary Operating System (yes, I know BOO).
I began using Ubuntu (and Linux particularly) in college (studying for a IT-Network Specialist) using Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron). I mainly used it in Virtual Machines (VMware Workstation). And while in college I also used Fedora and (Open) SUSE Enterprise Server. The first physical machine I installed Ubuntu was on my Netbook (which was dual-booted), with, I believe, Ubuntu 9.10.
Today, I still primarily use Ubuntu on VMs because if I screw up (or something breaks, doesn't boot, etc), I can use the Snapshot feature (which is a great feature by the way) to go back to when it worked. I do have the Development version (in this case it's Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring)).
I usually do attend UDS (not physically though, unless it's in Wisconsin, and maybe Chicago), it just depends on where it is, and if sessions occur when I'm already awake (and not in the middle of the night). I listen to the audio stream, and participate via the IRC chat.
Contact Information
IRC |
NMinker on irc.freenode.net |
Launchpad |
|
Preferred/Alternate Launchpad |
launchpad.net/~nminker |
Location |
America/Menominee (UTC-0600) |
Alternate Location |
America/Chicago (UTC-0600) |
Contributions
I'm currently the maintainer (well, unofficial) of the open-vm-tools package in Ubuntu. I regularly pull (some) things in from Debian's version of the package. Do to the fact that Ubuntu uses the newest kernel in the upcoming release (again, currently it's Raring), we cannot do a full sync with Debian because they're using older kernels.
Upstream (VMware) uploads developer versions to their SourceForge page, and these developer versions normally have better support for newer versions of the Linux kernel.
Also, when bugs develop (in regards to the main package) I usually report a bug to them (using their SourceForge page) so they can give me a fix.
Why the open-vm-tools package?
I guess it's because using Virtual Machines are great specifically for Development Release (Raring) because one day it will work and then next it won't. I don't understand why people would actually put these releases on a physical machine.
Before I think of making a proposal request I usually upload the test packaging to my Virtual Test PPA, to see if everything works (vmtoolsd is running, all kernel modules are successfully built by DKMS, etc.).
Normally, if there is a lot to do (like pulling a couple of things in from Debian), I normally create a Bzr branch (as a prep branch), which is linked to a recipe which build to my Virtual Test PPA. I also mark in the branches description (details) what I'm working on adding (or removing), along with the progress.
Maverick (10.10)Packages available in Ubuntu
Oneiric (11.10)
Precise (12.04)
Quantal (12.10)
Raring (13.04)
Saucy (13.10)
Future Goals
- Bring in kmod support from Debian. It's been available since the Quantal cycle, but we didn't support it yet
- Consider bringing in Debian's implementation for building modules with DKMS. We have our own, which Debian brought in originally, but they took it out when they were preparing for the release of Squeeze (and uploaded the stable release). After Squeeze's release, they added their own implementation of it (along with the Devel upstream release). I haven't added it yet because our (the original) version works, and bringing theirs in might break stuff on our end.
Maybe bring the newer versions into the older, still-supported, versions of Ubuntu. So users who decide to install a newer kernel can have a version of open-vm-tools that work. Like Bug #1083719.
Other plans for the next cycle (13.10) can be found in this blueprint.
Testimonials
If you know me and have something nice to say, please leave a comment here.
NateMuench (last edited 2013-06-08 21:37:46 by adsl-76-199-156-97)