Ubuntu Translations Interviews: Gábor Kelemen (Hungarian Translation Team)

By Ubuntu News Contributor | Published: 2010-10-04

Ubuntu is brought to users in their own language by a large community of volunteer translators, who tirelessly work on localizing every part of the operating system on every release.

In this series of interviews we’ll get to know who they are, about their language and how they work.

This week we’re introducing you to Gábor Kelemen, the Hungarian translation team coordinator.

Could you tell us a bit about you and the language you help translate Ubuntu into?

I’m a 28 years old freelance translator, working from my home in Eger, north-eastern Hungary. My duty is to translate Ubuntu to Hungarian, which is the majority language spoken in Hungary and also by Hungarian communities in the seven neighbouring countries and by diaspora communities worldwide. According to Wikipedia, there are about 14.5 million native speakers, of whom 9.5–10 million live in present-day Hungary.

How and when did you become an Ubuntu translator?

It happened about five years ago, before Breezy. I wanted to help a distribution to better support Hungarian. I started to look, and found that Ubuntu would be the best choice, as they had a fixed release schedule aligned to Gnome’s schedule, they made community contribution possible – and there was no Hungarian team. The distribution I used back then lacked these properties and had to go, then I founded the ubuntu-l10n-hu group with Istvan Nyitrai, and I’m leading it since then.

What other projects do you help with inside the community?

I’m the coordinator for Gnome and Xfce, and I translate some other free software like VLC or Pidgin and those in the GNU Translation Project. I’m also part of the Ubuntu and Gnome translation coordinator teams.

Do you belong to an Ubuntu LoCo team? If so, which one?

Of course, the Hungarian LoCo, but I don’t do much there aside from translating: some event organization, LoCo coordination, drinking beer, etc.

How can people who want to help with translating Ubuntu and all the various pieces and parts into your language get started?

We have a short start page at http://ubuntu.hu/honositas. This page contains the basic information about our bug tracker, Launchpad, our mailing list, coordination wiki page, team membership and links with more detailed information. The most important is the wiki page, coordination happens there. And let me quote Milo from a previous interview, his words hold true for our team too:

“Please, do not wander through Launchpad leaving a translation here and there: if you don’t tell us, it’s very difficult for us to always know what is going on.”

What’s the desktop experience for Ubuntu users in your language? Is Ubuntu in your language popular among native speakers?

There is a common misbelief among our users regarding this: they say “Ubuntu speaks Hungarian perfectly”. While this is of course not true, I’m trying to keep the untranslated parts out of sight.

I think we can say that Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution in Hungary: http://ubuntu.hu has over 15 000 users, and on http://hup.hu/, Hungary’s most popular *nix portal, Ubuntu is always winning the Readers Choice award since 2006 in the Favorite Linux distribution category: http://hup.hu/cikkek/20100110/hup_olvasok_valasztasa_dij_2009_eredmenyhirdete

Where does your team need help?

We have quite a lot to do in Kubuntu and package descriptions. While upstream Gnome, OpenOffice.org and the Mozilla family are generally in good shape, upstream Hungarian KDE localization could use some help, and the package description translation project (see:http://nightmonkey.ubuntu.hu/) definitely needs a localization superhero.

Do you know of any projects or organizations where Ubuntu is used in your language?

We cooperate with a foundation that uses Ubuntu as a base for a Linux distribution specifically aimed at blind people – their general goal is to make computing available for the blind, and now they support Linux too.

I personally don’t know about others, but the “I spotted Ubuntu” topic on http://ubuntu.hu/ is quite long :).

What do you feel is the most rewarding part of translating Ubuntu?

When I see people on online forums or IRL saying each other something like: “You should try Ubuntu, it is really cool and usable because (blah-blah, usual arguments :)) AND because it speaks Hungarian perfectly”.

Is there anything else about your team or translation efforts that I haven’t asked you about that you would like to talk about?

Nothing else comes into my mind, thanks for the opportunity!

Become an Ubuntu Translator

Do you speak languages? Join the our translation community and make Ubuntu accessible to everyone in their own language. You can:

[Discuss Ubuntu Translations Interviews: Gábor Kelemen (Hungarian Translation Team) on the Forums]

Announcing the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 10.10

By Ubuntu News Contributor | Published: 2010-10-01

Releases are big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big they are. I mean, you may think it’s a long haul to release a single Linux package or application, but that’s just peanuts to a Linux distribution release. Because of this, we must work our way up to it, incrementally…bit by bit…milestone by milestone…it takes a lot of Deep Thought. So with that, we formally announce Ubuntu 10.10 Release Candidate. Codenamed "Maverick Meerkat", 10.10 continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user.

Ubuntu 10.10 Desktop Edition and Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition continue to focus on delivering cutting edge technologies, while preserving a crisp and clean user-focused experience.

Kubuntu 10.10 merges the desktop and netbook images into one download and features a new application focused software manager.

Ubuntu 10.10 Server Edition provides even better integration of the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud and other key features such as: Hadoop, Web2.0 workloads, and hypervisor technologies.

Ubuntu 10.10 Server for UEC and EC2 brings the power and stability of the Ubuntu Server Edition to cloud computing, whether you’re using Amazon EC2 or your own Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud.

Release Candidates have also been released for several Ubuntu variants, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, and Mythbuntu.

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/1010

In addition, there are a small number of known bugs in the release candidate that will be fixed before the Ubuntu 10.10 release, but warrant highlighting for your attention:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/1010#Known%20issues

Ubuntu Desktop features
————————

The GNOME base platform has been updated to the current 2.32 versions. This includes the new dconf and gsettings API.

Evolution was updated to the 2.30.3 version, which operates much faster than the version in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

Shotwell has replaced F-Spot as the default photo manager.

Gwibber has been updated to support the recent change in Twitter’s authentication system, as well as changing the back end storage to improve performance.

The Sound Indicator has been enhanced to include music player controls.

The Ubuntu Software Center has an updated look and feel, including the new "Featured" and "What’s New" views for showcasing applications, and an improved package description view. You can now easily access your package installation history, too.

New Design: The boot process is cleaner and faster. New themes, new icons, and new wallpaper bring a dramatically updated look and feel to Ubuntu.

Ubuntu One: Polished desktop integration with new sign up and sign in process. Tighter integration with Ubuntu SSO. Nautilus enhancements for managing folder sync preferences. Faster file sync speed. Share links to music within the Ubuntu One Music Store.

Ubuntu Server features
———————-

Cloud computing: The configurable initialization process for Ubuntu Server cloud images (cloud-init) has gained new features in Maverick Beta, including pluggable hooks, ebsmount, ext4 support, and new stanzas in the cloud-config format. Cloud image instances can now manage their own kernel and upgrade kernels with apt. This is done by using pv-grub, provided by Amazon.

Ubuntu Netbook features
———————————-

The new Unity interface is now the default in Ubuntu Netbook Edition. It includes places for launching applications and browsing files, semantic search through the usage of zeitgeist, optimizing vertical space with a global menu bar and maximizing application by default. A launcher is also available for keeping and dealing with mostly used applications. All favorites from UNE lucid or gnome panel items and desktop shortcuts are automatically transitioned to the launcher on first run.

In addition to that, the date and time indicator now has a real calendar widget and is included by default. Evolution is now performing a special mode more suited for netbook screen size.

The standard photo management application has been switched to Shotwell and UNE comes will all goodness of the Desktop Edition too.

UNE needs graphical driver acceleration to be able to run. Otherwise, you should be warned about missing them and will be logout and proposed to run standard ubuntu desktop session.

Kubuntu features
————————

For Maverick, Kubuntu have merged the Desktop and Netbook images into one. Either Plasma Desktop or Plasma Netbook workspace will be started at login as best suits your computers. Users will be able to switch between the two in System Settings.

Plasma Netbook now sports the Global Menu by default.

The standard web browser is now Rekonq, a KDE browser based on Qt Webkit.

Bluedevil has become the default bluetooth stack.

Pulseaudio is the default sound server.

KPackageKit updates bring a faster backend and an updated UI that provides an application focused view.

Kubuntu’s installer, Ubiquity, now starts the install as soon as disks are configured, and offers the option to install restricted packages during the install. Qapt-batch now replaces install-package as the update/batch-installer utility

KDE Platform, Workspaces, and Applications have been updated to 4.5.1

Qt was updated to the new 4.7 release.

Kubuntu Mobile Tech Preview is a new variant with a workspace suitable for smart phones.

See https://wiki.kubuntu.org/MaverickMeerkat/RC/Kubuntu for more details.

Xubuntu features
————————

Xfce4 was updated to the current 4.6.2 release.

New default applications include: Parole (Xfce4 Media Player), replacing Totem Movie Player; Xfburn (Xfce4 CD/DVD burning tool), replacing Brasero; and xfce4-taskmanager (Xfce4 process manager), replacing Gnome-Task-Manager.

Edubuntu features
————————-

Edubuntu now includes Gnome Nanny, which provides parental controls in Edubuntu. There is new wallpaper included (periodic table breakout). In addition, an OEM Install mode is now available.

For those interested in learning more, there’s a new web site as well. Check out http://www.edubuntu.org.

Ubuntu Studio features
———————————

In this release, Ubuntu Studio has better integration between Pulse Audio and JACK. JACK and Pulse Audio can now be used side-by-side if they are using different audio interfaces. If they are trying to use the same audio interface, JACK will take precedent. The network connections can now be configured with gnome-network-admin.

Mythbuntu features
—————————

In this release, Mythbuntu has updated to MythTV 0.23.1.

There is also a new backup and restore tool.

Other
——-

  • On the Desktop: GNOME 2.32, KDE Platform 4.5.1, Xfce 4.6.2, OpenOffice.org 3.2.1, X.org server 7.5
  • On the Server: Apache 2.2.16, PostgreSQL 8.4.4, PHP 5.3.3, LTSP 5.2.4
  • "Under the hood": Linux 2.6.35.4, GCC 4.4.5 (default) / 4.5.1 (optional), eglibc 2.12.1, Python 2.6.6 (default) / 3.1.2 (optional)

The full release notes can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/1010

About Ubuntu
——————

Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, and servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.

Professional technical support is available from Canonical Limited and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit http://www.ubuntu.com/support

To Get Ubuntu 10.10 RC
————————————

To upgrade to Ubuntu 10.10 RC from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, follow these instructions:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MaverickUpgrades

Or, download Ubuntu 10.10 RC; The following link will direct you to a download location near you:

http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/download (Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Netbook)

http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/10.10/rc/ (Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/10.10/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/10.10/rc/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/10.10/rc/ (Edubuntu DVD)

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/10.10/rc/ (Ubuntu Studio)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-netbook/ports/releases/10.10/rc/ (Ubuntu ARM)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/10.10/rc/ (Mythbuntu)

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu-mobile/releases/10.10/rc/ (Kubuntu Mobile Preview)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu-mobile/ports/releases/10.10/rc/ (Kubuntu Mobile Preview ARM)

Please download using Bittorent if possible.

The final version of Ubuntu 10.10 is expected to be released in October 2010.

Feedback and Participation
—————————————

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help turn this Beta into the best release of Ubuntu ever. Please note that, where possible, we prefer that bugs be reported using the tools provided, rather than by visiting Launchpad directly. Instructions can be found at

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but are not sure, first try asking on the #ubuntu IRC channel on freenode, on the Ubuntu Users mailing list, or on the Ubuntu forums:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/

More Information
————————

You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this preview release on our website, IRC channel and wiki. If you are new to Ubuntu, please visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu’s very low volume announcement list at:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce

[Discuss the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 10.10 on the Forum]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-announce mailing list by Robbie Williamson on Thu Sep 30 18:46:26 BST 2010

Interview with Leann Ogasawara

By Ubuntu News Contributor | Published: 2010-09-28

My name is Leann Ogasawara and I’ve been working for Canonical for the past 3 years. Since joining the Ubuntu Kernel Team, I’ve been involved with QA and triaging, stable maintenance, and am now this cycle’s Ubuntu 10.10 kernel release manager.

Penelope Stowe: How did you end up working with Canonical and Ubuntu?

Leann Ogasawara: Prior to ever working for Canonical and on Ubuntu, I was an Ubuntu user and fan like many people are. At that time I was involved with Kernel QA and Testing. Coincidentally, some former colleagues of mine had mentioned a job opening at Canonical for a Kernel QA Engineer. It sounded like an amazing job opportunity so I submitted my resume, crossed my fingers, and began diving into triaging Ubuntu kernel bugs. A few weeks later I received an email to set up my first interview and now here I am.

Amber Graner: How is being the kernel release manager for the Ubuntu 10.10 differed from the other work you have done on the kernel team? Do you see this rotating team position as something that strengthens the team?

LO: Every role has different, yet crucial, responsibilities. Being the kernel release manager, I’m the gatekeeper for what goes into our current kernel. It involves a lot more patch review and testing. Also, not only do I have to be responsible for completing my own tasks for the release cycle, I have to ensure the entire team is on track with their work items as well. It requires a lot more organization than any of the other roles I’ve been in.

I definitely feel that rotating different members of the team through this position only makes us stronger. We have this “bus theory” we often talk about within the team. Should any one of us get hit by a bus tomorrow, we want to have full confidence that another person on the team can step right in and take over a person’s tasks and responsibilities. I also think everyone enjoys being able to do something new and different within the team.

PS: What are some of the things you’ve done with Canonical/Ubuntu that has you most proud or you just enjoyed the most?

LO: Regardless of what role I’ve been in, the one aspect of each role that I’ve enjoyed the most is that moment when I’ve been able to fix someone’s bug. Whether it’s simply applying an upstream patch or writing some quirk for a device, it’s just very gratifying when someone sincerely thanks you for solving an issue they’ve been facing.

PS: What are you most excited to see happen?

LO: I’m obviously the most excited to see our Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat release! I’m completely biased since the Maverick kernel has been near and dear to my heart. It’s just been this huge milestone I’ve been staring at the entire release cycle and I hope to be extremely proud, and relieved, when it goes out the door.

PS: What other open source work outside of Canonical/Ubuntu have you done?

LO: To be honest, there’s so much to do within Canonical/Ubuntu already that I haven’t found huge amounts of time to focus on other open source projects.

PS: What do you do with your free time? Are there any hobbies you’d like to tell us about?

LO: I’m a fairly active individual and love to spend time outdoors, so you’ll often find me running, skiing, golfing, etc. Anything involving some sort of athletic activity and light competition is right up my alley.

PS: Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to say?

LO: I just want to thank Full Circle Magazine for the opportunity to be interviewed. I was extremely flattered when asked to be a part of this issue, so thank you.

[Discuss Leann Ogasawara’s Interview on the Forum]

Originally posted by Penelope Stowe in Full Circle Magazine Issue #41 on September 26, 2010

Asia-Oceania RMB Positions Available.

By Ubuntu News Contributor | Published: 2010-09-28

The Asia-Oceania RMB is undergoing restaffing. We are expanding to run two meetings to better accomodate our wide range of timezones. We require nominations for one position available for meetings at 9:00 UTC +-1hr and nominations for three positions available for meetings run at 1400 UTC +-1hr.

We have the following requirements for nominees:

  • be an Ubuntu member
  • be confident that you can judge contributions to various parts of our community
  • be available during typical meeting times of the board in question
  • insight into the culture(s) and typical activities within a geographic region covered by the board is a plus

Those sitting on membership boards are people who are insightful. They are current Ubuntu Members with a proven track record of activity in the community. They have shown themselves over time to be able to work well with others and display the positive aspects of the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. They should be people who can discern character and judge contribution quality without emotion while engaging in an interview/discussion that communicates interest, a welcoming atmosphere, and which is marked by humanity, gentleness, and kindness. Even when they must deny applications, they should do so in such a way that applicants walk away with a sense of hopefulness and a desire to return with a more complete application rather than feeling discouraged or hurt.

If you wish to nominate someone, or yourself, send an email to ubuntu-membership-board-asia-oceania at lists.ubuntu.com. Try to explain your nomination. All nominations will be forwarded to the Community Council who will make the final decision. Applications will close 1-NOV-2010. If you require help or advice speak to a memeber of the board or your friendly Community Council members.

[Discuss the Asia-Oceania RMB Position on the Forum]

Originally sent to the kubuntu-devel Mailing List by Matthew Lye on Tue Sep 28 12:26:27 BST 2010

Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #212

By Ubuntu News Contributor | Published: 2010-09-27

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter. This is Issue #212 for the week September 19 – September 25, 2010 and is available here.

In this issue we cover:

  • Ubuntu 9.04 reaches end of life
  • Announcing the Ubuntu Application Review Process
  • Taking a Step Back With Fresh Eyes
  • Behind the Circle: Gerfried Fuchs (Rhonda)
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • LoCo News
  • Launchpad News
  • Growing List of Schools Using Ubuntu
  • The Growing Linux Multi-touch Community
  • Edubuntu Makeover
  • Test your might!
  • Debian-Ubuntu Community Conference
  • My experience upgrading UNE 10.04 to Maverick (and yours!)
  • What I do
  • Know of a cool app that deserves more attention? Nominate it for the next Ubuntu post-install guide!
  • Artwork Team – What are we doing here?
  • Ubuntu Artwork Crisis
  • In The Press
  • In The Blogosphere
  • Canonical Showcases at IDF San Francisco
  • Ubuntu, Canonical Wallow in Muddy Waters with Contributors’ Agreements
  • Can Ubuntu Attract More Hardware Partners?
  • Making a Difference; Selling a Difference
  • UCLALUG Fall 2010 Installfest
  • Do you dent or tweet ?
  • Join the openSUSE Conference 2010!
  • OLPC San Francisco Community Summit 2010
  • Full Circle Magazine – Issue #41
  • Featured Podcasts
  • Weekly Ubuntu Development Team Meetings
  • Upcoming Meetings and Events
  • Updates and Security
  • UWN Sneak Peek
  • And much much more!

    • This issue of The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter is brought to you by:

    • Amber Graner
    • J Scott Gwin
    • Liraz Siri
    • Jonathan Carter
    • Penelope Stowe
    • And many others

      • If you have a story idea for the Weekly Newsletter, join the Ubuntu News Team mailing list and submit it. Ideas can also be added to the wiki!

      Except where otherwise noted, content in this issue is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License BY SA Creative Commons License