Ubuntu t-shirt and book auction for charity
The awesome [ubuntu-uk](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam) LoCo team are having a charity auction of an Ubuntu t-shirt signed by Mark Shuttleworth, Jon “maddog” Hall, myself and some other folks. I have also signed a copy of the [Official Ubuntu Book](https://www.phptr.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0132435942&rl=1) and thrown that in to the auction prize. The good cause that will receive the funds is [Children In Need](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/) so get along and bid!
The magic link to click is [HERE](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/CharityWork/ChildrenInNeedTShirt).
Phone gone
Just a quick note, my phone has been lost. My faithful companion has provided hours of entertainment, but it is now lost somewhere in San Francisco airport. So, if you try to call me, you will either get my answer machine message, or some guy who will try to sell you it for $6.
For the next week or so, email is your friend.
UPDATE: My new phone arrives on 21st Nov with the same number.
Jokosher 0.2 Released
Yes people it has finally happened. I have just written up the announcement:
The Jokosher team are proud to announce the second pre-release of their simple yet powerful audio studio for the GNOME desktop. The new 0.2 version of the software has been in active development since July, and has packed Jokosher with the core features to perform full audio recording and production on the Linux desktop.
Jokosher sports the following features:
* **Intuitive, usability focused interface** – Jokosher has been designed from the ground-up and every detail has been scrutinised for ease of use and flexibility. This has resulted in a simple and intuitive environment.
* **Full multi-track recording** – record from your sound card on a number of instrument tracks, and rename, mute and solo those tracks. Jokosher also supports multi-channel sound cards.
* **Full mixing** – instruments can be mixed, soloed, muted, panned and more, as well as controlling the master volume.
* **Volume Curve Mixing** – with an intuitive selection system, you can easily draw volume curves that occur in realtime to produce an unlimited number of fades and volume control.
* **Non destructive editing tools** – Jokosher includes a range of editing tools including splitting, trimming, moving and volume control point snapping. All editing operations are entirely non-destructive
* **Effects Support** – support for LADSPA effects can open up your projects to all kinds of creative opportunities. Multiple effects can be layered together, and each effect can be fine tuned to get just the right setting.
* **Effects Presets** – in addition to LADSPA support, you can load and save effects presets, making it easier to find and reuse of those all important effects combinations.
* **Extensions** – Jokosher includes support for installable extensions. This allows third party developers to make their own extensions with our extensions API. Jokosher also includes an Extensions Manager to track which extensions are installed.
* **Metronome** – a configurable metronome click track is included to keep you perfectly in time when recording.
* **Intuitive instrument management** – Jokosher provides a unique method of minimising instruments for specific mixing requirements.
* **Extensive documentation and community** – the Jokosher team have worked to create manuals, tutorials, FAQs and other documentation, as well as growing the Jokosher community on the forums (https://www.jokosher.org/forums/).
In addition to these features, the Jokosher community have worked to make the application available in a number of languages, including Chinese (China), Danish, Dutch, English (Philippines), English (United Kingdom), Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latvian, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Welsh.
Want to give it a shot? This is still a pre-release, and it demands a very GStreamer which most distros right now do not ship, but we have made things easier. Head over to the [Download]() page and grab the run script. This script automates the process of checking out GStreamer CVS alongside your current GStreamer, grabbing Jokosher and making everything run fine. This is a great way to give Jokosher a run.
We still have some docs to merge, but check out the [Jokosher 0.2 User Guide](https://doc.jokosher.org/UserGuide). We have also opened up a [community documentation wiki](https://userdocs.jokosher.org/) for our users to write their own HOWTOs and guides for using Jokosher in different ways.
Also, do get involved in the [Jokosher Forums](https://www.jokosher.org/forums/). The forums are a great source of help, and a great place to post links to the music and podcasts that you have created in Jokosher.
Finally, I want to thank the awesome Jokosher development team and testers, the translators, the docs team, and our friends in the GStreamer team for fixing our bugs. This is sure to make this version of Jokosher rock hard.
Now the road to 1.0 begins…
Practical PHP and MySQL, boo yah
Well, my new book will be published any time now:
This is my third book, but the first that I have written entirely myself. I am pretty pleased with it. A sample copy was here when I got back from San Francisco, and it looks schaweeeet.
The book takes a different approach to PHP/MySQL development, and instead of teaching a bunch of unrelated, un-connected, disparate concepts, it guides the reader through writing eight web applications that are actually useful. It is a much more hands-on approach to learning the technology, and importantly, *applying* that technology to real-world use cases.
What is also cool is that there is a Live CD included with the book that provides a bootable Ubuntu system where you can run the applications from. This provides an excellent opportunity to run, modify and play with the applications without affecting your existing system.
From the back of the book:
> Leading open source author Jono Bacon teaches the core skills you’ll need to build virtually any application. You’ll discover how to connect with databases, upload content, perform cascading deletes, edit records, validate registrations, specify user security, create reusable components, use PEAR extensions, and even build Ajax applications.
So, check it out, and post your reviews on Amazon. 🙂
Video report of UDS
While at the Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) the week before last, I took part in an interview with Joe ‘Zonker’ Brockmeier about the UDS, community and Jokosher. He has written up a report, complete with video interviews with myself, Matt Zimmerman, Murray Cumming and Mark Shuttleworth.
Check it out [here](https://community.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/11/16/1443243&tid=53&tid=96&pagenum=1).
Show me the way to go home
Astute readers may have observed that this has been a quiet week for my blog. Well, there are a few reasons for this:
* Firstly, we have just performed a server move, and I wanted to keep the databases synced. We have moved from two separate VMs to a dedicated box. This move was due to increasing traffic. So, you can assume far more reliability for my blog in the future.
* Secondly, this week has been [our](https://www.canonical.com/) company conference. We have done lots of presentations, meetings, team building sessions, and there has been plenty of social events.
Right now, I am pretty much flat-lining with tiredness. As many of you will know, I rarely shy away from a night out when at a conference, and I have been out *every single night* for the last two weeks, drunk waaay too much, but still been up every day ready for work. Although I am catastrophically tired, I would not change a moment of it; I have met some incredible people in and around the Ubuntu community and Canonical.
Today is the last day of the Canonical conference and Scott and I head back to Heathrow tomorrow.
Jokosher bug-fixing update
I figured it is time for a Jokosher update. As many of you will know, I have been at the Ubuntu Developer Summit for the last week at Mountain View, and I am now in San Francisco at [our](https://www.canonical.com/) Allhands company summit. Jokosher really rocked at UDS, and lots of people were interesting in our little project.
Since Nov 1st we have been in feature freeze, and we are now working to get all the bugs fixed. Some highlights of our work:
* On the GStreamer side we have pretty much everything fixed (apart from [this bug](https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=374213) with LADSPA seeking) and our GStreamer engine is working pretty well.
* Elleo has been working to get the recording code in shape, and we are hoping that our multi-channel support will be stable in time for 0.2. This means that not only will recording work fine on normal sound cards, but also fancy multi-channel sound cards; an essential requirement for professional audio editing.
* The volume fading code is pretty solid now, and it feels like a nice intuitive interface for doing volume fades.
* The extensions API is rocking, and Luke landed the Extension Manager and fixed up a bunch of bugs. Now installing extensions is a piece of cake, and Aq’s awesome Freesound Extension wowed a bunch of people as an example of what our API can do. This is wicked-cool stuff.
* Jeff has been working to get the docs in shape and is getting them updated for 0.2. Good docs is *essential* for Jokosher, so this is great to see happening.
* Aq has been working on a script to automate GStreamer CVS compilation and getting and trying Jokosher. We want to lower the bar to contribution and testing, and he is looking after this. Initial testing of the script seems good. When it is in shape, we will announce it.
* Icons are coming in thick and fast, and Jokosher is looking ever sweeter every day. Thanks to our awesome art team!
So, bug fixing continues, and you can see our bugs on [this Launchpad page](https://launchpad.net/products/jokosher/+bugs). If you find a new bug, do [report it](https://jokosher.python-hosting.com/wiki/ReportingBugs). Also, thanks to new contributor Jean-Francois Arseneau who has been doing lots of bug reporting for us. Thanks for your great work Jean-Francois!
Finally, one session at the UDS involved some discussion about Telepathy and Farsight integration into Jokosher with our Network Instruments. We fleshed out some ideas, and I will brew a seperate blog post about this when I get time.
UDS nearly done
Well, the UDS finishes up tomorrow, and lots has been going on. Ready for some bullet points? READY? OK, you got it you filthy bullet point fiends:
* The spec about unifying resources with Launchpad was very productive, and there was some discussion of it being rolled out for planets and user maps. This will not only make LoCo teams easier to set up, but could also mean things like maps of teams and users, support networks and more. Cool stuff. Nice to meet the Launchpad guys too – cool bunch of hackers.
* LoCo mentoring was also great, and Melissa and Andrew represented their respective teams superbly. I am really proud of the honest feedback from the LoCo mentoring pilot. We now plan on writing up some best practise points to help develop the scheme and then roll it out. Mentoring is a big deal across the wider project too, so this should be interesting.
* Great progress has been made with forums governance, and everyone has been doing a great job here. Mike and Roald have been particularly helpful, honest and detailed in their efforts.
* A design has been built for easy codec installation in Feisty, which should make life much easier when a codec package is not installed. Click an MP3 and Ubuntu will tell you what needs installing. Nice.
* Some discussion of an implementation of PulseAudio has been discussed also. Lennart is a fascinating guy to listen too and his feedback and guidance has been invaluable. This will be a phased implementation as the problem is rather complex and we don’t want to screw anyones sound up. That would not be good.
* After mistakenly showing a few people Jokosher, which turned into a small crowd, I was cajoled into a demo in front of everyone. This was made more difficult by (a) my laptop not working with the projector so resorting to a forwarded X connection, (b) Jokosher bugs, and (c) sound from my laptop speakers. Despite such treacherous conditions, people here are pretty excited about Jokosher.
* We had some great discussions about Ubuntu conferences and how to provide user events. Nothing is confirmed or decided on yet, but there was discussion about lots of LoCo driven events as well as a main user event. I am going to flesh the details out about this over this coming weeks. This is really exciting stuff.
* Google food is *amazing*. I wonder if the food at Alta Vista is this good. I suspect not.
* Marcel pointed out a little keyboard light on my Thinkpad that I never knew existed. Yes, I know, stupid.
* Rumours of bottle dancing are untrue and merely an attempt to abrupt further Ubuntu progress by a devious splinter group. Don’t trust them, even established note-takers such as Joey Stanford.
* I have been out every night with the folks having some good food, plenty of beer and plenty of fun. This is community at its best.
* Loads more…
Right, its late and I need bed.
Before I go, Jokosher fans, dial in with VoIP to the Jokosher Telepathy BOF that is happening tomorrow (Fri 10th Nov) at 9am California time. Details for hooking up to the BOF can be found [here](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDeveloperSummitMountainView).
Dog 2.0
Nearly at a week into my two week jaunt over here in California. Having a great time, and naturally missing Sooz and our little doggies. So, Sooz [uploaded an update on the pooches](https://community.livejournal.com/mydoxiearmy/599.html) which I know some of you will like.
Its odd, I spoke to four people today who knew *all* about our dogs. Nuts.
UDS so far
Well, I have been at the UDS for a few days, and there is lots of stuff going on around many different parts of Ubuntu and the community. Prepare for one of my rather ugly bullet-points-lists-of-ultimate-doom:
* The UDS spec process seems pretty decent. People register specs, session timetables are generated, discussions happen, drafts get…er…drafted, things get done. It is nice and open and based around *doing things* instead of just *discussing things*.
* Community has a really strong presence here. Lots of community specs and and huge amounts of awesome, constructive, pro-active discussion.
* It has been great to meet the core team, and great to see they are a fun bunch of people.
* It has also been great to meet the community, and they are as equally fun. I have met lots of different parts of the free software community, and they often differ radically in their technical and social skills. The Ubuntu crowd seem focused and technically sound during the day, and also able to let their hair down in the evening.
* LoCo teams have been a strong presence, and there been some awesome input from many of the attendees. We now have a bunch of specs and key action points to *make this stuff happen*.
* Governance has been another key topic, and Team Councils are a key point of discussion here. Large teams in the community will have their own councils who can preside over that sub-community, and this should help scale the community as our community grows.
* One thing I was keen to get accepted was the concept of a Leadership CoC that council members will adhere to. This is an extension to the CoC that identifies key leadership qualities. Everyone seemed happy with this.
* MOTU has been another core topic, and growing the MOTU rockstars is essential. MOTU is such a *hugely* important area for Ubuntu, and I would love to see some of these plans pull off. There was also some discussion of a MOTU Council (codenamed Council Grey Skull). Can we all call Daniel Holbach *Prince Adam Holbach* too? Nice.
* A session discussing methods of reducing noise on ubuntu-devel was interesting, and mdz and I had some discussion about this a few weeks ago. It is likely there will be a moderated list (ubuntu-devel) with the core team on it, and a separate open list. I suggested `ubuntu-thundercats` as the name in jest, but it seems some people are thinking a bit too hard about it. Well, its not as if stupid names haven’t been used in the project before. 😛
* Google have done an *awesome* job here – great venue, amazing food, and a nice friendly atmosphere. They have just left us to our devices, which has been great. Special props to Leslie for her sterling efforts.
* Any rumours about a “bottle dance” are untrue. Don’t believe anything Joey Stanford says.
More later.