Ubuntu Global Jam Q+A Videocasts Tomorrow!
Tomorrow, Friday 24th Feb 2012, David Planella and I will be both running video Q+A sessions to explain how you can organize an [Ubuntu Global Jam](https://loco.ubuntu.com/events/globaljam/) event **next weekend**.
David’s videocast is more convenient for Europe and surrounding areas:
* **12pm UTC/UK / 1pm CET / 7am Eastern** – watch live [here](https://www.ustream.tv/channel/ubuntu-translations-with-david-planella)!
My videocast will be more convenient for the Americas and in the evening in Europe:
* **11am Pacific / 2pm Europe / 7pm UTC/UK / 8pm CET** – watch live [here](https://www.ustream.tv/channel/at-home-with-jono-bacon)!
Be sure to bring your questions! If you want to ask a question, you will need to register on ustream.tv first; this is free and simple to do though.
Another great place to ask questions is [Ask Ubuntu](https://askubuntu.com/questions/ask?tags=locoteams)!
For more information on the Ubuntu Global Jam, see the video:
*Can’t see it? See it [here](https://youtu.be/ITk8PGBkMXQ)!*
Find out more on the [Ubuntu Global Jam website](https://loco.ubuntu.com/events/globaljam/)!
Awesome Unity Contributions
Unity is a key piece of Ubuntu, and the Unity experience in Ubuntu 12.04 is shaping up to be fantastic across Desktop, TV, and Android.
Yesterday [Mike blogged](https://mhall119.com/2012/02/contributing-to-unity-for-non-developers-quicklists/) asking for contributors to improve our Quicklist support in the most popular apps in Ubuntu. Within the same day he had a number of awesome contributions made as a response.
I just wanted to offer thanks to our new rock-stars [Nekhelesh Ramananthan](https://launchpad.net/~nik90), [Trenton Fox](https://launchpad.net/~tcfox54-gmail), [Prateek Karandikar](https://launchpad.net/~kprateek88), and [David Baucum](https://launchpad.net/~maxolasersquad) who were the first folks to make contributions. Thanks for making the Ubuntu experience even smoother and more integrated.
Mike has [since blogged](https://mhall119.com/2012/02/more-unity-quicklist-targets/) sharing the other most popular apps that need Quicklists; be sure to help if you can…you don’t need to be a coder to contribute. Find out how to contribute [here](https://mhall119.com/2012/02/contributing-to-unity-for-non-developers-quicklists/). You can get help for how to participate in `#ubuntu-unity` on Freenode IRC, and feel free to ask questions in the comments here and Mike and I will help.
You folks will be hearing more and more from Mike over the coming weeks and months about ways in which everyone can help to make Ubuntu that little bit more streamlined, integrated, and enjoyable. Our community is our backbone, and thanks again to Nekhelesh, Trenton, Prateek, and David for being such great examples of this.
Testing Ubuntu Accomplishments
I would like to open up Ubuntu Accomplishments to a little wider testing. Please note a few caveats:
* You need to be running Ubuntu 12.04 to test this.
* This is still a work in progress; there will be bugs.
Please follow the instructions at [here](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/Installing) for how to install. If you have questions feel free to ping me on IRC (I am `jono` and I am around in `#ubuntu-community-team` most of the time).
If you find a bug (and you probably will!), the bug will either be in software itself or one of the accomplishments. Please file bugs using the following links:
* Bugs in the daemon and app – file bugs [here](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-accomplishments-system/+filebug)
* Bugs in the Ubuntu Accomplishments set – file bugs [here](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-community-accomplishments/+filebug)
If you are unsure, just file bugs [here](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-accomplishments-system/+filebug).
There is a lot of work going on each day on this, so please be sure to update your branches each day (until we start releasing packages). You can do this with:
cd ubuntu-accomplishments-system
bzr pull
cd ubuntu-community-accomplishments
bzr pull
Thanks!
## Writing Accomplishments – Volunteers Needed!
There are only a few accomplishments available in the system right now. The goal here is that accomplishments should be about *new experiences*. I would like to avoid things such as “*50 posts to a bug report*” or “*500 posts to a forum*”; those could be achieved by repeating meaningless content to get the numbers up. I would rather focus on *new experiences* such as “*I have become an Ubuntu Member*”, or “*I got my first uploaded accepted*”.
Writing accomplishments just requires a little knowledge of [launchpadlib](https://help.launchpad.net/API/launchpadlib) and Python for Ubuntu Accomplishments, or you can write accomplishments for other projects where you can query a web service.
If you are interested in writing some accomplishments to plug into the system, please see [this page](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/Creating) and the video tutorial at [here](https://ubuntuone.com/65FusiScZf30vclei9VKCv).
Thanks!
Ubuntu for Android: The Response
Earlier today we announced [Ubuntu on Android](https://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android); the perfect combination of a phone that is powered by Android and when docked provides a full Ubuntu desktop experience. Not only that, but when plugged into a TV you also get the [Ubuntu TV](https://www.ubuntu.com/devices/tv) experience. All within one consistent and beautiful experience.
I posted this news on Facebook and Google+ today, and in just 12 hours look at the response:
I think this speaks pretty well about how much interest and demand there is in this. Put it this way: in *12 minutes* Facebook had over 1000 likes.
If you are a handset maker or network operator, [get in touch](https://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android/contact-us).
Ubuntu Accomplishments Demo
After another furious week of hacking on my little project I have added a number of new features:
* Trophies that are verified by the verification server are now GPG signed so they can’t be faked on the client.
* We now support custom trophy icons; this way Ubuntu can have it’s own themed icons and upstreams could have their own themed icons too. As an example, the Juju accomplishments have different icons to some of the other Ubuntu accomplishments; it just makes each of the accomplishments feel a little more unique and desirable. As an example:
* I have improved some of the trophy information page layout.
* The app now dynamically updates to show when a trophy has been verified for you. This is in the form of a dbus signal which other clients can use too (such as the Trophies Lens that David has been working on).
* I also added a bunch of additional trophies.
To give you a feel for how it runs now, check out this short demo video:
*Can’t see the video? See it [here](https://youtu.be/VLzLSn1IYDA)!*
I am now going to start building up to get some wider eyes and testing on this. If you are running Precise and interested in testing, drop me an email to `jono AT ubuntu DOT com` and I will be in touch soon.
Ubuntu Accomplishments Update
The [last time](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2012/02/10/ubuntu-accomplishments-video-demo/) I posted about my little project I [shared a video demo](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2012/02/10/ubuntu-accomplishments-video-demo/) of the work so far. I am pleased to report that I have made some further progress.
A key part of the design of the accomplishments system is that it supports two types of accomplishment:
* **Local** – these are things you can achieve on your computer. Examples of this could include: sending your first email in Thunderbird, configuring your chat client, changing your wallpaper etc). I have a small library applications can use for this.
* **Machine Verifiable** – these are things you can accomplish within the context of a community (e.g. becoming an Ubuntu Member, filing your first bug etc). These achievements are verified by a third party server to avoid people faking their trophies.
Although support for the former works, I have been really focusing on the latter *Machine Verifiable* accomplishments. I am pleased to report that this works fully end-to-end now. It works like this:
* When you start the app we ask for your permission (as we are syncing data to a third-party machine).
* When you agree to this the app creates your trophies directory, creates an Ubuntu One share and syncs it with the server. I have written some scripts for the server that scans the shares and approves them.
* The app then runs the different accomplishments scripts and when you achieve something it is synced to the server, verified and then returned. It then appears in your list of trophies.
With the exception of some loose edges, this is all basically working, and even runs on someone else’s machine than mine. 🙂
To get this rolling I wrote a bunch of additional accomplishments that use [launchpadlib](https://help.launchpad.net/API/launchpadlib) to give you a trophy if you have certain roles in the community (currently, Ubuntu Member, MOTU, core-dev, and a member of a LoCo Team).
A pretty cool feature here is that these accomplishments have dependencies. As an example, you need to complete the *Register a Launchpad Account* accomplishment before you can complete the *File a Bug* accomplishment (as you need a Launchpad account to file a bug). As such, accomplishments that you can’t access yet are listed as locked and unlocked when you have satisfied their dependencies. This helps us to develop a journey for how people learn new experiences and participate in the community.
You can now filter available opportunities by locked or unlocked – this makes it easier to see what you can do right now. I also prettified the interface somewhat and ripped out some of the clunky pieces of my very first implementation. With the addition of the extra accomplishments you can also see the additional categories.
This is how it looks so far:
I am hoping to release a video demo of this soon.
I will also be opening up a call for testing and accomplishment contributions when I nail a few final bugs. Stay tuned, folks!
Thanks to William Grant for his launchpadlib help recently.
Ubuntu Accomplishments Lens
*Click [here](https://ubuntuone.com/6kr2xt0eIZMuF6JU2AUOo3) for full size.*
Thanks to the always amazing David Callé who has created this lens for the Ubuntu Accomplishments system. David was also the first person to brave running the Ubuntu Accomplishments system other than me (complete with the server verification pieces). It worked!
This week I expect to have another update on Ubuntu Accomplishments. My evenings have been tied up with finishing [The Art of Community](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org) but the deadline for that is tomorrow.
Stay tuned!
Music Of Ubuntu
OK, fun little meme time. Simple question:
> Which songs remind you of Ubuntu?
Think about the music…the vibe…the rhythm…what it makes you feel when you listen to the song. Which ones make you think of our goals of bringing Free Software to the world with Ubuntu?
Reply using your blog, Google+, Facebook, Twitter or wherever else (use the `#musicofubuntu` hashtag) and lets see what music gets our Ubuntu blood flowing. 🙂
I have a few I want to present via the wonderful medium of embedded YouTube videos. What are yours?!
### Queen: Don’t Stop Me Now
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM)!*
### Twisted Sister: We’re Not Gonna Take It
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MotNtq41NDw)!*
### AC/DC: Shoot To Thrill
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw7w2b_FTC8)!*
### Airbourne: Runnin’ Wild
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFHpkoJfdKc)!*
### Rush: Virtuality
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52cA3f7F7K8)!*
### Grave Digger: Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching)
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-x_uBB-KIE)!*
### Rage Against the Machine: Renegades of Funk
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqWP1rsAMrw)!*
### Bomfunk MC’s: Freestyler
*Can’t see it? Watch it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfcD3RXYmYU)!*
Canonical Community Team Weekly Meetings
Just a reminder…**every Tuesday** at **8am Pacific / 11am Eastern / 4pm UTC** on `#ubuntu-community-team` on freenode IRC.
Everyone runs through a a list of the work they have been doing over the last week and you can ask questions. Feel free to join us; everyone is welcome!
Ubuntu Accomplishments Video Demo
Recently I have been [blogging](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2012/01/23/hacking-on-accomplishments/) [about](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2012/01/29/more-ubuntu-accomplishments-hacking/) a project I have been hacking on called *Ubuntu Accomplishments*.
This is an accomplishments system that can be used to identify when people have accomplished various things in the Ubuntu project and reward them with trophies. The plan also makes additional skills and accomplishments more discoverable and provides better help for people to get started. While designed for Ubuntu, the system can be used for other projects and also for local applications (e.g. completing Level 1 on a game). Accomplishments in community projects are verified for their integrity so people can’t fake their trophies.
I wanted to present a video demo of the system working so far:
**Can’t see it? See the (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGuKAt1LjaY)!**
You can find out more about the project [here](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments) and the code is available in the following branches:
* [`lp:ubuntuaccomplishments`](https://code.launchpad.net/~jonobacon/ubuntuaccomplishments/trophyinfo) – contains the main trophy viewer app, the daemon, and the libaccomplishments Python module.
* [`lp:~jonobacon/ubuntuaccomplishments/ubuntu-community`](https://code.launchpad.net/~jonobacon/ubuntuaccomplishments/ubuntu-community) – a collection of Ubuntu accomplishments for different things you can accomplish in the Ubuntu project. There are only two accomplishments right now – [can you help write more?](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/Creating).
* [`lp:~jonobacon/ubuntuaccomplishments/validation-service`](https://code.launchpad.net/~jonobacon/ubuntuaccomplishments/validation-service) – the server-side verification service that runs on an Ubuntu One headless machine.
Now, this is *really early* in the stages of development. If you grab the code you will find various bits that are not yet implemented, but the core idea works.
Things we need to do next:
* Generate the user’s trophy directory and share it with Ubuntu One. I have the code written to do this, I just need to merge it in.
* Add a Getting Started page which asks the user if they want to use verified trophies that use Ubuntu One.
* Fix support for machine-verifiable trophies that are dependent on others.
* Actually sign the trophies.
* Implement the categories filter in the My Trophies view.
I plan on writing a longer blog entry about how the system works later for those who are interested in contributing.