Up rather late, had to skip breakfast. Probably for the best.
First session of the day was a roundtable discussion about desktop technologies that will appear in the next release. Most notably there was lots of discussion on porting the manifold Ubuntu-specific tools and apps to GTK/GNOME3. (notes)
Next was a review of desktop performance. Much time was spent looking at timing diagrams of what took how long to do what during startup. There was also some discussion of which programs were causing the CPU to wake up most often. (blueprint, notes)
Then there was a session on speeding up software upgrades. Apparently there are lots of post-install operations that are run multiple times depending on which packages are updated which could be delayed to run once at the end of the upgrade. Other tweaks and some crackerific hacks were also on the table. (blueprint, notes)
After lunch there was a group of “lightning talks”, quick 5-10 minute presentations on cool things going on with the project. Lots of improvements to Launchpad and byobu.
Thanks to a lack of interesting sessions after that I had a chance to walk around Budapest for a while. I ducked into a couple of shops and generally tried to take in as much as I could before returning for the wrap-up talk.
At the wrap-up Jono announced that the next UDS will be in Orlando. I haven’t been there since I was a kid so I’m looking forward to seeing it with a different perspective.
At 7 the UDS party got into full swing. There was free food and drink, music and merriment. The Ubuntu Allstars is a group that gets together for every UDS and puts together a loose set over the course of the week to be played at the after party. The music ranged from ballads to blues to classic rock and 80s pop. Matt Zimmerman sang a rousing rendition of George Michael’s Faith.
Around 10 I’d decided I’d had enough fun and called it a night. I was exhausted from this marathon week and had to catch a shuttle at 7AM to the airport. Sleep came easily.
First session was on what to do about ubuntu-dev-tools, a set of scripts that make Ubuntu developers’ lives easier. Mostly the goals were to get all the relevant ones into Debian and split the rest into more topical packages. (blueprint, notes)
Next was a session on integrating applications that ship by default with the Unity interface. Most of the ideas revolved around adding items to the right-click menu for each of the icons in the launcher bar (that’s the spiffy icon bar on the left if you’re using the latest Ubuntu) or little progress bars in the icons for things like downloads. (blueprint, notes)
Then there was a session on what the default email client should be in the next Ubuntu release. It was decided that Mozilla Thunderbird will get the nod if certain conditions are met (the most onerous being enough space on the CD). (blueprint, notes)
Next I attended a session reviewing the Linux kernel configurations for the various flavors of Ubuntu. This was every bit as boring as it sounds. (blueprint, notes)
After lunch everyone got together for a group photo (if you zoom in you can see me towards the front on the left).
There was a session discussing the relationship between Ubuntu and GNOME. There was a bit of tension as the two projects have started moving in different directions and those differences haven’t always been communicated with the utmost tact and diplomacy. (blueprint, notes)
Next was a pretty interesting discussion on session saving, or saving the set of open programs and their state when you log out. This was removed in the last release but they’re looking to put it back in, though in a less hackish way than before. (blueprint, notes)
Last meeting of the day was a session on how to reduce the number of patches carried in Ubuntu packages. This session quickly degenerated into a review of specific patches against GNOME packages. (blueprint, notes)
The OEM team had its team dinner, which started as a cocktail hour, then moved to a nearby restaurant for pizza (again!) and beer, then to another place for even more beer. I got to know my new teammates a bit, and got to chat with the likes of Jono Bacon, Stuart Langridge, and Ken VanDine. Eventually I made it back to my room and promptly passed out.
Driver work continues, but no real progress made. Vendor people are working in parallel, so with luck one of us will find the answer soon.
Excited about the Gnome 3 release. Been using it at home for a while from the Ubuntu PPA. I’m told the experience is better on other distributions but I have it working well enough for now. I’ll probably check it out on my laptop when it hits Debian Unstable.
Home to play some more Mass Effect 2. It’s becoming an addiction already. I hope that the weather gets nice enough soon to draw me away.
Woke up feeling much better. Actually made it to work.
Caught up on email. I’m on far too many mailing lists at work.
Driver issue continues to elude me. Could be a problem of DMA interaction. That means another 75-page PDF to read tomorrow.
Skipped the gym due to residual stomach issues, but walked half a mile to get Chinese food with my wife. I’m not sure if the math works out but I’ll take it.
As is my custom at Alpha 3 I upgraded my desktop at home to Ubuntu Natty (and installed gnome-shell from the Gnome 3 PPA to be fair).
Watched The Big Bang Theory with Emily while coding on a hobby project that will likely never see the light of day.
e after party. The music ranged from ballads to blues to classic rock and 80s pop. Matt Zimmerman sang a rousing rendition of George Michael’s Faith.
beer. I got to know my new teammates a bit, and got to chat with the likes of Jono Bacon, Stuart Langridge, and Ken VanDine. Eventually I made it back to my room and promptly passed out.