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2008

A Bug-huntin' we will go

It’s been way too long since we had a formalized bug hunt week for Foresight.

Worry no more, it’s next week! Starting next Sunday, August 31, through Saturday, September 6th we will be hunting down bugs, tasks and improvements to make Foresight better.

Here are some current statistics from JIRA, Foresight’s issue tracker:

  • Total issues in Foresight: 1,644
  • Open issues: 597 (36%)
  • In progress: 19 (1%)
  • Resolved: 578 (35%)
  • Closed: 322 (20%)
  • Needs QA: 106 (6%)

Open Issues (By Priority)

  • Blocker: 2
  • Critical: 22 [3%]
  • Major: 66 [10%]
  • Normal: 505 [76%]
  • Minor: 57 [9%]
  • Trivial: 9 [1%]

57% of all open issues are assigned to Distro – which means they haven’t been triaged or assigned yet!

The goal of bug hunt is threefold:

  1. Verify the issue. Test it out. Does it exist? Can you confirm it? If so, then we need to get it assigned.
  2. Fix the bugs! Though Ken and doniphon might be the largest contributors to Foresight, they are willing to help out and teach as well. There are a lot of things a new contributor can do – update packages, write patches to fix bugs, test out patches from upstream to see if it fixes the issue (and check with upstream to see if other users of other distros have filed a similar bug report).
  3. Think like an end user. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees when you use Foresight every day and get used to it’s quirks. But if you were a new user, whether it’s new to Linux or new to Foresight, what isn’t working, and should be? The goal of hunting down and fixing bugs is to make the best distribution we can.

The bug hunt will fall over a holiday weekend for our USA users. This is both good and bad – maybe you have some extra time available on the holiday to help out. The bug hunt will run all week though – if you need more information, please ping me. We will be hanging out in #foresight-qa on Freenode IRC. More information is available on the wiki, including who’s willing to help, and how to use JIRA.

Writing Foresight Docs: Part 6

It’s been over a year (a year!) since my last post about writing documentation for Foresight. In that time, we’ve shipped Foresight 2.0, and the Getting Started with Foresight User Guide has frequently been met with great feedback when Foresight is reviewed.

I’ve kept up with a few minor updates and edits to keep it fresh, but now it’s time to start planning some major updates. In no particular, I want to focus on:

  • Banshee re-write. Now that Banshee is at 1.2, the screenshots need to be updated to it’s new look, and an overview of it’s new features, including video, podcasts, Last.fm integration and internet radio.
  • Installing Foresight. Jayson was kind enough to attach some documentation and screenshots, but I didn’t find the time to incorporate them. (Hint, hint Jayson)
  • Add a section on Liferea. Write a section on Foresight’s default feedreader. Robin Groves has posted a first draft on the wiki that I need to review and edit.
  • Using GNOME-DO. As the first distribution to ship GNOME-DO, it’s a very powerful application, and new users probably need some help getting to know it.
  • Expand the section on using PackageKit. Some of the icons need to be updated as well.

But more importantly, what do you think is missing from the User Guide? What does a new user need to know? I’d love to get some feedback. Foresight’s User Guide is located in Foresight’s Mercurial repository. I’m also open to any help anyone wants to contribute! If you need help in checking it out or submitting a patch, please let me know.

Linux Void Podcast

Foresight gets a nice review on the latest Linux Void Podcast (about 10 minutes in.) They touch on installing Foresight, the GNOME desktop, the User Guide, and Conary and it’s package management.

Towards the end of the review:

_

“People who want to start using Linux, and may not want to use Ubuntu, should check out Foresight”._

Overall, a good review.

Foresight Week In Review

What a week last week turned out to be for Foresight!

In no particular order:

  • The first newletter in months came out, and we enter year two of the newsletter. Hopefully I’m back in the swing of things and will get that released on time every month.
  • Foresight 2.0.4 was released. And not just any release, a single CD install disc (the Foresight GNOME Lite Edition) is now available! It removes most languages, and is 32 bit only. No more 2 CD installs, and this one uses the tar based installer, so installation should be under 10 minutes. And it’s easy to upgrade to the full version!
  • Foresight officially joined the Software Freedom Conservancy. This is big for us – we now have the flexibility of being a non-profit organization. We can take donations, and use that money to help spread the word and market Foresight. It will help us get to more conferences, and create promotional material, whether that’s flyers or install discs to hand out. Donate today! (I did!)

One last note, this week’s Foresight Council meeting has been moved up a day, from Friday to Thursday at 9 a.m. EST in #foresight-council on Freenode IRC.

Foresight Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 1 out

After months of slacking on my part, I am proud to announce a new issue of the Foresight Newsletter is out.

Now in to it’s second year, this issue gives an overview on the latest releases, including both 2.0.4 and 2.0, community news, a look back at the first Foresight User & Developer Conference, upcoming conferences, and other information. (Considering everything that’s happened, it could have been stuffed with news, but I really needed to push out a release and give myself a kick start).

Next month expected a more detailed in development section, and if my evil plan comes to life, this may even be the last month it’s released via the Foresight Wiki. (Cross your fingers!)

Enjoy the newsletter, and I’m always on the lookout for anyone who wants to lend a hand in writing for it as well.