For those who haven't seen it yet, LinuxDevices published an article recently looking at the roadmap of Marvell's ARM line. The new line is called Armada and for Debian the Armada 510 (known as Dove) is of particular interest. To me, it essentially looks like a Kirkwood (the current platform) but with ARMv6/v7 (instead of ARMv5), integrated VGA and some other features. According to the article, the Armada 510 is aimed at "high-end smartbooks and tablets". I'm happy to see the integration of VGA because I'd like to see more ARM based smartbooks, tablets and thin clients. At the same time, I'm worried that the VGA will be some proprietary chip without proper open source drivers and I'm surprised that the new chip only offers 1.2 GHz. After all, the current Kirkwood chip clocks 1.2 GHz already, so I'd have expected an increase to 2.0 GHz for the next generation.

graphing DPKG source v3 adoption Given that now we can upload DPKG source v3 packages to the archive, prodded by Lucas and Martin, I've added yet another page to my Debian graph/stats collection: namely stats about DPKG source v3 usage in the archive. This time, I've done even less work than the other pages: Lucas was already providing the actual data via a UDD CGI. So thank him, I'm basically just aggregating/mirroring the graphs for bandwidth reasons. Of course, I've also added the new page to the stats index on wiki.d.o.

When I visited Taiwan last week to talk about Debian at a conference on smartbooks, I used the opportunity to meet up with the folks from QNAP. It was really nice to meet many of my contacts at QNAP in person. We talked about their roadmap and existing products and I found out that they had just released a number of new devices that may be of interest to Debian users. I really like the hardware from QNAP but one downside of their high quality is also that the devices are fairly expensive. Last week they introduced a number of lower cost alternatives: in addition to the TS-119 and TS-219, you now have the TS-110 and TS-210. They feature a 800 MHz CPU (instead of 1.2 GHz on the TS-119/TS-219), 256 MB (instead of 512 MB) and have a plastic case (as a result of which, the TS-110 now has a fan unlike the TS-119). Similarly, in addition to the TS-419 and TS-419U, you now have a TS-410 and TS-410U. Since the TS-110/TS-210 and TS-119/TS-219 are compatible, the Debian installer will work out of the box.

Your favourite pretend-do-no-evil information monopolist appears to have discovered wit: This is part of ongoing design experiments. What should happen is that the message fades out and gives way to the content that used to be there. Some of us continue to oppose JavaScript bling, or use text-mode browsers. In those, it just looks like Google inserted space between the search box and the money-making/legalese stuff at the bottom to be able to declare it intentionally blank. How witty! Apart from that, you cannot fade something else into the space you previously declared intentionally blank . Go Google. Be good!

I wrote several new guides about Debian on the Linksys NSLU2 this weekend. The new guides cover the following topics:

• Troubleshooting: common problems and their solutions
• Internals about the boot process of Debian on the NSLU2
• Modifying a NSLU2 firmware image
• Cloning a NSLU2
• Migration guide: how to move your Debian installation from your NSLU2 to a SheevaPlug.

You can find this documentation at my Debian on NSLU2 site.

Am I the only one who thinks that a 3-octave synthesizer (low-A to high-C) with the modulation wheels placed on the right side of the keyboard would be the ultimate Funk machine in the hands of people like Bernie Worrell and myself? Something like a NordBass III comes to mind... Similarly, could synthesizer manufacturers please standardize on keyboard layouts that always start on the low-A and include quick octave transposition buttons? The Roland Rhodes Mk60 included both a 5 octave 64-key layout (low-A to high-C) and two quick octave switch buttons (octave up and octave down), which made it a wonderful MIDI controller. Sadly, this was a one-off and no other keyboard on the market ever adopted this brilliant layout. How about we go and fix it now? Korg? Nord? Roland? Yamaha? Are you guys listening?

Before I forget, or drown in a puddle of Guinness: I successfully defended my Ph.D. research and passed with a few recommendations for minor changes. I expect to have the thesis and data public around the end of the calendar year. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me, and for your support.

I am sitting in Lero, waiting for the next 30 minutes to pass before I shall defend my Ph.D. thesis in front of a board of three examiners. It will start at 9:30 GMT. I cannot decide whether I am nervous, or whether I had too much coffee. Someone just asked me if I am well-prepared Yes, I worked four years for this. Excited and prepared. If you want to tune in, my initial, public presentation will be webcast (using proprietary media, unfortunately (Flash required)). I hope to have a recording available later. The following interrogation by the examiners is not public (even though I wanted it to be). I forgot my Lederhosen at home, or I would have worn them today.

Freaking out the freaks on Omegle.

You can now use the Debian installer to install Debian on the Marvell SheevaPlug. This routine will install Debian testing (squeeze), which is currently under development. The installer itself is also under development, so there may be problems from time to time but it should generally work pretty well. The Debian installer doesn't support installations to flash, but you can use it to install to a USB stick or disk as well as to an SD card. Here are installation instructions.

Marvell made a new version of U-Boot for the SheevaPlug available last month. This version, 3.4.19, integrates SD card support and improves support for FAT32 USB partitions (although USB support in general is still a bit flaky). This page describes how to install this new version of U-Boot on your SheevaPlug. First of all, download the SheevaPlug U-Boot 3.4.19. Unpack the zip file and copy the file u-boot-3.4.19/u-boot-rd88f6281Sheevaplug_400db_nand.bin to your TFTP server. I suggest you call the file u-boot.bin. Then start your SheevaPlug and type the following: The upgrade process will ask whether you want to change the environment: Make sure to answer "n" here. We also need to make a small change to the u-boot configuration because this version of u-boot no longer accepts the console parameter we have been using. Thanks to Tom Rinehart for pointing this out. Instead of console, we'll therefore add a new bootargs_console and update bootcmd to make use of it: You'll see that bootcmd contains $(console). You have to set a new bootcmd and change the console parameter to $(bootargs_console). In my case, I'd type: Make sure you don't forget the quotes! Finally, save the environment and restart your machine:

The Debian installer for QNAP TS-119, TS-219 and TS-219P devices (based on Marvell's 1.2 GHz Kirkwood chip) is now available, together with installation instructions. The installer is still under development and it will install Debian testing, which is also under development. However, I think it's working pretty well. If you try the installer, please send me feedback.

Random plea for free stuff. If anyone out there has any geeky stickers (or anything a bit random for a sticker) lying around, please send them to me! I d rather not put my address on the intarwebs, so please feel free to email me on martin AT sourceguru DOT net if you have something to send me, and I will happily send you out a Stamped Addressed Envelope. The stickers will be put to good use decorating my laptop Edit:- I ve just realised that sending a SASE to another country really doesn t work particularly well, different countries use different stamps after all!!!!
I m trying to think up a solution, but please let it be known that I am in the U.K., so if you re outside and want to send me stickers, you may have to help me come up with a solution for getting round the whole stamp thing!

If this product should fail in your lifetime, we will replace it at no charge. If the proeducts is damaged by aggressive music listeners sliding a rail, sliding down the emergency ramp of your aircraft, slammed in your locker, slammed in your car door, run over by a car, running into a wall, getting run out of town, mountain biking, road biking, sky diving, beating your boyfriend unmercifully, getting beat down by the man, blown up in an accidental experimentation with flammable substances or damaged in any other every day experience, it means you are living your life the way we want our product used! In these, or any other damaging events, we will replace the product for a 50% discount from retail.

Skullcandy rock! I m loving my new headphones

Today I branched the (LaTeX) source of my Debian book in preparation of the second edition, targetted for the forthcoming Debian 6.0 squeeze . I am very excited to come back to this project after deprioritising it in favour of my research for too long. Thanks to my publishers Open Source Press and No Starch Press for their patience. If you want to be the first to receive announcements about the book, such as release dates, previews, or other information, please sign up to the announcement mailing list. The second edition has two goals:

• Bring all existing content up-to-date with what has changed in Debian in the last four years.
• Add additional material, such as (but not limited to): SecureApt, backporting, using version control for packaging, IPv6, dm-crypt, Unicode, and virtualisation. If you have any suggestions or wishes for topics I should write about, let me know at feedback t debiansystem d t info.

I want to re-establish the book as the standard Debian reference, but also to give my existing readers a good reason to buy the book again. While we re on the topic of buying: yes, the book is pay-ware, and yes, in some ways that goes against the spirit of open-source, and Debian in particular. However, this is a choice I made. If this book didn t have a commercial basis, then I could not put as much time into it, and I would not be able to profit from the outstanding help from the folks at Open Source Press and No Starch Press it is thanks to their advice and experience that the book turned out to be as it is. The book will be available as PDF from the start, so if you care as much about the environment as I do, you ll prefer to get that over the Dead Tree Version. And if you re as haptic as I am, then you still have the option to buy the book so you can hold something real in your hands. I am looking forward to working on this project, to working intensely with the Debian community throughout, and to your input.

Today, Fabio and I extended the deadline of the call for papers of the upcoming Distro Summit until 18 October 2009. We have already received a number of great proposals, but not enough to complete the schedule. So if you have anything to say on the topic of distributions (such as, but not limited to the various Linux distributions), and especially on cross-distro collaboration, please launch your mailer and compose a message as detailed in the instructions. Distro Summit will take place as part of LCA 2010 in Wellington, New Zealand. Yes, that is on the Southern Hemisphere, and yes, that is far away from where many of you live, but it s well worth a visit, if you ll take my word for it. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship for speakers, so talk to your employer or your distro now and get the ball rolling. You have a little more than a week to get your bids in! What are you waiting for? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance: Distro Summit, LCA, and Wellington, all-in-one. It doesn t get much better than that. Let s hear your proposal! PS: I loved Wellington (and its people) so much that I picked up my very own pet Wellingtonian!

I m an avid reader, and normally curl up in bed at the end of a long day with a book. However, since I ve been in my current flat, I ve had a bit of a problem, as I don t like to leave a light on while I m sleeping. So, seeing as my bed is at the opposite end of the room than my light switch, and I also tend to sleep on the side furthest from the light switch, my night-time habit would be something like this:-

• Turn on light
• Walk to other side of room.
• Walk round bed
• Turn on bedside lamp
• Walk back around bed
• Walk back to light switch
• Turn off light
• Walk back to bed, and around it
• Get into bed
• Read
• Turn off bedside lamp
• Sleep

Not exactly good when you ve had a hard days work, and just want to curl up and read a book until you fall asleep. On Wednesday however, I stumbled across a range of products on the net, and ordered a remote control light switch, and also a remote to go with it. My bedtime arrangements are now:-

• Turn on light
• Walk to bed
• Get into bed
• Read
• Turn off light with remote control
• Sleep

A lot more easier! Have been playing with the remote from my office, and I think that if I were to order more switches, I d be able to turn on/off all the lights in my flat from my desk. Another neat feature about these lights? They can be programmed to use any button on any remote control! Oh, and also, The Birmingham Jam is going pretty well!

If you have recently tried to subscribe to one of my mailing lists but could not confirm the subscription, please try again. I just found and fixed a silly bug in Mailman. The bug might have prevented people from subscribing to any of my lists, because the e-mail confirmation handling was broken. I am kind of surprised that this has not been spotted earlier, especially because it s such a simple and obvious fix. I suppose I must be among the only people using postfix-to-mailman.py as a gateway between postfix and Mailman. NP: Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti

Today, I reinstalled my laptop to use a fresh install of Karmic. My laptop s one of those annoying ones that have problems, however, it seems Karmic has fixed a fair chunk of those. My wireless now works (though still only with WPA networks for some reason), I no longer have to boot with nolapic_timer (urgh!) and those annoying little niggles have gone. Also, Karmic is looking pretty swish. It s new notification icons are stylish and minimal, and the xsplash looks good. Also, I ve noticed that shut down time is drastically reduced! (2 seconds vs my old 10-15 seconds).
Boot time isn t amazing, but it s pretty nippy. I m lovin it.

Normally I, like most people, ignore cold calls but someone asking about opinions on software caught my interest - doesn't happen often. Turned out to be a study using contact data gleaned from a now dead Linux magazine which, in turn, had been gleaned from the attendance information submitted to a now all-but dead conference: LinuxExpo (the data itself was hidden in the data stream behind those fancy barcodes on the admission badges).

Simple questions about which languages I used, which development environments I used (questioner hadn't heard of either anjuta or geany but then as she also asked me to spell Debian that was probably to be expected) as well as questions about magazines and other sources of technical information. (She had heard of LinuxFormat and El Reg so that wasn't too bad.) More complex questions about why I chose a particular tool which I couldn't really answer in just a few words seeing as Martin has done an entire thesis on the answers to that question!

Got a more interesting response when asked for my opinion on various vendors - 1 to 5 where 1 is rubbish and 5 is superb. Adobe: 1 - got an oooh, why's that? (umm, no source code and better free software alternatives). RedHat: 4 got a slightly surprised tone but Microsoft: 1 got a "Really? why?" - to which the only answer had to be "release all the source code".

Interesting that RedHat was mentioned, along with Google and Sun/Oracle but neither Ubuntu nor Debian.

Gradually found that the inspiration for the (expensive) methodology came from companies trying to get me to use proprietary demos which then turned into subscription-model tools. No go area for me, all my tools will need to remain free software or I'll just find something else. (Got another "why?" to that - with the inevitable "I need the source code to fix the tools" answer.) Also asked "what are your hobbies?" - to which I could only say "You've spent the last 5 minutes asking about my hobby, my paid work is not in IT".

Despite the call ending not 5 minutes ago, I've no memory of who was doing the survey. Still, she seemed impressed that I've been subscribed to LinuxFormat since about issue 3.