September 2009 - Arch-announce - lists.archlinux.org

[arch-announce] Apologies for the RSS spam
by Aaron Griffin 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Still working out some kinks with the new server changes. I have disabled the rss2email job for now. Cheers, Aaron

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[arch-announce] Udev Minimum Kernel Version
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Aaron Griffin wrote: The release of udev 145-1 requires a minimum kernel version of 2.6.24.5 (due to the signalfd function) to work. It is highly recommended that you are running the latest kernel, but if that is not an option, it is suggested to put udev in a IgnorePkg line until your kernel can be upgraded. URL: http://archlinux.org/news/457/

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[arch-announce] Mirror Syncing Change
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Aaron Griffin wrote: With recent backend updates, the Arch Linux package repositories contain symlinks in order to remove some duplicate packaging work and reduce repo size for packages that are non-architecture specific. As such, mirror administrators now need to be aware that symlinks are coming down the pipe. --links (-l) should be used instead of --copy-links (-L) in order to ensure the symlinks remain in place. The [Local Mirror Wiki Page][1] has also been updated to reflect this. [1]: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Local_Mirror URL: http://archlinux.org/news/456/

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[arch-announce] /dev layout cleanup
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Allan McRae wrote: The /dev layout has been cleaned up to comply to the device names specified in the Linux kernel documentation. We had some legacy left from our devfs days, which has now been removed. With this update, it is important that initscripts (2009.07-3), filesystem (2009.07-1), udev (141-5) and syslog-ng (3.0.3-2) are all updated together. The most obvious change from a users perspective is the vc/*->tty* transition. The initscripts-2007.08 update requires adjusting the /etc/inittab file to refer to tty* instead of vc/*. Due to severe system breakages if this file is not updated, this change will be automatically handled by pacman. The original /etc/inittab file is saved as /etc/inittab.pacsave. To be clear: package /etc/inittab -> inittab.pacnew (if needed) system /etc/inittab -> inittab.pacsave system /etc/inittab --sed--> inittab Make sure to check these files after the update and do any merging that is required. Any users who have modified the /etc/securetty file should make sure to merge that file also. URL: http://archlinux.org/news/454/

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[arch-announce] KDE 4.3: packaged and split
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Pierre Schmitz wrote: The new major release of KDE does not only include exciting upstream improvements and new features but also introduces a new set of packages that makes it possible to only install those applications you like. All important changes in short: * split packages; for more Information see http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/KDE_Packages and http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/DeveloperWiki:Splitting_KDE * Qt uses the Gstreamer backend for Phonon by default. Other backends like phonon-xine can be installed optionally. * Meta packages ensure a smooth upgrade and emulate the old monolith packages for those who prefer them. Important hints for upgraders: * Check if your mirror is up to date. * pacman will ask you to replace all kde packages with kde-meta packages. * Don't force an update. 'If pacman complains about conflicts please file a bug report. * You can remove the meta packages and the sub packages you don't need after the update. * If you don't like split packages just keep using the kde-meta packages. Information about upstream changes will be available at http://kde.org/announcements/4.3/ URL: http://archlinux.org/news/455/

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[arch-announce] Arch Linux Magazine, August 2009
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Eduardo Romero wrote: And the Arch Linux Magazine is born: * The [PDF][1] version * The [HTML][2] version * [Discuss][3] this Magazine Enjoy! [1]: http://www.archlinux.org/static/newsletters/ALM-2009-Aug.pdf [2]: http://www.archlinux.org/static/newsletters/ALM-2009-Aug.html [3]: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=77538 URL: http://archlinux.org/news/458/

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[arch-announce] 2009.08 images
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Dieter Plaetinck wrote: Hello Arch community, If you think all the recent news was not enough, we have some more: The 2009.08 snapshot images are now available! Changes since the 2009.02 release: * built from a current snapshot of [core], which includes kernel 2.6.30.4-1, udev 141-5 and pacman 3.3.0-3. * usage of new AIF installer, which brings: - better disk editor with support for dm_crypt and lvm setups - support for automated installations using config files (deprecates quickinst) - a framework to build your own installation procedures - enhanced date/time setting with ntp support - refactored grub installation routines - usability improvements * aufs instead of unionfs * enhanced boot device detection on image start * bugfixes (xfs freeze, mirror setting, clock correctness, network settings, ...) * more useful automatic configuration settings for your target system based on your settings during the installation * ftp images are renamed to netinstall to avoid confusion * and much more... [ Detailed package list and additional snapshot information][1] [A detailed list of closed tickets][2] As you can see, just like with [2009.02][3] there have been some large changes in our installation tools. Also the actual building process and environment has been improved a lot since we started the [releng project][4]. So it should be more straightforward to build snapshots in the future. As usual, the images come in iso and img flavors, with grub and isolinux for people [whose cd-rom drive doesn't work with grub][5] Due to all mentioned changes, the [installation guide][6] has also been overhauled. The new guide is for now only available in English but we'll add other versions when we receive translated versions. [Download the new snapshots][7] [1]: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/DeveloperWiki:2009.08 [2]: http://bugs.archlinux.org/index.php?string=&project=6&due[]=59&due[]=67&due… [3]: http://www.archlinux.org/news/434/ [4]: http://www.archlinux.org/news/430/ [5]: http://bugs.archlinux.org/task/11408 [6]: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Official_Arch_Linux_Install_Guide [7]: http://www.archlinux.org/download/ URL: http://archlinux.org/news/459/

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[arch-announce] Package Deletion Issues
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Aaron Griffin wrote: Hello all, Due to an error in our backend scripts along with the new version of pacman, a large number of packages were removed on our central server, causing all mirrors to delete these packages when syncing. This happened on Sunday August 16th. When we finally caught it (6 hours later), we restored the packages, but a lot of mirrors had already synced. Currently, due to bandwidth limitations, all mirrors will take some time to sync back up. This affects all repos except community, though it appears core and testing are mostly re-synced on a majority of mirrors. Only extra remains an issue. We apologize for the inconvenience. Steps have been taken to ensure this doesn't happen again. URL: http://archlinux.org/news/461/

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[arch-announce] Follow the frog - Arch Linux at FrOSCon 2009
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Thomas Bächler wrote: Arch Linux will again be present with a developer room and a booth at [FrOSCon 2009][1] on August 22nd and 23rd in St. Augustin, Germany. We hope to see many old and new Arch Linux community members there to discuss, have fun and of course drink beer. We'll have a booth and a project room where you can meet the following Archers: * Roman Kyrylych (Romashka) * Dieter Plaetinck (Dieter@be) * Thomas Bächler (brain0) * Pierre Schmitz (pierres) * Daniel Isenmann (ise) * Andreas Radke (andyrtr) * Jens Adam (jra/byte) * Gerhard Brauer (gerbra) [1]: http://www.froscon.de URL: http://archlinux.org/news/460/

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[arch-announce] Server Maintenance This Weekend
by Recent News Updates 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

Dan McGee wrote: Archlinux.org will be down this weekend due to complex server maintenance. Mirrors, including ftp.archlinux.org will remain in operation, as will the AUR. Forums, mailing lists and wiki will be down as well as the main Arch Linux site. The maintenance is due to an intrusion where an attacker was able to inject code into our flyspray installation and gain root access by exploiting the recent kernel bug. The developers have verified that neither the repositories nor the DB were affected. Though there is no proof of any changes to the machine, it will be reinstalled to make sure the machine is safe. During this reinstall, extra security measures will be taken to isolate the repositories and development process from the websites. We're sorry for any inconvenience. URL: http://archlinux.org/news/462/

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