O: planner -- project management application

This one had been a long time in the making, but here it goes: I'm orphaning Planner. Why? Because upstream hasn't been too active in ages, save from a few random bug fixes, and because the GCC 4.3 transition at Debian has exposed yet more bugs that make it FTBFS. The package had been marked as RFA for a while, but I decided that I'm not gonna wait any longer; O it is. Hopefully, an experienced GNOME maintainer will take over and revamp the upstream code into a usable shape. If not, then I guess we just found another dead package in the archive. So be it.

HOWTO build a clean LTSP boot image that includes the latest updates

Thanks to Oliver Grawert and Michael Haas for this idea!

1. Check your LTSP server's sources.list

   Ensure that the server has the relevant APT sources to fetch the latest updates:

   deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-security main universe restricted multiverse
   #deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-security main universe restricted multiverse
   
   deb http://fi.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main universe restricted multiverse
   #deb-src http://fi.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main universe restricted multiverse
   
   deb http://fi.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main universe restricted multiverse
   #deb-src http://fi.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main universe restricted multiverse
   
   deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/q-funk/ubuntu hardy main
   #deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/q-funk/ubuntu hardy main

   In this example, the Finnish Ubuntu mirror for the Hardy suite is used. Change this as necessary. Notice that all source package lines are purposely commented out.

2. Build a boot image using that sources.list

   Build the image using the following command:

   ltsp-build-client --copy-sourceslist --accept-unsigned-packages

   This builds the image using the repositories found in the server's sources.list. Accepting unsigned packages is necessary, because the PPA is not digitally signed.

The above method is a good way to check what would happen on a clean install, if any particular package were updated to a newer proposed release that is currently sitting on someone's PPA.

Enjoy!

HOWTO make Geode thin clients work on Ubuntu/Hardy LTSP

As summarized by Ace Suares, to validate my first rough upgrading instructions:

1. Upgrade the packages in the LTSP chroot

   First become root:

   sudo chroot /opt/ltsp/i386

   Then add the repository, update and upgrade:

   echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/q-funk/ubuntu hardy main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

   apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get clean

   APT will inform you that some packages cannot be authenticated. This is normal, since the PPA is not digitally signed. Simply answer Yes.

2. Purge the transitional AMD driver

   apt-get --purge remove xserver-xorg-video-amd

   Then, exit the chroot:

   exit

3. Update the LTSP boot image

   sudo ltsp-update-image

   On a 64-bit server, the correct command is:

   sudo ltsp-update-image --arch=i386

4. Profit?

Happy Midsummer, everyone!

xf86-video-geode: now with full OLPC support!

Freshly uploaded to Debian: xf86-video-geode 2.10.0. Asides from a slouch of bug fixes, this version finally includes complete support for features unique to the OLPX XO-1.

Enjoy!

Kuradne Geode draiveri!

Yes, another post about the Geode drivers. After much head banging, I finally figured out that the sloppy method used to generate the list of supported PCI ID for each driver in Debian and Ubuntu is what wreaked havoc with the GEODE driver:

1. Support for the GX2 chipset was backported into the old NSC driver, which created a PCI ID conflict with the official support that is present in the GEODE driver.
2. To make matters worse, that damn NSC driver also conflicts with the older CYRIX driver that supports earlier versions of the Geode chipset.

To fix both issues, I have produced new NSC and GEODE packages and uploaded them into my Ubuntu PPA for the Hardy series.

Tip: as soon as you have upgraded, purge the -amd transitional package; it only confuses the X server and disrupts operation if you leave it there, especially inside an LTSP chroot. If you were using a static xorg.conf, simply upgrade the Device line to use "geode" rather than "amd" and you're done.

After upgrading to these packages, normal operation should be restored for all Geode variants. As a bonus, X should now even be able to work without an xorg.conf (of course, with the wrong keyboard map, unless you live in USA) and in all known LTSP variants.

Enjoy!