dc8 - 1.1

DebConf8
Super Cow Powers Included

Speakers
Mark Shuttleworth
Schedule
Day DebConf day 3 (2008-08-12)
Room Salon del mar
Start time 10:00
Duration 01:00
Info
ID 301
Event type keynote
Track DebConf
Language en

Debian and Ubuntu

Perspectives on Collaboration

Perspectives on collaboration - an analysis of current patterns of collaboration between Debian and one of its largest derivatives, Ubuntu, as well as proposals for additional pathways and processes for better collaboration in general between Debian and its derivatives.

This keynote reports on the current state of collaboration between Debian and Ubuntu, reports back on progress made since previous DebConf's, and looks forward to new opportunities for collaboration and development.

Debian's derivatives are a powerful part of the Debian family. They bring Debian technology and, usually, Debian values to a broader audience than Debian itself will reach. At the moment, Ubuntu is the derivative with the largest reach, bringing millions of new users to GNU/Linux and Debian specifically. Ubuntu has shifted the commercial Linux landscape from one focused on RPM-based distributions to one where DEB-based distributions have much greater commercial and consumer acceptance. In this keynote, the leader of the Ubuntu project will discuss the state of current collaboration between Debian and Ubuntu developers, articulate the roadmap of Ubuntu in the coming years, and explore ways in which Ubuntu's work can improve the state of Debian.

The talk will cover:

  • Current areas of collaboration

    • Toolchain, Java, Python, Debian Installer,
    • OpenOffice, X.org
    • GNOME and KDE
    • Security
    • Roadmaps and transitions
  • Challenges and obstacles to collaboration

    • Cultural and organisational differences
    • Divergent goals and priorities
    • Release management and coordination
  • Frameworks for collaboration

    • Patch management and submission processes
    • Package review, merging and delta management
    • Version control interchange
    • Leadership meetings and dialogue
    • Bug coordination and collaboration
    • Translation coordination and management

Ubuntu is only one of many derivatives - and others are achieving tremendous success in their own ways, too. The eeePC ships a derivative of Debian, and Debian is at the heart of many excellent free software solutions. The goal of this talk will be to celebrate some of those achievements and also to look for ways to make the "family" feel more cohesive. In short, to ensure that innovation which happens in derivatives has a natural pathway back to Debian. If the leaders of other derivatives are present at DebConf, this would also be an opportunity to seek comment from them, perhaps in the form of a panel for Q&A at the end of the keynote.

Recordings