Ubuntu Linux loves Python

[Martin Maney]

Apologies if this isn't news here - I've been too busy this last week
or so for even skimming the traffic here, in part because I've been
messing around with Ubuntu's preview release on a spare machine... and,
of course, spending time on their very busy mailing list.  :-)  I didn't
find any mention of Ubuntu in a quick scan of recent messages, so...

  Ubuntu is a Linux distribution that starts with the breadth of Debian
  and adds regular releases (every six months), a clear focus on the
  user and usability (it should "Just Work", TM) and a commitment to
  security updates with 18 months of support for every release.

The first release is scheduled for October 20th if I recall the
announcement correctly.  But I started out to write about the Python
aspect of this.  A while ago I had seen one of the project members make
a passing remark about how dedicated they were to having "insanely
great support for Python" in Ubuntu, but I only realized that this was
a literal statement of policy when I finally wandered over to their
"bounties" page (http://www.ubuntulinux.org/community/bounties):

  Here are some software projects for Ubuntu that are available as paid
  bounties. ... The 2004 budget for these bounties is USD 100,000. ...

  Ubuntu prefer the community to do the work in Python. Here are some
  Python-related projects that are up for bounties:

  Python scripting everywhere ...  Bounties will be offered on Python
  scripting interfaces for the following tools: OpenOffice, Blender,
  AbiWord, Gnumeric, The GIMP

  Mozilla work [each of these is a separate bounty item]: Thunderbird
  message filing quick access; Thunderbird message filing intelligence;
  Browser error pages Thunderbird SMTP message queueing

  Bugzilla bounty tracking

And they list a few bounties that have already been awarded (I'm not
sure if that means completed or just "contracted", but I suspect both
are represented).  With the emphasis on Python, as well as the overall
quality of the work I've seen in the work still in progress, I think
Ubuntu is of more than passing interest to anyone interested in Linux
or Python, and especially to those interested in both.

-- 
I didn't write a whole, free operating system, either.  I wrote some pieces
and invited other people to join me by writing other pieces.  So I set an
example.  I said, "I'm going in this direction.  Join me and we'll get
there." And enough people joined in that we got there.  -- R M Stallman