Will Google pick klik2 for GSoC 2008?
I've received 2 emails asking for more blogging and info about current klik2, especially since FOSDEM 2008.
Unfortunately, I don't have much time these weeks for 'FOSS-work', due to pressing 'work-work' duties. Since about October, I'm entangled deeply (too deep, if you ask me) in a major project that leads me to spend 5-6 days a week in Frankfurt (250 km away from home), with 12-14 hours a day on a customer site. Now compute: how much time does that leave me on evenings (in the Hotel) and weekends (at home), given that one-way travel time Stuttgart <=> Frankfurt is about 3 hours, and daily travel time inside Frankfurt is about 30 minutes?
This project takes much longer than initially thought. (Also, it involves only a very little bit of Linux, Solaris and Open Source, and much more MS Windows and proprietary software.) However, now there's the first light at the end of the tunnel. A few more weeks, and sometime mid-May my routines will be back to more normal.... *sigh*.
Anyways, while there are some more current klik2 development news, here's just one item for now: GSoC!
The klik team has submitted to become a mentoring organization for the Google Summer of Code 2008. If you are interested in some of the possible student projects, visit our GSoC idea's page.
We give a short description of each idea, as well as listing required skills and expected difficulty level to implement it, the programming language to use and some reference links to study:
- klik2 Updater
- klik2 Security Framework
- Enhancement/Replacement for fakechroot
- Packaging the klik2 client
- Porting klik2 to *BSD and Opensolaris
- Automate klik Recipe Testing
- Replacing Server-side APT with Server-side Smart
We do not yet know if Google will pick us. They'll announce the list of mentoring organizations early next week only.
We know some high-profile people and organizations are keeping an eye on klik's progress, and wishing us well. See for instance this statement we recently found:
>- Quote:
- "Beware proposals for new package formats. That way lies madness. (Except for breakthrough ones like klik. Once their suckage is reduced, that kind of thing will be very useful.)"
Where to find this? It was in a posting to the LSB-'packaging' list. Who said it? It was Dan Kegel, who works for Google (mainly on Wine-related stuff, AFAIU). Does this forebode a favorable outcome for our GSoC application? I don't know. Dan may not be involved with the GSoC decision at all, and not even care that much...
However, even if we aren't amongst the selected 'Google GSoC Few': this list of potential student projects should be of interest to anyone who wants to join us regardless of GSoC and help with klik2 development and testing.