Update.1 Clarifications and Resulting Opportunities

[Michael Stone]

This email is intended to clarify a few facts about Update.1 for the
record so that I can rest more peacefully at night and so that we,
collectively, can move on to new business:

1. The Update.1 build is official-703, available from 

     http://download.laptop.org/xo-1/os/official/703/

   We still need to put up the official ext3 image, but unofficially,
   it's available from 

     http://pilgrim.laptop.org/~pilgrim/xo-1/streams/update.1/build703/devel_ext3/

   should you need it.

2. We concluded that 703 was going to be the official Update.1 on 
   March 31, 2008 but we knew that the Release Notes:

     http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Update.1_Software_Release_Notes

   weren't good enough so we decided to spend a few weeks improving
   them. 

   By April 22, we had understood from the support-gang that 703 was not
   going to be suitable for the general G1G1 audience without a one-step
   installation tool to take care of the details of the activity
   installation needs described in the release notes.

   Then, on May 1, Scott published candidate-703 as official-703
   because Peru and Mexico had begun installing it without regard to the
   incomplete release notes or the lack of a one-step installer.

   Today, I updated the Wiki to reflect these occurrences in the hopes
   that we may find a small degree of closure.

If you are interested in helping to build the G1G1-requested one-step
installation tool, please comment on #7093. We'd really like to find a
workable solution in the next several weeks - both our "8.1.1" bug-fix
release (in progress - please help test update.1-708!) and our "8.2.0"
"August" release would benefit.

Regards,

Michael


P.S. - If you're trying out 703 or 708 for the first time, _please_
read the Update.1 release notes:
     
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Update.1_Software_Release_Notes

Please!!! ;)

Alternately, if you're interested in improving the procedures that were
followed in order to produce Update.1 (and subsequent releases), please
comment on the contents of these pages:

  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_SW-ECO_4
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_SW-ECO_4_Checklist
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Unscheduled_software_release_process

Finally, if you want to help out with our next releases, check out 

  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_SW-ECO_5  and
  http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/7014

for an exciting sneak-peak at what's coming up next; then help test

  http://pilgrim.laptop.org/~pilgrim/xo-1/streams/update.1/latest/devel_jffs2/
    (developer key needed; see 
      http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activation_and_developer_keys)
    (Please write test results at 
      http://wiki.laptop.org/index.php?title=OLPC_SW-ECO_5&action=edit&section=3)
    (or file tickets; whichever you prefer!)

Thanks!