[tahoe-dev] TWN18

Wed Nov 30 00:54:39 UTC 2011

Welcome to the Tahoe-LAFS Weekly News (TWN).  Tahoe-LAFS_ is a secure,
distributed storage system. `View TWN on the web`_ *or* `subscribe to TWN`_.
If you would like to view the "new and improved" TWN, complete with pictures;
please take a `look`_.

.. _Tahoe-LAFS: http://tahoe-lafs.org
.. _View TWN on the web: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/wiki/TahoeLAFSWeeklyNews
.. _subscribe to TWN: http://tahoe-lafs.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tahoe-lafs-weekly-news
.. _look: http://tahoe-lafs.org/~marlowe/TWN18.html

Announcements and News
======================

Newest Contributor
- ------------------

`Marcus Wanner`_ |marcus| is the newest contributor to Tahoe-LAFS.  He is
contributing the `move button`_ to the web interface.  You will see the move
button next to the rename button in the directory view of the web interface.
Marcus' contribution needs review at ticket number 1579_.  Marcus runs a node
for the `Virginia Tech Linux and Unix Users Group`_ (VTLUUG) |VTLUUG|
`Tahoe-LAFS grid`_.  Welcome to the team, Marcus.

.. _`Marcus Wanner`: http://t.co/IiQt88vh
.. _`move button`:
   https://github.com/marcuswanner/tahoe-lafs/commits/movebutton
.. _1579: https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/ticket/1579
.. _`Virginia Tech Linux and Unix Users Group`:
   https://vtluug.org/wiki/Main_page
.. _`Tahoe-LAFS grid`: https://vtluug.org/wiki/Tahoe-LAFS
.. |marcus| image:: marcus.png
   :height: 35
   :alt: Marcus Warner
   :target: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/wiki/AboutUs
.. |VTLUUG| image:: VTLUUG.png
   :height: 35
   :alt: VTLUUG
   :target: https://vtluug.org/wiki/Main_page

1.8.3 Being Backported
- ----------------------

Ubuntu_ |ubuntu| has a ticket `to backport 1.8.3`_ for Lucid, Maverick and
Natty.  The backport will make available to users of Lucid, Maverick and
Natty, within the library of Ubuntu-provided packages, the features that were
added between their current version and 1.8.3.

.. _Ubuntu:  http://www.ubuntu.com
.. _`to backport 1.8.3`:
   https://bugs.launchpad.net/lucid-backports/+bug/834361
.. _`Tahoe-LAFS Weekly News 14`: https://tahoe-lafs.org/~marlowe/TWN14.html
.. |ubuntu| image:: ubuntu.png
   :height: 35
   :alt: Ubuntu
   :target: http://www.ubuntu.com

- From the tahoe-dev Mailing List
===============================

Tahoe-LAFS Inspired Students' Thesis
- ------------------------------------

Three students from Norwegian University of Science and Technology thanked
Tahoe-LAFS in their thesis.

  "We would like to thank all contributors of code and documentation to
  the open source software Tahoe-LAFS, which has given us great
  inspiration and building blocks for our thesis.” [1_]

It appears the students implemented a subset of Tahoe-LAFS,
including mutable directories and separate read- and write- caps in
Java and tested it on Android.  They implement the server side portion in
Python.

.. _1:
   https://github.com/zerqent/cloud-storage-vault/blob/master/report/main.pdf?raw=true

LAE Sponsors pycryptopp Hacking
- -------------------------------

Taking advantage of `Least Authority Enterprises`_ (LAE) |LAE| allowing
employees to work on open source projects on Fridays, Zooko |zooko| announced
a pycryptopp hackaday on Nov. 25.  Below is a list of items on the hackaday
todo list:

1. Review and merge Brian's patch to add Ed25519 signatures:
   `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/75`_
2. Review and merge Yu Xue's patches to add:

   a) XSalsa20: `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/40`_
   b) Python HMAC: `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/41`_
   c) Python HKDF: `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/42`_
   d) combined AES⊕XSalsa20:
      `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/46`_,
      `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/47`_
   e) Comb4P: `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/50`_
   f) curve25519: `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/71`_

3. See if Billy Earney or someone else will volunteer to port pycryptopp to
   "both Python 2 and Python 3 compatibility":
   `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/35`_

4. Look at the buildbot issues, solicit new volunteers to run buildslaves on
   more platforms: `https://tahoe-lafs.org/buildbot-pycryptopp/`_

5. Look into alleged miscompilation by Microsoft compiler, try to devise
   defensive strategy, push someone else (the Crypto++ project) to devise
   defensive strategy, or just close this ticket as "wontfix":
   `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/65`_

6. Fix a few small bugs, e.g.:
   `https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/70`_

7. See if we can replace Twisted conch's use of pycrypto with pycryptopp:
   `http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/ticket/4633`_

.. _`Least Authority Enterprises`: http://leastauthority.com/
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/75`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/75
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/40`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/40
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/41`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/41
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/42`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/42
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/46`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/46
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/47`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/47
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/50`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/50
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/71`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/71
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/35`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/35
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/buildbot-pycryptopp/`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/buildbot-pycryptopp/
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/65`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/65
.. _`https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/70`:
   https://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/pycryptopp/ticket/70
.. _`http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/ticket/4633`:
   http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/ticket/4633
.. |LAE| image:: LAE.png
   :height: 35
   :alt: Least Authority Enterprises
   :target: http://leastauthority.com

Open Source Project of the Week
===============================

The Open Source Project of the Week is backshift_.  backshift is a backup
tool with "convergent variable-length block deduplication", as well as
compression and incremental updates.  The tool written in Python and uses a
GPLv3 license.  Zooko `posted to the backshift group list`_ with the
suggestion of combination of the frontend behavior of backshift with the
backend storage of Tahoe-LAFS.

.. _backshift: http://stromberg.dnsalias.org/~dstromberg/backshift/
.. _`posted to the backshift group list`:
   https://groups.google.com/group/backshift/browse_thread/thread/61edde8678426acb

Patch Needing Review of the Week
================================

There are four (4) tickets still needing review for 1.10:

* `#393`_: mutable: implement MDMF
* `#1265`_: New Visualizer is insufficiently labelled/documented (plus layout
  problem)
* `#1398`_: make docs/performance.rst more precise and accurate
* `#1566`_: if a stored share has a corrupt header, other shares held by that
  server for the file should still be accessible to clients

.. _`#393`: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/ticket/393
.. _`#1265`: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/ticket/1265
.. _`#1398`: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/ticket/1398
.. _`#1566`: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/ticket/1566

- ----

*The Tahoe-LAFS Weekly News is published once a week by The Tahoe-LAFS*
*Software Foundation, President and Treasurer: Peter Secor* |peter|
*. Scribes: Patrick "marlowe" McDonald* |marlowe| *, Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn*
*, Editor: Zooko.* `View TWN on the web`_ *or* `subscribe to TWN`_
*. Send your news stories to* `marlowe at antagonism.org`_ *— submission
deadline: Friday night.*

.. _marlowe at antagonism.org: mailto:marlowe at antagonism.org
.. |zooko| image:: zooko.png
   :height: 35
   :alt: zooko
   :target: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/wiki/AboutUs
.. |brian| image:: warner.png
   :height: 35
   :alt: brian
   :target: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/wiki/AboutUs
.. |peter| image:: psecor.jpg
   :height: 35
   :alt: peter
   :target: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/wiki/AboutUs
.. |marlowe| image:: marlowe-x75-bw.jpg
   :height: 35
   :alt: marlowe
   :target: http://tahoe-lafs.org/trac/tahoe-lafs/wiki/AboutUs

- --
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
| Patrick R. McDonald                       GPG Key: A2D1E972  |
| https://www.antagonism.org/         <marlowe at antagonism.org> |
|                               <mcdonald.patrick.r at gmail.com> |
|                         <patrick at opensecurityfoundation.org> |
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
| Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium           |
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