create GSOC 2017 Ideas List

[mfc]

To participate in the Google Summer of Code we need to create an Ideas List of potential projects for students. Below are some example of these webpages:

• KDE: https://community.kde.org/GSoC/2017/Ideas
• jquery: https://github.com/jquery/gsoc/wiki/GSoC-2016-Ideas-List

I have already created an application and am filling out:

• Organization Application
• Organizational Profile (idea list is part of this)

Would anyone else like to be "Organization Administrators" of our submission? Marek? Andrew? We need at least two, and I can be one.

Deadline is February 9 12:00 EST.

[andrewdavidwong]

I'd be happy to!

[jpouellet]

I have participated in GSoC in the past as a student and it was a very positive experience.

If you would like help putting together the typical list of project ideas I would be happy to contribute some from my own personal qubes to-do list, and (if you feel it is appropriate) would also be more than happy to mentor a student under the project as well!

[mfc]

@jpouellet yes all help appreciated, especially in drafting the write structure & intro for them (we'll want a dedicated page on the Qubes website about this probably?).

from the qubes-project mailing list discussion:

1. Btrfs support for Qubes 4.0:
   Consider official Btrfs support in R4.0 #2340

2. Research running Android in Qubes VM (probably HVM) and connecting it to
   Android Studio:
   Consider support for Android VMs #2233

3. GNOME support in dom0:
   Add support for GNOME in dom0/GUI domain #1806

4. Qubes MIME handlers (including remembering decision whether some file
   should be opened in DispVM or locally):
   Qubes MIME handlers #441

5. Template manager, new template distribution mechanism:
   qubes-template-manager (QTM) cli tool #2064
   Improve template distribution mechanism #2534

6. Revive Qubes Live USB, integrate it with installer:
   R3.2 live image #1552
   enable installation of Qubes from live USB/CD/DVD #1965

7. Unikernel based firewallvm with Qubes firewall settings support:
   (can't find a ticket for it)

8. IPv6 support (not sure if big enough):
   IPv6 routing between AppVMs #718
   (there is PoC already, but far from complete)

9. More extensions to Thunderbird:
   [Contribution] qubes-url-redirector #845

could be grouped with FF and Chrome/Chromium extensions?
would include:

• open link in vm
• open link in dispvm
• save destination to vm

10. LogVM(s):
    logvm(s) #830

11. Opening multiple files in the same DispVM:
    Allow to open more than one file in the same DispVM #814

12. GUI!!!

• GUI for enabling USB keyboard
  provide GUI mechanism (Qubes Manager, Settings, etc) for enabling USB keyboard #2329
• GUI for enabling USB passthrough
  provide GUI mechanism (Qubes Manager, Settings, etc) for USB passthrough  #2328
• GUI interface for /etc/qubes/guid.conf
  include GUI and audio configuration in Qubes Manager or other GUI interface #2304
• Improving inter-VM file copy / move UX master ticket
  Improving inter-VM file copy / move UX master ticket #1839

And comprehensive list of GUI issues:
#1117

13. get GPU passthrough working under Xen for Intel integrated GPUs
    GUI/Admin domain splitting #833 (other related tickets?)

[rootkovska]

I've updated #833 and explained that (most likely) we would be able to get GuiDomain without GPU passthrough first. We might create another ticket now to track the actual GPU passthrough, which should be largely independent on Qubes-specific things, only Xen-related. I will do later.

[rootkovska]

See #2618 for tracking of Xen GPU pass-through (largely independent of Qubes), and #2619 for tracking of additional Qubes GUI daemon modifications needed for true GuiDom (but not needed for the "soft" GuiDom as tracked by #833).

[mfc]

shall we put the GSOC ideas on the Join page or create a separate page? drafting separate page

I'll start drafting it in the proper template format and invite you all to fill it in more.

[mfc]

I'm not seeing anything related to Qubes Windows Tools (@omeg) or to Whonix/privacy (@adrelanos), which I think would definitely appreciate some additional capacity.

You can draft here until the GSoC page is on the website:
QubesOS/qubesos.github.io#70

[andrewdavidwong]

QubesOS/qubesos.github.io#70 has been merged, and the GSoC page is now live:

https://www.qubes-os.org/GSoC/

Thanks, @mfc!

Note: The page is not linked from anywhere right now.

[adrelanos]

## Whonix IPv6 and nftables support
**Project**: Whonix IPv6 and nftables support

**Brief explanation**: [T509](https://phabricator.whonix.org/T509)

**Expected results**:

**Knowledge prerequisite**:

**Mentor**: Patrick Schleizer

If that was too little, I could certainly keep a student busy with related tasks.

• submitting patches to upstream corridor - add IPv6 support / port to nftables - add IPv6 support / port to nftables or Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) rustybird/corridor#39 (so we can keep using corridor to audit Whonix for leaks)
• submitting patches to upstream Debian to fix some issues in netfilter-persistent - https://phabricator.whonix.org/T487#9444
• port to netfilter-persistent - https://phabricator.whonix.org/T487

[mfc]

great i've added it to the page, also added the standalone tor connection wizard (#1938).

[marmarek]

I'm trying to fill some information, and I'd remove some ideas from the list, as too small for GSoC:

• btrfs - it's like 2 weeks full time work (because some parts are already there)
• logvm - 2-3 weeks
• GUI daemon changes for GUI domain - 2-3 weeks, but it depends on either Static GPU pass-through on Xen for Intel GPU #2618 or GUI/Admin domain splitting #833 - I think it should be either merged to one of them, or dropped (I've done the later)
• Opening multiple files in the same DispVM - I'd merge this into GUI improvements

I need some help with description of "Android development in Qubes" - what is really required to do that (besides running Android in some VM)? Some communication with Android Studio (is it how it's called?) probably - what does it really mean? I hope Android do work without GPU access (so, software rendering), otherwise we may have a problem here...

[marmarek]

@jpouellet would you like to be a mentor for: GNOME support, LogVMs, GUI improvements and maybe TB/FF/Chrome extensions?

[jpouellet]

I could do LogVMs, GUI improvements, and Browser extensions, but do not feel qualified to be the Gnome guy.

I've proposed some more changes here:

• Grammar qubesos.github.io#73 (grammar nit)
• Add unikernel details qubesos.github.io#74 (adding details)
• Add more GSoC project ideas qubesos.github.io#75 (more project ideas)

[jpouellet]

Also, is "Opening multiple files in the same DispVM" actually a sufficient amount of work for a GSoC project?

That sounds more like a weekend of work rather than 3 months, although I have not investigated it to be sure. Seems to me like just packing more stuff into qfilecopy and iterating xdg-open on the other side... Even with validation of files passed back, it seems not that big a task to me.

[marmarek]

I filled details for most of the projects. TODOs:

• PRs from @jpouellet
• Android development description + mentor
• GNOME in dom0 mentor (if no better candidate, I can do that, but I'm far from GNOME expert...)
• Unikernel firewallvm mentor
• details for Whonix-related projects

[rootkovska]

FWIW, I'm not that much convinced we should be focusing on Gnome for Dom0, as this would mean more work for us to support both Xfce4 and Gnome. Especially in the context of the new Manager and GUI domain (which we might do w/o full GPU passthrough).

[mfc]

QubesOS/qubesos.github.io#86

• added some details for Whonix-related projects
• moved project ideas without mentors to the bottom
• added Marek as GNOME mentor for now

The idea is to replace XFCE with GNOME as the default desktop environment, so theoretically we would only be supporting GNOME, not both. If you think we should not try to move from XFCE to GNOME you can expand your argument on #1806.

[mfc]

edits for the GSOC page (and discussion around additions etc) can happen in PRs of the page or on the qubes-project mailing list thread, going to close this since we put up the GSOC page.

[jpouellet]

A note from the GSoC mentor summit on evaluating proposals: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XQpwXqgp9ajMsYyzQChKUvWO-6ZG7AJfTCsjZ3Ki7WE/edit

Just dumping it here so it's not lost in email archives.