At the beginning of the 13.04 cycle one of the plans I put in place for my team was the deployment of [Ubuntu Accomplishments](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments) as a production service for our community. This work involves the following components:
1. Deploying the validation server on Canonical hardware and managed by the IS team.
2. Deploying the web gallery to `trophies.ubuntu.com`.
3. Updating the client to support publishing to `trophies.ubuntu.com` (publishing is *not* switched on by default and has to be enabled).
4. Packaging and releasing the daemon and viewer in the *Ubuntu Software Center*.
5. Performing a round of QA and testing to ensure the quality of the release is high.
I just wanted to provide a quick update on this.
Canonical IS recently provisioned the machine that the validation server and web gallery will run on. Yesterday *Michael Hall* and I re-deployed the validation server on a CanoniStack instance to ensure the deployment instructions worked correctly. Mike then went onto deploy the web gallery and update the deployment instructions there. We expect IS to deploy this in the next few weeks and then I will shut down to current validation server that is running on my own [Bytemark](https://www.bytemark.co.uk/) server. Thanks again to Bytemark for providing the server for free to support the project!
You can see a live demo of the current web gallery by [clicking here](https://91.189.93.66/gallery/trophies/jonobacon/all/) (this shows my own set of accomplishments); also see [Michael Hall’s accomplishments](https://91.189.93.66/gallery/trophies/mhall119/all/) as another example. Clicking on an accomplishment shows more information about it and you can also [view all opportunities online too](https://91.189.93.66/gallery/opportunities/all/). There is still work to be done, but good progress is being made. 🙂
Share your community achievements with the world!
There has been active discussion around the packaging requirements for the software in the *Ubuntu Software Center*. Michael is coordinating these needs with Rafal so any required changes can be made. One challenge here is how DBUS works with the daemon. Thankfully, `didrocks` is supporting Rafal to achieve this work. One way or another, there will be Ubuntu Accomplishments available for Ubuntu 13.04 (not installed by default but installable from the *Ubuntu Software Center*. 🙂
In other news, [Matt Fischer](https://www.mattfischer.com) and [Chris Wayne](https://www.mattfischer.com) have built support in Ubuntu Accomplishments for the [Fitbit](https://www.fitbit.com/); the awesome little personal fitness device. This is not a commercial service or engagement; just adding support to see your Fitbit badges in your Ubuntu Accomplishments viewer. With this you can find out more information about how to achieve the different Fitbit badges right within Ubuntu Accomplishments. It looks like this:
Getting fit wasn’t fun…until now!
What is neat about this is that this support makes use of the [Online Accounts](https://developer.ubuntu.com/resources/technologies/online-accounts/) feature in Ubuntu, so you simply authenticate with your Fitbit account and then you are good to go. Read more about this [from Matt](https://www.mattfischer.com/blog/?p=357), [from Chris](https://chrismwayne.com/?p=155), and [from Rafal](https://rafalcieslak.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/fitbit-trophies-as-a-milestone-for-ubuntu-accomplishments/).
## Getting Involved
*Ubuntu Accomplishments* in Ubuntu 13.04 is going to be an awesome feature and achievement for the project. While it won’t ship by default in Ubuntu 13.04, it will only be a click away in the *Ubuntu Software Center*.
To make this first major release as good as it can be, we need help! Thankfully, there are lots of ways to help, such as:
* [Hacking](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/Hacking)
* [Documentation](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/Documentation)
* [Testing](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/Testing)
* [Translations](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/Translations)
* [Creating Accomplishments](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/Creating)
* [Support](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/Support)
You can also find out how to get the [development branch set up](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/DevelopmentSetup) and if you have any questions feel free to reach out in `#ubuntu-accomplishments` on Freenode or on our [mailing list](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accomplishments/GetInvolved/DevelopmentSetup.
Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments!