Qubes OS is a security-focused operating system that allows you to
organize your digital life into compartments called “qubes.” If one qube
is compromised, the others remain safe, so a single cyberattack can no
longer take down your entire digital life in one fell swoop. You can
think of using Qubes OS as having many different computers on your desk
for different activities but with the convenience of a single physical
machine, a single unified desktop environment, and a set of tools for
using qubes together securely as parts of a unified system.
Qubes OS was launched in 2011 and has `received praise from security experts and organizations <https://www.qubes-os.org/endorsements/>`__ like Edward Snowden, the
Freedom of the Press Foundation, Micah Lee, and Let’s Encrypt. Qubes has
:doc:`over 40,000 active users </introduction/statistics>`. From network-level to
software-level protections, as well as protections against firmware and
hardware attacks, Qubes OS is trying to protect the user from the most
significant attacks they encounter so that they can get their work done
safely.
The project's problem
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- Some of the existing content is stale. It refers to previous Qubes
releases and has not yet been updated to the cover the latest stable
release.
- There are important topic areas that the current guides do not
completely cover, such as “understanding Qubes OS,” “using Qubes OS
in practice,” “Qubes OS workflow for coding,” “printing,” and
“audio.”
- The guides do not consistently address users of all skill and
experience levels (beginner, intermediate, and expert).
- Some of the guides lack relevant illustrations and screenshots.
- When the developers update a software tool, they should update all
the guides that mentions this tool. However, there is currently no
way for the developers to know which guides mention which tools.
The project's scope
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The project is estimated to need around six months to complete (see the
timeline below). Qubes team members, including Michael Carbone, Andrew
Wong, Marta Marczykowska-Górecka, and Marek Marczykowski-Górecki, will
supervise and support the writer.
Measuring the project's success
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We will consider the project successful if:
- Existing guides are updated to describe currently supported Qubes OS
version
- Missing common guides are identified
- 2-3 new guides are written
Timeline
^^^^^^^^
..list-table::
:widths:15 15
:align:center
:header-rows:1
* - Dates
- Action items
* - May
- Orientation
* - June - November
- Update & extend how-to guides
* - December
- Final project evaluation and case study
Project budget
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
..list-table::
:widths:32 32
:align:center
:header-rows:1
* - Expense
- Amount
* - writer (10 hours/week, 6 months)
- $12,000
* - TOTAL
- $12,000
Additional information
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Qubes OS regularly participates in Google Summer of Code and Google
Season of Docs. This is our third time participating in Google Season of
Docs. Our mentorships for GSoD 2019, 2020, and 2023 were successes, and
the projects were completed within the times allotted. The past Google
Season of Docs projects have given us experience in working with
technical writers and have helped us to understand the benefits that
technical writers can bring to our project.
Past Projects
-------------
You can view the project we had in 2019 in the `2019 GSoD archive <https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs/docs/2019/participants/project-qubes>`__
and the `2019 writer’s report <https://refre.ch/report-qubesos/>`__.
You can view the project we had in 2020 in the `2020 GSoD archive <https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs/docs/2020/participants/project-qubesos-c1e0>`__
and the `2020 writer’s report <https://gist.github.com/PROTechThor/bfe9b8b28295d88c438b6f6c754ae733>`__.
You can view the results of the project we had in 2023
