Fix many package descriptions

(My OCD kicked in today...) Remove repeated package names, capitalize first word, remove trailing periods and move overlong descriptions to longDescription. I also simplified some descriptions as well, when they were particularly long or technical, often based on Arch Linux' package descriptions. I've tried to stay away from generated expressions (and I think I succeeded). Some specifics worth mentioning: * cron, has "Vixie Cron" in its description. The "Vixie" part is not mentioned anywhere else. I kept it in a parenthesis at the end of the description. * ctags description started with "Exuberant Ctags ...", and the "exuberant" part is not mentioned elsewhere. Kept it in a parenthesis at the end of description. * nix has the description "The Nix Deployment System". Since that doesn't really say much what it is/does (especially after removing the package name!), I changed that to "Powerful package manager that makes package management reliable and reproducible" (borrowed from nixos.org). * Tons of "GNU Foo, Foo is a [the important bits]" descriptions is changed to just [the important bits]. If the package name doesn't contain GNU I don't think it's needed to say it in the description either.
author: Bjørn Forsman <bjorn.forsman@gmail.com> 2014-08-24 16:21:08 +0200
committer: Bjørn Forsman <bjorn.forsman@gmail.com> 2014-08-24 22:31:37 +0200
commit: c9baba9212feb6e39151118647d45b34b029a6df (patch)
tree: 48dc0df228a071cc5639fe51bfce55d621a3a8f1
parent: 2a6c7e2874a3ada9b1c544db61402e03091556db (diff)
275 files changed, 301 insertions, 286 deletions
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/beast/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/beast/default.nix
index 61b11c05de770..340a83e7963ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/beast/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/beast/default.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     ];
 
   meta = { 
-    description = "BEAST - the Bedevilled Sound Engine";
+    description = "A music composition and modular synthesis application";
     homepage = http://beast.gtk.org;
     license = ["GPL-2" "LGPL-2.1"];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/cmus/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/cmus/default.nix
index 2ea37e2bd2379..4f9c491a3a59b 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/cmus/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/cmus/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ ncurses pkgconfig alsaLib flac libmad ffmpeg libvorbis mpc mp4v2 ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "cmus is a small, fast and powerful console music player for Linux and *BSD";
+    description = "Small, fast and powerful console music player for Linux and *BSD";
     homepage = http://cmus.sourceforge.net;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/moc/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/moc/default.nix
index e5264f5c3d2f9..5c6a1d6ac54e3 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/moc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/moc/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "MOC (music on console) is a console audio player for LINUX/UNIX designed to be powerful and easy to use.";
+    description = "An ncurses console audio player designed to be powerful and easy to use";
     homepage = http://moc.daper.net/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/mp3info/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/mp3info/default.nix
index 0f33726eaeed2..ede31ac9beb69 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/mp3info/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/mp3info/default.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "MP3Info, an MP3 technical info viewer and ID3 1.x tag editor";
+    description = "MP3 technical info viewer and ID3 1.x tag editor";
 
     longDescription =
       '' MP3Info is a little utility used to read and modify the ID3 tags of
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/mpc123/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/mpc123/default.nix
index cd4343b1beb4a..ac945bee7f743 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/mpc123/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/mpc123/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://mpc123.sourceforge.net/;
 
-    description = "mpc123, a Musepack (.mpc) audio player";
+    description = "A Musepack (.mpc) audio player";
 
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/mpg321/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/mpg321/default.nix
index e58397350cb1e..939c9f79e4d49 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/mpg321/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/mpg321/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [libao libid3tag libmad zlib];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "mpg321, a command-line MP3 player";
+    description = "Command-line MP3 player";
     homepage = http://mpg321.sourceforge.net/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [ ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/pamixer/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/pamixer/default.nix
index acdda1799d03c..d273c2381778c 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/pamixer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/pamixer/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "pamixer is like amixer but for pulseaudio.";
+    description = "Like amixer but for pulseaudio";
     longDescription = "Features:
       - Get the current volume of the default sink, the default source or a selected one by his id
       - Set the volume for the default sink, the default source or any other device
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/spotify/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/spotify/default.nix
index 59b82d155da9f..47919a7d7f885 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/spotify/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/spotify/default.nix
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = https://www.spotify.com/;
-    description = "Spotify for Linux allows you to play music from the Spotify music service";
+    description = "Play music from the Spotify music service";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.unfree;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.eelco ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/ed/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/ed/default.nix
index d3e9a4c467943..0c764fcf8f86d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/ed/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/ed/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU ed, an implementation of the standard Unix editor";
+    description = "An implementation of the standard Unix editor";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU ed is a line-oriented text editor.  It is used to create,
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/mg/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/mg/default.nix
index 058a54c45a717..6901aed774ba4 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/mg/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/mg/default.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://homepage.boetes.org/software/mg/;
-    description = "mg is Micro GNU/emacs, this is a portable version of the mg maintained by the OpenBSD team";
+    description = "Micro GNU/emacs, a portable version of the mg maintained by the OpenBSD team";
     license = "public domain";
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/texmacs/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/texmacs/default.nix
index ce863312251c9..a258b6341057c 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/texmacs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/texmacs/default.nix
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
         "${xmodmap}/bin:${which}/bin";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU TeXmacs, a free WYSIWYW editing platform with special features for scientists";
+    description = "WYSIWYW editing platform with special features for scientists";
     longDescription =
       '' GNU TeXmacs is a free wysiwyw (what you see is what you want)
          editing platform with special features for scientists.  The software
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/geeqie/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/geeqie/default.nix
index b170b784aaa48..de906e3d8443e 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/geeqie/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/geeqie/default.nix
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Geeqie, a lightweight GTK+ based image viewer";
+    description = "Lightweight GTK+ based image viewer";
 
     longDescription =
       ''
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/grafx2/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/grafx2/default.nix
index 6b7c9a27694a1..ee9df683c0a2d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/grafx2/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/grafx2/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   installPhase = ''make install prefix="$out"'';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GrafX2 is a bitmap paint program inspired by the Amiga programs Deluxe Paint and Brilliance.";
+    description = "Bitmap paint program inspired by the Amiga programs Deluxe Paint and Brilliance";
     homepage = http://code.google.co/p/grafx2/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = [ "x86_64-linux" "i686-linux" ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/jbrout/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/jbrout/default.nix
index 2207e8884f0cc..496078ffdb2e3 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/jbrout/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/jbrout/default.nix
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ buildPythonPackage {
   buildInputs = [ python pyGtkGlade makeWrapper pyexiv2 lxml pil fbida which ];
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://code.google.com/p/jbrout";
-    description = "jBrout is a photo manager";
+    description = "Photo manager";
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/ocrad/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/ocrad/default.nix
index 4c20a41061ae8..201b59ad5e128 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/ocrad/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/ocrad/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Ocrad, optical character recognition (OCR) program & library";
+    description = "Optical character recognition (OCR) program & library";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Ocrad is an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) program based on
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/qiv/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/qiv/default.nix
index 86891f2cb9372..01b0a1414a742 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/qiv/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/qiv/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "qiv (quick image viewer)";
+    description = "Quick image viewer";
     homepage = http://spiegl.de/qiv/;
     inherit version;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/ufraw/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/ufraw/default.nix
index 783832abd0036..dbfda4e58195e 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/ufraw/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/ufraw/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://ufraw.sourceforge.net/;
 
-    description = "UFRaw, a utility to read and manipulate raw images from digital cameras";
+    description = "Utility to read and manipulate raw images from digital cameras";
 
     longDescription =
       '' The Unidentified Flying Raw (UFRaw) is a utility to read and
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/viewnior/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/viewnior/default.nix
index dd8e01298ff49..478553d2c00ac 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/viewnior/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/viewnior/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Viewnior is a fast and simple image viewer for GNU/Linux";
+    description = "Fast and simple image viewer";
     longDescription =
       '' Viewnior is insipred by big projects like Eye of Gnome, because of it's
          usability and richness,and by GPicView, because of it's lightweight design and
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/xaos/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/xaos/default.nix
index 8387b3486d4d7..cacefc9bcc127 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/xaos/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/xaos/default.nix
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ rec {
   name = "xaos-" + version;
   meta = {
     homepage = http://xaos.sourceforge.net/;
-    description = "XaoS - fractal viewer";
+    description = "Fractal viewer";
     license = a.stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/bitcoin/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/bitcoin/default.nix
index e38d427be8d5e..d7c1fbc487b72 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/bitcoin/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/bitcoin/default.nix
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-      description = "Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency";
+      description = "Peer-to-peer electronic cash system";
       longDescription= ''
         Bitcoin is a free open source peer-to-peer electronic cash system that is
         completely decentralized, without the need for a central server or trusted
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/camlistore/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/camlistore/default.nix
index 56131425ab4b2..9adac335c0c7f 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/camlistore/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/camlistore/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "Camlistore is a way of storing, syncing, sharing, modelling and backing up content";
+    description = "A way of storing, syncing, sharing, modelling and backing up content";
     homepage = https://camlistore.org;
     license = licenses.asl20;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ cstrahan ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/gpsbabel/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/gpsbabel/default.nix
index bf44f91056d75..5d4c2634952de 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/gpsbabel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/gpsbabel/default.nix
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GPSBabel, a tool to convert, upload and download data from GPS and Map programs";
+    description = "Convert, upload and download data from GPS and Map programs";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GPSBabel converts waypoints, tracks, and routes between popular
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/gv/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/gv/default.nix
index 4867bef1f719b..3fad634b18b7b 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/gv/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/gv/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/gv/;
-    description = "GNU gv, a PostScript/PDF document viewer";
+    description = "PostScript/PDF document viewer";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU gv allows users to view and navigate through PostScript and
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/posterazor/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/posterazor/default.nix
index 0cad2fbd2cd33..38fac21322cc8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/posterazor/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/posterazor/default.nix
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/";
-    description = "The PosteRazor cuts a raster image into pieces which can afterwards be printed out and assembled to a poster";
+    description = "Cuts a raster image into pieces which can afterwards be printed out and assembled to a poster";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.madjar ];
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/stardict/stardict.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/stardict/stardict.nix
index 1ca8ec045d612..d4c41edde30ed 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/stardict/stardict.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/stardict/stardict.nix
@@ -37,8 +37,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "stardict";
-    homepage = "A international dictionary supporting fuzzy and glob style matching";
+    description = "An international dictionary supporting fuzzy and glob style matching";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl3;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [qknight];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/tangogps/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/tangogps/default.nix
index aa1df2c9d1a6c..0a2c1c88c2394 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/tangogps/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/tangogps/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "tangoGPS, a user friendly map and GPS user interface";
+    description = "User friendly map and GPS user interface";
 
     longDescription = ''
       tangoGPS is an easy to use, fast and lightweight mapping
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/viking/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/viking/default.nix
index 6508b12e1de8f..9afabe0372d12 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/viking/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/viking/default.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Viking, a GPS data editor and analyzer";
+    description = "GPS data editor and analyzer";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Viking is a free/open source program to manage GPS data.  You
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/wordnet/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/wordnet/default.nix
index 7594014d769e7..6ead69db22094 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/wordnet/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/wordnet/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "WordNet, a lexical database for the English language";
+    description = "Lexical database for the English language";
 
     longDescription =
       '' WordNet® is a large lexical database of English.  Nouns, verbs,
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/xfe/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/xfe/default.nix
index d09a899b897f4..e216b19fab5a1 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/xfe/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/xfe/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "X File Explorer (Xfe) is an MS-Explorer like file manager for X";
+    description = "MS-Explorer like file manager for X";
     longDescription = ''
       X File Explorer (Xfe) is an MS-Explorer like file manager for X.
       It is based on the popular, but discontinued, X Win Commander, which was developed by Maxim Baranov.
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/default.nix
index ad2ea75bd704f..e23a6d94ec1a7 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/default.nix
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Mozilla Firefox - the browser, reloaded";
+    description = "Web browser";
     homepage = http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ eelco wizeman ];
     platforms = lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/opera/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/opera/default.nix
index 80b09bcd8a8ec..201a6b947c1ac 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/opera/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/opera/default.nix
@@ -81,6 +81,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.opera.com;
-    description = "The Opera web browser";
+    description = "Web browser";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/snort/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/snort/default.nix
index 858e99c245bad..580591c18ade0 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/snort/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/snort/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ libpcap pcre libdnet daq zlib flex bison ];
   
   meta = {
-    description = "Snort is an open source network intrusion prevention and detection system (IDS/IPS)";
+    description = "Network intrusion prevention and detection system (IDS/IPS)";
     homepage = http://www.snort.org;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/bitlbee/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/bitlbee/default.nix
index ec614bf4b8c1e..cf10c1e6fe208 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/bitlbee/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/bitlbee/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "BitlBee, an IRC to other chat networks gateway";
+    description = "IRC instant messaging gateway";
 
     longDescription = ''
       BitlBee brings IM (instant messaging) to IRC clients.  It's a
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/carrier/2.5.0.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/carrier/2.5.0.nix
index 9cf2558ef3200..909d6404193cf 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/carrier/2.5.0.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/carrier/2.5.0.nix
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ rec {
       
   name = "carrier-2.5.0";
   meta = {
-    description = "Carrier - PidginIM GUI fork with user-friendly development model";
+    description = "PidginIM GUI fork with user-friendly development model";
     homepage = http://funpidgin.sf.net; 
   };
 } // (if externalPurple2 then {
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/ekiga/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/ekiga/default.nix
index 07730a8c0ee14..e46956f3ccae8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/ekiga/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/ekiga/default.nix
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "Ekiga SIP client";
+    description = "VOIP/Videoconferencing app with full SIP and H.323 support";
     maintainers = [ maintainers.raskin ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/fuze/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/fuze/default.nix
index 9ccada87fe2f7..41ffb421f8e68 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/fuze/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/fuze/default.nix
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Fuze for Linux";
+    description = "Internet and mobile based unified communications solutions (Linux client)";
     homepage = http://www.fuzebox.com;
     license = "unknown";
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/hipchat/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/hipchat/default.nix
index 6da12905f5607..cf4c2e22ad6b8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/hipchat/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/hipchat/default.nix
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "HipChat Desktop Client";
+    description = "Desktop client for HipChat services";
     homepage = http://www.hipchat.com;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.unfree;
     platforms = [ "i686-linux" "x86_64-linux" ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/pidgin/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/pidgin/default.nix
index 6e6fd6d0eb6cd..814a191c457ae 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/pidgin/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/pidgin/default.nix
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   + (lib.optionalString (gnutls != null) " --enable-gnutls=yes --enable-nss=no")
   ;
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "Pidgin IM - XMPP(Jabber), AIM/ICQ, IRC, SIP etc client";
+    description = "Multi-protocol instant messaging client";
     homepage = http://pidgin.im;
     license = licenses.gpl2Plus;
     platforms = platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/jmeter/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/jmeter/default.nix
index 2d5e6b66bf058..77aeb64478f07 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/jmeter/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/jmeter/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Apache JMeter is a 100% pure Java desktop application designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance.";
+    description = "A 100% pure Java desktop application designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance";
     longDescription = ''
       The Apache JMeter desktop application is open source software, a 100%
       pure Java application designed to load test functional behavior and
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/mailreaders/notmuch/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/mailreaders/notmuch/default.nix
index 7a1eddfa86907..75ccb93ca9541 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/mailreaders/notmuch/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/mailreaders/notmuch/default.nix
@@ -70,8 +70,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   checkTarget = "test";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Notmuch -- The mail indexer";
-    longDescription = "";
+    description = "Mail indexer";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ chaoflow garbas ];
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.gnu;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/newsreaders/slrn/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/newsreaders/slrn/default.nix
index c933460af43b9..fe13c756bd7f4 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/newsreaders/slrn/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/newsreaders/slrn/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ slang ncurses ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The slrn (S-Lang read news) newsreader";
+    description = "Text-based newsreader";
     homepage = http://slrn.sourceforge.net/index.html;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/p2p/gnunet/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/p2p/gnunet/default.nix
index 6c28840f7e5f2..052c531125365 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/p2p/gnunet/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/p2p/gnunet/default.nix
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   */
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNUnet, GNU's decentralized anonymous and censorship-resistant P2P framework";
+    description = "GNU's decentralized anonymous and censorship-resistant P2P framework";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNUnet is a framework for secure peer-to-peer networking that
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/rdesktop/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/rdesktop/default.nix
index 9ba9e3aa3fc47..09c20618d6680 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/rdesktop/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/rdesktop/default.nix
@@ -19,6 +19,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "rdesktop is an open source client for Windows Terminal Services";
+    description = "Open source client for Windows Terminal Services";
   };
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/remmina/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/remmina/default.nix
index 8fb929d53e10d..8304f6dc091bf 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/remmina/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/remote/remmina/default.nix
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     homepage = "http://remmina.sourceforge.net/";
-    description = "Remmina is a remote desktop client written in GTK+";
+    description = "Remote desktop client written in GTK+";
     maintainers = [];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/syncthing/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/syncthing/default.nix
index 226b7f6d097bc..64bf287b44f08 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/syncthing/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/syncthing/default.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://syncthing.net/;
-    description = "Syncthing replaces Dropbox and BitTorrent Sync with something open, trustworthy and decentralized";
+    description = "Replaces Dropbox and BitTorrent Sync with something open, trustworthy and decentralized";
     license = with stdenv.lib.licenses; mit;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ matejc ];
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/office/gnucash/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/office/gnucash/default.nix
index 9c255f493d3f8..8d6de404f9867 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/office/gnucash/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/office/gnucash/default.nix
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GnuCash, a personal and small-business financial-accounting application";
+    description = "Personal and small-business financial-accounting application";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software,
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/office/libreoffice/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/office/libreoffice/default.nix
index 41cf1ebc33dfe..63d4db20af372 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/office/libreoffice/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/office/libreoffice/default.nix
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ];
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "LibreOffice is a comprehensive, professional-quality productivity suite, a variant of openoffice.org";
+    description = "Comprehensive, professional-quality productivity suite, a variant of openoffice.org";
     homepage = http://libreoffice.org/;
     license = licenses.lgpl3;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.viric maintainers.raskin ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/astronomy/gravit/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/astronomy/gravit/default.nix
index 696890f95f1e6..1be1328da271d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/astronomy/gravit/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/astronomy/gravit/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://gravit.slowchop.com";
-    description = "A beautiful OpenGL-based gravity simulator";
+    description = "Beautiful OpenGL-based gravity simulator";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/biology/emboss/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/biology/emboss/default.nix
index 96181c8ee6cbd..c9974660da364 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/biology/emboss/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/biology/emboss/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   # '';
 
   meta = {
-    description     = "EMBOSS is 'The European Molecular Biology Open Software Suite'";
+    description     = "The European Molecular Biology Open Software Suite";
     longDescription = ''EMBOSS is a free Open Source software analysis package
     specially developed for the needs of the molecular biology (e.g. EMBnet)
     user community, including libraries. The software automatically copes with
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/alt-ergo/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/alt-ergo/default.nix
index 2a95d0cd65bb0..62359baf2bc6c 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/alt-ergo/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/alt-ergo/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     [ ocaml findlib ocamlgraph zarith lablgtk gmp ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Alt-Ergo is a high-performance theorem prover and SMT solver";
+    description = "High-performance theorem prover and SMT solver";
     homepage    = "http://alt-ergo.ocamlpro.com/";
     license     = stdenv.lib.licenses.cecill-c; # LGPL-2 compatible
     platforms   = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/coq/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/coq/default.nix
index 678ec6a4b049b..da77a4c5a9aa7 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/coq/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/coq/default.nix
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildFlags = "revision coq coqide";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Coq proof assistant";
+    description = "Formal proof management system";
     longDescription = ''
       Coq is a formal proof management system.  It provides a formal language
       to write mathematical definitions, executable algorithms and theorems
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/matita/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/matita/default.nix
index f601f97de62ef..0f393b419f1db 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/matita/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/matita/default.nix
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://matita.cs.unibo.it/;
-    description = "Matita is an experimental, interactive theorem prover";
+    description = "Experimental, interactive theorem prover";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.roconnor ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/prooftree/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/prooftree/default.nix
index caaf4a94a1ed8..94b1d5907620f 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/prooftree/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/prooftree/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   configureFlags = [ "--prefix" "$(out)" ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Prooftree is a program for proof-tree visualization";
+    description = "A program for proof-tree visualization";
     longDescription = ''
       Prooftree is a program for proof-tree visualization during interactive
       proof development in a theorem prover. It is currently being developed
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/twelf/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/twelf/default.nix
index c6c7e4d9c1a71..f9680b4757975 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/logic/twelf/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/logic/twelf/default.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Twelf logic proof assistant";
+    description = "Logic proof assistant";
     longDescription = ''
       Twelf is a language used to specify, implement, and prove properties of
       deductive systems such as programming languages and logics. Large
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/fricas/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/fricas/default.nix
index 1817c43ed7bef..6e187843404d5 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/fricas/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/fricas/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://fricas.sourceforge.net/;
-    description = "Fricas CAS";
+    description = "An advanced computer algebra system";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.bsd3;
 
     hydraPlatforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/glsurf/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/glsurf/default.nix
index c4352c46f92e5..1439d327d6ec8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/glsurf/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/glsurf/default.nix
@@ -26,6 +26,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.lama.univ-savoie.fr/~raffalli/glsurf;
-    description = "GlSurf: a program to draw implicit surfaces and curves";
+    description = "A program to draw implicit surfaces and curves";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/jags/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/jags/default.nix
index a93386149bd4c..785c2460bb491 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/jags/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/jags/default.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [gfortran liblapack blas];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "JAGS: Just Another Gibbs Sampler";
+    description = "Just Another Gibbs Sampler";
     license     = "GPL2";
     homepage    = http://www-ice.iarc.fr/~martyn/software/jags/;
     maintainers = [stdenv.lib.maintainers.andres];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/maxima/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/maxima/default.nix
index 096796a859d00..3277d94d99b6d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/maxima/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/maxima/default.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Maxima computer algebra system";
+    description = "Computer algebra system";
     homepage = "http://maxima.sourceforge.net";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/misc/fityk/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/misc/fityk/default.nix
index db79839ba6697..4c93eef2b1c01 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/misc/fityk/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/misc/fityk/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [wxGTK30 boost lua zlib bzip2 xylib readline gnuplot ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Fityk -- curve fitting and peak fitting software";
+    description = "Curve fitting and peak fitting software";
     license = "GPL2";
     homepage = http://fityk.nieto.pl/;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/misc/simgrid/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/misc/simgrid/default.nix
index 29a7caf769bea..7656668f0564b 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/misc/simgrid/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/misc/simgrid/default.nix
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = false;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "SimGrid, a simulator for distributed applications in heterogeneous environments";
+    description = "Simulator for distributed applications in heterogeneous environments";
 
     longDescription =
       '' SimGrid is a toolkit that provides core functionalities for the
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/molecular-dynamics/gromacs/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/molecular-dynamics/gromacs/default.nix
index b9abf7b55b487..879690bc91ed1 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/molecular-dynamics/gromacs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/molecular-dynamics/gromacs/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   meta = {
     homepage    = "http://www.gromacs.org";
     license     = "GPLv2";
-    description = "The GROMACS molecular dynamics software package";
+    description = "Molecular dynamics software package";
     longDescription = ''
       GROMACS is a versatile package to perform molecular dynamics,
       i.e. simulate the Newtonian equations of motion for systems
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/spyder/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/spyder/default.nix
index 1079a153ca169..806d2f546cf54 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/spyder/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/spyder/default.nix
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "Scientific PYthon Development EnviRonment (SPYDER)";
+    description = "Scientific python development environment";
     longDescription = ''
       Spyder (previously known as Pydee) is a powerful interactive development
       environment for the Python language with advanced editing, interactive
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/git/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/git/default.nix
index a4d16e4606072..877c65afccf57 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/git/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/git/default.nix
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://git-scm.com/;
-    description = "Git, a popular distributed version control system";
+    description = "Distributed version control system";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/version-management/rcs/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/version-management/rcs/default.nix
index e71d23132acaf..823638669b687 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/version-management/rcs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/version-management/rcs/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/rcs/;
-    description = "GNU RCS, a revision control system";
+    description = "Revision control system";
     longDescription =
       '' The GNU Revision Control System (RCS) manages multiple revisions of
          files. RCS automates the storing, retrieval, logging,
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/video/gnash/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/video/gnash/default.nix
index 06122619066ad..515e2591461fa 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/video/gnash/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/video/gnash/default.nix
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/;
-    description = "GNU Gnash, a libre SWF (Flash) movie player";
+    description = "A libre SWF (Flash) movie player";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Gnash is a GNU Flash movie player.  Flash is an animation file format
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/video/kino/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/video/kino/default.nix
index 16bd57bef34a6..7dd089537b732 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/video/kino/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/video/kino/default.nix
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
 
   meta = { 
-      description = "Kino is a non-linear DV editor for GNU/Linux";
+      description = "Non-linear DV editor for GNU/Linux";
       homepage = http://www.kinodv.org/;
       license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/video/xbmc/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/video/xbmc/default.nix
index 26c54c537ae09..875ed48c102fd 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/video/xbmc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/video/xbmc/default.nix
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
     meta = {
       homepage = http://xbmc.org/;
-      description = "XBMC Media Center";
+      description = "Media center";
       license = "GPLv2";
       platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux; 
       maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.iElectric ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/ratpoison/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/ratpoison/default.nix
index 65264c20db359..0eb28464e5903 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/ratpoison/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/ratpoison/default.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/";
-    description = "Ratpoison, a simple mouse-free tiling window manager";
+    description = "Simple mouse-free tiling window manager";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/desktops/e17/enlightenment/default.nix b/pkgs/desktops/e17/enlightenment/default.nix
index 1c3edb07ecf12..953c90e800329 100644
--- a/pkgs/desktops/e17/enlightenment/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/desktops/e17/enlightenment/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     --disable-illume2
   '';
   meta = {
-    description = "Enlightenment, the window manager";
+    description = "A window manager";
     longDescription = ''
       The Enlightenment Desktop shell provides an efficient yet
       breathtaking window manager based on the Enlightenment
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/bigloo/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/bigloo/default.nix
index 16dfa580a1937..8564175d363d5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/bigloo/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/bigloo/default.nix
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   checkTarget = "test";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Bigloo, an efficient Scheme compiler";
+    description = "Efficient Scheme compiler";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Bigloo is a Scheme implementation devoted to one goal: enabling
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/gambit/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/gambit/default.nix
index 265b08c1fbdf6..3d9f2596c96c5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/gambit/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/gambit/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ rec {
   phaseNames = ["doConfigure" "doMakeInstall"];
       
   meta = {
-    description = "Gambit Scheme to C compiler";
+    description = "Scheme to C compiler";
     maintainers = [
       a.lib.maintainers.raskin
     ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/hugs/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/hugs/default.nix
index c3f14826c8a28..14751799795a2 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/hugs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/hugs/default.nix
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ composableDerivation.composableDerivation {} {
 
   meta = {
     license = "as-is"; # gentoo is calling it this way..
-    description = "The HUGS 98 Haskell interpreter";
+    description = "Haskell interpreter";
     homepage = http://www.haskell.org/hugs;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ikarus/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ikarus/default.nix
index 070f29e16f64f..e9bf6c8bb5b6e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ikarus/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ikarus/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ gmp ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Ikarus - a Scheme compiler, aiming at R6RS";
+    description = "Scheme compiler, aiming at R6RS";
     homepage = http://ikarus-scheme.org/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/mercury/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/mercury/default.nix
index 21af582c594bf..de9b44a441460 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/mercury/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/mercury/default.nix
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Mercury is a pure logic programming language.";
+    description = "A pure logic programming language";
     longDescription = ''
       Mercury is a logic/functional programming language which combines the
       clarity and expressiveness of declarative programming with advanced
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.10.0.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.10.0.nix
index 281aa1a9de6f1..1d68585d93a12 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.10.0.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.10.0.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml;
     license = "QPL, LGPL2 (library part)";
-    desctiption = "Most popular variant of the Caml language";
+    description = "Most popular variant of the Caml language";
   };
 
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.11.2.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.11.2.nix
index 64cf8a9f9f7b5..195e83e7313b0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.11.2.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.11.2.nix
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml;
     license = [ "QPL" /* compiler */ "LGPLv2" /* library */ ];
-    description = "Objective Caml, the most popular variant of the Caml language";
+    description = "Most popular variant of the Caml language";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Objective Caml is the most popular variant of the Caml language.
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.12.1.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.12.1.nix
index f916f5a792332..16c3cb1d78729 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.12.1.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/3.12.1.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml;
     license = [ "QPL" /* compiler */ "LGPLv2" /* library */ ];
-    description = "OCaml, the most popular variant of the Caml language";
+    description = "Most popular variant of the Caml language";
 
     longDescription =
       ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.00.1.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.00.1.nix
index 8662db70c26c7..5b1e69b86b080 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.00.1.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.00.1.nix
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml;
     license = [ "QPL" /* compiler */ "LGPLv2" /* library */ ];
-    description = "OCaml, the most popular variant of the Caml language";
+    description = "Most popular variant of the Caml language";
 
     longDescription =
       ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.01.0.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.01.0.nix
index 0f68014fad643..2876bce9caffc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.01.0.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/4.01.0.nix
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml;
     license = [ "QPL" /* compiler */ "LGPLv2" /* library */ ];
-    description = "OCaml, the most popular variant of the Caml language";
+    description = "Most popular variant of the Caml language";
 
     longDescription =
       ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/ber-metaocaml-003.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/ber-metaocaml-003.nix
index 9c5fa3764badc..8b86c805c61f1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/ber-metaocaml-003.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ocaml/ber-metaocaml-003.nix
@@ -58,6 +58,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://okmij.org/ftp/ML/index.html#ber-metaocaml";
     license = [ "QPL" /* compiler */ "LGPLv2" /* library */ ];
-    description = "a conservative extension of OCaml with the primitive type of code values, and three basic multi-stage expression forms: Brackets, Escape, and Run";
+    description = "A conservative extension of OCaml with the primitive type of code values, and three basic multi-stage expression forms: Brackets, Escape, and Run";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/qi/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/qi/default.nix
index ecb022d942a9c..5665fc5da6c1b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/qi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/qi/default.nix
@@ -31,6 +31,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 	builder = writeScript (name + "-builder")
 		(textClosure localDefs [allBuild doForceShare doPropagate]);
 	meta = {
-		description = "Qi - next generation on top of Common Lisp";
+		description = "Functional programming language, built top of Common Lisp";
 	};
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/rdmd/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/rdmd/default.nix
index 9177ad5e25b55..621ace195bbe9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/rdmd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/rdmd/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "rdmd wrapper for D language compiler";
+    description = "Wrapper for D language compiler";
     homepage = http://dlang.org/rdmd.html;
     license = lib.licenses.boost;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ vlstill ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/scala/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/scala/default.nix
index bd81e4c055d54..e299be9144eb8 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/scala/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/scala/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Scala is a general purpose programming language";
+    description = "General purpose programming language";
     longDescription = ''
       Scala is a general purpose programming language designed to express
       common programming patterns in a concise, elegant, and type-safe way.
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/tinycc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/tinycc/default.nix
index 1e82e03f16c00..bd71ab7b27fc8 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/tinycc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/tinycc/default.nix
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   checkTarget = "test";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "TinyCC, a small, fast, and embeddable C compiler and interpreter";
+    description = "Small, fast, and embeddable C compiler and interpreter";
 
     longDescription =
       '' TinyCC (aka TCC) is a small but hyper fast C compiler.  Unlike
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/guile/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/guile/default.nix
index 6e4051ff46eb7..2ddad5cde6778 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/guile/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/guile/default.nix
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
 
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Guile 2.0, an embeddable Scheme implementation";
+    description = "Embeddable Scheme implementation";
     homepage    = http://www.gnu.org/software/guile/;
     license     = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl3Plus;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ ludo lovek323 ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/maude/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/maude/default.nix
index e112a5ae43d4d..e14132a8acfd5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/maude/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/maude/default.nix
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://maude.cs.uiuc.edu/";
-    description = "Maude -- a high-level specification language";
+    description = "High-level specification language";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.3.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.3.nix
index ed5feeacf613b..c1d02064fe1c0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.3.nix
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ composableDerivation.composableDerivation {} ( fixed : let inherit (fixed.fixed)
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The PHP language runtime engine";
+    description = "An HTML-embedded scripting language";
     homepage    = http://www.php.net/;
     license     = "PHP-3";
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.4.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.4.nix
index e5069fc2ae469..e39661b224ad9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.4.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/php/5.4.nix
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ composableDerivation.composableDerivation {} ( fixed : let inherit (fixed.fixed)
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The PHP language runtime engine";
+    description = "An HTML-embedded scripting language";
     homepage = http://www.php.net/;
     license = "PHP-3";
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/pypy/2.3/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/pypy/2.3/default.nix
index b45805ab24147..626f56ccc466d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/pypy/2.3/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/pypy/2.3/default.nix
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ let
 
     meta = with stdenv.lib; {
       homepage = "http://pypy.org/";
-      description = "PyPy is a fast, compliant alternative implementation of the Python language (2.7.3)";
+      description = "Fast, compliant alternative implementation of the Python language (2.7.3)";
       license = licenses.mit;
       platforms = platforms.linux;
       maintainers = with maintainers; [ iElectric ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.44.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.44.nix
index b188586e84f0c..c192acd23bdec 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.44.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.44.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://boost.org/";
-    description = "Boost C++ Library Collection";
+    description = "Collection of C++ libraries";
     license = "boost-license";
 
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.simons ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.49.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.49.nix
index fca4249e963da..9e61683238fa8 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.49.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.49.nix
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://boost.org/";
-    description = "Boost C++ Library Collection";
+    description = "Collection of C++ libraries";
     license = "boost-license";
 
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.55.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.55.nix
index bf355f7169c6b..1e9d2134d1201 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.55.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/boost/1.55.nix
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://boost.org/";
-    description = "Boost C++ Library Collection";
+    description = "Collection of C++ libraries";
     license = "boost-license";
 
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ccrtp/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ccrtp/default.nix
index 2111e1b4a55a6..3e75cb45a733d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ccrtp/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ccrtp/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU ccRTP, an implementation of the IETF real-time transport protocol (RTP)";
+    description = "An implementation of the IETF real-time transport protocol (RTP)";
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/ccrtp/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ marcweber ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/celt/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/celt/default.nix
index 28e51efbc4b72..ca25be9050480 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/celt/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/celt/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ rec {
   phaseNames = ["doConfigure" "doMakeInstall"];
       
   meta = {
-    description = "CELT - low-delay audio codec";
+    description = "Low-delay audio codec";
     maintainers = with a.lib.maintainers;
     [
       raskin
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/cfitsio/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/cfitsio/default.nix
index 06f2deb3a7cd2..54e5988eda6e2 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/cfitsio/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/cfitsio/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fitsio/;
 
-    description = "CFITSIO, a library for reading and writing FITS data files";
+    description = "Library for reading and writing FITS data files";
 
     longDescription =
       '' CFITSIO is a library of C and Fortran subroutines for reading and
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/check/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/check/default.nix
index 4e75cda0c2398..a782ff61e2875 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/check/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/check/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   doCheck = false;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Check, a unit testing framework for C";
+    description = "Unit testing framework for C";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Check is a unit testing framework for C.  It features a simple
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/chipmunk/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/chipmunk/default.nix
index d148c4d829a3b..63c5959960ac7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/chipmunk/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/chipmunk/default.nix
@@ -34,6 +34,6 @@ rec {
       
   name = "chipmunk-" + version;
   meta = {
-    description = "Chipmunk 2D physics engine";
+    description = "2D physics engine";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/cloog/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/cloog/default.nix
index da4501285e121..7ea7e597d4093 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/cloog/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/cloog/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "CLooG, the Chunky Loop Generator";
+    description = "Library that generates loops for scanning polyhedra";
 
     longDescription = ''
       CLooG is a free software library to generate code for scanning
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter-gst/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter-gst/default.nix
index 59c64b0de9f76..c73aac074e7ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter-gst/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter-gst/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   postBuild = "rm -rf $out/share/gtk-doc";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Clutter-GST";
+    description = "GStreamer bindings for clutter";
 
     homepage = http://www.clutter-project.org/;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter/default.nix
index 027b90d8e11c7..67de04050afe7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/clutter/default.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   #doCheck = true; # no tests possible without a display
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Clutter, a library for creating fast, dynamic graphical user interfaces";
+    description = "Library for creating fast, dynamic graphical user interfaces";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Clutter is free software library for creating fast, compelling,
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/fox/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/fox/default.nix
index 63acc14521c6a..6d7d7a8387907 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/fox/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/fox/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "FOX is a C++ based class library for building Graphical User Interfaces";
+    description = "C++ based class library for building Graphical User Interfaces";
     longDescription = ''
         FOX stands for Free Objects for X.
         It is a C++ based class library for building Graphical User Interfaces.
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gettext/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gettext/default.nix
index 4d400a6ea7dab..9d62472c27e70 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gettext/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gettext/default.nix
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU gettext, a well integrated set of translation tools and documentation";
+    description = "Well integrated set of translation tools and documentation";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Usually, programs are written and documented in English, and use
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/glib/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/glib/default.nix
index 4f7c6042f136d..93e96bef536a7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/glib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/glib/default.nix
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "GLib, a C library of programming buildings blocks";
+    description = "C library of programming buildings blocks";
     homepage    = http://www.gtk.org/;
     license     = licenses.lgpl2Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 raskin urkud ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/glog/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/glog/default.nix
index 098643ae70f07..d3f74f4043a97 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/glog/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/glog/default.nix
@@ -11,6 +11,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://code.google.com/p/google-glog/;
     license = "BSD";
-    description = "The glog library implements application-level logging.";
+    description = "Library for application-level logging";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/4.3.2.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/4.3.2.nix
index d0559c46795b5..e9cfda032b171 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/4.3.2.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/4.3.2.nix
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = false;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GMP, the GNU multiple precision arithmetic library";
+    description = "GNU multiple precision arithmetic library";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GMP is a free library for arbitrary precision arithmetic, operating
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.0.5.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.0.5.nix
index c96c830e2f7fa..5f3690f67a940 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.0.5.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.0.5.nix
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GMP, the GNU multiple precision arithmetic library";
+    description = "GNU multiple precision arithmetic library";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GMP is a free library for arbitrary precision arithmetic, operating
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.1.x.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.1.x.nix
index 9e28334804bd6..14a6d34d932b5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.1.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gmp/5.1.x.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     homepage = "http://gmplib.org/";
-    description = "GMP, the GNU multiple precision arithmetic library";
+    description = "GNU multiple precision arithmetic library";
     license = licenses.gpl3Plus;
 
     longDescription =
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gss/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gss/default.nix
index 207b824869810..75ae4054592de 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gss/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gss/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU GSS Generic Security Service";
+    description = "Generic Security Service";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GSS is an implementation of the Generic Security Service Application
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gnonlin/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gnonlin/default.nix
index ff26e727e9f3f..777f4a06313ba 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gnonlin/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gnonlin/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/modules/gnonlin.html";
-    description = "http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/modules/gnonlin.html";
+    description = "Gstreamer Non-Linear Multimedia Editing Plugins";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gstreamer/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gstreamer/default.nix
index f781c624cea1a..b608f891533b6 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gstreamer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gstreamer/legacy/gstreamer/default.nix
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org;
 
-    description = "GStreamer, a library for constructing graphs of media-handling components";
+    description = "Library for constructing graphs of media-handling components";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GStreamer is a library for constructing graphs of media-handling
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkimageview/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkimageview/default.nix
index 6905adcd71e3a..b57c91c4455f7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkimageview/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkimageview/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://trac.bjourne.webfactional.com/;
 
-    description = "The GtkImageView image viewer widget for GTK+";
+    description = "Image viewer widget for GTK+";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GtkImageView is a simple image viewer widget for GTK+.  Similar to
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkmathview/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkmathview/default.nix
index 2620d9cc120c8..8a6914cfcd3bc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkmathview/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gtkmathview/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://helm.cs.unibo.it/mml-widget/;
-    description = "GtkMathView is a C++ rendering engine for MathML documents";
+    description = "C++ rendering engine for MathML documents";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl3Plus;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.roconnor ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/gupnp/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/gupnp/default.nix
index bae0639a61c99..e278980e1e12a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/gupnp/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/gupnp/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gupnp.org/;
-    description = "GUPnP is an implementation of the UPnP specification.";
+    description = "An implementation of the UPnP specification";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/hwloc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/hwloc/default.nix
index 3c5f198cea60e..d4d9663441f70 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/hwloc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/hwloc/default.nix
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = !stdenv.isCygwin;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "hwloc, a portable abstraction of hierarchical architectures for high-performance computing";
+    description = "Portable abstraction of hierarchical architectures for high-performance computing";
 
     longDescription = ''
        hwloc provides a portable abstraction (across OS,
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/jasper/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/jasper/default.nix
index 4046c05f79e52..ed51a0a28206b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/jasper/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/jasper/default.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.ece.uvic.ca/~mdadams/jasper/;
-    description = "JasPer JPEG2000 Library";
+    description = "JPEG2000 Library";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/java/classpath/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/java/classpath/default.nix
index bbfc6ed38cc38..eff52cc177b6b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/java/classpath/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/java/classpath/default.nix
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   configureFlags = "--disable-Werror --disable-plugin --with-antlr-jar=${antlr}/lib/antlr.jar";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Classpath, essential libraries for Java";
+    description = "Essential libraries for Java";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Classpath, Essential Libraries for Java, is a GNU project to create
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/java/rhino/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/java/rhino/default.nix
index 42bdba7567c5f..34aaded7cb44e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/java/rhino/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/java/rhino/default.nix
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Mozilla Rhino: JavaScript for Java";
+    description = "An implementation of JavaScript written in Java";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Rhino is an open-source implementation of JavaScript written
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libassuan/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libassuan/default.nix
index f5a3d92d3db1e..90ce4f970e3d1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libassuan/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libassuan/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Libassuan, the IPC library used by GnuPG and related software";
+    description = "IPC library used by GnuPG and related software";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Libassuan is a small library implementing the so-called Assuan
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libcddb/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libcddb/default.nix
index b9823cefd2d95..9a284d8988d23 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libcddb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libcddb/default.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Libcddb is a C library to access data on a CDDB server (freedb.org)";
+    description = "C library to access data on a CDDB server (freedb.org)";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl2Plus;
     homepage = http://libcddb.sourceforge.net/;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libchamplain/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libchamplain/default.nix
index 51b7f7e181d00..9cdf9d411ccdb 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libchamplain/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libchamplain/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     homepage = http://projects.gnome.org/libchamplain/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl2Plus;
 
-    description = "libchamplain, a C library providing a ClutterActor to display maps";
+    description = "C library providing a ClutterActor to display maps";
 
     longDescription =
       '' libchamplain is a C library providing a ClutterActor to display
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libchop/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libchop/default.nix
index f0d7fbfbeb69c..37af9756724ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libchop/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libchop/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "libchop, tools & library for data backup and distributed storage";
+    description = "Tools & library for data backup and distributed storage";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Libchop is a set of utilities and library for data backup and
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libdaemon/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libdaemon/default.nix
index ba7e3e47ff767..cb8d07fec9020 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libdaemon/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libdaemon/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   configureFlags = [ "--disable-lynx" ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "libdaemon, a lightweight C library that eases the writing of UNIX daemons";
+    description = "Lightweight C library that eases the writing of UNIX daemons";
 
     homepage = http://0pointer.de/lennart/projects/libdaemon/;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libdnet/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libdnet/default.nix
index 50bdaa1c4c081..acd930ddd0157 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libdnet/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libdnet/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "libdnet provides a simplified, portable interface to several low-level networking routines";
+    description = "Provides a simplified, portable interface to several low-level networking routines";
     homepage = http://code.google.com/p/libdnet/;
     license = "BSD"; # New BSD license
     maintainers = [stdenv.lib.maintainers.marcweber];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libelf/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libelf/default.nix
index d9436456d0d4e..407b367d6b7f0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libelf/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libelf/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Libelf, an ELF object file access library";
+    description = "ELF object file access library";
 
     homepage = http://www.mr511.de/software/english.html;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libevent/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libevent/default.nix
index bb854139b7943..57cf17383420c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libevent/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libevent/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "libevent, an event notification library";
+    description = "Event notification library";
 
     longDescription =
       '' The libevent API provides a mechanism to execute a callback function
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libextractor/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libextractor/default.nix
index 6df5ca683f1f0..18387c904f83e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libextractor/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libextractor/default.nix
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   #postInstall = "make check";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU libextractor, a simple library for keyword extraction";
+    description = "Simple library for keyword extraction";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU libextractor is a library used to extract meta-data from files
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libgcrypt/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libgcrypt/default.nix
index ba3de49ede8af..f47d3a627295a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libgcrypt/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libgcrypt/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Libgcrypt, a general-pupose cryptographic library";
+    description = "General-pupose cryptographic library";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Libgcrypt is a general purpose cryptographic library based on
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libiconv/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libiconv/default.nix
index 7b669cd780aeb..3bdb85a78ebd2 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libiconv/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libiconv/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU libiconv, an iconv(3) implementation";
+    description = "An iconv(3) implementation";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Some programs, like mailers and web browsers, must be able to convert
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libidn/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libidn/default.nix
index 802ee9e3e88f6..37d19d10f290c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libidn/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libidn/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/;
-    description = "GNU Libidn library for internationalized domain names";
+    description = "Library for internationalized domain names";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Libidn is a fully documented implementation of the
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libksba/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libksba/default.nix
index 5e038ad85720c..dbd2516c05957 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libksba/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libksba/default.nix
@@ -12,6 +12,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnupg.org;
-    description = "Libksba is a CMS and X.509 access library under development";
+    description = "CMS and X.509 access library under development";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libmicrohttpd/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libmicrohttpd/default.nix
index 959dca475732b..39795267a2c5a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libmicrohttpd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libmicrohttpd/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = false;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU libmicrohttpd, an embeddable HTTP server library";
+    description = "Embeddable HTTP server library";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU libmicrohttpd is a small C library that is supposed to make
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libofa/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libofa/default.nix
index 2e2640e86362b..6ffef2140ec29 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libofa/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libofa/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://code.google.com/musicip-libofa/;
-    description = "LibOFA - Library Open Fingerprint Architecture";
+    description = "Library Open Fingerprint Architecture";
     longDescription = ''
       LibOFA (Library Open Fingerprint Architecture) is an open-source audio
       fingerprint created and provided by MusicIP'';
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libsigsegv/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libsigsegv/default.nix
index ae6299286a178..b6be8d194c152 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libsigsegv/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libsigsegv/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/libsigsegv/;
-    description = "GNU libsigsegv, a library to handle page faults in user mode";
+    description = "Library to handle page faults in user mode";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU libsigsegv is a library for handling page faults in user mode. A
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libspectre/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libspectre/default.nix
index 7d46f9e32cef0..0e5f976c12245 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libspectre/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libspectre/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://libspectre.freedesktop.org/;
-    description = "libspectre, a PostScript rendering library";
+    description = "PostScript rendering library";
 
     longDescription = ''
       libspectre is a small library for rendering Postscript
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libtasn1/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libtasn1/default.nix
index bae22ef220fc1..5a2508a45067e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libtasn1/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libtasn1/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/libtasn1/;
-    description = "GNU Libtasn1, an ASN.1 library";
+    description = "An ASN.1 library";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Libtasn1 is the ASN.1 library used by GnuTLS, GNU Shishi and some
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libunistring/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libunistring/default.nix
index b578d895c5f0d..2a87d7a32490b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libunistring/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libunistring/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/libunistring/;
 
-    description = "GNU Libunistring, a Unicode string library";
+    description = "Unicode string library";
 
     longDescription = ''
       This library provides functions for manipulating Unicode strings
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libxmi/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libxmi/default.nix
index 85f0dbddb0b8e..42c427605c4ae 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libxmi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libxmi/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   preConfigure = "cp ${libtool}/share/libtool/config/config.sub .";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU libxmi, a library for rasterizing 2-D vector graphics";
+    description = "Library for rasterizing 2-D vector graphics";
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/libxmi/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.gnu;  # arbitrary choice
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/lightning/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/lightning/default.nix
index 951627c81c2f3..73d98023c845b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/lightning/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/lightning/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/lightning/;
-    description = "GNU lightning, a run-time code generation library";
+    description = "Run-time code generation library";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU lightning is a library that generates assembly language code
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ming/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ming/default.nix
index f9632dca9d22c..a470f77156111 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ming/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ming/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Ming, a library for generating Flash `.swf' files";
+    description = "Library for generating Flash `.swf' files";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Ming is a library for generating Macromedia Flash files (.swf),
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/mpc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/mpc/default.nix
index 652227d47e857..3d05fa2e0405b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/mpc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/mpc/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU MPC, a library for multiprecision complex arithmetic with exact rounding";
+    description = "Library for multiprecision complex arithmetic with exact rounding";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU MPC is a C library for the arithmetic of complex numbers with
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/mpfr/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/mpfr/default.nix
index e3fbaececb9b5..653481aeccd6b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/mpfr/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/mpfr/default.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.mpfr.org/;
-    description = "GNU MPFR, a library for multiple-precision floating-point arithmetic";
+    description = "Library for multiple-precision floating-point arithmetic";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The GNU MPFR library is a C library for multiple-precision
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/mpich2/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/mpich2/default.nix
index 5fba9c564181a..b80d549931c64 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/mpich2/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/mpich2/default.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "MPICH2, an implementation of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard";
+    description = "Implementation of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard";
 
     longDescription = ''
       MPICH2 is a free high-performance and portable implementation of
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ncurses/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ncurses/default.nix
index 87953c1158d5f..631199bf87c30 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ncurses/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ncurses/default.nix
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   postFixup = lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin "rm $out/lib/*.so";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Ncurses, a free software emulation of curses in SVR4 and more";
+    description = "Free software emulation of curses in SVR4 and more";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The Ncurses (new curses) library is a free software emulation of
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/nettle/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/nettle/default.nix
index 57d3732fa6dc9..38d197c69ab3e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/nettle/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/nettle/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
               ./cygwin.patch;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Nettle, a cryptographic library";
+    description = "Cryptographic library";
 
     longDescription = ''
         Nettle is a cryptographic library that is designed to fit
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/oniguruma/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/oniguruma/default.nix
index 47a51b68d030f..08069533713dd 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/oniguruma/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/oniguruma/default.nix
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.geocities.jp/kosako3/oniguruma/;
-    description = "Oniguruma regular expressions library";
+    description = "Regular expressions library";
     license = "BSD";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/opal/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/opal/default.nix
index 1f59c0c24a02f..c79c3cbe4d629 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/opal/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/opal/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   patches = [ ./disable-samples-ftbfs.diff ./libav9.patch ./libav10.patch ];
       
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "OPAL VoIP library";
+    description = "VoIP library";
     maintainers = [ maintainers.raskin ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/openal/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/openal/default.nix
index b5e390eafa85d..5a935691ca580 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/openal/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/openal/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ cmake ] ++ stdenv.lib.optional (!stdenv.isDarwin) alsaLib;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "OpenAL, a cross-platform 3D audio API";
+    description = "Cross-platform 3D audio API";
 
     longDescription = ''
       OpenAL is a cross-platform 3D audio API appropriate for use with
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/plib/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/plib/default.nix
index 35262f797e973..4ab6fb3ad8b43 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/plib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/plib/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "PLIB: A Suite of Portable Game Libraries";
+    description = "A suite of portable game libraries";
 
     longDescription = ''
       PLIB includes sound effects, music, a complete 3D engine, font
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ppl/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ppl/default.nix
index f93eee674ffcf..9edef767481ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ppl/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ppl/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "PPL: The Parma Polyhedra Library";
+    description = "The Parma Polyhedra Library";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The Parma Polyhedra Library (PPL) provides numerical abstractions
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.3.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.3.nix
index 9f5c9f7b58132..17299e5f10d8a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.3.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
     ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Readline, a library for interactive line editing";
+    description = "Library for interactive line editing";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The GNU Readline library provides a set of functions for use by
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.nix
index 0559113285c45..d72d6566bbc94 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/readline6.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
        import ./readline-6.2-patches.nix patch);
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Readline, a library for interactive line editing";
+    description = "Library for interactive line editing";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The GNU Readline library provides a set of functions for use by
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/biolib/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/biolib/default.nix
index 0461e5ebcf543..7418bdb6dfe01 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/biolib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/biology/biolib/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://biolib.open-bio.org/";
-    description = "BioLib";
+    description = "Shared libraries for the major Bio* languages";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     longDescription = ''
       BioLib brings together a set of opensource libraries written
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/szip/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/szip/default.nix
index 17f9c973fd0b6..2ad2ed55d7c02 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/szip/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/szip/default.nix
@@ -8,9 +8,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "
-      Szip is a compression library that can be used with the hdf5 library.
-    ";
+    description = "Compression library that can be used with the hdf5 library";
     homepage = http://www.hdfgroup.org/doc_resource/SZIP/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.unfree;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/talloc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/talloc/default.nix
index e04363326d010..15e89d9210a12 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/talloc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/talloc/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '' else "";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "talloc is a hierarchical pool based memory allocator with destructors";
+    description = "Hierarchical pool based memory allocator with destructors";
     homepage = http://tdb.samba.org/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/tdb/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/tdb/default.nix
index d0eb8987ea089..c53316564351d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/tdb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/tdb/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ libxslt libxml2 docbook_xsl ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "TDB, the trivial database";
+    description = "The trivial database";
     longDescription =
       '' TDB is a Trivial Database. In concept, it is very much like GDBM,
          and BSD's DB except that it allows multiple simultaneous writers and
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/tecla/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/tecla/default.nix
index 6cb20f4e35637..f83b34e40d1a2 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/tecla/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/tecla/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~mcs/tecla/";
-    description = "Tecla command-line editing library";
+    description = "Command-line editing library";
     license = "as-is";
 
     hydraPlatforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix
index f3ac325b5a126..0e8a95d5ac164 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU uCommon C++, C++ library to facilitate using C++ design patterns";
+    description = "C++ library to facilitate using C++ design patterns";
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/commoncpp/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl3Plus;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/v8/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/v8/default.nix
index d3a2511c90c2a..4c86de7fb56be 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/v8/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/v8/default.nix
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '' else null;
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "V8 is Google's open source JavaScript engine";
+    description = "Google's open source JavaScript engine";
     platforms = platforms.linux ++ platforms.darwin;
     license = licenses.bsd3;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/xapian/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/xapian/default.nix
index 99837974b1d90..d74a85a9162da 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/xapian/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/xapian/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ libuuid zlib ];
 
   meta = { 
-    description = "Xapian Probabilistic Information Retrieval library";
+    description = "Search engine library";
     homepage = "http://xapian.org";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.chaoflow ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/xbase/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/xbase/default.nix
index 81447276db79d..95ba2a05ad9bd 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/xbase/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/xbase/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://linux.techass.com/projects/xdb/;
-    description = "XBase compatible C++ class library formerly known as XDB";
+    description = "C++ class library formerly known as XDB";
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.urkud ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/xylib/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/xylib/default.nix
index 8fff5f3933839..fe9b6c5c3ca48 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/xylib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/xylib/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [boost zlib bzip2 ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "xylib is a portable library for reading files that contain x-y data from powder diffraction, spectroscopy and other experimental methods.";
+    description = "Portable library for reading files that contain x-y data from powder diffraction, spectroscopy and other experimental methods";
     license = "LGPL";
     homepage = http://xylib.sourceforge.net/;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/ecdsa/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/ecdsa/default.nix
index f668f3c6ac3bb..a07eceb45aad0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/ecdsa/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/ecdsa/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://github.com/warner/python-ecdsa";
-    description = "pure-python ECDSA signature/verification";
+    description = "Pure-python ECDSA signature/verification";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.mit;
   };
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numeric/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numeric/default.nix
index e97b2a5f1a406..0d6d5b0ffed67 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numeric/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numeric/default.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ let version = "24.2"; in
     # FIXME: Run the tests.
 
     meta = {
-      description = "Numeric, a Python module for high-performance, numeric computing";
+      description = "A Python module for high-performance, numeric computing";
 
       longDescription = ''
         Numeric is a Python module for high-performance, numeric
@@ -37,4 +37,4 @@ let version = "24.2"; in
 
       homepage = http://people.csail.mit.edu/jrennie/python/numeric/;
     };
-  }
\ No newline at end of file
+  }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/lcov/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/lcov/default.nix
index 89a17d28a1b95..10cdf01103a6d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/lcov/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/lcov/default.nix
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "LCOV, a code coverage tool that enhances GNU gcov";
+    description = "Code coverage tool that enhances GNU gcov";
 
     longDescription =
       '' LCOV is an extension of GCOV, a GNU tool which provides information
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/sparse/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/sparse/default.nix
index 6d0e28f0ab207..6898b7eee54cd 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/sparse/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/sparse/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Sparse, a semantic parser for C";
+    description = "Semantic parser for C";
     homepage    = "https://git.kernel.org/cgit/devel/sparse/sparse.git/";
     license     = stdenv.lib.licenses.mit;
     platforms   = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/valgrind/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/valgrind/default.nix
index 5ffc287d114b2..aaeee026d0a8a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/valgrind/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/valgrind/default.nix
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.valgrind.org/;
-    description = "Valgrind, a debugging and profiling tool suite";
+    description = "Debugging and profiling tool suite";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Valgrind is an award-winning instrumentation framework for
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/gradle/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/gradle/default.nix
index b7316fc17c4a9..a4863d12b5ca0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/gradle/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/gradle/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ unzip jdk makeWrapper ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Gradle is an enterprise-grade build system";
+    description = "Enterprise-grade build system";
     longDescription = ''
       Gradle is a build system which offers you ease, power and freedom.
       You can choose the balance for yourself. It has powerful multi-project
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/documentation/doxygen/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/documentation/doxygen/default.nix
index 54509178b1a16..50f2037b271c5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/documentation/doxygen/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/documentation/doxygen/default.nix
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   meta = {
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
     homepage = "http://doxygen.org/";
-    description = "Doxygen, a source code documentation generator tool";
+    description = "Source code documentation generator tool";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Doxygen is a documentation system for C++, C, Java, Objective-C,
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/java/fastjar/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/java/fastjar/default.nix
index c8bb94412cad6..e5a9ca50ce921 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/java/fastjar/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/java/fastjar/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ let version = "0.94"; in
     doCheck = true;
 
     meta = {
-      description = "FastJar, a fast Java archiver written in C";
+      description = "Fast Java archiver written in C";
 
       longDescription = ''
         Fastjar is a version of Sun's `jar' utility, written entirely in C, and
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
index 8d8fc5d464e89..fc48a4aabada8 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Binutils, tools for manipulating binaries (linker, assembler, etc.)";
+    description = "Tools for manipulating binaries (linker, assembler, etc.)";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The GNU Binutils are a collection of binary tools.  The main
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cflow/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cflow/default.nix
index 53bc8ed78c8bc..b1322d461ee78 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cflow/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cflow/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU cflow, a tool to analyze the control flow of C programs";
+    description = "Tool to analyze the control flow of C programs";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU cflow analyzes a collection of C source files and prints a
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/coccinelle/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/coccinelle/default.nix
index 0bf5bbce692d3..51f5ed6091fa7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/coccinelle/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/coccinelle/default.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation {
   configureFlags = "--enable-release";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Coccinelle, a program to apply C code semantic patches";
+    description = "Program to apply semantic patches to C code";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Coccinelle is a program matching and transformation engine which
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/complexity/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/complexity/default.nix
index 9f1eca0fa13c7..a7ae4d17ab104 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/complexity/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/complexity/default.nix
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Complexity, C code complexity measurement tool";
+    description = "C code complexity measurement tool";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Complexity is a tool designed for analyzing the complexity of C
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cppi/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cppi/default.nix
index 500129c7c9de5..2942408de8065 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cppi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cppi/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/cppi/;
 
-    description = "GNU cppi, a cpp directive indenter";
+    description = "A C preprocessor directive indenter";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU cppi indents C preprocessor directives to reflect their nesting
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cscope/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cscope/default.nix
index 3a83b1ba32516..223f19682746d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cscope/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/cscope/default.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Cscope, a developer's tool for browsing source code";
+    description = "A developer's tool for browsing source code";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Cscope is a developer's tool for browsing source code.  It has
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ctags/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ctags/default.nix
index 80def733cf8c8..bf13a5daa666a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ctags/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ctags/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://ctags.sourceforge.net/";
-    description = "Exuberant Ctags, a tool for fast source code browsing";
+    description = "A tool for fast source code browsing (exuberant ctags)";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gdb/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gdb/default.nix
index 2b5ced7806331..5ee0f64a4e41a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gdb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gdb/default.nix
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = false;
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "GDB, the GNU Project debugger";
+    description = "The GNU Project debugger";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GDB, the GNU Project debugger, allows you to see what is going
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gengetopt/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gengetopt/default.nix
index 9926dd6cd3347..19e934f884f7c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gengetopt/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gengetopt/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Gengetopt, a command-line option parser generator";
+    description = "Command-line option parser generator";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Gengetopt program generates a C function that uses getopt_long
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/global/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/global/default.nix
index d6abf8d10bdb5..b366feb304a6e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/global/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/global/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU GLOBAL source code tag system";
+    description = "Source code tag system";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU GLOBAL is a source code tagging system that works the same way
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix
index e25998e542043..f0fd081ec5f14 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU gperf, a perfect hash function generator";
+    description = "Perfect hash function generator";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU gperf is a perfect hash function generator.  For a given
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/help2man/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/help2man/default.nix
index 23bd35c8739a4..c4ba7073889d9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/help2man/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/help2man/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU help2man generates man pages from `--help' output";
+    description = "Generate man pages from `--help' output";
 
     longDescription =
       '' help2man produces simple manual pages from the ‘--help’ and
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/libtool/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/libtool/default.nix
index 5eee9ead5d636..262d8aad23bb6 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/libtool/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/libtool/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   dontPatchShebangs = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Libtool, a generic library support script";
+    description = "Generic library support script";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU libtool is a generic library support script.  Libtool hides
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/sloccount/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/sloccount/default.nix
index 455305be74922..1aa9a2c058d6b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/sloccount/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/sloccount/default.nix
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "SLOCCount, a set of tools for counting physical Source Lines of Code (SLOC)";
+    description = "Set of tools for counting physical Source Lines of Code (SLOC)";
 
     longDescription = ''
       This is the home page of "SLOCCount", a set of tools for
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/swig/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/swig/default.nix
index 09978b5ad650f..66d6b65453eaf 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/swig/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/swig/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   configureFlags = stdenv.lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin "--disable-ccache";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "SWIG, an interface compiler that connects C/C++ code to higher-level languages";
+    description = "Interface compiler that connects C/C++ code to higher-level languages";
 
     longDescription = ''
        SWIG is an interface compiler that connects programs written in C and
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/4.13a.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/4.13a.nix
index 5131d38141235..a31552305147d 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/4.13a.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/4.13a.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   #doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Texinfo, the GNU documentation system";
+    description = "The GNU documentation system";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Texinfo is the official documentation format of the GNU project.
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/5.2.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/5.2.nix
index 804e7a2527fef..62e1ff62d1e31 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/5.2.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/texinfo/5.2.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/";
-    description = "GNU Texinfo, the GNU documentation system";
+    description = "The GNU documentation system";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/ocaml/omake/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/ocaml/omake/default.nix
index 22e0d71af4d17..300cbbc0a0c15 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/ocaml/omake/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/ocaml/omake/default.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 #  buildFlags = "world.opt";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Omake build system";
+    description = "A build system designed for scalability and portability";
     homepage = "${webpage}";
     license = "GPL";
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/2.x.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/2.x.nix
index 5bf5d7c2e8c64..f89e7bca5a764 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/2.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/2.x.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.gnu.org/software/bison/";
-    description = "GNU Bison, a Yacc-compatible parser generator";
+    description = "Yacc-compatible parser generator";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/3.x.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/3.x.nix
index 5947f85343c49..49602a2320102 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/3.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/parsing/bison/3.x.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.gnu.org/software/bison/";
-    description = "GNU Bison, a Yacc-compatible parser generator";
+    description = "Yacc-compatible parser generator";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/oprofile/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/oprofile/default.nix
index e301fe8431afc..6c7b2a4d9ae15 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/oprofile/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/oprofile/default.nix
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "OProfile, a system-wide profiler for Linux";
+    description = "System-wide profiler for Linux";
     longDescription = ''
       OProfile is a system-wide profiler for Linux systems, capable of
       profiling all running code at low overhead.  It consists of a
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/sysprof/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/sysprof/default.nix
index 457a5d1dcaa52..826ca93aa7d41 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/sysprof/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/profiling/sysprof/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://sysprof.com/;
-    description = "Sysprof, a system-wide profiler for Linux";
+    description = "System-wide profiler for Linux";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/sqsh/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/sqsh/default.nix
index a0f7922b1aa84..15a6985b8bf78 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/sqsh/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/sqsh/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "SQSH is command line tool for querying Sybase/MSSQL databases";
+    description = "Command line tool for querying Sybase/MSSQL databases";
     longDescription = 
       ''
       Sqsh (pronounced skwish) is short for SQshelL (pronounced s-q-shell),
diff --git a/pkgs/games/banner/default.nix b/pkgs/games/banner/default.nix
index b4e61b6d1d1f5..b443a76b9a77d 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/banner/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/banner/default.nix
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ mkDerivation "banner-1.3.2" "0dc0ac0667b2e884a7f5ad3e467af68cd0fd5917f8c9aa19188
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://shh.thathost.com/pub-unix/";
-    description = "print large banners to ASCII terminals";
+    description = "Print large banners to ASCII terminals";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/games/chessdb/default.nix b/pkgs/games/chessdb/default.nix
index 381e35632a6ef..224eb6f594a03 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/chessdb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/chessdb/default.nix
@@ -24,6 +24,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://chessdb.sourceforge.net/;
-    description = "ChessDB is a free chess database";
+    description = "A free chess database";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/games/construo/default.nix b/pkgs/games/construo/default.nix
index 57d055ed3d3d8..f94b489908eb0 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/construo/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/construo/default.nix
@@ -24,6 +24,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 	builder = writeScript (name + "-builder")
 		(textClosure localDefs ["preConfigure" "doConfigure" "doMakeInstall" "doForceShare" "doPropagate"]);
 	meta = {
-		description = "Construo masses and springs simulation";
+		description = "Masses and springs simulation game";
 	};
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/games/crafty/default.nix b/pkgs/games/crafty/default.nix
index 0e2796df22d89..351e25388e176 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/crafty/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/crafty/default.nix
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.craftychess.com/;
-    description = "Crafty is a free, open-source computer chess program developed by Dr. Robert M. Hyatt";
+    description = "Chess program developed by Dr. Robert M. Hyatt";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.unfree;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.unix;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.jwiegley ];
diff --git a/pkgs/games/eboard/default.nix b/pkgs/games/eboard/default.nix
index 1decee4264a41..8dd06fa6a2815 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/eboard/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/eboard/default.nix
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.bergo.eng.br/eboard/;
-    description = "eboard is a chess interface for Unix-like systems";
+    description = "Chess interface for Unix-like systems";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/games/openspades/default.nix b/pkgs/games/openspades/default.nix
index 7f11fc8290320..c2218d033d799 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/openspades/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/openspades/default.nix
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     else null;
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "OpenSpades is a compatible client of Ace of Spades 0.75";
+    description = "A compatible client of Ace of Spades 0.75";
     homepage    = "https://github.com/yvt/openspades/";
     license     = licenses.gpl3;
     platforms   = platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/games/openttd/default.nix b/pkgs/games/openttd/default.nix
index 1b6b7f26a41ed..ff96622cb59cf 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/openttd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/openttd/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = ''OpenTTD is an open source clone of the Microprose game "Transport Tycoon Deluxe"'';
+    description = ''Open source clone of the Microprose game "Transport Tycoon Deluxe"'';
     longDescription = ''
       OpenTTD is a transportation economics simulator. In single player mode,
       players control a transportation business, and use rail, road, sea, and air
diff --git a/pkgs/games/opentyrian/default.nix b/pkgs/games/opentyrian/default.nix
index cfae6a4bb3e84..c435bbe5887fe 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/opentyrian/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/opentyrian/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ";
 
   meta = {
-    description = ''OpenTyrian is an open source port of the game "Tyrian".'';
+    description = ''Open source port of the game "Tyrian"'';
     homepage = https://opentyrian.googlecode.com/;
     # This does not account of Tyrian data.
     # license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
diff --git a/pkgs/games/teeworlds/default.nix b/pkgs/games/teeworlds/default.nix
index c685f11c4c161..5276ec4cc34fa 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/teeworlds/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/teeworlds/default.nix
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ EOF
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Teeworlds, a retro multiplayer shooter game";
+    description = "Retro multiplayer shooter game";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Teeworlds is a free online multiplayer game, available for all
diff --git a/pkgs/misc/ghostscript/default.nix b/pkgs/misc/ghostscript/default.nix
index 275b93e01b8b7..b8c879d598ba9 100644
--- a/pkgs/misc/ghostscript/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/misc/ghostscript/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ assert cupsSupport -> cups != null;
 let
   meta_common = {
     homepage = "http://www.gnu.org/software/ghostscript/";
-    description = "GNU Ghostscript, a PostScript interpreter";
+    description = "PostScript interpreter (GNU version)";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Ghostscript is the name of a set of tools that provides (i) an
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ let
     };
     meta = meta_common // {
       homepage = "http://www.ghostscript.com/";
-      description = "GPL Ghostscript, a PostScript interpreter";
+      description = "PostScript interpreter (mainline version)";
     };
 
     preConfigure = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/misc/xosd/default.nix b/pkgs/misc/xosd/default.nix
index d6b73ed16fe05..54538be84b413 100644
--- a/pkgs/misc/xosd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/misc/xosd/default.nix
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ libX11 libXext libXt xextproto xproto ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "XOSD displays text on your screen";
+    description = "Displays text on your screen";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/conky/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/conky/default.nix
index 92b97ffb592e8..52e5d95346ed1 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/conky/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/conky/default.nix
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://conky.sourceforge.net/;
-    description = "Conky is an advanced, highly configurable system monitor based on torsmo";
+    description = "Advanced, highly configurable system monitor based on torsmo";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.guibert ];
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/dico/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/dico/default.nix
index ca4980f5a6c43..f345fe71a34ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/dico/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/dico/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "GNU Dico, a flexible dictionary server and client implementing RFC 2229";
+    description = "Flexible dictionary server and client implementing RFC 2229";
     homepage    = http://www.gnu.org/software/dico/;
     license     = "GPLv3+";
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 ];
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/dns/bind/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/dns/bind/default.nix
index 921d8e907f19f..50e71a7454642 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/dns/bind/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/dns/bind/default.nix
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.isc.org/software/bind";
-    description = "ISC BIND: a domain name server";
+    description = "Domain name server";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.isc;
 
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [viric simons];
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/felix/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/felix/default.nix
index aa40365e8deaf..c1114232ea8f0 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/felix/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/felix/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     cp -av * $out
   '';
   meta = {
-    description = "Apache Felix OSGi gateway";
+    description = "An OSGi gateway";
     homepage = http://felix.apache.org;
     license = "ASF";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.sander ];
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/firebird/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/firebird/default.nix
index 365af29595c1e..3e778317169c4 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/firebird/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/firebird/default.nix
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   installPhase = ''cp -r gen/firebird $out'';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "firebird database engine";
+    description = "SQL relational database management system";
     homepage = http://www.firebirdnews.org;
     license = ["IDPL" "Interbase-1.0"];
     maintainers = [stdenv.lib.maintainers.marcweber];
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/http/couchdb/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/http/couchdb/default.nix
index 35d4ebbf89f31..0b5244a5974fc 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/http/couchdb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/http/couchdb/default.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Apache CouchDB is a database that uses JSON for documents, JavaScript for MapReduce queries, and regular HTTP for an API";
+    description = "A database that uses JSON for documents, JavaScript for MapReduce queries, and regular HTTP for an API";
     homepage = "http://couchdb.apache.org";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.asl20;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ viric garbas ];
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/http/jboss/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/http/jboss/default.nix
index d5768da4c8241..86d371898872a 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/http/jboss/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/http/jboss/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.jboss.org/";
-    description = "JBoss, Open Source J2EE application server";
+    description = "Open Source J2EE application server";
     license = "GPL/LGPL";
     maintainers = [ lib.maintainers.sander ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/pies/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/pies/default.nix
index 958578138bc29..56c7da5caedfb 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/pies/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/pies/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Pies, a program invocation and execution supervisor";
+    description = "A program invocation and execution supervisor";
 
     longDescription =
       '' The name Pies (pronounced "p-yes") stands for Program Invocation and
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix
index 2c6f6c1049318..a918007b47c66 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/pulseaudio/default.nix
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   installFlags = "sysconfdir=$(out)/etc pulseconfdir=$(out)/etc/pulse";
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "PulseAudio, a sound server for POSIX and Win32 systems";
+    description = "Sound server for POSIX and Win32 systems";
     homepage    = http://www.pulseaudio.org/;
     # Note: Practically, the server is under the GPL due to the
     # dependency on `libsamplerate'.  See `LICENSE' for details.
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/shishi/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/shishi/default.nix
index 2e0a4e84f6c7f..a41915e5be8ae 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/shishi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/shishi/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Shishi, free implementation of the Kerberos 5 network security system";
+    description = "An implementation of the Kerberos 5 network security system";
     homepage    = http://www.gnu.org/software/shishi/;
     license     = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ bjg lovek323 ];
diff --git a/pkgs/shells/rush/default.nix b/pkgs/shells/rush/default.nix
index e9d0c61ee0812..3232caf5848bc 100644
--- a/pkgs/shells/rush/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/shells/rush/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Rush, Restricted User Shell";
+    description = "Restricted User Shell";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Rush is a Restricted User Shell, designed for sites
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/X11/hsetroot/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/X11/hsetroot/default.nix
index d91f4bfdf652e..e226f1f93c435 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/X11/hsetroot/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/X11/hsetroot/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ imlib2 libX11 libXext ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "hsetroot allows you to compose wallpapers ('root pixmaps') for X";
+    description = "Allows you to compose wallpapers ('root pixmaps') for X";
     homepage = http://thegraveyard.org/hsetroot.html;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/X11/wmctrl/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/X11/wmctrl/default.nix
index 3f691b8ecd451..2e23e7bd4de42 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/X11/wmctrl/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/X11/wmctrl/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://tomas.styblo.name/wmctrl/;
-    description = "wmctrl is a UNIX/Linux command line tool to interact with an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager";
+    description = "Command line tool to interact with an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; all;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/X11/xnee/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/X11/xnee/default.nix
index 0e92021b62c91..35c4ca06c6c5d 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/X11/xnee/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/X11/xnee/default.nix
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Xnee, an X11 event recording and replay tool";
+    description = "X11 event recording and replay tool";
 
     longDescription =
       '' Xnee is a suite of programs that can record, replay and distribute
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/X11/xtrace/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/X11/xtrace/default.nix
index efc0647f5dbd3..c3c9c70fe9272 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/X11/xtrace/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/X11/xtrace/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://xtrace.alioth.debian.org/;
-    description = "xtrace, a tool to trace X11 protocol connections";
+    description = "Tool to trace X11 protocol connections";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [viric];
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/admin/tightvnc/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/admin/tightvnc/default.nix
index acb8708ec14fd..407242cf2d9bb 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/admin/tightvnc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/admin/tightvnc/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   meta = {
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
     homepage = "http://vnc-tight.sourceforge.net/";
-    description = "TightVNC is an improved version of VNC";
+    description = "Improved version of VNC";
 
     longDescription = ''
       TightVNC is an improved version of VNC, the great free
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix
index afd734fbae04c..f19564e4ad916 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Sharutils, tools for remote synchronization and `shell archives'";
+    description = "Tools for remote synchronization and `shell archives'";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU shar makes so-called shell archives out of many files, preparing
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/backup/partclone/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/backup/partclone/default.nix
index b446b06f987c7..fe2b9e00aaaf2 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/backup/partclone/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/backup/partclone/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,13 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   installPhase = ''make INSTPREFIX=$out install'';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Partclone provides utilities to save and restore used blocks on a partition and is designed for higher compatibility of the file system by using existing libraries, e.g. e2fslibs is used to read and write the ext2 partition";
+    description = "Utilities to save and restore used blocks on a partition";
+    longDescription = ''
+      Partclone provides utilities to save and restore used blocks on a
+      partition and is designed for higher compatibility of the file system by
+      using existing libraries, e.g. e2fslibs is used to read and write the
+      ext2 partition.
+    '';
     homepage = http://partclone.org;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [stdenv.lib.maintainers.marcweber];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/cd-dvd/xorriso/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/cd-dvd/xorriso/default.nix
index 88cca66efb13e..218ea9a1e7ffb 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/cd-dvd/xorriso/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/cd-dvd/xorriso/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ++ stdenv.lib.optional stdenv.isLinux acl;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU xorriso, an ISO 9660 Rock Ridge file system manipulator";
+    description = "ISO 9660 Rock Ridge file system manipulator";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU xorriso copies file objects from POSIX compliant filesystems
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/compression/gzip/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/compression/gzip/default.nix
index b7bf9c59f494f..cc304d9aa1e59 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/compression/gzip/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/compression/gzip/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/gzip/;
-    description = "Gzip, the GNU zip compression program";
+    description = "GNU zip compression program";
 
     longDescription =
       ''gzip (GNU zip) is a popular data compression program written by
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/compression/rzip/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/compression/rzip/default.nix
index ca8d356abb3ea..4460ae6edf3ed 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/compression/rzip/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/compression/rzip/default.nix
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://rzip.samba.org/;
-    description = "The RZIP compression program";
+    description = "Compression program";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/chunkfs/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/chunkfs/default.nix
index d91525e348f76..f8c6942bad0ee 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/chunkfs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/chunkfs/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "(Un)ChunkFS is a pair of FUSE filesystems for viewing chunksync-style directory trees as a block device and vice versa.";
+    description = "FUSE filesystems for viewing chunksync-style directory trees as a block device and vice versa";
     homepage = "http://chunkfs.florz.de/";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/encfs/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/encfs/default.nix
index 9ebab38984bca..ea96001a421b3 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/encfs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/encfs/default.nix
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.arg0.net/encfs;
-    description = "EncFS provides an encrypted filesystem in user-space via FUSE";
+    description = "Provides an encrypted filesystem in user-space via FUSE";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/mtools/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/mtools/default.nix
index 0b666f3894204..6b9631bfccfe0 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/mtools/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/mtools/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/mtools/;
-    description = "GNU mtools, utilities to access MS-DOS disks";
+    description = "Utilities to access MS-DOS disks";
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.gnu;  # arbitrary choice
     maintainers = [ ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/svnfs/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/svnfs/default.nix
index b6a296e6bc7b2..fba066d0f4cb4 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/svnfs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/svnfs/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   NIX_LDFLAGS="-lsvn_client-1";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "SvnFs is a filesystem written using FUSE for accessing Subversion repositories";
+    description = "FUSE filesystem for accessing Subversion repositories";
     homepage = http://www.jmadden.eu/index.php/svnfs/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [stdenv.lib.maintainers.marcweber];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/wdfs/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/wdfs/default.nix
index 68d978a2a554c..a28d5394fc19f 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/wdfs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/wdfs/default.nix
@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec
   buildInputs = [fuse glib neon pkgconfig];
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://noedler.de/projekte/wdfs/";
-    description = "wdfs a user-space filesystem that allows to mount a webdav share";
+    description = "User-space filesystem that allows to mount a webdav share";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/graphics/cuneiform/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/graphics/cuneiform/default.nix
index 2638594903ab3..0e94571503c3c 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/graphics/cuneiform/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/graphics/cuneiform/default.nix
@@ -37,6 +37,6 @@ rec {
   name = "cuneiform-" + version;
   meta = {
     inherit version;
-    description = "Cuneiform OCR";
+    description = "Multi-language OCR system";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/graphics/plotutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/graphics/plotutils/default.nix
index ae0c4d197315e..0f67de3c3ea14 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/graphics/plotutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/graphics/plotutils/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Plotutils, a powerful C/C++ library for exporting 2D vector graphics";
+    description = "Powerful C/C++ library for exporting 2D vector graphics";
 
     longDescription =
       '' The GNU plotutils package contains software for both programmers and
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/goaccess/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/goaccess/default.nix
index 56e18227d6612..0f8f82acaed04 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/goaccess/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/goaccess/default.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GoAccess is an open source real-time web log analyzer and interactive viewer that runs in a terminal in *nix systems.";
+    description = "Real-time web log analyzer and interactive viewer that runs in a terminal in *nix systems";
     homepage    = http://goaccess.prosoftcorp.com;
     license     = stdenv.lib.licenses.mit;
     platforms   = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux ++ stdenv.lib.platforms.darwin;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/idutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/idutils/default.nix
index 2b2f3aeaca3c9..503beefa15af7 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/idutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/idutils/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   patches = [ ./nix-mapping.patch ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Idutils, a text searching utility";
+    description = "Text searching utility";
 
     longDescription = ''
       An "ID database" is a binary file containing a list of file
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/lbdb/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/lbdb/default.nix
index 20830bad6bfa6..6d03b09c588f0 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/lbdb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/lbdb/default.nix
@@ -17,6 +17,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     homepage = "http://www.spinnaker.de/lbdb/";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
-    description = "The Little Brother's Database (lbdb)";
+    description = "The Little Brother's Database";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/ldapvi/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/ldapvi/default.nix
index 28d9b4863d4bc..6dba834e8be5d 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/ldapvi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/ldapvi/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "ldapvi is an interactive LDAP client for Unix terminals. Using it, you can update LDAP entries with a text editor";
+    description = "Interactive LDAP client for Unix terminals";
+    longDescription = ''
+      ldapvi is an interactive LDAP client for Unix terminals. Using it, you
+      can update LDAP entries with a text editor.
+    '';
     homepage = http://www.lichteblau.com/ldapvi/;
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ iElectric ];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/minicom/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/minicom/default.nix
index 8ede3aa918b1a..d731e856790d8 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/minicom/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/minicom/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Minicom, a modem control and terminal emulation program";
+    description = "Modem control and terminal emulation program";
     homepage = http://alioth.debian.org/projects/minicom/;
 
     longDescription =
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/most/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/most/default.nix
index b7f7842680f6a..b97d8f0b71990 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/most/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/most/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ slang ncurses ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = ''
+    description = "A terminal pager similar to 'more' and 'less'";
+    longDescription = ''
       MOST is a powerful paging program for Unix, VMS, MSDOS, and win32
       systems. Unlike other well-known paging programs most supports multiple
       windows and can scroll left and right. Why settle for less?
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/parallel/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/parallel/default.nix
index df360bb9804d4..4b0332c750600 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/parallel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/parallel/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Parallel, a shell tool for executing jobs in parallel";
+    description = "Shell tool for executing jobs in parallel";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Parallel is a shell tool for executing jobs in parallel.  A job
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/parted/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/parted/default.nix
index 108d4d5e0400c..01b9f391a4435 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/parted/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/parted/default.nix
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       "export PATH=\"${utillinux}/sbin:$PATH\"";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Parted, a tool to create, destroy, resize, check, and copy partitions";
+    description = "Create, destroy, resize, check, and copy partitions";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Parted is an industrial-strength package for creating, destroying,
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/pg_top/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/pg_top/default.nix
index 392fcbcc8ff99..0d379cd11d4a3 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/pg_top/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/pg_top/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ncurses postgresql]; 
 
   meta = {
-    description = "pg_top is 'top' for PostgreSQL";
+    description = "A 'top' like tool for PostgreSQL";
     longDescription = '' 
       pg_top allows you to: 
       <itemizedlist>
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/recutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/recutils/default.nix
index f2f5f37ebe44c..4d6829e99a4c1 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/recutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/recutils/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ curl emacs ] ++ (stdenv.lib.optionals doCheck [ check bc ]);
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Recutils, tools and libraries to access human-editable, text-based databases";
+    description = "Tools and libraries to access human-editable, text-based databases";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Recutils is a set of tools and libraries to access
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/time/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/time/default.nix
index 3a35e9a9f1cc6..737ba244fe8e6 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/time/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/time/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   patches = [ ./max-resident.patch ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Time, a tool that runs programs and summarizes the system resources they use";
+    description = "Tool that runs programs and summarizes the system resources they use";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The `time' command runs another program, then displays
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/tmpwatch/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/tmpwatch/default.nix
index c19d58b981622..760f56726fab9 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/tmpwatch/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/tmpwatch/default.nix
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     homepage = https://fedorahosted.org/tmpwatch/;
-    description = "The tmpwatch utility recursively searches through specified directories and removes files which have not been accessed in a specified period of time.";
+    description = "Recursively searches through specified directories and removes files which have not been accessed in a specified period of time";
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ vlstill ];
     platforms = platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/tmux/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/tmux/default.nix
index 4acbabb50f983..32f681dabebbc 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/tmux/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/tmux/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://tmux.sourceforge.net/;
-    description = "tmux is a terminal multiplexer";
+    description = "Terminal multiplexer";
 
     longDescription =
       '' tmux is intended to be a modern, BSD-licensed alternative to programs such as GNU screen. Major features include:
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/yad/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/yad/default.nix
index fcdf5095d70f3..d884d48f52148 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/yad/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/yad/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://code.google.com/p/yad/";
-    description = "Yad (yet another dialog) is a GUI dialog tool for shell scripts";
+    description = "GUI dialog tool for shell scripts";
     longDescription = ''
       Yad (yet another dialog) is a GUI dialog tool for shell scripts. It is a
       fork of Zenity with many improvements, such as custom buttons, additional
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/cntlm/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/cntlm/default.nix
index cd3ae12a11b8e..f890bdddb693f 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/cntlm/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/cntlm/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Cntlm is an NTLM/NTLMv2 authenticating HTTP proxy";
+    description = "NTLM/NTLMv2 authenticating HTTP proxy";
     homepage = http://cntlm.sourceforge.net/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.qknight ];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/connman/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/connman/default.nix
index c99af220a56c4..7d955b4495066 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/connman/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/connman/default.nix
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The ConnMan project provides a daemon for managing internet connections";
+    description = "Provides a daemon for managing internet connections";
     homepage = "https://connman.net/";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.matejc ];
     # tested only on linux, might work on others also
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/flvstreamer/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/flvstreamer/default.nix
index f932212961256..ab8e14fddd0b1 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/flvstreamer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/flvstreamer/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "flvstreamer is an command-line RTMP client";
+    description = "Command-line RTMP client";
 
     longDescription =
       '' flvstreamer is an open source command-line RTMP client intended to 
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/host/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/host/default.nix
index c74dbe5282903..54cb8b21aafae 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/host/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/host/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ let version = "20000331"; in
     installTargets = "install man";
 
     meta = {
-      description = "`host', a DNS resolution utility";
+      description = "DNS resolution utility";
       license = "BSD-style";
     };
   }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/inetutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/inetutils/default.nix
index 20ee6da8a30ce..a6a921f6f5884 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/inetutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/inetutils/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Inetutils, a collection of common network programs";
+    description = "Collection of common network programs";
 
     longDescription =
       '' The GNU network utilities suite provides the
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/jnettop/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/jnettop/default.nix
index 49753d189d633..cfeaf47fdf23e 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/jnettop/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/jnettop/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   preConfigure = '' autoconf '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Jnettop, a network traffic visualizer";
+    description = "Network traffic visualizer";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Jnettop is a traffic visualiser, which captures traffic going
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/lsh/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/lsh/default.nix
index 6be4119469ea0..c86dba91f5e6c 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/lsh/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/lsh/default.nix
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ gperf guile gmp zlib liboop readline gnum4 pam ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU lsh, a GPL'd implementation of the SSH protocol";
+    description = "GPL'd implementation of the SSH protocol";
 
     longDescription = ''
       lsh is a free implementation (in the GNU sense) of the ssh
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/mailutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/mailutils/default.nix
index 4c1001310ae1f..0ee4903270426 100755
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/mailutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/mailutils/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = false;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Mailutils is a rich and powerful protocol-independent mail framework";
+    description = "Rich and powerful protocol-independent mail framework";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Mailutils is a rich and powerful protocol-independent mail
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/minidlna/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/minidlna/default.nix
index 02013d8ede6db..9db42f09d81ae 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/minidlna/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/minidlna/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ ffmpeg flac libvorbis libogg libid3tag libexif libjpeg sqlite ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "MiniDLNA Media Server";
+    description = "Media server software";
     longDescription = ''
       MiniDLNA (aka ReadyDLNA) is server software with the aim of being fully
       compliant with DLNA/UPnP-AV clients.
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/tcpdump/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/tcpdump/default.nix
index 2e27c2b2dc339..ed295e95a38ba 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/tcpdump/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/tcpdump/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "tcpdump, a famous network sniffer";
+    description = "Network sniffer";
     homepage = http://www.tcpdump.org/;
     license = "BSD-style";
     maintainers = stdenv.lib.maintainers.mornfall;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/wget/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/wget/default.nix
index 6ff5439c4bc62..27d7fe2572a06 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/wget/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/wget/default.nix
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = (perl != null);
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Wget, a tool for retrieving files using HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP";
+    description = "Tool for retrieving files using HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Wget is a free software package for retrieving files using HTTP,
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/package-management/nix/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/package-management/nix/default.nix
index b2e86935b50df..6631214f39abe 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/package-management/nix/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/package-management/nix/default.nix
@@ -66,7 +66,14 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The Nix Deployment System";
+    description = "Powerful package manager that makes package management reliable and reproducible";
+    longDescription = ''
+      Nix is a powerful package manager for Linux and other Unix systems that
+      makes package management reliable and reproducible. It provides atomic
+      upgrades and rollbacks, side-by-side installation of multiple versions of
+      a package, multi-user package management and easy setup of build
+      environments.
+    '';
     homepage = http://nixos.org/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl2Plus;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.eelco ];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/scrypt/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/scrypt/default.nix
index fe2a19491d99b..668a76051153a 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/scrypt/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/scrypt/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ openssl ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The scrypt encryption utility";
+    description = "Encryption utility";
     homepage    = https://www.tarsnap.com/scrypt.html;
     license     = stdenv.lib.licenses.bsd2;
     platforms   = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/steghide/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/steghide/default.nix
index bc87c091a58ff..03e8c727022df 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/steghide/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/steghide/default.nix
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
     meta = with stdenv.lib; {
         homepage = http://steghide.sourceforge.net/;
-        description = "Steghide is a steganography program that is able to hide data in various kinds of image- and audio-files.";
+        description = "Steganography program that is able to hide data in various kinds of image- and audio-files";
         license = licenses.gpl2;
     };
 
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/tboot/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/tboot/default.nix
index 1c9967edc4778..854f67f2aeec2 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/tboot/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/tboot/default.nix
@@ -21,9 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   installFlags = "DESTDIR=$(out)";
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = ''Trusted Boot (tboot) is an open source, pre-kernel/VMM module that uses
-                    Intel(R) Trusted Execution Technology (Intel(R) TXT) to perform a measured
-                    and verified launch of an OS kernel/VMM.'';
+    description = "A pre-kernel/VMM module that uses Intel(R) TXT to perform a measured and verified launch of an OS kernel/VMM";
     homepage    = http://sourceforge.net/projects/tboot/;
     license     = licenses.bsd3;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.ak ];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/tor/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/tor/default.nix
index d71bbd891f916..3318d0c1102d5 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/tor/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/tor/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.torproject.org/;
     repositories.git = https://git.torproject.org/git/tor;
-    description = "Tor, an anonymous network router to improve privacy on the Internet";
+    description = "Anonymous network router to improve privacy on the Internet";
 
     longDescription=''
       Tor protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/tpm-tools/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/tpm-tools/default.nix
index 95b3b6b51f777..6e7ff75a6a487 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/tpm-tools/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/tpm-tools/default.nix
@@ -14,9 +14,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ trousers openssl ];
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = ''tpm-tools is an open-source package designed to enable user and application
-                    enablement of Trusted Computing using a Trusted Platform Module (TPM),
-                    similar to a smart card environment.'';
+    description = "Management tools for TPM hardware";
+    longDescription = ''
+      tpm-tools is an open-source package designed to enable user and
+      application enablement of Trusted Computing using a Trusted Platform
+      Module (TPM), similar to a smart card environment.
+    '';
     homepage    = http://sourceforge.net/projects/trousers/files/tpm-tools/;
     license     = licenses.cpl10;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.ak ];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/trousers/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/trousers/default.nix
index 4c2af359b9645..fe797291f9ea9 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/trousers/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/trousers/default.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   NIX_LDFLAGS = "-lgcc_s";
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "TrouSerS is an CPL (Common Public License) licensed Trusted Computing Software Stack.";
+    description = "Trusted computing software stack";
     homepage    = http://trousers.sourceforge.net/;
     license     = licenses.cpl10;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.ak ];
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/system/cron/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/system/cron/default.nix
index 6132abc087903..0cf29a67b9da4 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/system/cron/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/system/cron/default.nix
@@ -22,6 +22,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   preInstall = "mkdir -p $out/bin $out/sbin $out/share/man/man1 $out/share/man/man5 $out/share/man/man8";
   
   meta = {
-    description = "Vixie Cron, a daemon for running commands at specific times";
+    description = "Daemon for running commands at specific times (Vixie Cron)";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/system/freeipmi/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/system/freeipmi/default.nix
index 21a67dba305c7..48562adffebef 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/system/freeipmi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/system/freeipmi/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU FreeIPMI, an implementation of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface";
+    description = "Implementation of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU FreeIPMI provides in-band and out-of-band IPMI software based on
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/system/hardlink/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/system/hardlink/default.nix
index 982aac3c99009..6ae92b685cc94 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/system/hardlink/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/system/hardlink/default.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://pkgs.fedoraproject.org/cgit/hardlink.git/";
-    description = "consolidate duplicate files via hardlinks";
+    description = "Consolidate duplicate files via hardlinks";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/system/mcron/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/system/mcron/default.nix
index 4bf958959961b..842529c573f1d 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/system/mcron/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/system/mcron/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU mcron, a flexible implementation of `cron' in Guile";
+    description = "Flexible implementation of `cron' in Guile";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The GNU package mcron (Mellor's cron) is a 100% compatible
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/text/enscript/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/text/enscript/default.nix
index fe11ec5924635..797f5b8b69220 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/text/enscript/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/text/enscript/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Enscript, a converter from ASCII to PostScript, HTML, or RTF";
+    description = "Converter from ASCII to PostScript, HTML, or RTF";
 
     longDescription =
       '' GNU Enscript converts ASCII files to PostScript, HTML, or RTF and
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/text/mpage/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/text/mpage/default.nix
index 5b95c37c732d0..c147b3ea301f8 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/text/mpage/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/text/mpage/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Mpage, many-to-one page printing utility";
+    description = "Many-to-one page printing utility";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Mpage reads plain text files or PostScript documents and prints
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/text/namazu/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/text/namazu/default.nix
index fba52b69fbafd..72caa7ba5cb49 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/text/namazu/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/text/namazu/default.nix
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   doCheck = !stdenv.isLinux;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Namazu, a full-text search engine";
+    description = "Full-text search engine";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Namazu is a full-text search engine intended for easy use.  Not
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/text/wdiff/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/text/wdiff/default.nix
index e6fc3510cd401..c07caad15a35f 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/text/wdiff/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/text/wdiff/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/wdiff/;
-    description = "GNU wdiff, comparing files on a word by word basis";
+    description = "Comparing files on a word by word basis";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.eelco ];
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/lout/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/lout/default.nix
index c0fc433629715..a2ebfa0a9fd4b 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/lout/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/lout/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   builder = ./builder.sh;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Lout, a document layout system similar in style to LaTeX";
+    description = "Document layout system similar in style to LaTeX";
 
     longDescription = ''
       The Lout document formatting system is now reads a high-level
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/rubber/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/rubber/default.nix
index 8344735606ca8..32545abaff2d8 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/rubber/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/rubber/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   patchPhase = "substituteInPlace configure --replace which \"type -P\"";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Rubber, a wrapper for LaTeX and friends";
+    description = "Wrapper for LaTeX and friends";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Rubber is a program whose purpose is to handle all tasks related
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/xmlto/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/xmlto/default.nix
index 1b0602063e9eb..a1eee51b34d52 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/xmlto/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/xmlto/default.nix
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "xmlto, a front-end to an XSL toolchain";
+    description = "Front-end to an XSL toolchain";
 
     longDescription = ''
       xmlto is a front-end to an XSL toolchain.  It chooses an
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/video/dvgrab/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/video/dvgrab/default.nix
index faaea6aaffc41..73986b5be05d7 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/video/dvgrab/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/video/dvgrab/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "dvgrab, receive and store audio & video over IEEE1394";
+    description = "Receive and store audio & video over IEEE1394";
 
     longDescription =
       '' dvgrab receives audio and video data from a digital camcorder via an
author	Bjørn Forsman <bjorn.forsman@gmail.com>	2014-08-24 16:21:08 +0200
committer	Bjørn Forsman <bjorn.forsman@gmail.com>	2014-08-24 22:31:37 +0200
commit	c9baba9212feb6e39151118647d45b34b029a6df (patch)
tree	48dc0df228a071cc5639fe51bfce55d621a3a8f1
parent	2a6c7e2874a3ada9b1c544db61402e03091556db (diff)