Linux Archive

Gary Richmond at Freesoftware Magazine looks at Acer's Aspire One, the latest ultra portable laptop computer to feature GNU/Linux. It runs Linpus Linux Lite, a hacked version of Fedora 8. At last we have a version of Linux not tainted with the kernel source code issues and GPL violations that characterised Xandros on the Asus EeePC.

While I was trawling through Net Applications' operating system share trend data for the past 24 months, something struck me. June 08 marked a big month for Linux. The OS saw the largest increase in market share for the whole 2 year period - a growth of 0.12%.

CodingExperiments.com posted an interesting article by utilizing the Google Trends system to show the trends in the Linux ecosystem. While these trends don't mean "market share", they are interesting and pretty accurate in terms of what average users care about. According to it, "Ubuntu" might even overtake the word "linux" in Google's searches.

The Sabayon Linux project has released version 3.5 and are now also officially sponsored by the NLnet Foundation. Highlights are: a new look, Linux kernel 2.6.25.9, X.Org 7.3, Compiz Fusion 0.7.6 and, and a new binary package manager called Entropy. Distribution screenshots are available here.

InfoWorld's Neil McAllister offers a primer in defense of desktop Linux in corporate environments. With tips on choosing the right distribution, migrating to Linux-friendly business applications, and bridging the Windows/Linux divide in heterogeneous environments, the article provides adequate ammunition for assuaging the desktop-Linux fears of cautious corporate types.

Earlier this week, we reported on the Berlin Packaging API, an effort to consolidate the various different packaging formats and managers in the Linux world. Many compared this new effort to PackageKit, and today Linux.com is running an article detailing what PackageKit exactly is, with a few quotes from the project's lead developer, Richard Hughes.

Installing software on Linux. In the world of online minefields, this is the big one. Back in the day, you installed software on Linux by compiling it manually. Time-consuming, but assuming you had a decent knowledge of gcc, make, and maintaining library files, this could actually work. Later one came the package management systems that were supposed to make installing software on Linux a breeze: rpm, dpkg, and so on, and so forth. Since human beings have the innate tendency to assume that everyone else is wrong and only they are right, we are now stuck with 3453495 different Linux package managers. Denis Washington, a Fedora developer, is taking steps to resolve this issue.

While Linus Torvalds is the main figurehead for the Linux kernel, there are of course countless other individuals contributing to the Linux kernel - some more than others. A contributor of key importance is Andrew Morton, maintainer of the -mm tree. Since changes in how Morton handles things are on the horizon, LWN.net sent Morton a few questions.

Journaling file systems used to be an oddity primarily for research purposes, but today it's the default in Linux. Discover the ideas behind journaling file systems, and learn how they provide better integrity in the face of a power failure or system crash. Learn about the various journaling file systems in use today, and peek into the next generation of journaling file systems.

"In a recent article, Linux File Systems: Ready for the Future?, Henry Newman expands on what he feels are shortcomings in current GNU/Linux filesystems. Specifically, he believes current Linux filesystem technology cannot meet the demands that massive implementations of 100TB or larger require. He states he received some emotional responses trying to either refute his information or impugn his character, although those comments do not show on either of the article's pages. This prompted me to get the real scoop on how Linux filesystem technology is trying to keep pace with the ever-growing need for storage space."

Linus Torvalds - a classic example of the love-it-or-hate-it type of person. Brilliant programmer, of course, and the father of one of the most extraordinary software projects in the world, but sometimes, he can be utterly arrogant any annoying, yet the other moment completely sensible and utterly spot-on in his statements. CBR listed the ten best Linus Torvalds quotes.

Back in 2001, there was a company who thought they could launch a sustainable business model around a file manager. They wrote the file manager itself, and figured they could profit from offering online services delivered through the file manager. However, the company ran out of money quickly, and wen they released version 1.0 of their file manager, they had to fire everyone, only to go down a few months later. That company was Eazel, and the file manager was Nautilus. Apparently, some saw this as the demise of the Linux desktop - others didn't.

A report on PC World says that Linux vendors Red Hat and Novell's SUSE division have unveiled updates for their enterprise Linux operating systems, adding new capabilities and hardware support in between the next major releases of their products.

It's one of those catch phrases that never really seems to die out. Wherever you look in the operating systems world, at personal blogs written in crummy English, or at high-profile quality websites, there is bound to be someone, somewhere who used it. Even I, myself, used it in articles in a far and distant past, and I'm not particularly proud of it. "Ready for the desktop" is no longer acceptable - in fact, it's on its way out.