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Linux Archive

Using Linux in a Windows World

"You've built a linux desktop. You've mounted the learning curve to configure the hardware (or paid someone else to do so) and you are able to do your own work on the machine. You've discovered that if you can point and click you can run a modern linux OS on your desktop. But how is it you will ever relate to the rest of the world? What do you do with the MS attachments people send you? How do you enjoy the music distributed in formats for a Windows World?"

OSDL and the Linux Desktop: the Road Ahead

The Linux desktop has made great strides in just the last few months, and experts at the LinuxWorld Conference & Exhibition in San Francisco see much more to come. Talk about technological issues is finally turning into successful deployments. John Cherry, the Desktop Linux Initiative manager for Open Source Developer Labs, spoke with SearchOpenSource.com about the progress of the Portland Project's beta release of its programming interfaces for the GNOME and KDE environments.

Q&A: Linus Torvalds

If open source were a religion, Linus Torvalds, the Finnish engineer who wrote the core of the operating system that would become Linux, would be its prophet. In 1991, Mr Torvalds created the kernel, or core software, that would eventually be adopted by millions of computer users and lay the foundation for a vibrant open-source community. In an email interview with Red Herring, Mr Torvalds says the increasing focus of venture capitalists and large companies on open source can only be good for a community that, until now, was on the fringes of the commercial realm.

LinuxWorld Expo Wraps up

"Another LinuxWorld Conference & Expo has come and gone. More than 10000 attendees and 175 exhibitors passed through the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The show ended yesterday after a shorter schedule of talks and exhibits, including a session by kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman. Here's our final report, including more video goodness."

The State of the 2006 Linux Desktop

Were you to walk around LinuxWorld in San Francisco this week, for almost every person you'd see sitting, you'd see a laptop in front of them. And, if you're a snoopy person, like me, you'd also see that about half of those laptops were running Linux. That doesn't sound like that much? Think again. Even a year ago, Linux-powered laptops were a rarity. Find out why Linux journalist Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols thinks the Linux desktop is poised for success.

Impressions from LinuxWorld

Check inside for our photo review of this year's LinuxWorld. In short, Novell rocked the show, while Red Hat and Sun were missing completely! We think that there were fewer people visiting this year... However, we got to see the new PalmSource ALP OS, we chatted with Motorola about their Linux SDK's state of affairs and more!

A Slow Start at LinuxWorld

The LinuxWorld Conference & Expo lurched to a start on Monday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco with half-day tutorials and after-hours parties for the early birds. As per usual, the first day of LinuxWorld consisted of tutorials only, while the exhibitors worked furiously to get their booths set up before the exhibit floor was scheduled to open on Tuesday morning.

Simplify Data Extraction Using Linux Text Utilities

Much of Linux system administration involves tediously combing through plain-text configuration files. Fortunately, Linux has a rich array of UNIX-derived data extraction utilities, including head, tail, grep, egrep, fgrep, cut, paste, join, awk, and more. This article uses real-world examples that show how these simple command-line programs can make you a better sysadmin. Also look at each data extraction utility and its options, and learn how to apply them to typical day-to-day work files.

Key Porting Differences from LinuxThreads to NPTL

The LinuxThreads project originally brought multithreading to Linux, but didn't conform to POSIX threading standards. The introduction of Native POSIX Thread Library (NPTL) however, overcame many of these disadvantages. This article describes some of the differences between these two Linux threading models for developers who may need to port their applications or who simply want to understand where the differences lie.

Linux Initial RAM Disk (initrd) Overview

"The Linux initial RAM disk is a temporary root file system that is mounted during system boot to support the two-state boot process. The initrd contains various executables and drivers that permit the real root file system to be mounted, after which the initrd RAM disk is unmounted and its memory freed. In many embedded Linux systems, the initrd is the final root file system. This article explores the initial RAM disk for Linux 2.6, including its creation and use in the Linux kernel."

Introduction to User Mode Linux; Linux Performance

This chapter provided a summary of the present state of User Mode Linux (UML) and its user community. It contrasts UML with other visualization technologies, and discusses a bit of UML's history and purpose. Also, this chapter covers basic concepts of SCSI over Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) using raw/block device files and volume managers. In addition, it covers block size, multipath I/O drivers, and striping with a volume manager, and concludes with a discussion of filesystem performance and CPU loading. Examples are included for each topic throughout the chapter.

SymphonyOS: Plea for Help

SymphonyOS, one of the more refreshing Linux distributions, is in trouble, since its lead developer is in financial troubles. "Core symphony development is currently stalled as I am without electricity in my apartment. I need to raise some money this week in order to have electric restored and cover some expenses. Project donations are greatly appreciated and any referral for paying projects are greatly appreciated as well. I have really big plans for symphony in the near future that will hopefully blow some larger distros out of the water. I cant wait to share them all with you."