Linux Archive

Damn Small Linux is a minimalist, business card size live CD/live USB (with a hard disk installation option) designed for older computers. Version 1.0 has been released. Our intro article is here.

Inotify is a file system event-monitoring mechanism slated for inclusion in upcoming Linux™ kernels that is designed to serve as an effective replacement for dnotify, which was the de facto file-monitoring mechanism supported in older kernels. Inotify is a powerful, fine-grained, asynchronous mechanism ideally suited for a variety of file-monitoring needs including, but not limited to, security and performance.

Neither SCO Group's copyright claims on select Linux code nor Microsoft will be able to slow the spread of Linux in the enterprise over the next two years, an analyst for Gartner Research said. The biggest hurdles to greater Linux enterprise penetration are process-based, according to George Weiss.

I've only been using GNU/Linux since 2001, so I won't say that I'm by any means an expert yet, as most of those that are reading this, probably have been using Linux much longer than I have. However, I still have high hopes for the Linux scene. The purpose of this article is to voice my personal opinion on what I feel is keeping GNU/Linux from taking over the mainstream operating system market. My intentions aren't to "badtalk" the open source kernel+apps, but rather give constructive criticsm on what I personally feel it could be done better.

One of the major advantages Linux has to offer is cross-platform functionality. Far from being a PC operating system that has been extended for other uses, it runs on cell phones, mainframes and everything in between. This offers IT departments the possibility of using Linux to consolidate resources into a single skill set, or at least a single OS. The danger, however, is that since developers are free to conduct extensive customization, it may fork into a number of incompatible versions, says EarthWeb.

This article describes an example bash shell script which demonstrates a simple method of creating backups of multiple filesystems to several tape drives simultaneously. The example script can easily be modified to write to other device types and to create a different number of backup streams.

A 64-bit environment and the ability to address more than 4 GB of memory can greatly enhance the scalability and performance of databases. With IDS v10, IBM has optimized native 64-bit editions for all major Linux platforms. This article contains information on all the new features of Informix Dynamic Server Version 10.0 that are unique on Linux platforms.

Today, there is no shortage of reviews on Linux on the Desktop, but I think we can benefit from more "Laptopized-Linux" experiences. As laptops keep dropping in price and increasing in terms of computing power, they really make a nice platform even for cpu intensive applications such as sofware development, desktop publishing, web design, etc. And as you will see in this article, installing Linux on a laptop is not as hairy as you may think.

Linux is losing momentum among medium sized enterprises, according to a survey by Canadian research firm Info-Tech Research Group. After years of increased interest in the open source operating system, IT managers from medium sized businesses have come to a conclusion that open source is not for them. The findings point to a rift between large enterprises that are increasingly embracing open source and smaller businesses that opt for a Microsoft-centric world.

Marcelo has announced the availability of the 2.4.30 kernel; no changes were made after 2.4.30-rc4. Since 2.4 is in deep maintenance mode, there is little in the way of new features in this release. It does contain a number of security updates and other important fixes, though.

The future is mobile. That much we know for sure. But it seems that the operating system world in this market is being rapidly taken over by --again-- Microsoft. The new smart phones are are using WinCE, Symbian or Palm. Linux has barely 1% of this new, smartphone market.

Learn how to develop USB drivers using this sample chapter (PDF).

Linux founder Linus Torvalds on Tuesday called for more regular performance tests on the Linux kernel, so that any reduction in efficiency can be highlighted sooner.

This whitepaper by Codeweavers COO Jon Parshall and CEO Jeremy White takes a detailed look at the potential value of WINE as an ingredient in a strategy for enterprise migration from Windows to Linux desktops. The paper itemizes the requirements for enterprise desktop migration, examines a range of available tactics, and then suggests strategies for making the journey in ways that are "pragmatic, economical, and customer focused," the authors say.