Linux Archive

Linux kernel 2.4.28 was released this morning. Click here to download the new kernel (patch), or here to see the changelog.

Linuxlookup.com is reporting Connectiva, Mandrakesoft, Progeny and Turbolinux today announce the creation of a common implementation of the LSB 2.0 which will serve as the base for future products. The project, called "Linux Core Consortium" (LCC), is backed by Linux supporters such as Computer Associates, HP, Novell, Red Hat, Sun, OSDL, and the Free Standards Group. All details are in the press-release.

Tired of VMWare's emulation slowing you down? Topologilinux has the solution. Topologilinux allows you to install its image into a single file in your Windows file system (Anyone remember BeOS PE?) This allows you to run the Slackware-based distro without spending the system resources on a VM. While the idea seems plausible, LinuxForumsDOTorg's Jeremy wasn't very impressed.

Terrasoft solution announced today the port on Linux PPC64 of the InfiniBand technology support. This is an important step that will make happy all those institutes working on Apple Xserve clusters and Linux.

White Box Enterprise Linux (WBEL) is an attempt to fill the void left by Red Hat's decision to become a purely commercial product. It's not without problems, but but it does a bridge the functionality gap between the Fedora Project and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

There are a couple of ways you can try Linux before installing it on your hard drive. One way is to use a live cd, another way is to run it on Windows. Damn Small Linux has a version designed to run directly from Windows. Read more.

LinuxDevices.com has published the proceedings from the Sixth Real-Time Linux Workshop held in Asia for the first time, this week, at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The papers span a broad range of topics ranging from fundamental real-time technologies, to applications, to hardware, to tools. As usual, the conference was organized by the Real-Time Linux Foundation.

Con Kolivas posted a set of patches to the lkml offering a pluggable cpu scheduler framework. The architecture independent framework is designed to allow new schedulers to be added by only touching three files, without adding overhead, and allowing you to compile in only the CPU scheduler(s) you need.

The second beta of Arch Linux 0.7 code named Wombat has been released for public consumption and testing. Kernel 2.6.9 is included. Get it from the download mirrors.

DesktopLinux has published a detailed and lengthy eight page review of SimplyMEPIS 2004. In the review, SimplyMEPIS is declared "the absolute masterpiece of desktop Linux distributions." There are several screen shots to go along with the article. Update: More Mepis screenshots here.

CTO of Adeptiva Linux, Stephan February, admitted that consumers find it difficult to use Linux because of the lack of support compared to Windows. "There is no compelling need to shift to Linux today," he said. Despite the availability of user-friendly graphical user interfaces similar to what Windows-based desktops have, Linux remains a very technical software product with few people outside the technical community are available to support consumer users. My Take: I personally agree with this fellow.

With the European Parliament poised to begin deliberating on software patents again, organizations on both sides of the argument are continuing to push their cases. Many European local governments are thinking about ditching Windows, but Microsoft is fighting back. Elsewhere, The Australian government agency responsible for distributing social security payments is still moving towards near-universal use of desktop Linux, but it's slow progress.

Companies that are running customized applications may find a migration to Linux too costly or complex notes Pete Morgan, a VisualBasic/Access developer. Morgan offers a few solutions to help overcome the challenge. Without compatibility, Morgan says, a significant number of businesses may not see the benefits in moving to Linux desktops.

Preston St. Pierre interviews Linus Torvalds for LinuxTimes. Linus talks about a lot of interesting things.