Linux Archive

Getting started with the Linux kernel Device Simulator Framework

Submitted by Frank 2004-03-24 Linux 1 Comment

If you are a Linux kernel and device driver developer with a moderate level of experience, the benefit of using the DSF template is twofold: You can develop test cases faster and more consistently since the DSF template can be used for many different tests. Also, you can target specific areas of the kernel for execution, which eliminates the typical userspace test case hit-or-miss approach to executing kernel code. This article will get you started simulating devices of your choice.

The Future Of The Linux Open Sound System

Submitted by Jeremy Andrews 2004-03-24 Linux 26 Comments

During the 2.5 development cycle, ALSA, the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture was merged into the Linux kernel. At that time, support for OSS, the Open Sound System was marked as deprecated. A recent thread on the lkml discussed the future of OSS, questioning if it is worth fixing issues with now deprecated OSS drivers. Read the full discussion at KernelTrap.

Torvalds: Outside threats to Linux

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-23 Linux 37 Comments

During a surprise guest appearance at Novell's annual BrainShare user conference, the Finnish open-source guru took part in a question-and-answer session with the networking-software company's chief executive and chairman Jack Messman and vice chairman Chris Stone. Linux creator Linus Torvalds says that non-technical issues such as software patents constitute the single biggest threat to the future success of the open-source OS.

Arch Linux version 0.6 (Widget) Review

Submitted by Jeff Watson 2004-03-23 Linux 33 Comments

Linuxlookup newest staff member Rich Hughes takes a look at Arch Linux version 0.6 (Widget). "I am a recovering distribution junkie. I would obsessively spend my time at Distrowatch, looking for something new. There were plenty of exciting releases. After a while, the excitement would wear off, and the sexy distribution I installed would have some annoyance, so I would dump it and look for something new."

Linux Kernel: Kernel Preemption, Updating Microcode on Intel CPUs

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-22 Linux 31 Comments

A recent bug report on the lkml complained of significant performance degradation from enabling CONFIG_PREEMPT, kernel preemption. 2.6 kernel maintainer Andrew Morton pointed out that such degradation from enabling kernel preemption is not normal, instead likely from it triggering a bug. Also, it was recently asked on the lkml what value there is in upgrading the microcode on an Intel processor. Tigran Aivazian, author of the IA32 microcode driver and Microcode Update Utility for Linux explained.

An Advanced File System for Linux

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-20 Linux 26 Comments

As Linux made its way further into the enterprise, a key feature that it was lacking at one point in time was a journaling file system. This was true in 1999, but today there are four journaling file systems that can solve enterprise server requirements. This article focuses on one of them: JFS.

My Linux Desktop Odyssey, 2004

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-12 Linux 17 Comments

Michael C. Barnes updates his in-depth review of Linux desktop operating systems. In this exclusive article at DesktopLinux.com, Barnes examines how far the Linux distributions have come over the past year, updating his popular first article and evaluating the current versions of leading Desktop Linux desktop options including Ark Linux, ELX Linux, Lycoris, MEPIS, Vector Linux, Xandros, as well as Live CDs including Puppy Linux and Flonix.

What Linux can learn from Windows

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-11 Linux 32 Comments

In three months, Microsoft users will finally reap benefits from the company's new focus on security. The release of the second major update to Windows XP answers many long-standing design criticisms of its operating system. What does this mean for Linux?

Linux Kernel 2.6.4 Released

Submitted by Bryan Sappington 2004-03-11 Linux 47 Comments

Linux kernel 2.6.4 has been released. Get it from a mirror or read the changelog.

Open-source gets serious: A new window on Linux

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-11 Linux 54 Comments

"Thanks to its streamlined and relatively secure core, the Linux operating system has gradually been winning a place on servers in federal agencies. Now Linux is making inroads on desktop PCs as well, territory that has long been ruled by Microsoft Corp.'s Windows." Read the article at USAToday.

eWEEK on Linux 2.6 for Enterprise and Fedora 2

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-10 Linux 12 Comments

eWEEK Labs drills down into the Linux core and finds improved scalability and performance while also gives a spin to Fedora Core 2.

Moving Linux to School Desktops

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-08 Linux 15 Comments

Increasingly, businesses, government entities and schools are starting to look beyond Windows, which IDC says securely dominates the desktop market with a 94% market share. Instead they're considering running Linux as their client operating environment. But the move is a slow one. In the meantime, Sun's JDS turns heads: Fonterra, Auckland University giving Linux serious consideration.

Rock Linux 2.0 Released

Submitted by Valentin Ziegler 2004-03-08 Linux 1 Comment

ROCK is a Distribution Build Kit. You can configure your personal build of ROCK and easily build your own distribution. Features of ROCK Linux v2.0 are build dependency auto-detection, a new binary package format, "smart optimizations", the ability to be build on a cluster and many more. ROCK Linux comes along with over 1000 package descriptions ready for compilation. Currently supported platforms include x86, AMD64, PowerPC, MIPS, Alpha, SPARC as well as SPARC64.

Networking improvements in the 2.6 kernel

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-08 Linux 9 Comments

The new Linux kernel includes support for and improvements in many areas of networking: from tunneling and better file security to encryption and privacy protection. This article covers how these improvements affect users even as they make Linux more secure and more enterprise-ready.

Migrating custom Linux installations to 2.6

Eugenia Loli 2004-03-07 Linux No Comments

This whitepaper provides an changes that you may need to make to a customized or specialized Linux installation in order to use it with the Linux 2.6 kernel, building upon the configuration file and administrative updates that were touched upon in the third article in this series.

Kernel 2.6: Linux More Enterprise-Ready Than Ever Before

2004-03-05 Linux 16 Comments

The 2.6 Linux kernel employs a number of techniques to improve the use of large amounts of memory, making Linux more enterprise-ready than ever before.

Knoppix Linux version 3.3 Review by THG

Submitted by Alan 2004-03-03 Linux 18 Comments

"Do you want to explore Linux without blasting your pc? Do you want to have some of the greatest hacking tools, all on one bootable cd? Then Knoppix Linux is for you! The price is right, because it's Free." Read the review at TomsHardware.

IBM: Give Linux wireless networking a try

Submitted by Frank 2004-03-03 Linux 27 Comments

These days you cannot talk about computers and networks without thinking of Linux and wireless networking. This article explains wireless networking with WLAN, Bluetooth, GPRS, GSM, and IrDA from a Linux perspective. It uses various wireless devices and the corresponding kernel layers and user space tools to demonstrate how they work with Linux. With this knowlege you can tinker with various wireless devices having different form factors, and develop Linux kernel code required to enable unsupported devices.

Linux on the Opteron, Part III

Guest post by Robert Minvielle 2004-03-02 Linux 17 Comments

Continuing with the Linux on the AMD64 series of articles, this installment is to be a summary of two new distributions, and the changes that have been made to Gentoo since the last installment. Here I review the installation of TurboLinux 8 (both with and without the update CD), the installation of Fedora Core for x86_64, and more news on Gentoo for the AMD64.

Arch Linux Release 0.6; Get to Know Rubyx

Guest post by lukin1982 2004-03-02 Linux 18 Comments

Arch Linux 0.6 (Widget) was released yesterday. You can find out more at their website here. Elsewhere, Rubyx is a new linux distribution based on some interesting concepts like user-mode packages installation and a modern init system, and a rationalized services control. It is based on a new pkg managment system that features parallel build/make.