Linux Archive

As RAM increasingly becomes a commodity, the prices drop and computer users are able to buy more. 32-bit archictectures face certain limitations in regards to accessing these growing amounts of RAM. To better understand the problem and the various solutions, we begin with an overview of Linux memory management. Understanding how basic memory management works, we are better able to define the problem, and finally to review the various solutions. This article was written by examining the Linux 2.6 kernel source code for the x86 architecture types.

Autopackage 0.4, codenamed "Better late than never ;)" is now available. Version 0.4 has most of the local architecture in place, with a terminal front end and a working GTK2 based GUI frontend. It can build, install, verify and uninstall packages of medium complexity (mplayer, gaim etc).

With the announcement of udev 018, Greg KH noted that at this time he is running with udev managing the /dev directory on his primary email and development server. He says, "this is a major milestone for udev and it proves that it is a viable solution," going on to add, "udev development isn't done, but for anyone who has not checked it out yet, I suggest you do so."

Marcelo Tosatti released the 2.4.25 kernel, unchanged from the earlier 2.4.25-rc4. On other Linux news, this article gives an in-depth walk-through on installing Fedora Core 1 on a Dell Inspiron 8600 machine, with some tips for the 2.6.x kernel series as well.

"Sisler High school is the largest high school in Manitoba, with approximately 1,600 students and 120 staff members on campus. The school offers many computer courses at different levels, ranging from computer programming and office skills to vocational subjects, such as trouble-shooting personal computers, networking and advanced operating systems. In 2002, due to a letter from CAAST (Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft), the school spent more than $50,000 to make sure we had all the necessary licenses for our software." Read the rest of the article at LinuxJournal.

Linus released the third version of the newly release Linux 2.6 kernel, 2.6.3. Changelog here.

Which Linux distribution is the most popular? For many players in the open source realm, that answer depends on which part of the globe is counting, and how. By most accounts and research metrics, Red Hat (Quote, Chart) is the current market leader in distributions. IDC, for example, estimates that Red Hat's distributions cover over 60 percent of the Linux server market.

This article is the second in a series of whitepapers on using the new Linux 2.6 kernel by William von Hagen of TimeSys. von Hagen's whitepapers place special emphasis on the primary issues in migrating existing drivers, applications, and embedded Linux deployments to a Linux distribution based on the 2.6 kernel.

Market researcher IDC expects to announce within weeks that Linux' PC market share in 2003 hit 3.2%, overtaking Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh software (as reported a few weeks ago it has fallen at 1.8%, for the first time). And the researcher expects Linux to capture 6% of this market by 2007. That's still tiny compared with Microsoft's 94% share. Desktop Linux hasn't had any appreciable effect on Microsoft's finances yet, but it could do damage if Linux manages to grab a 10% share of the market, say analysts. IDC estimates that desktop Windows' share will shrink slightly, to 92% in 2007 as Linux' share doubles. The first big question though is how all this will have an effect to Apple's business.

With BitRock Installbuilder, BitRock aims to make easier to install and distribute Linux applications. It allows you to create easy-to-use installers that can be run in GUI, text, and unattended modes.

After reading a discussion on DistroWatch asking if users were happy with their current distribution, I noticed a common thread of those who have had similar experiences as myself with juggling various Linux distributions. Like myself, they feel many Linux distributions are great, but no one quite feels like home. None of them quite fit the bill and they may even begin to think that every OS sucks.

KernelTrap reports that David Weinehall has released the 2.0.40 stable Linux kernel, calling it the "Moss-covered Tortoise". It earned this name by being released over 3 years after its predecessor, 2.0.39. Those still using the 2.0 kernel are recommended to upgrade for numerous reasons, including fixes to local exploits and remote information leaks. View the changelog and download the new kernel from a kernel.org mirror.

LinuxDevices.com has published an article by veteran Linux author William von Hagen about changes to the configuration process in the 2.6 Linux kernel. The article is the first in a series of articles that will discuss using the Linux kernel and device drivers, etc., in embedded devices. However, the article is generally relevant to servers and desktops, too. Be aware, the author did not mention on the "migration from kernel 2.4" section of the article that you will need to download the latest module-init-tools (and the new 'udev', 'hotplug' packages if you were using these too) in order to fully & correctly migrate to 2.6.

The goal of the project was to use YDL 3.0 and included software for about a month to do the more ordinary things the author does with her iBook and G4: write articles, edit html, surf the web, print, listen to music, play some QuickTime or Real Media files, and transfer some files to/from a server. Read the full review at GUILinux.