Linux Archive

Last week, Softier made news with one of the first native ports of Linux to a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) architecture, introducing its "MediaLinux" and "MediaBIOS" for TI's DM64x DSP platform.

Many sites reported on the Desktop Linux Consortium Conference that took place yesterday and here is a round up: NewsForge article, Dot.KDE.org's and Infoworld's. In the context of Linux on the desktop, SuSE CEO Richard Seibt confirms ongoing support for KDE.

Tux Reports has published a review of VectorLinux 4.0 Download Edition. There is also a link to an interview with the originator of the project.

One of the founders of the open-source software initiative, Bruce Perens, is planning to release a new version of Linux to challenge Red Hat's enterprise version of the operating system, and fill the hole left in the consumer market since Red Hat announced it would no longer sell a consumer version in retail stores.

The Desktop Linux Consortium has developed an exclusive one-day event, hosted by Boston University, which will include the first program ever to offer an in-depth exploration of Linux on the desktop.

The Linux phenomenon gets bigger by the day and more developers are drawn into developing for it. The heart of this very phenonmenon is its kernel and as time goes by it becomes more mature but also bigger and more complex. New developers would have trouble diving in and code for it, hence the "Linux Kernel Development" book by well known kernel hacker Robert Love (of preemptive-patch fame).

Red Hat plans to push a similar open-source infrastructure stack as part of its recent debut of Enterprise Linux 3. However, the Raleigh, N.C.-based company, which did not offer comment on the Novell-SuSE merger, lacks a global channel and a scaled-up technical-support organization of Novell, whose NetWare networking software continues to serve more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies, Novell executives said. Read the report at Yahoo! news.

Here is your almost daily dose of different views on the subject of Linux desktop readiness: "Linux is Desktop Ready", "Why desktop Linux can't succeed in its present state" and "Is the Age of Desktop Linux Approaching?" Enjoy the diversity!

Interrupt latency is a key factor in the performance of a system and well known Linux kernel hacker Robert Love writes about it for the LinuxJournal.

Vector Linux is a distribution based on the oldest Linux distribution available today - Slackware. It comes in two flavours - a freely downloadable ISO 'lite' version (which I used for this review) and a Deluxe CD edition which can be ordered from www.vectorlinux.com. The deluxe edition includes extras such as Gnome and KDE, as well as a whole pile of extra software.

Courtesy of GeekCruises Capt. Neil Bauman and Senior Editor of Linux Journal Doc Searles, OET brings readers an extended transcript of Linus' shipboard Q&A, where he responds to Linux dev questions on the future of Linux, including the status of Linux 2.6, impacts from increasing corporate (and vendor) adoption, an ever-growing kernel, and even on the pending lawsuit from SCO.

In light to the announcement of Qt Phone Edition running on top of Linux, here is some related news: The new issue of LinuxGazette is discussing Linux as an embedded RTOS: "A real-time operating system (RTOS) is an operating system capable of guaranteeing timing requirements of the processes under its control. While a time-sharing OS like UNIX strives to provide good average performance, for a RTOS, correct timing is the key feature."

PCBurn.com has a review up on Vector Linux's latest release, 4.0. Find out what this slimmed-down Linux distribution has to offer.

Here comes the 9th test release of Linux 2.6.0 and looking good with Linus Torvalds saying he's pleased with all developments since test7 and that the stability freeze was a good move. New features include Serial-ATA support and XFS fixes.