Linux Archive

The 2.6 version of the Linux core is expected in December and will be much more stable on arrival than its predecessor, according to the maintainer. Update: OSDL to detail development process of Linux.

Linux is very ready for the desktop, says Tom Adelstein, consultant and member of the Open Government Interoperability Project.

When the operating system on Matthew P. Frye's home computer crashed and died a year ago, he had two choices: spend hundreds of dollars to rebuild his desktop using Microsoft programs, or try the less expensive alternative of switching to the Linux computer operating system. Frye chose Linux. It took the senior systems programmer at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, N.C., three months and $39 to download Linux desktop applications to replace those he used in Windows. Read the story at Triangle.com.

Linux creator Linus Torvalds released the 2.6.0-test10 Linux kernel today, tentatively calling it the "stoned beaver" release. Linus plans to hand the kernel over to Andrew Morton in a few weeks, and then it will be up to Andrew to decide when we see the final 2.6.0 stable kernel. Download it from a mirror.

IBM writes: "So, your boss says you're moving from Windows to Linux. He's decided he wants the stability, flexibility, and cost savings of Linux, but you have many questions in your head. Isn't Linux like Unix? Isn't Unix hard? Will you be able to do it? Where do you begin to make sense of all of this? Is there a map you can follow?"

Remember Turbolinux? Less than 5 years ago, it was a fixture in the forefront of the Linux landscape along with Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake, Debian, and the now defunct Storm Linux. Later this week, Turbolinux will release their new desktop distribution, dubbed "10D." The following is a first look at Turbolinux's return to the fray.

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!