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Exciting Technologies Coming to Linux
Internetling ^ | 19 July 2009 | Greg

Posted on 07/21/2009 6:03:07 AM PDT by ShadowAce

The first half of 2009 is over and after your summer vacation, you might want to start gearing up for the new distro releases. Once again open source proved that developers collaborating all over the world deliver constant platform improvement. Let’s see what they have in store for us this time.

KSplice – Rebootless Kernel Upgrade

One of the arguments I use often when talking about the advantages of using Linux is the fact that you do not have to reboot when installing or upgrading software. Most of the time. Almost every Linux user knows you have to restart your system after updating the kernel. The guys at Ksplice Inc. came up with this fascinating new technology that basically enables you to apply kernel patches and start using the new kernel right away, without rebooting. That is really all there is to it.

ksplice09

Comment: I don’t know about you, but as far as I’m concerned, it is pretty mind-blowing. Kind of like making a headless chicken do your homework. Read about the underlying technology here.

USB 3.0

Via Wikimedia Commons

Via Wikimedia Commons (Tosaka)

This new bus specification promises a speed of 5 Gigabits per second, about 10 times faster than USB 2.0. And the first operating system to get a USB 3.0 driver is GNU/Linux, specifically, kernel 2.6.31 (scheduled for September).

Comment: Although we have yet to see some hardware (guess we will have to wait until good ol’ Windows adopts the tech), think about the possibilities. A pen-drive could be almost as fast as a regular hard drive, which would drive storage prices to the ground. As soon as a 1 GB or more USB 3.0 thumb drive appears, mark my words, I will be installing Fedora as if my life depended on it.

Ubuntu to support Google Android applications

Ubuntu Netbook Remix running Android (via Ars Technica)

Ubuntu Netbook Remix running Android (via Ars Technica)

With a user base of roughly 2 million and more than 20 Android-powered  devices coming this year, Google’s mobile operating system may become a force to be reckoned with. Developers will embrace the platform and given time, Android’s Market will contain hundreds of thousands of applications. Well, at least that is the direction in which the Ubuntu dev team is thinking. They plan to introduce an easy way to port Android apps over to their flagship Linux distribution. While most applications will be useless on a desktop machine, there might be some apps that, with their small size and modest memory consumption, might do a certain task much better than its Ubuntu-native equivalent.

Comment: I have to hand it to the Ubuntu guy who first got this idea: very original thinking. However, I do not think this is a wise way to use developer resources. There are still many things in Ubuntu that need fixing. New features are going to bring new hurdles. The Android support idea is great, though we should wait until the Android Market grows a bit.

As you can see, 2009 may not be the Year of Linux on the Desktop, but it will certainly be an interesting year. Thanks to the openness of the platform, GNU/Linux remains the driver of innovation in modern desktop computing.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: linux; technology
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1 posted on 07/21/2009 6:03:08 AM PDT by ShadowAce
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To: rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; GodGunsandGuts; CyberCowboy777; Salo; Bobsat; JosephW; ...

2 posted on 07/21/2009 6:03:21 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: ShadowAce

3 posted on 07/21/2009 6:05:29 AM PDT by wastedyears (The Tree is thirsty and the hogs are hungry.)
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To: ShadowAce

I’m sorry, I can’t get past Linux’s font rendering. It’s like they said “OS X renders fonts too thick! Let’s do the exact opposite!”


4 posted on 07/21/2009 6:06:55 AM PDT by Terpfen (FR is being Alinskied. Remember, you only take flak when you're over the target.)
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To: ShadowAce
So let's see, the exciting technologies are saving the 30 seconds it takes to reboot (though in fairness, it does take Linux a LOT longer to boot up than Windows), enabling USB 3.0 devices (that Windows can already use), and running mobile programs on a desktop (noting Windows can already run Windows Mobile apps)?

I guess that makes it a real exciting time to be a Windows user, with Windows 7 on the horizon.

By the way, I run my web business off of 4 CentOS rack-mount Dells and an IBM Blade. But I am done wasting my time with Linux on the desktop.

5 posted on 07/21/2009 6:09:42 AM PDT by Dan Nunn (Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
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To: ShadowAce

ubuntu was the first decent desktop OS for linux, but it still has major issues. However, they are definitely going in the right direction. I suspect in another 10 years they will be able to start to compete on the desktop. But by then...will the desktop even be where the action is?


6 posted on 07/21/2009 6:12:00 AM PDT by for-q-clinton (If at first you don't succeed keep on sucking until you do succeed)
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To: Dan Nunn

My SuSE 11.1 partition boots at least 3 times faster than my Windows XP partition on the same box. Heck, that’s even with the Linux on an IDE drive and XP on a Sata drive.

I just can’t understand why every bit of software installed on Windows has to have some process running constantly.


7 posted on 07/21/2009 6:22:15 AM PDT by EricT. ("Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government." -George Washington)
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To: Dan Nunn
...enabling USB 3.0 devices (that Windows can already use)

It can? Point me to a product, please. I'd like to see it.

8 posted on 07/21/2009 6:26:04 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: EricT.

Probably so it loads faster.


9 posted on 07/21/2009 6:28:53 AM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: Dan Nunn
"the exciting technologies are saving the 30 seconds it takes to reboot"

When you are running a server that has a few hundred days of uptime, not having to reboot is a big deal!

10 posted on 07/21/2009 6:29:30 AM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: Dan Nunn
Are there actually USB 3.0 devices for sale today? Last I heard from Microsoft:
"Because the current USB 3.0 spec is currently not signed off, we're challenged and we won't have support for USB 3.0 in Windows 7 at RTM (release to manufacturing)," Lars Giusti of Microsoft said in a WinHEC session here titled "USB Technology Update and Windows Strategy."
As far as booting goes, Windows or Linux, the best thing you can do to improve it is get an SSD. I've found it makes a world of difference.
11 posted on 07/21/2009 6:33:12 AM PDT by Todd_Gray
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To: ShadowAce
ASUS P6X58 Premium motherboard arrives complete with USB 3.0 ports.
12 posted on 07/21/2009 6:34:55 AM PDT by Dan Nunn (Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
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To: Dan Nunn
OK--does Windows actually support those ports to their capabilities?

That's the point of the article--Linux will be the first OS to support USB 3.0.

13 posted on 07/21/2009 6:40:24 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Todd_Gray

Windows XP didn’t support Wifi until SP2 either, device manufacturers just provided their own drivers until then.

As far as SSD goes, I have a Dell Mini on an 8gig SSD, and I know it’s faster (though the small memory and limited processor limit it), but I don’t know if it’s worth the immense price differential from a regular drive yet.


14 posted on 07/21/2009 6:40:41 AM PDT by Dan Nunn (Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
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To: ShadowAce
does Windows actually support those ports to their capabilities?

You're right, out of the box Microsoft won't. As I mentioned in the other post, Windows didn't support 802.11b wifi out of the box until XP SP2 in 2004. Manufacturers wrote their own drivers until then (and still do, much to my dismay).

That being said, Asus will, without a doubt, release Windows drivers the date that it's commercially available. It would make no business sense to not do that.

But as for having support built into the kernel, if Linux wants to claim that they are first, then they probably will get that title.

15 posted on 07/21/2009 6:43:32 AM PDT by Dan Nunn (Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
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To: Dan Nunn
I gotta admit--that board looks tempting.

I've started to think about building a new box that will last me another ten years, like my current P2. :)

I figure a board that runs USB 3.0, and dual Quad-core CPUs, with tons a RAM space oughta do the trick. This board looks like it's a contender.

16 posted on 07/21/2009 6:47:08 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Dan Nunn; ShadowAce
> So let's see, the exciting technologies are saving the 30 seconds it takes to reboot ...

You clearly aren't thinking about servers, or else you are so locked into the Windows constant-reboot mindset that you don't realize that rebooting production servers is not a good thing.

> ...USB 3.0 devices (that Windows can already use...)

Nope, maybe you mean "USB 2.0". USB 3.0 is still in development, host-side hardware is just beginning to appear (and is not supported), and 3.0 devices are still essentially vaporware. 3.0 will be real, but it ain't real yet.

> that makes it a real exciting time to be a Windows user, with Windows 7 on the horizon.

Win 7 is likely to be well received by the consumer market. The corporate market is less excited. I've been using the RC for months; it's not bad, it runs pretty well, but really it's just Vista SP3 with "Vista" crossed out and "Win7" written in crayon.

17 posted on 07/21/2009 6:47:51 AM PDT by dayglored (Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
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To: Dan Nunn

Yeah I was wondering if there were USB 3.0 devices for sale today. I know some were demoed at CES, but I’ve never seen anything actually for sale. AFAIK there won’t be any USB stuff available until 2010.

I’ve got an Dell E6400 with an Intel X25-M (80GB). When I bought it about 6 months ago, it cost me around $800 CDN. Today you can get one for half that. By the end of the year it likely half again.

I can get around 4.5 hours of battery life on my laptop, the speed is great. I’d never go back to a regular HD.


18 posted on 07/21/2009 6:55:18 AM PDT by Todd_Gray
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To: ShadowAce
I've started to think about building a new box that will last me another ten years, like my current P2. :)

Wow! Are you a masochist?! I've used motherboards newer than yours for target practice in my back yard :)

19 posted on 07/21/2009 7:00:28 AM PDT by Dan Nunn (Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
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To: Todd_Gray

Great points - we just spec’d out a Dell E6500 for a coworker and saw the upgrade to a SSD was $105 more for a fourth of the space (64g vs 250g), and $255 more for half of the space (128 vs 250g) of the 7200RPM with free fall sensor.

If we thought he’d ever notice a difference, we might have given it some thought!


20 posted on 07/21/2009 7:05:53 AM PDT by Dan Nunn (Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
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