The Penguin Ping.
Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!
Got root?
Posted on 12/22/2003 10:27:19 AM PST by GluteusMax
The penguin's going to pack a bigger punch.
Backers of Linux, who use the waterfowl as their mascot, have just launched the finished version 2.6 of the software's core framework, or "kernel." The release is touted as more stable and business-ready than the version in wide use now.
Developers hope changes in the volunteer-made operating system make it an even stronger rival to Unix and Windows in the corporate market, where Linux is making inroads on lower-end machines. It's the biggest upgrade since 2001's version 2.4, the first edition many big business users took seriously.
Getting Up To Speed
New features aim to help Linux run on big systems that use more than one processor. The new software also could work better with multithreading - a process that squeezes more speed from high-end chips.
The biggest changes in 2.6:
-Better speed, especially when running several programs at once.
-The ability to run on machines with 32 processors, maybe more. The current version strains at around eight.
-The capacity to run more hardware devices at once.
-Support for different kinds of hardware, including those using the new USB 2.0 standard.
-A new sound system, which now can record and play sound at the same time.
-More security, including the ability to scramble network traffic.
-Better support for laptop personal computers.
The kernel serves as a foundation for a bevy of Linux flavors sold by software firms such as Red Hat Inc. (NasdaqNM:RHAT - News) or given away on the Internet. It comes more than six months later than planned. Fans blame the delay on extra-thorough testing and major changes that tied up the process.
The early versions of 2.4 had big problems, and parts of it needed major rewrites.
Linus Torvalds, creator and figurehead of the Linux effort, is urging Linux vendors to move quickly to 2.6.
The kernel is Linux's base layer. The software is a labor of love by hundreds of volunteer programmers around the globe.
To make it friendlier to non-techies, most versions tack on a Windowslike interface and other add-ons. That makes it easy to perform basic tasks such as launching programs or moving files.
For-profit vendors sell tailored versions of the software along with support and hardware.
It may take months for the 2.6 kernel to show up in these commercial versions of the software. Vendors still need to test it to ensure it works with customer setups.
Red Hat says it's been watching the progress of 2.6 and likes the changes.
But the company hasn't yet fused it into Red Hat's product family, says spokeswoman Leigh Day.
Rival SuSE Linux, which is being bought by Novell Inc., is testing the new kernel and already offers it as an option in retail versions.
The firm will make it the default kernel for an upcoming version of its corporate Linux product set for release early next year.
In the meantime, SuSE has taken some of the features in 2.6 and grafted them into its current products, which are based on the 2.4 kernel.
'A Major Milestone'
Juergen Geck, the firm's chief technology officer, says the new kernel makes Linux more ready to handle everything from small gadgets to large corporate systems.
"There's really only one alternative for an enterprise Linux, and that's kernel 2.6," he said. "It's certainly a major milestone."
Looming over the new release is the threat of lawsuits by SCO Group Inc., (NasdaqSC:SCOX - News) which owns rights to the Unix operating system. SCO charges that Linux is an illegal copy.
The suit aims at enterprise-level features in version 2.4, but the same features are still present in the new version.
After struggling in recent years, SCO officials say they're just trying to win back what is rightly theirs. "SCO was supposed to be the market leader in that space," said SCO Chief Darl McBride.
Really. I was supposed to marry a supermodel and be independently wealthy. That didn't work out for me either.
Yes, I am aware that 'Kernel' is not spelled correctly in the title, but that's how it was posted by Yahoo....
What do they teach them in the schools these days...?
Amazing, in a bad way, isn't it?
Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!
Got root?
Huh?
Do you mean DVD writing/reading, or are you talking about watching encrypted DVD movies?
There is an encrypted DVD playback library (libdvdcss), but its legality is understandably questionable, at least in the U.S.
As far as unencrypted use, DVD players and writers are well-supported in Linux.
That's an alternate spelling that cropped up at least ten, probably twenty years ago for the Unix core. I imagine it was due to the imperfect spelling skills of the software gearheads.
(Actually, Gentoo makes updates quite easy, almost as easy as Windows does). Already I am using linux for about 25% of the things I do, and have only scratched the surface..
Feel free to FReepmail me if you need help with other stuff.
General Protection Fault, this is Colonel Linux, he's here to clean this blue mess up.
This is going to push even more rendering farms to run on linux. Although I haven't read of many farms lately that don't run on linux...
I'm wondering what the motherboard, and for that matter, the case must look like to sport 32 processors!
Can we maybe get a graphic of "Tux" with eagles on his shoulders?
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