Linux

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.

It could also depend on where the major Linux distributors stand with their product release cycles with the latest 2.6 Linux kernel (define).

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.

As part of its initiative to put Linux on the desktop, IBM Corp. wants to migrate Microsoft Corp.'s Office suite to Linux. Microsoft said it's not involved and suggests that IBM might do it by emulation. For several years, the Linux operating system has been part of IBM's explicit strategy. So far, we've mostly seen server-side solutions. Now, IBM is going for the desktop.

The kernel is the heart of the Linux operating system, managing all system threads, processes, resources, and resource allocation. Unlike most other operating systems, Linux enables users to reconfigure the kernel, which is usually done to reduce its size and add or deactivate support for specific devices or subsystems. Reconfiguring the kernel to remove support for unused devices and subsystems is quite common when developing embedded systems, because a smaller kernel requires less memory, increasing the resources available to your applications.

Many improvements have been made in the Linux 2.6 kernel to favor enterprise applications. This article presents results from the IBM Linux Technology Center's Web serving testing efforts, comparing the Linux 2.4 and 2.6 kernels from various aspects. The highlights here are the key enhancements in the 2.6 kernel, the test methodologies, and the results of the tests themselves. Bottom line: the 2.6 kernel is much faster than 2.4 for serving Web pages, with no loss in reliability.

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.

Linux is a shining example of the power of the Open Source movement as a positive force of change in the software industry. The Linux kernel, the core of any Linux distribution, is constantly evolving to incorporate new technologies and improve performance, scalability, support, and usability. Many of these enhancements are related to adding support for additional architectures, processors, buses, interfaces, and devices.

Sun Microsystems, in a somewhat sarcastic open letter to IBM posted on Sun's Web site, is inviting Big Blue to purchase Sun's Linux-based Sun Java Desktop System for IBM's own employees. In a letter dated January 21 from Jonathan Schwartz, Sun executive vice president for software, Sun is proposing its server system, Java Enterprise System, for use by IBM employees as well. Schwartz says IBM in an internal memo challenged its own IT organization and all of the company to move to a Linux-based desktop before the end of 2005.

Lycoris will ship a version of its desktop Linux operating system (OS) designed specifically for handheld devices in Q2, 2004. The OS, dubbed Desktop/LX Pocket PC Edition (DL-PPC), will provide a "commercial-ready" and user-friendly OS that Lycoris hopes to license to device designers as well as market directly to consumers. DL-PPC will initially support ARM-based PDAs such as the Sharp Zaurus and HP iPaq.

What's really needed to settle this is a definition of Unix. Unfortunately, there's no obvious definition against which we might compare Linux. The systems we all accept as unambiguously Unix -- that is, BSD, HP-UX, Solaris and Tru64 -- have more functional differences than, say, Linux and Unixware.

A sneaky e-mail worm continued to clog Internet traffic Tuesday, spreading faster than previous Web bugs by appearing as an innocuous error message.

The worm -- dubbed "MyDoom," "Novarg" or "WORM_MIMAIL.R" -- was copying itself at a fierce pace, so fast that some companies were having to shut down their mail servers to stop it. And a new clue was emerging as to the source of the infection.