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Posts published in “Operating Systems”

Is Linux Kernel Growth Sustainable?

By Christine Hall on December 14, 2016 |

Humor and Operating Systems

Is Linux Kernel Growth Sustainable?contemplating lines of code

A tech writer who still counts on her fingers and toes, tries to wrap her head around the size of the Linux kernel, and wonders when its weight will cause it to crash through the Earth’s mantle. She’s being silly, of course. Or is she?

contemplating lines of code

An interesting factoid caught my eye in an article published by Opensource.com this morning. The article was one of those interesting and easy-to-read listicles that many websites — even FOSS Force — likes to run occasionally called 9 Lessons from 25 Years of Linux Kernel Development, and the item that caught my attention was eighth on the list, under the heading, “The kernel shows that major developments can spring from small beginnings.”

“The original 0.01 kernel was a mere 10,000 lines of code; now it grows by more than that every two days. Some of the rudimentary, tiny features that developers are adding now will develop into significant subsystems in the future.”

10,000 lines of code added every other day? Really?

Continue readingIs Linux Kernel Growth Sustainable?
Remembering Linux InstallfestsLinux Installfest

Remembering Linux Installfests

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on December 8, 2016 |

Community, Distros and Operating Systems

In this article, for the first time since 2003 a writer makes mention of Caldera without immediately following it with a mention of SCO. Must’ve been a mistake.

Linux Installfest
Installfest hosted by the Rutgers University Student Linux Users’ Group on November 13, 2005.
MJKazin at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

Ah, yes. I remember the good old days when you had to be a real man or woman to install Linux, and the first time you tried you ended up saying something like “Help!” or maybe “Mommmmyyyyy!” Really, kids, that’s how it was. Stacks of floppies that took about 7,000 hours to download over your 16 baud connection. Times sure have changed, haven’t they?

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Robin “Roblimo” Miller is a freelance writer and former editor-in-chief at Open Source Technology Group, the company that owned SourceForge, freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, ThinkGeek and Slashdot, and until recently served as a video editor at Slashdot. Now he’s mostly retired, but still works part-time as an editorial consultant for Grid Dynamics, and (obviously) writes for FOSS Force.

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FOSS DOS for 21st Century HardwareAs Easy As FreeDOS

FOSS DOS for 21st Century Hardware

By FOSS Force Guest Writer on December 6, 2016 |

Gaming and Operating Systems

Jim Hall

The founder and coordinator of the FreeDOS Project writes about FreeDOS 1.2, which is scheduled for a Christmas Day release. There is good news for classic gamers and nostalgia buffs: this one’s got games.

Wing FreeDOS
WING is a DOS game similar to the arcade game Galaga.

Sure, you know a lot about Linux, but what about other non-Linux free and open source software systems? FreeDOS is an open source implementation of DOS. While DOS isn’t as old as Unix, it has a rich history. Let me tell you about how FreeDOS came about, and what’s coming up next.

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Linux Foundation ‘Fails’ Linux Mint: Suggests Upgrade to Windows or MacLinux Foundation webinar system test

Linux Foundation ‘Fails’ Linux Mint: Suggests Upgrade to Windows or Mac

By Christine Hall on November 7, 2016 |

Humor, News and Operating Systems

Those using Linux to register for a Linux Foundation webinar are told to try using Windows or OS X instead.

Linux Foundation webinar system test

Excuse me if I have a little fun at the Linux Foundation’s expense.

Linux Foundation failed textThis morning while perusing the day’s tech news, I ran across an article on Linux.com about a free webinar, “Open Source Automotive: How Shared Development Will Drive the Industry Forward,” being hosted on Wednesday by the Linux Foundation. This sounded like something I wouldn’t mind spending an hour watching, so I registered. Afterwards, I clicked a “Test Your System” link, just to make sure that I’d have no problems using the good ol’ FOSS Force machine.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
Continue readingLinux Foundation ‘Fails’ Linux Mint: Suggests Upgrade to Windows or Mac
Charlie Reisinger: FOSS in Education Proponent…and PractitionerCharlie Reisinger

Charlie Reisinger: FOSS in Education Proponent…and Practitioner

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on October 6, 2016 |

Community, Interview and Operating Systems

Resinger figures that by using free and open source platforms such as Moodle and WordPress instead of proprietary options, his school district is saving something like $40,000 a year. As the clickbait headline might read, what he said next will amaze you.

The FOSS Force Video Interview

This is what Charlie Reisinger’s Amazon author bio says:

“Charlie serves as the Technology Director for Penn Manor School District in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. A member of the senior leadership team, he directs instructional technology programs and technical infrastructure and operations. A passionate advocate and speaker on open source values in education, Charlie and his team implemented the largest classroom desktop Linux program in Pennsylvania.

“Under his leadership, Penn Manor School District received the 2011 School of Excellence in Technology Award from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA). In 2016, Penn Manor was recognized with the Districts of Distinction Award for the Open Source one-to-one Laptop Program.”

The book’s title is The Open Schoolhouse: Building a Technology Program to Transform Learning and Empower Students. The Kindle version is only $4.99. I’ve read it. You should read it, too, if you’re a teacher, school administrator, student, parent, uncle or aunt or have friends or family with kids in school — or even if you’re a taxpayer someplace where they have public school or you’re connected in some way with a charter school or private school.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Robin “Roblimo” Miller is a freelance writer and former editor-in-chief at Open Source Technology Group, the company that owned SourceForge, freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, ThinkGeek and Slashdot, and until recently served as a video editor at Slashdot. Now he’s mostly retired, but still works part-time as an editorial consultant for Grid Dynamics, and (obviously) writes for FOSS Force.

Continue readingCharlie Reisinger: FOSS in Education Proponent…and Practitioner
‘We’re From Microsoft and We’ve Been Remotely Watching Your Computer’Jane Cline

‘We’re From Microsoft and We’ve Been Remotely Watching Your Computer’

By Ken Starks on October 4, 2016 |

Community and Operating Systems

It’s getting harder and harder to scam little old ladies these days. They’ll just up and switch to Linux on you.

The Heart of Linux

We are going into our third year of living in the Gardens of Taylor. When you come off of the city street and onto this property, you can sometimes get a creepy feeling, like this is familiar in an unpleasant sort of way. It can feel like you’ve just stepped into Stepford Village. Every yard has been manicured to match the ones on either side of it. The edging along all driveways and sidewalks is a perfect two inches across and if a weed or mushroom happens to grow within that etched space, it is gone the next time you look for it.

Ken Starks

Ken Starks is the founder of the Helios Project and Reglue, which for 20 years provided refurbished older computers running Linux to disadvantaged school kids, as well as providing digital help for senior citizens, in the Austin, Texas area. He was a columnist for FOSS Force from 2013-2016, and remains part of our family. Follow him on Twitter: @Reglue

linuxlock.blogspot.com/
Continue reading‘We’re From Microsoft and We’ve Been Remotely Watching Your Computer’
Surprise! Microsoft Isn’t Blocking Linux on Lenovo LaptopsNo Linux allowed

Surprise! Microsoft Isn’t Blocking Linux on Lenovo Laptops

By Christine Hall on September 21, 2016 |

Hardware, News and Operating Systems

It was easy to place the blame on Microsoft in a knee-jerk reaction — and it didn’t help that a Lenovo representative placed blame firmly in Redmond’s lap. It appears, however, that Microsoft’s not involved, and Lenovo’s not to blame either.

The news of the day, so far, has been the speculation that machines designed to run the Microsoft’s Signature Edition of Windows block GNU/Linux from being installed. The Signature Edition is an edition of preinstalled Windows without any of the third-party junk that typically infests new Windows computers out-of-the-box.

No Linux allowed LenovoThis fear arose, and became a big deal on Reddit, after a Redditor posted, “Warning: Microsoft Signature PC program now requires that you can’t run Linux. Lenovo’s recent Ultrabooks among affected systems.”

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
Continue readingSurprise! Microsoft Isn’t Blocking Linux on Lenovo Laptops
Carla Schroder: On Farming and LinuxCarla Shroder

Carla Schroder: On Farming and Linux

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on September 15, 2016 |

Interview, Operating Systems and Video

One of the many things we like about Ms. Schroder is that she makes difficult technology easy to understand. She’s also fun to read. And as you’ll discover in this interview, she’s also a quick wit who won’t be backed into a corner.

The FOSS Force Video Interview

Carla Schroder sometimes describes herself as an “Ace Linux guru,” which is as good a way to tell you who she is as any — at least in the Linux context. She’s written so much, in so many places, that it’s easier to give you a single Google link to her work than to list a whole stack of articles, plus three O’Reilly books. The single article I’ll point you to on its own is one Schroder wrote for Opensource.com in July, 2016, titled I’ve Been Linuxing Since Before You Were Born.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Robin “Roblimo” Miller is a freelance writer and former editor-in-chief at Open Source Technology Group, the company that owned SourceForge, freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, ThinkGeek and Slashdot, and until recently served as a video editor at Slashdot. Now he’s mostly retired, but still works part-time as an editorial consultant for Grid Dynamics, and (obviously) writes for FOSS Force.

Continue readingCarla Schroder: On Farming and Linux