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posted by LaminatorX on Friday August 22 2014, @06:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the Next-year-in-Jerusalem dept.

ZDNet reports that from supercomputers to stock markets to smartphones, Linux dominates most computing markets, but Linus Torvalds still wants Linux to rule on one place it doesn't: The desktop. "The challenge on the desktop is not a kernel problem. It's a whole infrastructure problem. I think we'll get there one day," said Torvalds at the LinuxCon Convention in Chicago. "Year of the Linux desktop?" asked Kroah-Hartman. "I'm not going there," replied Torvalds with a smile.

Torvalds also discussed the issue of kernel code bloat as Linux is now being run in small-form-factor embedded devices. "We've been bloating the kernel over the last 20 years, but hardware has grown faster," Torvalds said. Torvalds wants to push the envelope for the embedded market despite some challenges. He noted that some of the small-form-factor device vendors have their own operating system technologies in place already, and those vendors don't always make hardware readily available to Linux kernel developers.

The issue of Linux code maintainers was another hot-button topic addressed by Torvalds, who noted that some Linux kernel code has only a single maintainer and that can mean trouble when that maintainer wants to take time off. Torvalds said that a good setup that is now used by the x86 maintainers is to have multiple people maintaining the code. It's an approach that ARM Linux developers have recently embraced, as well. "When I used to do ARM merges, I wanted to shoot myself and take a few ARM developers with me," Torvalds said. "It's now much less painful and ARM developers are picking up the multiple maintainer approach."

 
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  • (Score: 2) by everdred on Friday August 22 2014, @05:31PM

    by everdred (110) on Friday August 22 2014, @05:31PM (#84420) Journal

    > They are making the world a better place, by making linux easier to use, and winning in basically all markets. And anyway. Chrome OS is open source, Android is open source, all their linux based stuff is completely useful in every way. Forks exist for that specific reason.

    (I'd mod you up if I could, but I guess I'll respond and hopefully amplify the point you're making.)

    Yes, this exactly. Google has the resources that they could have done Android and Chrome OS proprietary down to the core, but didn't. Of course these open source products, as they distribute them, are designed to connect to proprietary services, collect data, make money and show ads. But in the Android world, you can replace all the preloaded Google applications (right down to the home screen/app launcher) with third-party solutions, sideload apps, and even add another "app store" to your device without needing to rooting it. And of course, rooting opens up a whole 'nother world of possibilities.

    I bought the original Android phone because it was clear from the start that Google was doing The Right Thing, and for the first year or so, it was a pretty lonely camp to be in. Today, when I see headlines about Android market share, I sometimes can't believe that the mostly-good-guy is actually winning in the market.

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