The Linux Foundation provides a vendor neutral home for long-term collaboration on the Linux kernel. They provide Linux creator Linus Torvalds and Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linus’ right-hand man, the opportunity to work full-time on Linux. And they prepare a semi-annual report on the state of the Linux kernel, which is a fascinating examination of the most successful collaborative software development project in history. The full report is quite interesting, and has a number of interesting observations about Linux development. A couple of highlights are worth closer examination.
Almost 8,000 individual developers have contributed to the Linux kernel, and 1,000 of those have been new contributors within the last year. Interestingly, the report states that “In any given development cycle, approximately 1/3 of the developers involved contribute exactly one patch.” The top ten contributors for the last five years account for 9% of the total work on the kernel; and 20% of the work is directly attributable to the top 20 kernel developers. Ironically, Linus Torvalds doesn’t appear as a top contributor in the current report. “Linus remains an active and crucial part of the development process; his contribution cannot be measured just by the number of changes made,” the report states. Because Linus, Greg KH and other kernel maintainers “put more time into the review and management of patches from others, they write fewer patches of their own.” → Read More
The Linux Foundation today posted their first ever Linux Jobs Report, created in conjunction with tech job site Dice.com. The report examines the current demand for Linux talent, and identifies a few interesting trends.
Of the 2,300 survey respondents, eight in ten said that hiring Linux talent is a priority in 2012, and more than half of firms surveyed said that they’re increasing Linux hires relative to jobs created in other skill areas. → Read More
The Linux Foundation is sharing the results of their latest invitation-only survey of enterprise Linux users. Their last such survey, in August 2010, revealed Linux was gaining popularity in enterprise computing. It should come as no real surprise that the latest survey shows more of the same.
A lot has happened since late 2010, and the Linux Foundation survey reflects that. In “Linux Adoption Trends 2012: A Survey of Enterprise End Users” we find that a substantial number of enterprise users “expressed concern with the rapid growth of data, and Linux is clearly the platform of choice to address it.” Less than half of respondents are planning to use Windows to handle their “Big Data” requirements. → Read More
There’s been some hubbub lately about Secure Boot, a hardware-verified, malware-free operating system bootstrap process that aims to improve the overall security of computers. Part of the UEFI specification which is slated to replace the aging BIOS with which many of us are familiar, Secure Boot can forbid the loading and execution of unsigned operating systems. Microsoft is requiring that Secure Boot be activated and enforced for any OEM systems that want to use the “Designed for Windows 8″ logo. The nature of the technology, and Microsoft’s recommended implementation of it, could remove control of the overall system from the end user, and in this configuration Secure Boot may prevent Free Software operating systems from loading.
After some initial hysteria on Slashdot (where else?), calmer minds have prevailed, and have reviewed the UEFI Secure Boot specification in some detail. It’s a pretty marked change from the old BIOS: the use of public key cryptography makes the whole thing considerably more complex. But there’s nothing about Secure Boot, prima facie, that specifically locks out Free Software operating systems. → Read More
The Linux Foundation is rocking out in Prague this week and they’ve got some interesting news to share. In addition to adding five new European members and the one year anniversary of the Foundation’s Yocto Project, they’re announcing their “Long Term Support Initiative” to foster a stable kernel release suitable for use in consumer electronic devices. It aims to provide “both an annual release of a Linux kernel suitable for supporting the lifespan of consumer electronics products and regular updates of those releases for two years.” The list of companies involved in the LTSI is a list of household CE names: Hitachi, LG Electronics, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, Sony, Toshiba. → Read More
The Linux Foundation announced today the first ever Automotive Linux Summit. Taking place in Japan on November 28, 2011, it will be an opportunity to address the growing need for carmakers and Linux developers to collaborate on the future of cars as devices. Nissan and Toyota will both be there, along with Intel, NEC, and a host of other mobile solutions developers. → Read More
The Linux Foundation, the non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux, is adding three new companies to its membership list: Eucalyptus Systems, Nebula and Virtual Bridges. These companies “are important additions to The Linux Foundation membership,” according to The Linux Foundation’s vice president of marketing and developer programs Amanda McPherson. “The enterprise IT environment is growing more complex and Linux is helping users and vendors innovate within it. We are excited to collaborate with these companies to advance that work.” → Read More
Linux and open source development is not a zero sum game. This was the explicit message from Ubuntu Technical Architect Allison Randal’s keynote speech at LinuxCon, but the sentiment had been articulated in a number of ways all week long from everyone here. The processes by which a company makes great open source software improve the world for everyone.
“Free software is a fundamentally superior model for developing software,” Randal repeated several times. In addition to the classic Linus’ Law (“given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”), Randal put forward the claim that human beings long to be part of something greater than themselves, and free software development satisfies that in spades. → Read More
Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat, just delivered a terrific opening keynote presentation for LinuxCon. Whitehurst isn’t just a businessman, he’s also a geek. He used Linux and open source before joining Red Hat, and the opportunity to be CEO of the world’s most successful open source company was a dream come true for him. After a quick summary of some of the major milestones Linux has seen over the last twenty years, he jumped into the heart of his keynote: what’s next? Whitehurst wasted no time in answering this question: “I have no idea.”
This is a somewhat uncommon response from a CEO, but it makes perfect sense for anyone even moderately familiar with Linux. Linux has seen so much growth in so many markets that it is almost a foolish exercise to try to make predictions about what’s next for Linux. Nevertheless, he had some thoughts about what the OS and ecosystem might soon be enabling. → Read More
Following up on yesterday’s 20 Years of Linux, the Linux Foundation is releasing today an infographic highlighting some of the remarkable changes in Linux and the larger computer industry over the last twenty years. The Linux kernel had 250,000 lines of code in 1995, but had 14 million lines of code in 2010. Linux users are using it increasingly at home and at work today, rather than just at home for personal purposes. LinuxCon is officially kicking off today, and I’ll be meeting with a number of folks from all around the Linux ecosystem, from Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst to Canonical’s Allison Randal to Nithya Ruff of Wind River Linux. If you’ve got any questions you’d like to see put to these folks, feel free to leave ‘em in the comments and I’ll see what I can do. → Read More
Jim Zemlin, executive director of the non-profit Linux Foundation, has been using Linux for about as long as I have, which is roughly half the time that Linux has been around. I recently spoke with Jim about the Linux Foundation’s upcoming LinuxCon, the history of Linux, and what might be in store for the next twenty years.
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The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux, announced yesterday that Toyota is its newest Gold-level member. This is a pretty interesting development for both organizations. From the official press release: “Toyota is joining The Linux Foundation as a Gold member to maximize its own investment in Linux while fostering open innovation throughout the automotive ecosystem.” The continued proliferation of Linux into products across all markets means that it’s more and more likely that a mostly off-the-shelf system can be quickly tweaked for your specific industry. By supporting the Linux Foundation financially, Toyota and other members help ensure that development continues on the Linux core, atop of which they can add their own special sauce. → Read More
In John’s review of the new HP TouchPad, he claimed that “WebOS is the real star of this show. The OS offers true multi-tasking and uses a system of “cards” and “stacks” to display active applications.” I think it’s worthwhile to remind everyone that WebOS is built atop the Linux kernel, and that has several interesting ramifications. HP has continued Palm’s dedication to user experience, and WebOS should make it abundantly clear that “Linux” need not be synonymous with “complex and arcane”. But there’s a lot more than just superficial window dressing to consider.
Read on for more. → Read More
Behold, the winner of the Linux Foundation‘s “20 Years of Linux” t-shirt contest! “After twenty years of hard work, this penguin has managed to take off,” says artist Kim Blanche, creator of the winning image. “Tux is now sailing smoothly above the competition into a very bright future.” Kim has won a free trip to Vancouver to attend LinuxCon in August. Her design, aptly entitled “Flying Penguins”, will be the basis for the official LinuxCon t-shirt and will soon be available for purchase from the Linux.com store. Congratulations, Kim! → Read More
The Linux Foundation‘s 20th anniversary of Linux celebration is happening in August at LinuxCon. As part of the buildup to the big shindig they had a t-shirt design contest for LinuxCon. The creator of the winning design will get a free trip to LinuxCon to rub elbows with the likes of Linux creator Linus Torvalds himself. In addition, the winning design will be the official shirt of LinuxCon. This year’s contest had more than 130 submissions, and the Linux Foundation has narrowed this down to six finalists. → Read More
Word comes today that search pioneer Yahoo! is joining the Linux Foundation. Yahoo! spoke at The Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit earlier this month and demonstrated its use of Linux throughout the enterprise, and specifically for cloud computing. As a member of the Linux Foundation, they can “maximize these investments through collaborative initiatives that advance the platform in specific areas.” Even though we don’t hear as much about Yahoo! these days, it’s still nice to see them throwing their weight not only behind Linux, but behind the Linux Foundation. → Read More
Linux, first released to the public in 1991, is celebrating its 20th birthday this year. The history of Linux is an interesting thing in its own right, and even more interesting when taken in context of the history of computing in general. The Linux Foundation has a number of events lined up to celebrate Linux’s 20th birthday, including a new 20th Anniversary Website and a video contest to be judged by Linux creator Linus Torvalds! → Read More
Word comes today that consumer electronics giant Panasonic is joining the Linux Foundation at the Gold level, which is the Linux Foundation’s second highest tier. Panasonic joins AMD, Cisco, HP, Google and other big names at the Gold level, confirming beyond any doubt that Linux is an integral part of the consumer electronics market. Panasonic had been a founding member of the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum, which merged with the Linux Foundation last year. All members of the CELF were brought into the Linux Foundation at the Silver level, but Panasonic has decided to step up their commitment to embedded Linux by raising their support to the Gold level. → Read More
Everyone and their brother seems to be coming out with some kind of Android powered doohickey. This is generating a fair amount of fatigue in consumers, as well as developers, as they grapple with the differing features in each vendor’s Android product. The Linux Foundation hopes to help remedy some of this with their upcoming Android Builders Summit, April 13-14 in San Francisco.
This isn’t some Android Users Group potluck, but rather “an intimate forum for collaboration at the systems level and discussion of core issues and opportunities when designing Android devices.” → Read More
San Francisco, CA
