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Linux 2.2.15 Released
Fluid Donkey was the first of many to let us know that kernel 2.2.15 has come down the wire. It's a fairly large patch (just over a meg), but it contains many updates, including support for Intelligent Input/Output (I20) devices. You can find it in the usual places. (ftp.<two-letter-country-code>.kernel.org if you forgot)
Most of the changes in 2.2.15 were actually back-ported from the 2.3 series kernels. For example, I helped Kai with some changes to the 2.3 series tape driver, and those changes have been backported to the 2.2.x series kernels (but not in time for 2.2.15, sigh... maybe 2.2.16).
-E
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
Well, there were 20 prereleases. And Alan's diary did note that he had sent a 2.2.15 to Linus. And there was already a 16pre1 out there. A bit more checking and you wouldn't have had this problem. Oh well, it's fun anyway, right? :)
2. Why are additions being thrown in? Are they at least defaulted to "N"?
I would assume they default to "N" (most things do) but I can't swear to that.
As for the why - they are being thrown in because people wish them to be thrown in, and because it pleases the benevolent lord of the 2.2 kernel, Alan Cox, to grant these people their wish.
Seriously though - the additions being "thrown in" are device drivers, for devices that didn't exist when 2.2 was released. People own these devices and need to use them - you can't just tell them to use a dev kernel, or wait for 2.4. You need to implement these drivers as quickly as possible, test them hard (2.2.15 had about 20 -pre versions before this final release, you know), and then get them out there!
I suppose you could adopt a "bug fixes only" attitude towards changes in the stable major version, but you would really really need to have much more frequent major releases for that to make sense.
They therefore created "water++", or I2O, to fix the problem. I2O is "virtual water", and provides all the liquid refreshment your PC requires.
Unfortunately, some motherboards don't have the necessary aqueducts to support I2O. In these cases, it is necessary to install suitable drivers who can run taxi services to and from the I2O manufacuring plants.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Clickitty click.
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I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
> (By the way, what does it take to get Slashdot to notice a story you submit? I :P
> submitted close to 9 stories as an "Anonymous Coward", 3 as Fervent (I was the first
> to make mention of the Limp Biskit-Napster support thing) but no mention of my
> name on the front page. Is Commander Taco some kind of malevolent dictator?)
Haven't you heard? Before being processed, submitted stories are uploaded to a nearby windows workstation and stored in the Windows Registry. As everyone knows, the recovery rate for information stored in the Windows Registry is 1 out of 5. Next time, to account for this try submitting the same story 68 different times under different usernames. I think there's something about this procedure in the FAQ...
Even more clueless users can be found on Borland's Kylix newsgroups. It's quite amusing to read the baffled Windows coders asking questions like:
:)
"What do you mean Kylix won't support DDE!? How else can we make apps communicate?!" and "I've never seen a Linux DLL, what about you?"
I got a good laugh on an otherwise depressing day after reading that stuff
Every damn piece of wackyness is turned off by default in this kernel, just the way I like it. About time things stoped getting defaulted on just cause they were some developers baby.
On a lighter note, I went and bought the "Linux Core Kernel Comentary." I think this makes me a slashwhore, for running out to by it right after reading the review.
But it means that I will hopefully be adding to the kernel by the fall. Will you?
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"Elegant, Commented, On Time; Pick any Two"
-- Crutcher --
#include <disclaimer.h>
When I say "Darling, guess what! Kernel 2.2.15 was just released hours ago and here we are still running 2.2.14!"
How many people have upgraded software on the sole basis that the new version includes Hungarian support (Besides the Hungarians out there)?
There are actually a large number of us.kernel.org's. (Do an nslookup on it, I count 25+ currently.) They are all independent mirrors that have the same directory structure, or at least /pub/linux.
You were probably unlucky and got one of the slow mirrors. Others may have gotten an updated one.
OK, so I finally decide to upgrade my 2.2.10 kernel to 2.2.14 to fix a bug with my ethernet card stalling. And what happens, not 3 hours after I reboot into 2.2.14? They release 2.2.15!
Sometimes I think I have worse timing than the Debian maintainers. (ducks)
[obdisclaimer: I worked on the drivers, so I'm somewhat biased] I2O is the "Intelligent I/O Software Architecuture". It's a really cool mechanism that allows for offloading of I/O handling tasks from the main CPU down to a separate proccessor (IOP). The idea of intelligent I/O isn't really new, but I2O is really cool b/c it is platform and OS independent. If a device suports I2O, and an OS supports I2O, it'll work. No special driver needed for the device. Intelligent I/O isn't that exciting of a thing at the moment, but it'll become really important in a few more years as more and more people start pounding those big porn servers ;) ~ Deepak
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Deepak Saxena
Deepak Saxena
"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers" - Picasso