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KernelTrap Interviews Andrea Arcangeli
An anonymous reader writes "Andrea Arcangeli completely rewrote the 2.4 Linux kernel virtual memory subsystem several years ago, a surprising event during the evolution of a stable kernel series. A very intelligent 27-year-old from Italy, Andrea spoke with KernelTrap in great detail about the past, present and future of his Linux kernel efforts. An interesting interview ."
Andrea is a 27 year old Linux kernel hacker living in Italy and working for SUSE. Looks like yet another reason to play with it when it comes out
GeekLeak.com - Silly name, serious geeks
Linux hacker : Age 27 : lives with in parents house.
Who'd've thunk it, eh?
Actually, most italian men live with their parents until they get married.
I think my parents gave up trying to understand what I was doing on the computer within a couple of weeks of me owning one.
I just got the occasional "Isn't it just amazing what they can do nowadays?" after that...
Most non-Geek parents are the same, I think.
He has higher education, he just doesn't have the degree. The article indicates that he learned a great deal from his college courses.
;-)
A degree gets you an interview. What you learned gets you the job. AA skipped the interview step
Well, in India, it is customary to live with your parents even after you get married. It has to do with family values, esp. in rural India. In the big cities, it has more to do with the fact that the cost of living by yourself is prohibitively high for most people. Software engineers are an exception. ;)
When I read this all I could think of was that I wish I had gone to his highschool.
Using the Paralell port with an ADC is actually fairly easy. You just connect the input to a neutral grounded source to prevent circuit noise, feed the input from the analog waveform source (a calibrated RF generator works nicely) and adjust the capacitance to normalize the digital output. Use the multiplexer to allow more than one input to be sampled, and code the assembly to sample nibbles in a round robin based on the matched timing of the data strobe from the ADC. Using the paralell port results in stepping of the data, as the maximum resolution of the scope is limited by the 8 bits of the port. However, with multiplexing, some of the multiplexed channels can be used to widen the bit count to 16, 24, or 32. I never tried it above 32, as the 8086 I was using was unable to sample fast enough beyond that, even in assembly. Process the port input as a large integer and convert that to a pixel position (and numeric readout if desired) in simple integer to fixed point math.
The hardest part is eliminating the circuit noise for millivolt readings. In larger waveforms (5v and higher) the noise is mostly drowned, but at the millivolt range, any circuit noise, or any unmatched grounding, causes jitters in the waveform being read. Calibration to the range is essential for any serious reading.
And for fun, hook an unamplified output from a portable CD player to the scope, and viola, instant waveform display of the sound signal. Great way to relax on a lazy sunday, listen to and watch the music. Of course, this was in the pre winamp days, so it was a Walkman.
[/Meandering off]
You can have it fast, accurate, or pretty. Pick any 2.
>Age 27 : lives with in parents house.
This is very, very common in Italy. 60 Minutes (I think) did a piece on it a few years ago. Profiled a 40ish executive, single, who lived with the parents. Goes home for lunch, mom does his laundry, etc. This in a guy making serious bucks (well, Lira, anyway). The article pointed out that this is a common way of life until they get married.Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
Once it is widespread some evil corporation might try to influence the government to mandate that it be present in all computer hardware sold in the USA. While this in itself wouldn't be bad, it is just a hop, skip and a jump from mandating something such as Palladium and full DRM on all computers, since the trusted hardware will already be there!
If you don't think it could happen just look at recent bad legislation such as the DMCA and the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. Now imagine both the entertainment lobby and some of the software lobby bearing down on congress. Are your senators going to stand up to them? Mine won't.
Tools might not be evil, but Disney and MS are.
Lasers Controlled Games!