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Linux Kernel 2.6.30 Released
diegocgteleline.es writes "Linux kernel 2.6.30 has been released. The list of new features includes NILFS2 (a new, log-structured filesystem), a filesystem for object-based storage devices called exofs, local caching for NFS, the RDS protocol (which delivers high-performance reliable connections between the servers of a cluster), a new distributed networking filesystem (POHMELFS), automatic flushing of files on renames/truncates in ext3, ext4 and btrfs, preliminary support for the 802.11w drafts, support for the Microblaze architecture, the Tomoyo security MAC, DRM support for the Radeon R6xx/R7xx graphic cards, asynchronous scanning of devices and partitions for faster bootup, the preadv/pwritev syscalls, several new drivers and many other small improvements."
Why would DRM be listed as a "feature"?
Oh, wrong kind of DRM?
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
different DRM. this isn't 'rights mgmt' drm.
sometimes, 3 letters can mean different things.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
The Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) is a component of the Direct Rendering Infrastructure, a system to provide efficient video acceleration (especially 3D rendering) on Unix-like operating systems, e.g. Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD.
It consists of two in-kernel drivers (realized as kernel modules on Linux), a generic drm driver, and another which has specific support for the video hardware. This pair of drivers allows a userspace client direct access to the video hardware.
From WikiPedia.
Karma Whoring FTW!
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
If you're using 2.7.x Intel xorg drivers you NEED this kernel. Anyone struggling with weird freezes, font corruption, and various other troubles - turns out most of these problems weren't in the Intel drivers at all, but in the GEM and DRI code in the kernel. Mine's been rock solid since RC5 for stability, and RC8 finally fixed the problem with fonts under UXA.
"... and more and more now there are all kinds of electronic goodies available" -- Pink Floyd 1972
Direct Rendering Manager
This is something quite different and exciting: a log-structured file system, for storing your files on dead trees.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
Have wireless "issues" been fixed with this release.
I have a laptop with generic realtek rt2500 wifi hardware.
For many kernel releases I have to compile seperate drivers (Legacy serialmonkey) because the "stock" drivers are woefully unstable.
I either lose my connection, painfully slow( have tried the "rate 54" fix) or I cannot reconnect to my network at all.
I don't mind compiling seperate drivers (a huge benefit of open source stuff & Linux) but I am concerned how long I will be able to do this (E.g. something changes in the kernel makes the "external" driver break - in fact actual development of the legacy drivers has ceased - http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page)?
I know I should not be moaning about this but this issue has been around for ages and seems to affect a lot of hardware.
This is my only niggle with Linux and I am grateful for everything. Computing become much more interesting and fun again.
Huge thanks to Linus and the kernel developers.
When they say "Support for rt3070 driver for recent RaLink Wi-Fi chipsets", they really mean support for RT2870, RT2770, RT307X, RT3572 chipsets (they're all the same, with just features enabled or disabled, or signal strength improved between them).
This was the one last thing for me to fully switch over to linux. Netgear and alot of other Wireless-N USB adapters use these chipsets, and they are the best around.
Previously, the method of installing this driver was the largest pain in the ass I've ever had to go through as a linux noob (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=960642) and I'm so very very glad to see that this chipset is now supported.
The reason it was so hard is that the normal controlling app for the USB device has many advanced features you normally don't see on a wireless adapter (act as a router, full cisco network compatibility, etc etc).
And Evgeniy Polyakov (the POHMELFS dev) sounds like a russian name. I guess he knows.
in soviet russia file systems name hangovers after you
No kernel modelsetting in 2.6.30 for anything but Intel chips.
There is some work in progress for ATI chips, but nothing in the mainline kernel.
In the meantime you can use uvesafb in the current kernel to get a framebuffer console if you like it. But you will get a bad vt switching experience.
There's clear roadmap posted here describing features and implications of version numbers.
There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
Log-structured filesystems are a new technology
Haha! This is the kind of wonderful comment I see a lot from Linux users. The first operating system to ship with a log-structured filesystem was the Sprite kernel in 1990. It was rewritten for 4.4BSD, which was released in 1995. Then, 15 years later, suddenly Linux developers hear about it and it's a brand new technology.
Linux is not the whole world. Most of the 'new' technologies in Linux appeared in other UNIX-like systems first, and many of the implementations in Linux are inferior to the originals (although some are better).
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