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Linux Kernel Switching To Linux v4.0, Coming With Many New Addons

An anonymous reader writes Following polling on Linus Torvald's Google+ page, he's decided to make the next kernel version Linux 4.0 rather than Linux 3.20. Linux 4.0 is going to bring many big improvements besides the version bump with there being live kernel patching, pNFS block server support, VirtIO 1.0, IBM z13 mainframe support, new ARM SoC support, and many new hardware drivers and general improvements. Linux 4.0 is codenamed "Hurr durr I'ma sheep."

141 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Does it come with systemd?

    1. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, it's the kernel. systemd is a crap load of applications. Applications that ignore stderr, drop higher priority syslog messages, and ignores nonzero exit statuses.

    2. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      At least we finally get some understandable technical arguments instead of "it's a monolithic blob" or "it does not respect the UNIX way of doing things".

    3. Re:New version! by invictusvoyd · · Score: 5, Funny

      No . Systemd now includes a new daemon called kerneld 4.0 .. and all these afre included in .... .... .... EMACS mwhahahahaha

    4. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, it's the kernel. systemd is a crap load of applications. Applications that ignore stderr, drop higher priority syslog messages, and ignores nonzero exit statuses.

      What the fuck is up with you trolls repeating these stupid lies?

      systemd may or may not have problems, but it demonstrably does not "ignore stderr, drop higher priority syslog messages, [or] ignore nonzero exit statuses".

      If it does, or ever has done, any of these things where is the fucking bug report.

      --
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    5. Re:New version! by Ash-Fox · · Score: 5, Funny

      If it does, or ever has done, any of these things where is the fucking bug report.

      The server running the bug reporting solution dropped the bug report.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    6. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Keep an eye out for kdbus...

    7. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't worry, systemd does not take over existing projects, it only rewrites them poorly.

    8. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "it does not respect the UNIX way of doing things" IS a valid technical argument.

    9. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Even if those "technical arguments" are lies?

      Seriously -- there are no reliable reports of systemd doing what these anonymous trolls report it as doing.

      One of the advances of systemd is that it does log stderr from processes it starts, so some clown has decided to complain that it doesn't.

      There are no reliable reports of this behaviour -- it's all a bunch of AC posts on Slashdot plus one on Reddit (which was immediatley refuted), plus a few paranoid claims about bug reports being "deleted". How do you delete a bug report from bugzilla? You can't.

      --
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    10. Re:New version! by awing0 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yes, exactly. I'm running Debian Jessie and I'm not really comfortable with binary logs. It takes decades of log practice and throws it away. For what? Search capability? Maybe there's some security benefit, honestly I don't know enough about it to comment. I'll be forwarding my logs to nice text files for the foreseeable future though, until I for one welcome my new systemd overlord.

      --
      Cthulhu Saves.
    11. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seriously?

      The GP posts a straight out lie, some moron mods it "interesting".

      I point out that it is a lie. I get moderated "flamebait".

      Even if you hate systemd, try to beat it with facts. If you start to base your arguments on verifiable lies we begin to doubt your sanity.

      --
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    12. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      when you say 'the UNIX way of things', you mean like AIX does, like Solaris does or like HPUX does? because those UNIX stopped using custom scripts years ago

    13. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      If you were using Debian you could simply uninstall systemd (assuming that you weren't one of the 22 people using gummiboot (soon to be called sd-uefi)).

      # sudo apt-get install sysvinit-core systemd-shim systemd-sysv-

      --
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    14. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes, exactly. I'm running Debian Jessie and I'm not really comfortable with binary logs.

      The default configuration on Debian Jessie is to log everything to syslogd as before.

      What difference did you notice in the logging?

      I'll be forwarding my logs to nice text files for the foreseeable future though

      Why are you doing that? The system already does it for you.

      --
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    15. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a bold statement.

    16. Re:New version! by Megol · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Most Unix stuff doesn't follow the Unix "way of doing things"...
      Wake up, this is the real world...

    17. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Hello, I'm somebody who wrote a low level linux utility and I want to release it under a free license. However, I have inspected systemd and got terrified by the style their developers treat the community. Therefore I want to ensure my software never gets maintained or picked up by systemd developers. Which license should I chose to accomplish this?

      Thank you for your help.

      What you want is by definition not a free license.

      Take the "do no evil" license from JSON.

      --
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    18. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 2

      Maybe you should look harder. "systemd-sysv-" means "REMOVE systemd-sysv".

      The systemd-shim is to make pam-systemd work without systemd being installed. gdm3 needs pam-systemd.

      If you don't need/want gdm3 just remove pam-systemd and don'n install systemd-shim.

      --
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    19. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, I forgot the damned "</b>". Makes me sound like an angry person. Not that I could ever be mistaken for an angry person otherwise.

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    20. Re:New version! by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      At least we finally get some understandable technical arguments instead of "it's a monolithic blob" ".

      Steve McQueen didn't have time for technical arguments.

    21. Re: New version! by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      You are just witnessing individuals exiting from this industry.

      OK

      Fuck em.

      So ... are they moving to the sex industry?

    22. Re:New version! by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      If it does, or ever has done, any of these things where is the fucking bug report.

      Where do you start reporting bugs if you consider that the design is buggy from the concept?

      Most people start by posting to irrelevant slashdot articles..... but you know that already.

    23. Re:New version! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The new version is actually incompatible with systemd. At least my Debian jessie laptop does not boot anymore gracefully as I have a NFS mount in /etc/fstab and if the NFS server is not accessible, the systemd pauses for 90 seconds. One can only wonder, what were the systemd guys smoking when they deciced that fstab is not supported anymore and their own collection of config files is somehow better.

    24. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      So you'd prefer the job of a full time spreader of FUD?

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    25. Re:New version! by donaldm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "it does not respect the UNIX way of doing things" IS a valid technical argument.

      What pray tell is the UNIX way of doing things?

      I have been using Unix (BSD, Ultrix, Tru64, AIX, SunOS, IRIX, HPUX, Solaris, SCO (when they were the good guys) and others) for over 35 years and what you have just said would get you laughed out of a design meeting.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    26. Re:New version! by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      its called "i've haven't got a proper argument so i'll make something up to divert you" (and post AC to save their "possible" reputation)

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    27. Re:New version! by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      You need systemd to read them." no, that comment shows how little you know. you need journalctl to read them unless you've configured rsyslog to run as well.

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    28. Re:New version! by donaldm · · Score: 1

      Yes, exactly. I'm running Debian Jessie and I'm not really comfortable with binary logs.

      Have you ever heard to utmp and wtmp they are binary logs?

      How do you think you can read an ASCII file since in reality it is a binary file? Don't believe me well try to open an ASCI file without the appropriate software to open that file. Examples of that software are: cat, more, less, pg, view, vi, vim, gvim, emacs, - I could go on if you like. Like it or not ASCII files are a binary file consisting of ones and zeros.

      Reading so called binary logs with the appropriate software is no more different than reading an ASCII file with the appropriate software.

      --
      There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
    29. Re:New version! by Barsteward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      modding is the ONLY tactic they have left, all the so called "serious" issues raised have been shot to pieces. its now just a tirade of red herrings, lies and personal insults coming from the gutter because they don't like systemd

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    30. Re:New version! by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      so configure it to suit your needs

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    31. Re:New version! by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Most Unix stuff doesn't follow the Unix "way of doing things"...

      Most of the stuff that the system depends on and that actually makes it Unix does follow the Unix Way. Maybe your favorite application doesn't, but we're talking about the actual system here.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    32. Re:New version! by sjames · · Score: 1

      And just look at them now! Severely marginalized and barely clinging to existence.

    33. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Just talking about Debian, because that's tbe only one I know.

      How many packages depend on systemd?

      Answer -- one, gummiboot.

      Some vandalism.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    34. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Actualy that's not true for systemd -- if a process double forks and exits systemd can still capture tbe exit code -- that's (part of) what cgroups is for.

      I can find no evidence of the mysterious 'dropped syslog' claims, nobody ever seems to have reported it as a bug and it doesn't happen on any system I have access to.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    35. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      (Of course /sbin/init also gets the exit status -- it's just that /sbin/init has no concept of services, the whole sysvinit system just pretends to manage services but hardly uses /sbin/init at all).

      --
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    36. Re:New version! by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      why would there need to be a port of journalctl to Windows or OSX?

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    37. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      If you want text logs install syslogd.

      Is that hard?

      Would you rather have stderr scrolling up the (probably not attached) screen in some remote data centre or have the message written to syslog?

      --
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    38. Re:New version! by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      Exodus to what? Solaris? HP-UX? Windows?

      Good luck.

    39. Re:New version! by F.Ultra · · Score: 1

      The thing is that they cannot beat it with facts because the vast majority of these people wouldn't know systemd even if it hit them on the head. I bet a large percentage of them also isn't even Linux-users to begin with.

    40. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      That's exactly what it does.

      No, it isn't.

      Or, hell... just plug it into Google to save some time, since all the heavy lifting has been done for you time and time again, you astroturfing troll.

      Plug what in? I've tried every way of posing the question I can think of and it all comes back to here or that one incorrect reddit post.

      People are tired of submitting bug reports to a project that doesn't address them

      Name one.

      (Fucking slashdot went down again while I was posting this reply. Did they install systemd or something?)

      --
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    41. Re:New version! by F.Ultra · · Score: 1

      Actually that would have been a great thing considering how horrible the EventLog in Windows are. Something like Journald would be heaven in comparison. And the people who compares the two have obviously never programmed against either.

    42. Re:New version! by F.Ultra · · Score: 1

      I agree that binary logs is not something that I fancy either. I do however understand why he went that way since he want's to enable meta-data to the logging and also I must say that the log search in RHEL7 is lightning fast compared with grep and that it's nice to issue a "journalctl " and get all the syslog aswell as all the stderr and stdout from combined in one place.

    43. Re:New version! by exomondo · · Score: 2

      "it does not respect the UNIX way of doing things" IS a valid technical argument.

      What exactly is "the UNIX way" of doing things? Because in looking at the existing UNIX-derived operating systems like AIX or HPUX and the UNIX-certified ones like OSX this move to systemd (whether you like it or not) certainly does seem to be in keeping with the UNIX way of doing things.

      Perhaps what you mean is that you're complaining that it isn't doing things the way UNIX did them 20-odd years ago, which may well be a valid complaint but calling that "the UNIX way of doing things" doesn't give much confidence that you know what you're talking about. If that's what you mean and that's how you prefer it to be then certainly your preference is a valid complaint to take onboard.

    44. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Which is precisely what people are complaining about - more and more packages (like gdm3, gnome, etc) *needing* (being written to require) systemd... or some "shim" to get around it, which starts making packages less and less able to be ported to other OS's (BSDs, Solaris...).

      gdm3 needs some functions that used to be provided by consolekit. Until very recently nobody could be bothered to maintain consolekit.

      systemd provides those functions.

      And that's systemd's fault?

      Stop whining. Work.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    45. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      The "big" "error" was to not write text logs and a binary index/metadata file.

      However it wouldn't have stopped the trolls, they are clearly insane.

      (For me "journalctl" isn't the win, it's "systemctl status").

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    46. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Should be embarrasingly easy.

      Why haven't you done it if you want it?

      --
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    47. Re:New version! by sjames · · Score: 1

      My last contact with a pharmaceutical company was installing a Linux cluster.

    48. Re:New version! by sjames · · Score: 1

      Given the form factor, it's nearly inevitable. Though you can get a shell and run bash scripts on Android.

    49. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      No it isn't.

      Why bother posting such nonsense?

      --
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    50. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Then you don't know Debian either. 4583 packages depend on "systemd" - see http://lkcl.net/reports/removi...

      Apparently I know a shit more about Debian that lkcl does. He claims those are packages that depend on libsystemd0, which largely exists to make sure packages don't depend on systemd. And he gets it wrong!

      Just take the first example on that list, "0ad":

      # apt-cache show 0ad | grep systemd
      [ crickets ]

      If you want to know what depends on libsystemd (but why care?)

      # apt-cache rdepends libsystemd0 | wc -l
      71

      Alarming? Not.

      --
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    51. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      No.

      "somebody" (i.e. Lennart Poettering) went to some trouble to make sure that gdm3 still worked with consolekit.

      "somebody" (i.e. you) didn't bother to fix the bugs in consolekit, so nobody wants to use it.

      Stop whining. Work.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    52. Re:New version! by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      Sounds more like someone decided to bork a perfectly fine and stable piece of software. Software doesn't rot.

    53. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Ah, I love the smell of conspiracy theories in the morning.

      Ever seen the bug list for consolekit?

      --
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    54. Re:New version! by Megol · · Score: 1

      I'm thinking of everything from the kernel architecture, command line, programs proper.

    55. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      So you work for an organism that employs sociopaths. Nice for you.

      Luckily some of us are not in that position.

      --
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    56. Re:New version! by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1
      --
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    57. Re:New version! by F.Ultra · · Score: 1

      Agreed, systemctl status is a big winner. Actually I think that in a few years time most admins will warm up to the idea and wonder what all the fuss was about.

    58. Re:New version! by WorBlux · · Score: 1

      How is a different init script for every distribution simple? Some of the archtectual ideas in systemd are quite simple. For example to make the most out of parralelism they just start everything at once and let each deamon wait/poll/notify for thier dependencies to be ready enough before proceeding. This is a lot simpler to configure that explicitly schedualling okay start thses three deamons A,B, and C. Lauch D,E,F, and G when A is finished, and H and I when B is finished, then after C, E,F, and I are done it's safe to launch L, and after L you can launch X ---- YUCK!.

    59. Re:New version! by WorBlux · · Score: 2

      Systemd via journald can actually capture more log info than systemV init, and can gaurantee the authenticity of certain parts of the data, and can pass it to a traditional loggin deamon if you need it to. Systemd is made from modular components, only a small number are required. All systemd configuration files are plain text and configuration is declarative in style (getting rid of a lot of the complexity in prodecural systemV scripts). So far you actually haven't listed a requirement where systemd fails or can pass with trivial modification to the system.

      Systemd actually brings back a old favorite feature of Unix. multiseat computing, you can have a single high-end computer drive 2-4 seats instead of a low-end driving a single seat, saving money and reducing wastes at the intitutional level.

    60. Re:New version! by WorBlux · · Score: 1

      Somebody being the prior maintainers who purposely marked the project as depreciated. Apearently there is a fork called ConsoleKit2, but I'm not confident in it's long-term longevity.

    61. Re: New version! by reverieee · · Score: 1

      The plural of UNIX is Unices, is it not?

    62. Re:New version! by ahodgson · · Score: 1

      Mine can't even start a swap partition if it's in fstab, if it happens to be an LVM volume. So glad distros decided it was production ready.

  2. Unprofessional by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So, I assume that a bunch of nitwits are going to show up and say that Linux is never going to be used professionally unless they get their naming together. Inevitably GIMP will be brought up as another example. (And perhaps even GNU.)

    Being that I work with distributors and customers from different nations I occasionally encounter people with not only names that are mildly funny but even obscene in my native language.
    Guess what the professionals do? They don't give a shit about the name because if you let the name of something have an impact on your decisions then your choices will be limited by them and that itself is highly unprofessional.
    Fancy names and shiny appearance is marketing tools to hide whatever is under the hood. Don't let that deceive you.

    1. Re:Unprofessional by gbjbaanb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well Toyota did release the MR2 in France....

    2. Re:Unprofessional by ProzakLord · · Score: 2

      And there was a Mitsubishi Pajero too. I will let you google that from Spanish.

    3. Re:Unprofessional by hodet · · Score: 1

      i would drive that. especially if it was a SUV that got 2 miles per gallon.

    4. Re:Unprofessional by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And you really can't see any difference between a light snicker at a Japanese called Fok Yoo and the facepalm of Honda introducing the new Honda Fokyoo for sale in the US? Another reason nerds won't be taking over the world, I guess...

      I'm not familiar with a Fokyoo from Honda, but Honda Jazz used to be called Honda Fitta, they changed name when they found out that it means "cunt" in Swedish.
      Also a bit silly since it only led to a light snicker anyway.

    5. Re:Unprofessional by Sir_Substance · · Score: 1

      It is, however, important that when I tell my mother to google search your product, she gets results pertaining to your product rather than fetish clothing. If she's going to get fetish clothing, I think I'll just tell her to use paint.net

    6. Re:Unprofessional by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 1

      And you really can't see any difference between a light snicker at a Japanese called Fok Yoo and the facepalm of Honda introducing the new Honda Fokyoo for sale in the US? Another reason nerds won't be taking over the world, I guess...

      I'm not familiar with a Fokyoo from Honda, but Honda Jazz used to be called Honda Fitta, they changed name when they found out that it means "cunt" in Swedish. Also a bit silly since it only led to a light snicker anyway.

      Mitsubishi Pajero anyone? (wash your hands)

      What's the difference between a wanker and a Pajero driver?

      About 1 tonne.

    7. Re:Unprofessional by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The reason that professionals don't let it get under their skin is that these foreigners didn't choose their names.

      No, the reason professionals don't let it get under their skin is that it is completely irrelevant. It doesn't matter if the customer is a complete asshole that named his firstborn to a direct insult against you. You still have a job to do.
      If you choose an inferior product because the name sounds more professional then you didn't do your job.

    8. Re:Unprofessional by sjames · · Score: 1

      I wouldn'ty be surprised if the name BOOSTS sales because it IS funny.

    9. Re: Unprofessional by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      slackware or gentoo (and devuan eventually) is there for you

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    10. Re:Unprofessional by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      No, naming every release after the same animal is "professional".

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
  3. Re:"im a sheep?" well played, Mr Torvalds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I thought it was a clever reference to the Chinese New Year, close to the release date.

  4. Linus Git message by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    .. after extensive statistical analysis of my G+ polling, I've come to
    the inescapable conclusion that internet polls are bad.

    Big surprise.

    But "Hurr durr I'ma sheep" trounced "I like online polls" by a 62-to-38%
    margin, in a poll that people weren't even supposed to participate in.
    Who can argue with solid numbers like that? 5,796 votes from people who
    can't even follow the most basic directions?

    In contrast, "v4.0" beat out "v3.20" by a slimmer margin of 56-to-44%,
    but with a total of 29,110 votes right now.

    Now, arguably, that vote spread is only about 3,200 votes, which is less
    than the almost six thousand votes that the "please ignore" poll got, so
    it could be considered noise.

    But hey, I asked, so I'll honor the votes.

    Source

  5. So does this mean... by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    ... that 4.0 really is a big step up from 3.19 or is it simply the same amount of new stuff that would have gone into a 3.20 release anyway? Not that it really matters, Linux version numbers make about as much sense as Firefox ones these days.

    1. Re:So does this mean... by evilbessie · · Score: 1

      They make more sense than most, as you get a new version every 3 months or so, which either increases the minor version number or occasionally as in this case the major version number. Patches come with the 3rd number. This easily makes more sense than almost all others, Java's numbering scheme seems like it was designed by Kafka, who knows where nvidia generate their driver numbers from.

      So you don't get particular milestones in minor or major version number changes, you get a degree of stability when new will exist and a reliable, predictable change. It makes more sense than the 2.6.xx scheme.

    2. Re:So does this mean... by Trevelyan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Big step from 3.19: No
      Same work as 3.20: Yes

      The reference point is 3.0. Kernel development is now 'inline' (as opposed to the old even=release, odd=development system). That means the minor number just gets bigger and bigger, and the kernel gets further and further away from what 3.0 was.

      This means at somepoint one should bump the major version number; the question is when? Linus has the answer for this: Basically when the minor number gets asthetically displeasing to him, he'll bump the major number and start the minor number again at 0.

      One might ask what will Linus do when the major number gets too big (e.g. >20) ?
      Others might ask, why don't they just use a year/calendar based version number? Like Ubuntu does.

    3. Re:So does this mean... by bhiestand · · Score: 1

      Others might ask, why don't they just use a year/calendar based version number? Like Ubuntu does.

      Mark my words, Y2.1K is coming for Ubuntu.

      --
      SWM seeks new sig for a brief fling
  6. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by ledow · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "It's called Linux 4.0."

    How's that?

    Already some versions of Linux has been everything from Lucid Lynx to Trust Tahr. Windows is technically Chicago, isn't it?

    And, sorry, but my software on my desktop at the moment consists of Xibo, Google, Putty, Audacity, GIMP, MonkeyJam, Scratch, GLPI (colloquially known as "gloopy"), and numerous others. And I work in a very posh independent school. This is what the kids see every day. Are the school bothered? No.

    If you're put off by the name, use the version number like everyone else. And if your CIO doesn't allow you to deploy something because of a nickname, yet it fulfills all your business purposes and doesn't have the name visible ANYWHERE, he's an idiot.

  7. Re:Its a symptom of larger problem. by ruir · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will luck, we also won't have idiotics ACs too!

  8. Re:In Kernel X Server? by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    Its the other way round:
    http://youtu.be/GWQh_DmDLKQ?t=...

  9. Re: "im a sheep?" well played, Mr Torvalds by _merlin · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's the same character for both in Chinese - you have to disambiguate if you want to be more specific. There are more goats than sheep in China, so it's usually translated as goat if not specific.

  10. Re:In Kernel X Server? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 2

    Is there a reliable and efficient process init and monitor server in the Kernel yet? I think that's what people would really be more interested in getting.

  11. Finally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    My IBM mainframe is no longer collecting dust!

  12. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by stjobe · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Hurr durr I'ma sheep" won over the alternative "I like online polls" which got 38% of the votes. ...in a vote Torvalds asked people not to vote in, and yet 5,796 people did.

    In the real poll, "v4.0" beat out "v3.20" by 56% to 44% out of 29,110 votes.

    Since nobody ever use the kernel code name, it doesn't matter in the slightest what it's called. Everyone will refer to the kernel as "4.0".

    --
    "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
  13. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I work for a Fortune 500 company and I can assure you that my company's project names are no less ridiculous.

    The only difference is that my company's products aren't open source, so the public almost never gets to see the project names and all the other silly things that show up in the comments of the code.

  14. Re:Linus pissed people didn't do as he wanted. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All Linus is showing here is that he's an arrogant twat who "put a poll up as a joke" and then got pissed off that people used it despite him saying not to use it. Image: Linus with hands clenched either side, red faced and screaming out "YOU DIDN'T DO LIKE I WANTED!!!!! YOU ALL POOOP HEADS!!!!". What a fucking babby.

    [Bill Gates] Steve - put the chair down now, I'm still in it!
    We're just about broke so you'll have to throw one of the old one's (again). Or maybe a box of those fucking phones no-one wants...

  15. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 1

    The Linux distros would have done a lot better if they were codenamed after an animal, without the stupid adjective. Lucid Lynx - crap name. Lynx - acceptable name suitable to interest PHBs.

    Its not so much the name but the sense that people who are coming up with these names are finding it amusing or humorous and so it comes across as unprofessional. Anybody who isn't already deeply into Linux and open source will look at such a name and think its a toy or joke, not something to bet the business on. This is why Microsoft sells Windows, if Linux wants to make inroads they have to appear professional first.

    Its like putting your CV up for a job, if its full of schoolboy humour, jokes and nonsense, then you're never going to be invited to interview, no matter how good your qualifications, enthusiasm and intelligence are.

  16. Re:Party like it's 1999 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So? If Linux was renamed Linux v6,000,000 would this make better than Windows and MacOS ??

  17. Re:btrfs? by armanox · · Score: 1

    So switch to Solaris and use a real UNIX?

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  18. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by moronoxyd · · Score: 1

    The Linux distros would have done a lot better if they were codenamed after an animal, without the stupid adjective. Lucid Lynx - crap name. Lynx - acceptable name suitable to interest PHBs.

    So... Ubuntu is now 'the Linux distros'?

    Those names are typical for Ubuntu and its derivatives, other distributions like Debian, Fedora and SuSE use different naming schemes.

    Disclaimer: I'm a mostly satisfied Ubuntu user.

  19. Re:Another Reason Businesses prefer BSD by Nite_Hawk · · Score: 2

    "Hurr durr I'ma sheep."

    (setq sarcasm 'on) Well, that will certainly help me convince the boss to upgrade our infrastructure. (setq sarcasm nil)

    I wish people in Open Source realized that Open source means you are living in a fishbowl, and everyone can see your shit. In a closed system you can call your work anything you like, the marketers will take care of the image. Yet open source, for good or ill, is visible to all, including this kind of nonsense. Juvenile stuff just doesn't work with people who have the authority to make major decisions. You would think that there would be a natural sense of shame in trying to practice marketing when you are really an engineer. Stick to coding guys!

    One reason we use a lot of BSD here instead of linux a few years ago, is that not only is it open source but also there is a very simple release cycle and no one feels the need to name each release some sort of catchy name. The version numbers also actually mean something. It is an engineered solution, not a marketing project for high school nerds.

    Linux will always remain a toy until the people coding it learn to grow up and actually promote its true abilities as an industrial strength tool for doing real work. Hurr durr just doesn't give that message. Even Red Hat has learned this and stuck to a very predictable release numbering which is what the bean counters like. Predictability is what makes risk management possible, and that is why people will invest money in it. Sheep do not get to play that game.

    But well, it's just the kernel, so one could just use the number, but damn this sort of stuff is exactly why linux will never be taken that seriously, even if it is free. /rant off

    Linux not taken seriously? Are you insane? It's the most widely distributed kernel on the planet.

    First look at:

    http://droidhyper.com/wp-conte...

    Notice how smart phones and tablets are far outselling PCs? Now look at the distribution of phone operating systems being sold:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

    The kernel is shipping in every single one of those android phones. If you guys are basing your decision on whether or not to use Linux vs BSD servers based on whether or not the releases are named, I think Linux can probaly do ok without you.

  20. Re:Another Reason Businesses prefer BSD by afairch · · Score: 1

    this sort of stuff is exactly why linux will never be taken that seriously

    Thanks for letting me know it will never be taken seriously - since I have been using it at work (at some pretty serious places) for many years now, this obviously came as a bit of a surprise to me.

  21. Single Quote? by SpeedBump0619 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    All I'm wondering is whether there has ever been a single quote in the codename before? Virtually guaranteed to break someone's build system...

    1. Re:Single Quote? by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      That's a feature, not a bug.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    2. Re:Single Quote? by rdnetto · · Score: 1

      There hasn't, but I wouldn't expect it to matter. I don't believe the name is actually used anywhere (everyone just uses the version number), and its only defined in a makefile that's part of the kernel git repo. I'm not even sure if there's a rule for when it should be changed - I suspect it's merely whenever Linus feels like it.

      --
      Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
  22. Why not to 11! by HnT · · Score: 3, Funny

    They should have just gone straight to eleven because, you know, it's one more than ten plus that way they could have one-upped OS X _AND_ Windows! (and it's a freaking prime on top of that!)

    --
    "Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." - Mark Twain
    1. Re:Why not to 11! by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      Well, four is, like, twice a prime, so nyah nyah nyah!

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  23. Re:Linus pissed people didn't do as he wanted. by DenaliPrime · · Score: 1

    You've obviously never read a post by Linus where he was genuinely pissed off. Reading comprehension would tell you that he was expressing mild disgust over the number of people who either failed to comprehend his instructions, or comprehended them and did it anyway.

    But hey, believe what you want if it makes you happy! :)

    --
    I! Tego Arcana Dei.
  24. Re:Linux? Is that still a thing? by meta-monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes, Linux is only on embedded devices. It's not running on my phone, laptop, desktop, and server at all.

    --
    We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
  25. Re:And yet Apple by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 1

    is the richest company of all time. So much for professionalism.

    So much for facts.

  26. Re:Code name by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

    I just assumed the codename thing is a jab at Ubuntu. After all, it only exists in the Makefile and nowhere in the actual code. ...

    Yes, I'm aware that Debian started the code name thing, but Ubuntu changes theirs every 6 months so it's way more noticeable.

    --
    GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
  27. Re:Party like it's 1999 by spauldo · · Score: 2

    NT 4.0 came out in 1996, not 1999. Earlier versions had the same look and feel as Windows 3.x, which would have been _really_ out of place in 1999.

    We had it installed on a 166MHz Alpha back in '97, I think. Funny thing - flood ping the thing and it's like a pause button. Everything just stops. Stop pinging, the clock skips forward and everything goes on as normal.

    My friend with the Aplha wasn't amused. He was less amused every time he left and came back to Linux running on it.

    --
    Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
  28. Re:Another Reason Businesses prefer BSD by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

    (setq sarcasm 'on) Well, that will certainly help me convince the boss to upgrade our infrastructure. (setq sarcasm nil)

    What crappy programming style. setq? Really? The proof that a real Fortran programmer can wriet Fortran in any language.

    --
    Watch this Heartland Institute video
  29. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by mrchaotica · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The company I work for is currently code-naming their projects after cartoon characters.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  30. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by Nadir · · Score: 1

    Actually Ubuntu versions are YY.MM. The adjective and animal name are (mostly) hidden. On Ubuntu's download page I cannot see any mention of Utopic Unicorn, but just 14.10.

    --
    --
    The world is divided in two categories:
    those with a loaded gun and those who dig. You dig.
  31. What happens when the major number gets too high? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If Linus' main motivation for bumping the kernel's version is because he doesn't like how high the minor version number is getting, and he keeps bumping the major number because of that, at some point, the major number is going to get as high as the minor number gets when he starts not liking how big the number is. So, presumably, he'll be unhappy with how high the major number is at that point, but what's he going to do? What do you do when you have Linux 19 and don't likely how high the number is? Change the name to something other than Linux? You might be able to go from 3.20 to 4.0, but the version number after 19.19 is going to end up with a 20 in it either way. Maybe that's when he'll retire and let someone else run things...

  32. The top-level domain by tepples · · Score: 1

    If you can tell her to use Paint.net, then you can tell her to use GIMP.org.

  33. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by tepples · · Score: 1

    "Lynx" by itself sounds more like an Atari handheld video game system or a possible OS X nickname.

  34. Re:v39 soon by donaldm · · Score: 1

    v4.0? Well, it won't be long before it's up to v39 if Firefox is any indicator.

    Chrome is already up to 40 whilst konqueror is up to 14 (both web browsers if you are interested) if that is any help.

    --
    There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  35. Goat Something Else by tepples · · Score: 1

    So perhaps "sheep" was used to keep people from thinking of Goat Something Else (GoatSE). And do NOT search for that at work.

  36. Maturity of tools for a particular format by tepples · · Score: 1

    The difference is that there are more, more varied, and more mature tools to work with the binary formats "ASCII text" and "UTF-8 text" than the binary format "systemd log".

    1. Re:Maturity of tools for a particular format by samwichse · · Score: 1

      journalctl -f... use whatever tool you want. Just like using tail -f, but eebil because it contains systemd code?

    2. Re:Maturity of tools for a particular format by shaitand · · Score: 1

      For starters it's evil because it's called "journalctl." Sounds like a step in the direction of the ugly, clunky, and unintuitive powershell.

  37. Re:Linux? Is that still a thing? by donaldm · · Score: 1

    Back when I was reading slashdot in the 90s I was assured it was just weeks away from taking over the world. Now I'm looking for any serious answer as to why it's anything more than "work for embedded device manuafcturers without getting paid."

    I suggest you look at your smartphone or tablet, over one billion people might disagree with you.

    --
    There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  38. Re:Another Reason Businesses prefer BSD by donaldm · · Score: 1

    Ah the troll is strong with this one!

    But well, it's just the kernel, so one could just use the number, but damn this sort of stuff is exactly why linux will never be taken that seriously, even if it is free. /rant off

    Over one billion android smartphone and tablet users world wide might disagree with you and that is over 65% of the market.

    --
    There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  39. Could have been worse by pak9rabid · · Score: 1

    At least it didn't end up as the 'Butt-head memorial kernel'

  40. Re:Another Reason Businesses prefer BSD by donaldm · · Score: 1

    The kernel is shipping in every single one of those android phones. If you guys are basing your decision on whether or not to use Linux vs BSD servers based on whether or not the releases are named, I think Linux can probaly do ok without you.

    I concur I did not want to comment any further for what I consider a troll. Personally I don't have any issue with BSD Unix since it actually was the first Unix I ever worked on in 1980 but many business or at least those that want to make money want an OS they know is going to be supported and the track record of the company that is going to support that OS.

    --
    There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
  41. Long live the Terminator! by SirMasterboy · · Score: 1

    Coming soon...

    https://lh5.googleusercontent....

    (notice the kernel version)

    1. Re:Long live the Terminator! by TFlan91 · · Score: 1

      Thankfully it reads 4.1.15-1.1381_SKYN12nnmp

      I will be watching ever so closely for this build number and will be running to my bomb shelter when it comes.

    2. Re:Long live the Terminator! by Phil+Urich · · Score: 1

      In the (excellent) Sarah Connor Chronicles, SPOILERS the AI the main characters thought was going to become Skynet was actually working against another AI who seems more likely to have become Skynet. What I'm saying is, the true nature of systemd won't be apparent for another few twists and turns of time travel at least . . .

      --
      I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!
  42. It's a step up from Diseased Newt, I guess. by Arancaytar · · Score: 1

    ...

  43. Re:What happens when the major number gets too hig by petermgreen · · Score: 1

    linux seems to average a release about every 2 months. Which would mean a series every 40 months. To fill up series 4 through 19 inclusive would take about 16*40=640 months = ~ 53 years. According to google linus is currently 45 so that would make him 98.

    I would expect him to be at the very least retired and quite possiblly dead by then.

    --
    note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
  44. Fragility by tepples · · Score: 1

    If a text editor is defective, you can use a different text editor. If the program that writes a text file is defective, you can still extract strings and resynchronize after the defective part by seeking toward the next newline. But if journalctl fails to read your binary log files, whether due to a defect in the logging process or due to a defect in journalctl itself, then how do you get information out?

    1. Re:Fragility by WorBlux · · Score: 1

      It would be a really horrible binary format if there wasn't an included newline equivalent.
      http://www.freedesktop.org/wik...

      Because the format is designed to be mostly append-only you should be able to skip over most corruption in the reader, and the writer should rotate the log file if any corruption is found. Additionally there is a mechanism that lets you know with high certainty weather a section of the file has been corrupted since it was tagged. "Tag objects are used to seal off the journal for alteration. In regular intervals a tag object is appended to the file. The tag object consists of a SHA-256 HMAC tag that is calculated from the objects stored in the file since the last tag was written, or from the beginning if no tag was written yet"

  45. Re:What happens when the major number gets too hig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Or he could become the first zombie kernel admin. Once again Linux brings innovation.

  46. Re:Linux? Is that still a thing? by caseih · · Score: 2

    Yeah you've been gone a long time. Not just from Sashdot, but apparently there are yet rocks one can hide under!

    Turns out that the Slashdot predictions in the 90s about taking over the world pretty much came to pass. The obscure project Linux is now known by everyone, and Linux is pretty much everywhere now for good or bad. Maybe not on the desktop, which is an every shrinking small part of the overall picture. Linux dominates the mobile world, pretty much swept clean the super computing world and the cloud computing landscape, and is still a huge player in the server world. It's not work for free either. Linux development is mostly done by full-time paid employees of quite a few companies that depend on Linux, and make serious money from it. So Linux really has been wildly successful, and makes people working on it a lot of money, and we all benefit. Pretty amazing picture.

  47. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by jafac · · Score: 1

    Dang. In DoD contracting, everything has to be all serious. And they have to form some kind of aggressive acronym. Really gets tiresome.

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  48. Re:btrfs? by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

    It would really be nice to have a stable next-gen file system that can scale. ZFS is for the most part FreeBSD only and I'm just not reayd to switch to FreeBSD.

    There's a Linux version of ZFS. As far as I know, it works quite well, though I can't make any guarantees.

  49. Re:Linux? Is that still a thing? by sjames · · Score: 1

    It did a pretty good job of it. Not only is it all over the embedded space, it has over half of the servers on the internet. So much so that the big expensive commercial Unix alikes went away.

  50. Re:Another Reason Businesses prefer BSD by sjames · · Score: 1

    OK, so I suppose Linux isn't doing well in the ass diamond industry, but otherwise it is widely used.

  51. Re:Linus pissed people didn't do as he wanted. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Some people simply don't get sarcasm, particularly when it's in a written form.

    In my experience the ratio of those who get it to those who don't varies enormously from country to country; UK residents are more likely to think it's a joke while Americans are more likely to get upset, shoot their neighbors dog and start burning down buidings owned by some other ethnicity.

    But I digress...

  52. Re:Good job Barsteward by Barsteward · · Score: 1

    you just proved my point, thanks.

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  53. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by Arancaytar · · Score: 1

    Also, most places that do use them internally (eg. the apt repositories) seem to only use the adjective and ditch the animal.

  54. Re:Linus pissed people didn't do as he wanted. by Arancaytar · · Score: 1

    > What a fucking babby.

    how is linus formed

  55. Re:Hurr durr I'ma sheep?? by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

    Yeah, trying to work out the backronym for DIE MUTHERFUKER was a pain.

    --
    Watch this Heartland Institute video
  56. Re:btrfs? by Bengie · · Score: 1

    In FreeBSD you can share ZFS directly into a jail, allowing the "root" of the jail to manage their own volumes, snapshots, etc, but the host can still maintain restrictions on the jail.

    Another fun fact about jails. The host can configure how many jails can be in a jail. Because jails act like a virtualized system, you can just keep chaining jails under jails, each jail can have its own root user, and with ZFS, each jail can manage its own volumes. There is still some work with ZFS resources management that needs to be done to keep jails from DOS'n the host, but you can see how flexible this system is.

  57. Re:Linux? Is that still a thing? by m.alessandrini · · Score: 1

    At my home and my office it dominates the desktop, too.

  58. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion