Torvalds: 'We're not doing Linux95 … for a few years, at least' The next version of the Linux kernel, version 3.12, has a name: “Suicidal squirrel”. Linus Torvalds let the new name be known in a Git commit in which he killed off the “Linux for Workgroups” name used for version 3.11. The Linux Lord has not, however, entirely ruled out returning to Microsoft-themed names for future versions …
...he's had a problem with a newer model.
No need to assume. The Reg could have just skimmed the original blog that was linked to in the article: the original Intel SSD that 'rocked' was put into Linus's wife's Mac Mini (that ran Linux, for those who still did not click on the link). The Reg also would not have written that Linus "bought" the SSD. Sloppy...
Besides, what's so startling about "working for five years without filling an 80GB drive"? The guy actually works much of the time, and he probably does not fill his HD with torrented movies or kitty photos or fat PowerPoints from marketing drones. Even a large number of kernel source trees and compiled images will not take all that many GBs. [If he uses locally stored VMs though...]. My laptop is about 5 years old and it has a 160GB drive that is about 30% full, so I could have been fine with half the space. I can easily imagine that Linus is more focused and has less junk on his disks.
>Working for five years without filling an 80GB drive is more startling...
Came to say the same... perhaps his definition of "work" isn't: v. (intransitive): to sit around all day under weird fluorescent light among people you secretly despise while trying to download porn without being noticed.
We're not all MPs you know El Reg.
Furthermore... is it conceivable that he might be allowed by his work to use some kind of those newfangled cloudy "server" things* I've heard whispers about to store stuff?
* https://git.kernel.org/cgit/
Those of us who use a lot of space are not all torrenting TB sized porn collections or some such utter rubbish, some of us home users do have need of TB storage NAS's and arrays.
Photography is my main hobby and you can have an average 16bit Photoshop edited image coming in about 1.5-2GB in size, plus you may shoot over 500 keepers a year. I need triple backups so I have two mirrored 8TB NAS boxes for backups. My wife does genealogy and she collects scans of documents and photos, she has a 45,000 image family photo library stretching back to the 1860s, that needs storage and backing up.
The story on slashdot suggest otherwise... Someone posted a quote of Linus from a forum saying "only wimps use backup, real men ftp and use replication".
I wonder if he changed his mind after KDE nearly lost all their codebase because of a replication error and not understanding that replication is not backup.
Basically, like lots of IT guys, he presumes that because he knows a lot about a particular subject he knows about everything and programmers rarely know about infrastructure, particularly backup.
Rebuilding a PC just because a disk failed, how lame; hasn't this twit heard of RAID1?
I have known the click-of-death and grieved at the loss of data, so RAID1 for OS disks, at home and at work.
I have two 128GB Samsung 830 SSDs as a RAID1 array, in a home MIDI tower, so that when one dies (it will!), I can order a new SSD, fit the new one, then let the RAID rebuild while the machine is in use; just like when a new WD Red failed (in warranty) in my FreeNAS; so easy and quick!
I am in disbelief when I see any serious developer use a laptop as their main machine; because they so limiting, slow, and expensive! e.g. limited RAM (more really is better, especially for VMs and server tests), limited drive capacity (as in only one 2.5" disk), limited SATA and USB3 for external devices......
I think that management should be instantly sacked if they insist that developers have laptops as their main machine; morons!
>when one dies (it will!), I can order a new SSD, fit the new one, then let the RAID rebuild
Gosh AC. So you'll have to remove and replace the failed hardware and rebuild too, when your hardware dies? Well knock me down with a feather.
Who are you calling a "twit" and a "moron"?
Really? Normally you have very good insight into issues and obviously know more than the average office/ cubicle droid. But A laptop provides so many more options than a desktop. My laptop (medium power) has a quad core CPU, 8 GB ram (expandable to 16) and space for 2 2.5" hard drives. 1 could be flash. The I7 2630QM CPU seems more than adequate for any of my school programming tasks and watching video. It even plays a few online flash games well, although I don't play very much. The 17" screen seems sufficient for most tasks even as my vision is getting weaker. AND it is portable. 6 hour battery life. I have worked with computers for 30 years and Unless there is a specific demand for a desk side or tower, I only use laptops which I suspect will soon give way to the larger Phablets coming out.. Soon, our TV's will have an ARM (maybe MIPS) based CPU running linux or similar for web access (which most ppl think is their computer), and only serious professionals will need dedicated units.
He does have his "quirks", but think of what the man has accomplished in twenty years:
not only did he produce an open source UNIX-compatible OS, but he catalyzed an entire community to help him. Perhaps it was only a case of him being the right person in the right place at the right time, but he has certainly stuck with it and built Linux into something that I doubt he ever could have envisioned at the beginning.
// flunked out of charm school, he did, though.
"hat whenever I try to run on Linux will dump like it just ate a plateful of curry "
And you are really so well informed that you really though you could just run a binary from one system on another.
Nearly as bad as the guy the other day that wanted wine on ARM so that he could run his Windows programs.
This post has been deleted by its author
...how can the man in the street cope?
This so-called expert (i.e. an amateur in all but name) didn't keep correct back-ups and has now lost a bunch of other folks' work? They shouldn't need to re-send emails, all the information should be on the server (safely backed-up). This is IT 101, not rocket engineering. Windows and Exchange have excellent provision for this, perhaps Torvalds should consider upgrading to a professional product?
And people wonder why Linux is seen as little more than a toy for nerds.
@AC
Dont worry I am sure you will cope. Obviously as you dont know how to cope you would see linux as a toy for nerds. Even if that toy provides most of the IT 'experience' you enjoy, particularly web. Dont worry, the experts will continue and you wont even notice.
>And people wonder why Linux is seen as little more than a toy for nerds.
Only by you RICHTO... and even you don't really believe your own rhetoric, do you? The ferocious desperation of your squealings betrays your inner terror. Don't worry though - there are other employers.
"I long ago gave up on doing backups. I have actively moved to a model where I use replaceable machines instead. I've got the stuff I care about generally on a couple of different machines, and then keys etc backed up on a separate encrypted USB key.
So it's inconvenient. Mainly from a timing standpoint. But nothing more."
Basically he lost the work he was actively doing.
That's pretty much inevitable...
He archives emails (off the mail server) as he works, maybe he should review that method - but he's been doing this for a while, so there is a good chance that the event is sufficiently rare that the occasional "can you resend merge emails for this branch" email is a good compromise.
Never mind Windows: he could use OSX and Time Machine with a Time Capsule. Even my aged mother has got a back-up that way, going back a couple of years, easily searchable and useable. Hmm. You get a real UNIX too and most of the useful GNU and BSD stuff already installed.
Still, more fun being a genius who acts as sole gatekeeper for the whole world of his developers, screaming obscenities at those who fail to work to his standards. Who is allowed to bawl at him for inadequate system management? Does that mean he is also the test team?
Anon in case the Aged Mother reads this and takes offence at the description.
I saw a distro years back actually called Linux XP. It was amusing. Get this...
On startup, it looked like XP (said "Linux XP" but had very similar bootup screens.) When done booting, it was themed to look just like XP, including a start menu laid out just like XP. It also appeared to have wine integrated. At a casual glance it appeared to be XP (i.e. if you didn't read where it says "Linux XP" rather than "Windows XP") They actually went to a reasonable amount of work to make it behave like an XP system.
Oh yes, it ALSO had a activation popup (in the lower right just like in an unregistered copy of XP) reminding you to activate it within 30 days! This was supposed to be done by giving some fine Russian gentlemen your credit card info so they could bill $20 or so 8-) . Was this a ploy to get card numbers, or legitimately would be billed $20 and have this activated? Obviously I did not find out.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2025
