The recent bruhaha surrounding Xen on LKML (http://lkml.org/lkml/2009/6/2/475) is really disheartening. Essentially, the Linux kernel devs are at a disconnect with users. Some are proposing narrow-minded ideas such as DROPPING software paravirt or merging Xen as a whole into the kernel.

I use …

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The Register has a good article on Sphinx search with some entertaining pop-shots at Java and "enterprise software" that got a rise out of me:

Solr is popular with the enterprise crowd, who love its Java. Being a Java program, Solr includes no shortage of technology whose acronyms contain the …

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I get requests from users and see questions all the time for "where did my xorg.conf go in the latest Ubuntu or Fedora?", though it is usually a bit more of a flame.

The quick answer... press Ctrl+Alt+F2 or similar to log into a TTY console, or …

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FS-Cache has been merged into the upcoming kernel 2.6.30. This allows for a generic caching interface in the kernel for other file systems. For example, you can use local hard disks to cache data accessed via NFS, AFS, or CD-Rom. Since these tend to be high-latency while the …

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ext4 has sparked good controversy on the LKML. Aside from the recent delayed alloc and fsync issues, the whole FS stack is getting some much needed attention. Indeed, Linux file systems are starting to feel like first class citizens again with ext4 and Btrfs (merged in 2.6.29 for …

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The Gentoo Qt maintainers have been doing a fantastic job of getting cutting edge Qt software into shape with the qting-edge overlay. I've been running Qt 4.5 since beta1 and am pleased with the direction it is going. Recently the devs bumped the Arora ebuild to version 0.5 …

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I have to hand it to the guys at The H Open (formally Heise Online Open Source Edition). They have excellent coverage of the latest happenings in FOSS software. They also have great coverage of software releases and break it down to the important new bits. Finally, it is not …

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KDE 4.2 is out officially. The ebuilds for Gentoo have been ready for a while. This is a truly fantastic release. If you've ever made an opinion about KDE in the past, I encourage you to give it another go.

My beta1 review back in December sums up most …

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QT Software, under the graces of Nokia, has released the superb QT cross-platform toolkit under the LGPL.

This. is. HUGE.

For the libre software purist, this still benefits you, if indirectly. Companies that make changes to the toolkit must still submit patches. More influential, GPL incompatible software may now readily …

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I've always been a fan of Palm hardware, and even had a soft spot for PalmOS until it was left to rot for so long.

Indeed, my Palm 800w is a fine piece of hardware even though it was quickly eclipsed by the Treo Pro, but Windows Mobile has been …

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