Exciting Technologies Coming to Linux
The first half of 2009 is over and after your summer vacation, you might want to start gearing up for the new distro releases. Once again open source proved that developers collaborating all over the world deliver constant platform improvement. Let’s see what they have in store for us this time.
KSplice – Rebootless Kernel Upgrade
One of the arguments I use often when talking about the advantages of using Linux is the fact that you do not have to reboot when installing or upgrading software. Most of the time. Almost every Linux user knows you have to restart your system after updating the kernel. The guys at Ksplice Inc. came up with this fascinating new technology that basically enables you to apply kernel patches and start using the new kernel right away, without rebooting. That is really all there is to it.

Comment: I don’t know about you, but as far as I’m concerned, it is pretty mind-blowing. Kind of like making a headless chicken do your homework. Read about the underlying technology here.
USB 3.0
This new bus specification promises a speed of 5 Gigabits per second, about 10 times faster than USB 2.0. And the first operating system to get a USB 3.0 driver is GNU/Linux, specifically, kernel 2.6.31 (scheduled for September).
Comment: Although we have yet to see some hardware (guess we will have to wait until good ol’ Windows adopts the tech), think about the possibilities. A pen-drive could be almost as fast as a regular hard drive, which would drive storage prices to the ground. As soon as a 1 GB or more USB 3.0 thumb drive appears, mark my words, I will be installing Fedora as if my life depended on it.
Ubuntu to support Google Android applications

Ubuntu Netbook Remix running Android (via Ars Technica)
With a user base of roughly 2 million and more than 20 Android-powered devices coming this year, Google’s mobile operating system may become a force to be reckoned with. Developers will embrace the platform and given time, Android’s Market will contain hundreds of thousands of applications. Well, at least that is the direction in which the Ubuntu dev team is thinking. They plan to introduce an easy way to port Android apps over to their flagship Linux distribution. While most applications will be useless on a desktop machine, there might be some apps that, with their small size and modest memory consumption, might do a certain task much better than its Ubuntu-native equivalent.
Comment: I have to hand it to the Ubuntu guy who first got this idea: very original thinking. However, I do not think this is a wise way to use developer resources. There are still many things in Ubuntu that need fixing. New features are going to bring new hurdles. The Android support idea is great, though we should wait until the Android Market grows a bit.
As you can see, 2009 may not be the Year of Linux on the Desktop, but it will certainly be an interesting year. Thanks to the openness of the platform, GNU/Linux remains the driver of innovation in modern desktop computing.
Are there any interesting technologies I missed? Share your thoughts in the comments!


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