Free Software Linux

Intel's project to put a Linux and open source stack on mobile devices is getting overhauled to attract developer support, having failed to generate much interest.

Intel's enthusiasm for open source is gathering speed: now it is endorsing professional Linux certifications, snubbing the old Microsoft certification program.

The purpose of this essay is to illustrate by example the strengths and weaknesses of the open source development model versus the binary driver one.

"Another week, another -rc," began Linux creator Linus Torvalds, announcing the 2.6.26-rc7 Linux kernel, "and as usual, it's mainly drivers and arch updates - over 90% of changes are in one or the other." He continued: "A big part of it (about two thirds of the driver update, in fact) is a late-dropping AGP/DRM update that adds support for some new Intel and ATI graphics cards. And a big part of the arch update is the inevitable def_config updates, of course. I'm not all that happy about the timing of the support for the new cards, but at the same time I also hate delaying new drivers. Obviously the hope is that it can't cause any regressions, since the added code is almost entirely for stuff that simply wasn't supported at all before."

"There is nothing new in what is being done with the netbook remix. It is not an edition of Ubuntu. It is not even a real "finished product"[...]There is no intentions to put proprietary codecs into standard Ubuntu - that would be against our stated principles."

A Nokia-sponsored project is porting Ubuntu Linux to the ARM architecture. The “Handheld Mojo” team has completed ARM builds of Feisty Fawn (dubbed “Frisky Firedrake”), and Gutsy Gibbon (”Grumpy Griffin”), with Hardy Heron compilation starting soon. Meanwhile, Ubuntu is gaining better support for devices with small screens and limited input devices thanks to work by [...]

Here's another reason why ultraportables are going to take off.

WiMax nation wide deployment in the US has risen again, this time with added force in the form of Cable Companies like Comcast and Time Warner whom discovered new interest in backing WiMax. According to the Wall Street Journal, Comcast could put in over a Billion dollars while Time Warner would only shed out USD$500 million. Cable Companies are not the only ones backing WiMax, the God like hands of Google are also in the mix, you can bet Android will benefit, followed by the OHA member Intel who are masters of bridging the gap between the internet and the Speed of Light. All these big name companies will work with Sprint another OHA member who will be the one providing the service throughout the United States. From Article: Big money may be lining up behind WiMax and a network rollout across the country to support it. Sprint and Clearwire fumbled around with this for months, like a teen couple on prom night in the back of a Honda Fit. As in uncomfortably.

Another week, another 34 Weeks of OHA from the great guys AndroidGuys. This week they feature Intel, the leader in Computer Processors who is a member of the OHA and are manufacturing a 2GHz Micro Processor for Mobile Devices called ATOM.We will be seeing the ATOM processors get implemented in Android Devices for sure in the coming years. Don't believe me? Watch this space, anyway enough of my rambling. From Article: What they bring to OHA and Android: Intel is savvy. They know what’s going on. They can see the future of personal computing as surely as you or I: smaller, more personal, pocket-sized computing platforms. They know where the action is.

"Slow servers, Skipping audio, Jerky video --everyone knows the symptoms of latency. But to know what's really going on in the system, what's causing the latency, and how to fix it... those are difficult questions without good answers right now," began Arjan van de Van, announcing version 0.1 of LatencyTop, "a tool for developers to visualize system latencies." He continued: "LatencyTOP is a Linux tool for software developers (both kernel and userspace), aimed at identifying where system latency occurs, and what kind of operation/action is causing the latency to happen. By identifying this, developers can then change the code to avoid the worst latency hiccups.

Intel has denied claims made by One Laptop per Child that it broke a "non-disparagement" agreement and hit back at suggestions that it did not even contribute "a single line of code" to the project.

The day after Intel announced that it would leave the One Laptop Per Child board, the nonprofit organization shot back that the chip giant had contributed little to help the project during its six months with the group.

Groklaw: OLPC has answered the LANCOR claims. And if you want to know what really happened between Intel and OLPC, I suggest you read this interview with Nicholas Negroponte in Fortune. Here's the meat of it:

Intel today resigned from the One Laptop Per Child Project's board of directors after refusing a request to abandon its Classmate PC program.

The dream of cheap computers in the hands of millions of poor children is becoming a reality, though not exactly as its proponents imagined. For-profit competitors snatched the idea and have run with it.