A not-so Anonymous Coward asks: "I'am trying to sustain major data input&output on a ftpserver. I have been tweaking with /proc/sys/vm/bdflush and buffermem settings, but the IO is still very bursty. Disks are IDE and use lots of CPU when the update decides to flush the dirtybuffers. The opions differ on the net, what can I do to leave some CPU to the NIC while for example 75% is doing the data-to-disk stream? I have read the Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt and /sysctl/proc and a couple of other hints, but no real improvements so far. Please include detailed motivations and maybe even test results."

mgoodrum writes "Emily Dresner-Thornber has posted an editorial/rant about Linux's viability as an end-user OS over at Netslaves. An interesting mix of criticism and her history as a Linux user." I think she's on the right track, but most of the places she says "Linux" I would substitute "one distribution". GNU/Linux need not be a monolithic entity to be adopted, there just has to be one user-proof distro available.

A source (who asked to remain anonymous, but is reliable) claims to have seen a Linux Port to the Playstation 2. He also saw a PS2 running X and KDE on the machine, running on the MIPS processor w/ 32 Megs of RAM. Unfortunately the information that is available is all written in Japanese. It would be sweet if Sony would make a free image available so people could boot Linux. If not, maybe someone else is up to the task? My PS2 is currently in Toledo (after taking what seemed like an eternity in Memphis). Damn fedex: I need to play Star Wars Starfighter and DOA2! If I boot Linux, can I count it as a business expense?

^Phantom asks: "I am a telecommunications major at college. Due to the lack of lab time at school I am always trying to practice as much at home as possible, the problem is I don't have the money for the latest/greatest things, usually I end up with scraps that 'helpful' friends and co-workers come up with. A common example is the Motorola Powerstacks I have on my floor now. I would like to put these to use, and I have heard linux can be made to run on them, but I have been unable to find info except message threads stating the problems that others have faced but with no solutions. I did find one HOWTO but when I followed the steps listed I ended up with a box that kernel panics on boot and no idea why. Is there any websites dedicated to putting old/odd hardware such as this to use?" You'd be amazed how many people out there are finding yesterday's powerful machines in a surplus sale and would love to figure out where to find hardware for it, or figuring out what OSes it will run. Are there any resources on the interenet that might help one with obtaining this information?

AYeomans writes: "LINE version 0.3 has just been released.'LINE is a utility which executes unmodified Linux applications on Windows by intercepting Linux system calls. The Linux applications themselves are not emulated. They run directly on the CPU just like all other Windows applications.' Could this be the thin end, to which the Linux wedge is attached, allowing people currently tied to Windows the opportunity of easily using native Linux applications?" I wonder how many Windows users are actively waiting for Linux programs to use. (TuxRacer one day maybe?) The version number is low but this is an interesting, oddball project.

An unnamed correspondent writes: "This one rather silently whizzed by on the kernel mailing list. IBM reports that they have ported Linux to PowerPC hardware running in 64-bit mode. This no doubt applies only to the larger processors but it's pretty cool all the same." I don't see this processor yet listed on the NetBSD page, even on the mind-bending list of not-yet-integrated ports; is this a first? :)

Daniel Dvorkin asks: "A few months ago, the small but growing company I work for decided that our current FileMaker-based database solution wasn't working. As DBA, I recommended a MySQL server with a Perl or PHP-based front end. My boss, who despite being a Mac guy has recently developed an inexplicable mania for all things Microsoft, is insisting that I develop everything with Access as a front end. I'm deeply unhappy about this, but I'm hoping that I might be able to salvage a little bit of the situation by using MySQL on Linux rather than SQL Server on NT for the back end." Think something like this might be possible? Read on for more informaiton. Updated!

Ross Vandegrift asks: "Once upon a time long ago, apt-get totally trashed the company webserver while we were trying to upgrade it. Since then I have been very suspicious of apt-get. Recently, a friend from school talked me into trying it again. I slowly eeked back into it and was keeping our machines up to date, and automatically applying security patches. It was cool, I was starting to trust it again. Well, today that changes..." I'm sure everyone who has ever used RPM or apt can understand the frustration one goes thru when running into this problem. For those who have, what did you do to get your system functioning again?

cramhead writes: "Some very cool technology that motherboard manufacturers should consider adopting. Using Linux to boot a system allows flexibility and speed. Thought the world deserved a look at [the LinuxBIOS homepage]" This project sounds similar to the OpenBios project which has mentioned before on Slashdot, but a lot has happened since then, and even since CmdrTaco last posted about LinuxBIOS. The news page indeed reveals that (with certain motherboards), adventurous flashers-of-RAM can have Linux up in three seconds, and they promise improvements even on that. They also note that LinuxBIOS is working with an Alpha DS10 and with an Athlon / SiS730S combination. (This may also remind you of the etherboot project).

bewmIES writes: "Dave Wreski of linuxsecurity.com and author of the recent netfilter article here on slashdot has written an excellent introduction to some of the latest security enhancements to the 2.4 kernel entitled Linux 2.4: Next Generation Kernel Security. He speaks about the future of crypto integration, new character and block devices, and has a very well-written summary of capabilities." Perhaps this will answer at least some people's needs for ACL capabilities in Linux.

A studious Anonymous Coward asks: "So, I now mostly converted to Linux, however one key applications that is missing: a tool like 'EndNote' or 'Reference Manager', which is invaluable for collecting and managing bibilgraphic resources when doing scientific research and writting scientific papers. These packages will do things like maintain a searchable database of your references which you can populate off of one of the public citation databases (pubmed, etc.). Additionally, it interoperates with Word to format your bibliography and (re)number your references. Is there anything like this for Unix?"

Boiling rumors can now be set aside: Linux-Mandrake's 8.0 beta is ready for grabbing. Before you complain about Version Inflation (Slackware, Red Hat and others should come out with v10 just for fun), read the fine print indicating that by using this beta version, you're surrendering your machine to the winds of time, and French aliens may come kidnap you and your data for sheer sadistic sport. That is, especially if you have a VIA Apollo Pro or KT133 Chipsets and a WD drive greater than 8.4Gb in size. So the real 8.0 isn't ready yet (that will be the time to complain about version inflation proper), but like Red Hat's Fisher, this is a nice way to experience upgrades all around the mulberry bush, including a 2.4 kernel (2.4.2, actually) without building them all yourself.

Navarre asks: "While I really like the GNOME desktop, and it's good to see that it's being taken up by HP and Sun, I noticed that it's a little weak on manpages. While I know that GNU prefers Info pages, I personally hate them and greatly prefer man. It's bad enough already when half the GNU apps I use refuse to give decent manpages in favour of info. Now GNOME includes help in HTML format, but no manpages that I've seen. Are we now at a point where we cannot survive on a Unix box without some kind of web browser? What happened to that great common-demoninator of a terminal, troff and a pager? The minimum bloat on Linux continues to increase, and I question if it's a good thing. How much trouble is it to include a manpage anyway?" I'm all for better documentation in formats that have richer functionality than troff, but let's not forget that man pages have worked for years and is still standard on just about every Unix system out there. I'm not as much of a fan of GNU Info, but that's probably more due to my familiarity with man than anything else. How do you all feel? Should we retire man for info or HTML (you can always use lynx)? Or do you think man pages still have a place on modern Unix systems?

cagrin wrote to us with a recent Nick Petreley feature on LinuxWorld. In this feature, he writes about one of my most favorite parts about Linux: Debian and apt-get. He's advocating that Debian become the standard for Linux, as RPM doesn't cut the mustard compared to apt-get. Now, granted, I've been able to blow up my machine before with reckless apt-get dist-upgrade -- but that's running unstable, and my own fault. Apt-get rocks.

oracleofbargth asks: "Is there any project for implementing ACLs in the various filesystems supported under linux (ext2, ext3, etc...) that has the potential to become an official part of the kernel, rather than just a patch to it? The Linux ACL Project looks good, but is ext2 specific. Trustees also looks promising, but a system implemented in the filesystem itself would be preferable. RSBAC also has ACL capabilities, but on the whole goes a bit overboard in terms of what I'm looking for. Ideally, I need something that will work with ext3 so that the ACL information will be journaled."

Quixote asks: "Time was, that the only choice for a stable, interoperable NFS server was a Sun box. Now, things seem to be changing. Linux Kernel 2.4.2 is out, and with this come more choices. If I'm putting together a central NFS fileserver to serve a moderate amount of space (say 200GB) to a mainly Sun/Solaris clientele; should I go with a Sun box with a A1000 h/w RAID (at 3x-5x the cost of the other choice), or should I look at Linux with kernel 2.4.x + a journalling filesystem like ReiserFS/XFS/JFS, built on top of a dual-processor P-III with 2GB memory, a Mylex RAID controller and a Gbit NIC?" Are the issues which were raised in last discussion on NFS and Free OSes still a concern? Are there any Linux 2.4 NFS boxes out in production anywhere, and if so, how have they been holding up?

blutgens writes: "I have a Sony VAIO superslim with no cd-rom and only a USB floppy. I'd like to install Debian or Slackware. Only problem is, without some serious mojo it's next to impossible to do. FreeBSD has an install disk which works fine and will load the MFS (same as a ramdisk essentially) but I'd just as soon migrate it back to linux (Don't ask, I have my reasons) but refuse to run redhat. I made custom kernels with USB support but all I get once the kernel tries to load that second floppy from USB is "Invalid partition table" the disk is fine, I've tried others. My question is what do other people do when they lack normal install media? Isn't there a debian netboot.img floppy image that won't require some magic needed to read a second floppy?"

Some of you may remember the TuxTops story concerning their exit from the laptop business. We've heard from QLITech regarding their acquisition of the TuxTops line -- it's good to see someone will still make it. [Update: 02/22 03:08 PM EST by michael : Newsforge has a story. Looks like QLITech will be taking over support of TuxTops' customers as well - good.]

Three weeks after 2.4.1 hit the streets, 2.4.2 is now available. Here's the Changelog, and here's the download link that I know you're looking for.

Some of you may find it odd to see your own experiences and memories presented as social history. But according to a meticulously reported (but somewhat dry) new book Rebel Code: Inside Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Open Source has changed the world and isn't done yet. If you want to read a top-to-bottom account of how it happened, author Glyn Moody offers a good one. (Read more)