In a world full of fancy development tools and sites, the kernel project’s dependence on email and mailing lists can seem quaintly dated, if not positively prehistoric. But, as Greg Kroah-Hartman pointed out in a Kernel Recipes talk titled “Patches carved into stone tablets”, there are some good reasons for the kernel community’s choices. Rather than being a holdover from an older era, email remains the best way to manage a project as large as the kernel.
A kernel is the first layer of computer, it controls everything on how the computer will work. The Linux Kernel is the most popular kernel in use today, powering over 1.5 billion Android devices, millions of Chromebooks, and millions of devices that are in use everyday (things from wireless routers to smartwatches). This doesn’t include all of the web services we depend on every day that run some version of Linux. You’re probably using something that requires Linux every day.
So what does that have to do with email? With Kernel development which involves thousands of developers around the world, email is the only technology that has proven itself to manage the process of Linux kernel development. Even if email seems old fashion, I like to point out to students that almost every service they use relies on email for account maintenance.
The world feels more dangerous. Our streets seem less safe. The assault on our values is constant. The threats feel real. The enemy is out there — just check your feed. Source: This Is How Your Fear and Outrage Are Being Sold for Profit This would be a great article to discuss with students on…
I have a hard time remembering all of those classes I took and especially what in the world I learned in them. Part of it is probably because of the volume of it all. Just from sixth to 12th grades, seven classes a day x 180 days x seven years = 8,820 class periods. Part…
Experimental findings published in the Journal of Applied Psychology revealed that employees who had their cameras on during virtual meetings experienced greater fatigue and, in turn, reduced performance during meetings. This was especially true for women and newer employees, suggesting that a heightened need for self-presentation may be the cause of this fatigue. Source: Having your camera…
Remember One Laptop Per Child? They distributed a few million cheap, brightly-colored XO laptops running a weird version of Linux called “Sugar OS,” and then… what happened? Well, I’m not sure actually. But OLPC Australia is carrying the torch, sort of. This offshoot now calls itself “One Education,” and has just announced the Infinity:One. Gone…
It began as a post-war dream for a more collaborative and egalitarian workplace. It has evolved into a nightmare of noise and discomfort. Can the open office be saved, or should we all just be working from home? Source: Yes, the Open Office Is Terrible — But It Doesn’t Have to Be (Ep. 358) – Freakonomics…
Many people are now far more familiar with their walls than they thought they would be. The walls in their homes, that is. Most every organization has been thrust into the future of work. What will determine failure or success in this brave new world? Every day, they stare at them, hoping for an idea…
