What’s In a Number? Various Thoughts

What’s in a number?

I got to thinking about this when a question was asked about the kernel version I’m running on my desktop. The question presumes that just because I don’t have the most ecent kernel version, or rather kernel line, that somehow I’m shortchanged or missing something.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

HOW OLD IS YOUR EQUIPMENT?
Age is relevant to the question about loss of utility. The kernel I’m running was released last week — it isn’t archaic and it isn’t out of date. This computer is older than the 2.4 kernel. It has a 400mhz Celeron processor and over the years it’s received what I consider very minor upgrades over the decade or so I’ve had it. First there was the doubling of RAM from its original 64 to 128. Then this past winter I doubled it again to 256. Hardly impressive, but it makes a big difference in how it functions. This computer will probably outlast me and I don’t intend to toss it out while it still works.

When I bought this computer, Linux was still in 2.2 — 2.4 was available. I think I installed my first 2.4 kernel some time in 2003 when 2.2 development ceased. It was 2.4.10, IIRC (I’m not 100% sure of 2.4 version but I know it was 2003 when 2.2 development stopped — same year MS was supposed to drop NT4 life cycle support), when I switched. I think I could still resort to 2.2 and have nearly full function for everything this computer needs except (maybe) the particular USB adapter I use now (I’d been able to use CDCEther previously but that required connecting directly via bridge). I’d have to check changelogs and see if the adapter would work with 2.2. But 2.4 is very manageable for this particular computer (and would be reasonable, imo, even for my 1.4ghz Athlon box).

HOW OLD IS YOUR KERNEL?
The kernel is probably the one part of the system that can continue to be updated even when various software — especially window managers, desktop environments, and GTK+ applications — become too hefty to keep updated. I wasn’t enthralled with KDE or Gnome when I first used them. They’ve become much to cumbersome since then to use on this computer. Even Xfce is a bit too much now, imo.

WHAT’S THE BEST GUIDELINE BETWEEN HARDWARE AND KERNEL VERSION?
How do kernel changes relate to your own hardware? I don’t think too much has changed in terms of function between what was contemporary when this computer was bleeding edge. Many changes in kernel versions are bug fixes and security patches and the like. There’s some performance enhancements and lots of new drivers for newer hardware — I’d appreciate performance gains I might get from 2.6 (threading?) but I don’t need support for stuff this computer doesn’t and won’t have. I’m not hamstrung or limited or reducing anything. It freaking works.

If you have much more recent hardware, you obviously need a newer kernel with newer drivers; some of the newer drivers (including SATA support) are also in 2.4 so you don’t necessarily need 2.6.

If you’re still using older hardware — and I am — how new does your kernel really need to be? I think it’s a testament to the wisdom of Linus Torvalds and all the contributors to his kernel that what was efficient on this computer nearly a decade ago doesn’t really need much improvement. Certainly there are bug fixes and security issues that have been dealt with in the interim. Those don’t require the size of a 2.6 kernel.

I think it’s also fair to make this kind of comparison with other operating systems. When this computer was new, it had all kinds of stickers about how it was engineered for Windows 98. Windows 98 was gone shortly (as in hours) after I got it home, and the stickers still decorate an old desk like little war trophies.

Could this computer run XP? Yeah, but it would crawl. Even with 256MB of RAM now, I wouldn’t care to see how it runs. I wouldn’t even think of installing Vista on it. I thought of using my WinNT license with it but the only way to get USB support is via third party (Dell has a free driver) and Microsoft no longer issues SPs for NT. So what’s the point?

Yet that’s what I see so many people doing in equivalence with Linux. They’re taking bleeding edge distros intended for XP/Vista-era hardware and installing on Win95/98-era hardware. Sometimes the results are acceptable, but I’ve used KDE on this computer (last version: 3.5.8 iirc) and it was too slow for my tastes despite my best efforts to reduce icon sizes and other factors that can bog it down. The question I was asked isn’t asked in reverse — “Do you really need such new software on older hardware?”

I don’t think anyone does unless they have some new device that has only recently gotten driver support somewhere in the kernel. That’s the case with my laptop because I sold and loaned out my other two wireless devices that were 2.4-capable and my current card — Broadcom 43xx — has had kernel support since 2.6.19.

I mentioned something above about contemporary hardware:software relationships. While development continues, hardware is a snapshot in time. One of the things that many people observe when trying to keep bleeding edge software on vintage hardware is that it rarely works better than the software that was bleeding edge when the hardware was. Isn’t that to be expected when the software is being targeted at hardware made at that particular point in time?

That’s one of the reasons why I think Linux advocates are off-base when they suggest that newer distro versions are appropriate for older hardware. They rarely are. There are some that work better than others, and some that are oriented for older hardware. Truth be told, it rarely makes sense to upgrade more than two years after your computer becomes kind of “old” — which I put around five, six years. In the case of this old desktop, I could still happily run Slackware 8 which is still supported with updates (security, bugs, etc.).

There’s also something else to be said here about support cycles. Microsoft tries to keep its OS support on about seven year cycles. They take a lot of flack for doing that from users and critics alike. Ubuntu has LTS (long term service) which runs in five year cycles. They seem to get praise for five year cycles from the very people most willing to criticize Microsoft for seven year support cycles. Hypocrisy. But the point is, you can find adequate support for average hardware life cycles without having to stay bleeding edge — Windows does it, Slackware does it, and even Ubuntu does (though they’re relatively new to the game).

I think what matters most, though, is matching software to hardware with respect to era. What’s in 2.6.25 that I need on this desktop? Nothing. This computer is Linux 2.2/2.4-era — the same time frame as pre-XP. I have legitimate needs for 2.6 on a couple of my other computers — such as for bcm43xx support for the laptop and some of the new (proprietary) video drivers for the new desktop (I think I also scrolled past what I need in menuconfig for 2.4.36.3…).

In conclusion, don’t presume that the higher version number is inherently better for everything. It may be, it may not be.

CNET Podcast: Mac IIe versus Commodore 64

Podcast: Old-school operating-system battle ||| CNET News.com:

Forget about Aero graphics and Vista security for just a second, and hearken back to the days of Basic programming, green monitors, and cassette drives.
podcast MP3 here

CompUSA to Liquidate

CompUSA to Close All Stores - WSJ.com:

Gordon Brothers Group, a Boston-based retail store liquidator, will oversee a piecemeal sale of the Dallas-based business, the company said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Stores will remain open through year-end under the supervision of Gordon Brothers, which will also negotiate the sale of real estate and other assets. Two law firms were hired to represent creditors, CompUSA said.

“An orderly and expedited wind-down and asset sale process is the best option for CompUSA and its creditors,” Bill Weinstein, a principal at Gordon Brothers, said in a statement. Mr. Weinstein was named interim president of the firm. He was unavailable for immediate comment.

NYT: Mobile Web So Close Yet So Far

Mobile Web: So Close Yet So Far:

“People talk about the mobile Web, and it’s just assumed that it’ll be a replica of the desktop experience,” Mr. Eagle said. “But they’re fundamentally different devices.” He says he thinks that the basic Web experience for most of the world’s three billion cellphones will never involve trying to thumb-type Web addresses or squint at e-mail messages. Instead, he says, it will be voice-driven. “People want to use their phone as a phone,” he says.

The author seems to presume that technological change and adoption of standards is smooth and linear. It isn’t. There are bumps on the way and many fads to overcome.

Told Ya So: RIAA Wins (The Law Really is on Their Side)

If this was a big “test case,” then those of you anti-DRM and pro-P2P nuts have again flunked. Copyright law still prevails and pirates who get caught will pay. It’s not the RIAA’s fault, it’s your own fault.

You lost Napster. You lost Grokster. You lost this case. What part of “copyright infringement” do you still not comprehend?

Grow up and stop being stupid.

Labels Win Suit Against Song Sharer - New York Times:

In a crucial legal victory for record labels and other copyright owners, a federal jury yesterday found a Minnesota woman liable for copyright infringement for sharing music online and imposed a penalty of $222,000 in damages.

Black Hat Pwnies

The first ever Pwnies are in, and the OpenBSD team collected one for most spectacular “mishandling” of a critical security vulnerability. See the link for other Pwnies.

I Think I’m Moving My Blog

I don’t know what’s going on with blogsavy now, but I’ve tried to make several new posts — including twice this morning — and they haven’t posted. I’m looking into moving to a host site that isn’t down more often than it’s up, that doesn’t lose half my content overnight, that doesn’t lock me out from posting, etc.

24 Has Jumped the Shark

Aside from sports, I don’t watch very much television. There are only two network shows I regularly watch, 24 and Survivor. I normally wouldn’t write here about either, but after watching last night’s episode of 24 I’m ready for 24 to be over.

I’ve been disappointed at every twist and turn in the current season. It started out with Jack being pawned off to a terrorist as an extortion payment, he manages to escape and get in touch with CTU just as a nuclear bomb goes off. Good enough. Then he learns Audrey is dead, then learns she’s not really dead. Meanwhile, his brother dies at the hand of their father and Jack starts to rekindle a relationship with his now-widowed sister-in-law and ex-flame. Then there’s the dopey nephew and the grandfather’s decision to use him to lure Jack and then the grandfather’s decision to take him to China as part of his legacy. Jack likes his nephew, too. All of a sudden we get to see the introspective, contemplative side of Jack Bauer. Why? Geez. And don’t get me started out President Wayne Palmer, his goofy sister, or his in-and-out-and-in-again coma and addiction to adrenaline injections. Who wrote all this crap? Enough with all the lovey-dovey relationships already.

My prediction: Palmer is okay and resumes his job as President for the third time in one day just in time to prevent the Russians from bombing US troops in the Middle East, Jack kills his father, his daughter still won’t have anything to do with him, Audrey snaps out of her mental illness, she and Jack decide to visit Disneyworld or run away to a Jack Russell terrier farm, and her father wants to kill Jack for not leaving her alone. That sets up next season where Jack and Audrey are on the run from Secretary Heller and some malevolent CPAs he knows from his country club. That sounds a lot more interesting than this season has been.

Thumbdrives: Biggest Security Concern

Yet another security company has released results of an IT survey which finds that USB devices now concern companies more than malware. This one is even broader than the one I mentioned a couple weeks ago.

If there isn’t a defined acceptable use policy or controls to prevent the download and transfer of sensitive data, managers do not know if and how such data is leaving the building.
–Bill Piwonka, VP of product management for Centennial Software