Technology & Life Integration: Fiction or Future

by Locutus (System Administrator)

A peek into the mind of Locutus as he explores the realms of possibilities that computers and related technology bring. What will ...more

A peek into the mind of Locutus as he explores the realms of possibilities that computers and related technology bring. What will technology do for us and is it good or bad?..less

Blog Main /  Archive /  Invite Peers 

RSS for Posts /  RSS for Comments

Previous Entry

Are the shoulders of Linux groaning under the weight of the world?

Locutus (System Administrator) posted 6/19/2010 | Comments (14)

Like (1)

Please Sign In or Register to like this blog.

Share

Share

As I have mentioned before and will probably mention again. In fact I never get tired of mentioning the fact that Linux supports more hardware and is on more devices than any other operating system I know of. It runs on anything from the largest super computers in the world to a computer smaller than a matchbox. It is responsible for vast sums of money and also for your birthday reminders. You watch television on Linux based televisions. You print out your bank statements, prepared by Linux computers, on Linux based printers. You talk on Linux based phones and surf the internet on Linux based web sites and Linux based network devices.

In short practically the whole world is supported by Linux in much the same way the mythical Atlas supported the earth. Everything you currently use has been influenced by Linux in one form or another. Even microsoft has been found to be using Linux (sorry, I couldn't resist that :) It just goes to show just how stable, fast and important Linux has become in around a decade. If it keeps going at this rate who knows where Linux will be in another decades time.

That is, if it can keep up the pace. With Linux being able to do so much. With it being stretched, squished, pulled and pushed into so many different applications and uses I am beginning to wonder. Like silly putty being pulled too far and fast is Linux starting to snap? Like stomping on an empty can is it about to be crushed?

Lets face it, the design of Linux is really, really old. It is after all based on the unix model. In those days computer designers could not even conceive nor imagine the computers we have today and of the uses we put them too. To enable the *nix model to keep up with today's demands it has had level after level piled on top of the base model. These levels have changed, grown and expanded beyond even their original purposes. Levels like device management systems, graphics systems, audio systems, inter process communication system, memory management systems and many more that I can list off the top of my head. The fact that such a simple design has managed to carry all of this load is, to me, quite amazing.

Go there...
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/locutus/are-the-shoulders-of-linux-groaning-under-the-weight-of-the-world-39459

Don