Systems software technology and business
Went to hear Tilak Agerwala talk on the “Future of Data Centers” and was struck again by the way in which system developers and chip architects find solving problems like quantum power leakage and manufacturing devices with 100 angstrom feature sizes to be easier than improving operating system performance or design. Seymour Cray used to [...]
George Gilder had an article in Wired on data centers as clouds. My instinct is to dismiss anything Gilder writes because of his track record of wacky ideas (e.g. feminism is destroying civilization and supply side economics makes sense). But, in this article, Gilder reports on some smart people. The sheer massive use [...]
From LinuxDevices
Every Linux kernel is being developed by nearly 1,000 developers, working for more than 100 corporations.
An average of 3,621 lines of code are added to the kernel tree every day.
A new kernel is released approximately every 2.7 months.
Since 2005, the kernel has grown at a steady pace of 10 percent per year.
Op-ed in the NYTimes from Damian Kulash Jr. of Ok-Go
We can’t allow a system of gatekeepers to get built into the network. The Internet shouldn’t be harnessed for the profit of a few, rather than the good of the many; value should come from the quality of information, not the control of access to [...]
Grossly simplifying, some products are Bill of Materials (BOM) products and some are Designed products. BOM products come to market via a process of generating a parts list and then integrating. In place of designers, BOM products have buyers and integrators. In place of innovation, BOM products have standards. The standards are preferably [...]