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Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Linux Blows ()
Date: September 22, 2009 05:47PM

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/22/linus_torvalds_linux_bloated_huge/

LinuxCon 2009 Linux creator Linus Torvalds says the open source kernel has become "bloated and huge," with no midriff-slimming diet plan in sight.

During a roundtable discussion at LinuxCon in Portland, Oregon this afternoon, moderator and Novell distinguished engineer James Bottomley asked Tovalds whether Linux kernel features were being released too fast, before the kernel is stabilized.

Citing an internal Intel study that tracked kernel releases, Bottomley said Linux performance had dropped about two per centage points at every release, for a cumulative drop of about 12 per cent over the last ten releases. "Is this a problem?" he asked.

"We're getting bloated and huge. Yes, it's a problem," said Torvalds.

Asked what the community is doing to solve this, he balked. "Uh, I'd love to say we have a plan," Torvalds replied to applause and chuckles from the audience. "I mean, sometimes it's a bit sad that we are definitely not the streamlined, small, hyper-efficient kernel that I envisioned 15 years ago...The kernel is huge and bloated, and our icache footprint is scary. I mean, there is no question about that. And whenever we add a new feature, it only gets worse."

He maintains, however, that stability is not a problem. "I think we've been pretty stable," he said. "We are finding the bugs as fast as we're adding them — even though we're adding more code."

Bottomley took this to mean that Torvalds views that the current level of integration is acceptable under those terms. But Mr. Linux corrected him. "No. I'm not saying that," Torvalds answered. "Acceptable and avoidable are two different things. It's unacceptable but it's also probably unavoidable."

Among techies, Windows usually gets the bad wrap for bloat, but as Linux expands it reach, roping in so many additional features and devices, it can't help but suffer the same fate. What's different is how such problems are tackled.

"Okay, so the summary of this is that you expect that 12 per cent to be back to where it should be next year, and you expect someone else to come up with a plan to do it," joked Bottomley. "That's open source." ®

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Lurker. ()
Date: September 22, 2009 06:37PM

Yup! Just Linux and Sun developers are in denial now. They also don't tell people how easy it is to hack Linux. Every high school kid, Nigerian and China man can play with free Open Source apps and find holes.

Live Long and Prosper Microsoft!

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: ristorante ()
Date: September 22, 2009 09:32PM

Linux rocks. Microsoft is for turds.

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Obese C++ Programmer ()
Date: September 22, 2009 09:39PM

Debian Linux Rules!!!! Even better when you pair with cell processors!

Now back to my butterfingers, *nom nom nom*.

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: new wave c# programmer ()
Date: September 22, 2009 10:03PM

Red Hat beats Debian any day of the week. You're showing your ignorance young Skywalker.

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: trogdor! ()
Date: September 22, 2009 10:03PM

Lurker. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yup! Just Linux and Sun developers are in denial
> now. They also don't tell people how easy it is
> to hack Linux. Every high school kid, Nigerian
> and China man can play with free Open Source apps
> and find holes.
>
> Live Long and Prosper Microsoft!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security-Enhanced_Linux

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: wookie ()
Date: September 22, 2009 10:13PM

Gotta agree. Debian is for non-techies. May as well go Windows.

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Judge Crater ()
Date: September 23, 2009 09:07AM

you should all switch to CentOS! LOL

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: jhey ()
Date: September 23, 2009 09:46AM

I AM A VMS MAJOR AT STRAYER UNIVERSITY AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Eastsider ()
Date: September 23, 2009 10:40AM

Hey guys. What's going on in this topik?

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: mordor ()
Date: September 23, 2009 12:08PM

Has anyone tried, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Gobuntu, or Xubuntu?

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Judge Crater ()
Date: September 23, 2009 05:58PM

Solaris is da bomb diggity

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: eesh ()
Date: September 23, 2009 06:01PM

Judge Crater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Solaris is da bomb diggity


+1

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: September 24, 2009 01:24PM

the kernel can be bloated but distributions usually put out kernels with most every driver with it so you dont have to hunt for them like with other OSes. the drivers could be better and more unified but they arent.


Lurker. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yup! Just Linux and Sun developers are in denial
> now. They also don't tell people how easy it is
> to hack Linux.
Every high school kid, Nigerian
> and China man can play with free Open Source apps
> and find holes.


there are definitely in many apps and the kernel isnt 100% perfect. to be able to exploit such bugs is rare. when they are found, it's almost always by the developers themselves and they get fixed and disseminated within the next day before even a proof of concept exploit is written. the same cannot be said for microsoft products as they have a two week patch cycle and they have plenty of exploitable bugs they are fixing all the time. Internet Explorer is a good example of highly exploitable software, i even posted a thread here about a very urgent update that was needed. as an experienced computer programmer, i understand the nature of exploits and for some reason microsoft still hasnt learned to stop using fixed length buffers.

while your enthusiasm is a good trait, blind loyalty is not.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Regis-turd Voter ()
Date: September 24, 2009 02:36PM

i like the way Linux plays the piano

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: LOLcat ()
Date: September 24, 2009 02:45PM

I R having a kernel Panic!!!!!!! must cat meh fstab!

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Re: Linux is Bloated and Huge
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: September 24, 2009 02:46PM

well... vader does run on linux.




"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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