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IBM Kernel Hackers Respond
from the peek-inside-the-big-blue-monolith dept.
A note: we answered these questions individually, but in the interests of Slashdot's disk space, we decided to coalesce the answers into a single, unified one. You might say we "became one voice". (the IBMers in the audience will get that one) These were edited by management, but they mostly corrected our spelling mistakes and cleaned up our dirty language :)
Remember, if you're interested in Linux on large systems or if you have more questions, be sure to check out the LSE site, find us on LKML, or look for us at OLS (we're giving lots of talks).
1) Multi-CPU Scalability
by morbid
Now that Linux has been ported to run on high-end machines under virtualization, when will we see a kernel tuned for (e.g.) scalability to 64-128 processors natively?
IBM Kernel Hackers:
Assuming you're talking about single systems running one instance of Linux, we are focusing on 8 way scalability this year, 16-32 scalability next year. After that, we'll do whatever the hardware people can produce ... there aren't many 64-128 processor systems around.
The open source community is tackling the complexities in getting multi-cpu systems to scale well, and with that understanding also comes a realization that sometimes entire subsystems are bottlenecks. Major rewrites of some of these are underway in 2.5 (not just by IBM people mind you). The scheduler is being wrestled to the ground, the I/O subsystem is being dissected, and virtual memory implementations are creating rhetoric worthy of the Cold War. All of these efforts have had contributions from IBM people in Beaverton and other parts of the Linux Technology Center.
2) OS Blending
by 2names
As Linux developers inside IBM, do you get to see the AIX source code? If you do, are you allowed to "steal" some ideas from AIX and implement them in Linux? If not, why not, and what's the IBM official line?
IBM Kernel Hackers:
First of all, before any of us were allowed to contribute to Linux, we were required to take an "Open Source Developers" class. This class gives us the guidelines we need to participate effectively in the open source community - both IBM guidelines and lessons learned about open source from others in IBM.
We are definitely not allowed to cut and paste proprietary code into any open source projects (or vice versa!). There is an IBM committee who can and do approve the release of IBM proprietary or patented technology, like RCU.
That covers "stealing" code, but what about ideas? We might talk to an AIX programmer and comment we're seeing performance issues in Linux in this area or that area and she tells us they discovered that they really needed to profile the network routines when they saw that. Having solved the problem once, our non-Linux peers can help steer us without spelling it out for us, allowing us to still develop solutions that can then be open sourced.
It's a fine line to walk, especially as an engineer who just wants the answer :)
3) The Open Source model
by larry bagina
IBM will be using linux to help sell their hardware. Other companies have tried this (VA Linux, which owns Slashdot, once had linux hackers on their payroll). Obviously, IBM's hardware is in a different league as an x86 clone, but do you have any thoughts on Open Source business models and their validity? Once the kernel is running smoothly, will you be disposable since the "Open Source community" can continue development for free?
IBM Kernel Hackers:
We think the Open Source business model is more than just valid, it is revolutionary. Linux has become a real "killer app"; the ability to run Linux on IBM hardware is increasingly high on customer's lists. Being able to run it doesn't really hurt AIX or VM, but not being able to run it would cost hardware sales.
As far as our disposability: don't get too concerned on our behalf, Linux will always have bugs and there will always be room for improvement.
4) Getting your changes accepted?
by korpiq
Is Linus accepting your changes well? How directly do you submit patches, and what are your experiences on the overall Linux kernel development style?
IBM Kernel Hackers:
Linus himself is wonderful about accepting patches on technical merit alone. He doesn't "grade" them differently if they come from ibm.com or mit.edu. We submit patches the exact same way that everyone else does: append the patch, mail to Linus and CC linux-kernel. If it's good, it gets in. If it sucks, you get flamed.
However, the submission process can be more complicated than first appears. Often, you need to figure out who is maintaining a particular area of code, followed by talking to them to gauge if someone else is already working on the same thing. Once you submit your code to them and the appropriate list, (isn't always lkml..) you may not get a response. This can be discouraging, but you have to find out why, or just simply resubmit, over and over and over. But, once you have a reputation, it does get easier to get quicker responses.
Sometimes it's frustrating when you've put a lot of effort into something that doesn't get accepted, but there's normally a good reason for it. Even work that doesn't get accepted can influence other people's thinking and development in the future. On the flip side you can also just point out problems and other people fix them for you, so in general you win more than you lose ;-)
5)linux on thinkpads
by Olinator
IMHO, IBM makes some of the best mobile hardware out there -- one of the professors I support raves about his ThinkPad 600, that went with him into the Israeli desert for several months and is still running strong, no service required -- but the linux support for that hardware has been, um, erratic at best. Yes, we've been occasionally been able to purchase the odd model with linux preinstalled (usually it's more expensive than the comparable model with MicroSoft preinstalled, grr) but an awful lot of the hardware (mini-pci modems, etc...) is rather difficult to drive with a penguin behind the wheel. Why does IBM's linux enthusiasm fade so quickly at the small (physical) end of the hardware scale? Is there momentum underway to change this?
IBM Kernel Hackers:
All of the people in our group and most in the LTC have Thinkpads for their daily development and run Linux on them (I'm writing this on one as I sit in my apartment). There may not be as much corporate support there as you want, but there is plenty of grass-roots support. We had to learn all the quirks to get Linux installed and get all of the little things working (just like you). I've always wished that we shared more of this information, but there are usually people who are farther ahead than we are. I've uploaded the meager information that we put together during a meeting once. If you're curious, take a look: http://www.sr71.net/slashdot/thinkpad/linux-desktop
People don't buy many small computers just because they will run Linux (the geek population just isn't that large). People do, however, blow large chunks of cash on big machines just to run Linux. Mom-and-Pop can almost always undercut IBM on prices for small machines, and geeks are thrifty. You don't have to sell many million dollar machines to justify being involved in Linux development.
6) Issues with middle management
by Consul
When you were starting out as a group, did you encounter a lot of friction and resistance from middle and/or upper management about your wanting to work on Open Source projects for IBM? If so, what did you do to overcome the objections and become the team you are now? I think the answer to this would help a lot of other people in other companies get mainstream acceptance of the idea of OSS in corporate environments.
IBM Kernel Hackers:
The management chain from engineer up to VP has been surprisingly a non-issue. We believe this is mostly because of the way the Linux Technology Center was founded. You might think the LTC evolved "up" from renegade engineers, but the truth is that our first Linux corporate strategy in 1998 called for the creation of a team, composed of some our best OS engineers, that would join the community to
- Learn from doing,
- Grow Linux skills
- Give back to the community
- Help make Linux better.
7) When do you estimate Linux can surpass Solaris?
by wytcld
Solaris 9 is getting great reviews. Between the strengths of the traditional open source community and IBM's resources, do you see a point in the next several years where you expect Linux to surpass Solaris in all of its core strengths? Or does Solaris have some unique values which will allow Sun to continue to position itself to advantage, at least for some applications? Please answer this as a technical rather than marketing question.
IBM Kernel Hackers:
We don't have a Solaris machines to back up any claim we may make, nor do we want to stir up another epic Linux on mainframe battle. It is safe to say, however, that today Linux/x86 is able to outperform1 Solaris/Sparc in many areas that Sun has a long history of success. If your core business was threatened, wouldn't you make some serious changes?
1 I know, I know, outperform is a very vague term. Just think price, performance, stability, etc...
8) OS/2 Developers
by reaper20
I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed the OS/2 desktop and its features. Have any of the former OS/2 developers been contributing to Linux?
Specifically, the user interface and accessibility people - OS/2 was very polished - does IBM see a benefit by offering this expertise to the GNOME/KDE projects?
If so, how does this tie into IBM's vision of Linux of the desktop, if you have one? :)
IBM Kernel Hackers:
Yes, there are a number of former OS/2 developers in the LTC including the majority of the teams working on: JFS, EVMS, and Print, as well individuals contributing in the areas of networking, security, RAS, performance and other projects. Remember, OS/2 had JFS support and EVMS supports the OS/2 partitioning scheme.
While IBM is not actively contributing code from the OS/2 user interface, we are supporting and sponsoring both the GNOME and the KDE projects through our involvement in the KDE League and the GNOME Foundation. And as you mentioned, we place a high level of importance on accessibility and so are participating in the community efforts in that area as well.
10) IA64
by sabre ...
Do you think that IPF64 line will see any kind of broad industry adoption? Will it become just like rest of the (non-embedded) processor architectures designed since the x86 -- constantly fighting for 5% of the market? Do you think the AMD Hammer architecture will be a meaningful player in the field?
IBM Kernel Hackers:
Quite possibly, never underestimate the importance of being able to run the huge installed base of ia32 apps natively, and at high speed. But IA64 has lots of industry backing as well. The good news is that Linux runs well on both, so we the community don't have to choose. The market will do that for us.
Additional questions and answers:
What features do you find linux most lacking in? (If we don't examine our weaknesses, we will be crippled)
Linux on the desktop still doesn't really cut it for some of us (though we do use it). Applications are not nearly as robust as they should be, and though we are perfectly capable of configuring X, we'd rather spend the time coding. Though it's fun to throw stones at Windows and the Linux OS is more stable than the Windows OS, as a whole desktop package with the apps, installation, usability and everything rolled together, Linux is not always preferable.
There are thorns in our side daily because of the lack of debugging and profiling ability in the kernel. We're always patching kernels for kernprof or lockmeter and porting them around to new kernel versions. Although Linus has pretty much said that debuggers are for sissies, the built-in facilities are much better than they were during the old days (think readprofile). So, there are advances being made.
...I'm not surprised that your responses have to be vetted by management. But, I'd love to know what guidelines IBM has for hackers' interaction with the rest of the GNU/Linux/Internet community. Are you allowed to criticize IBM management, or other IBM products, for example?
This is the Internet. We are hackers. Our management has been great allowing us to resolve many of our own problems involving certain email systems and desktop OS rules. Working in the kernel group of the LTC we have free reign to do our work on the kernel in the Open Source community.
There's no day-to-day vetting of anything we post or say, they trust us to be sensible. We would not say "IBM product X sucks, and you should buy competitor's product Y instead" in a public forum, but if we don't think something works well, I'm not going to endorse it either. We're engineers who get paid to work on Linux by IBM, not IBM corporate drones ;-)
From the brief bios, and Sequent pedigree, it looks like there is a lot of focus on high-end features like NUMA, async I/O and the like. Other commercial organizations, notably SGI, are also putting forth effort in those areas. There is actually quite a bit of overlap.
Since these are "open source" projects, do you collaborate with your traditional "enemies" such as SGI and Sun on Linux? What is your management's attitude toward that type of collaboration? If not, do you "look" at the work \ the others are doing in comparison to what you are doing?
We have been working smoothly with engineers from HP, Intel, SGI and many other companies through the Linux Scalability Effort Open Source Project. Whatever legal issues there might be within each company, it appears to me that the engineers who are working on open source are allowed to do their work with no problems. Hanna runs the bi-weekly LSE Conference Call and can say the biggest percentage of attendees are from either IBM, SGI or Intel every time. This is nice, but we want more members from the Open Source community to join: (http://lse.sf.net/mtg).
Management doesn't really care too much who actually writes the patch at the end of the day, they want to see Linux work well in their focus areas. Persuading other (external) developers of the correct approach or solution to a problem is just as important a part of our jobs as writing code.
Why isn't IBM making more of an effort to recruit developers directly from the Linux community, as opposed to hiring people who have very little if any working familiarity with the platform?
IBM has hired lots of existing Linux developers such as Rusty Russell, Greg Kroah-Hartman, and Ted Ts'o. There are also others that post to LKML and don't even use their IBM email addresses because they were firmly established community members (with those email addresses) before they were hired. We do have a site where you can view many of our patches, or a list of developers. Keep in mind that there are still developers who don't submit patches here.
What are your opinions regarding the shrinking number of women in the industry? (actually I believe the numbers are rising again in schools)
This is a tough field and many young women are discouraged from sticking it out through all of the math and science classes, as are many young men. Companies, like IBM, help by hiring bright women who move up the technical chain. This shows the less experienced that there is a future for women in engineering.
Shrinking? The numbers seem to be increasing based on what we see at work every day. IBM is active in programs that introduce young women to engineering in an attempt to get them interested in pursing careers in engineering. An example of these programs is Camp EXITE, check this site out for more info: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives/grant/education/camp.shtml
An interesting interview regarding the number of women in industry is available at: http://www.nspe.org/etweb/16-02viewpoint.asp
Questions Rick Lindsley liked that didn't make the top 10, plus answers:
Best way into the Professional Linux world?
As many people here, I am a huge Linux fan, but I am so much so that I am trying to figure out how to get into the professional Linux world when I graduate.
I attend Clemson University and am in the Computer Information System (CS + business) program (and doubled in Political Science). My goal is to become a Linux sys admin, or perhaps some other Linux guru type job. The work that IBM is doing with Linux is also very appealing to me.
So, how did you get your job, and what would you recommend as the path to follow for us geeks just getting started in the professional world as to how to get into Linux? How can I become as entrenched with Linux as the professionals at IBM? I have had two internships (not with IBM, nor with Linux, but with other CS stuff), but how can I get an entry-level job in a Linux intensive environment like IBM? How can said job lead me into a career where I can be deeply involved in the Linux world?
Rick:
First: I've done recruiting at a "significant Big 10 university whose mascot's name is Bucky" so let me tell you what I look for in a college candidate.
Knowledgable -- your resume should reflect what you know, but don't puff it. Just because they make me dress up when I'm on campus doesn't mean I can't tell perl from shell scripting. Accentuate your strong points. You gain points for knowledge, but you lose them for lying or "overstating."
Communicative -- a person who cannot talk about what they know might as well know nothing. Seriously consider taking a public speaking course your junior or senior year. Also: it's ok to say "I don't know."
Grade point -- Personally, I really don't care so much about your GPA as you might think. Unfortunately, you will be judged by it by far too many people, right or wrong. So if you're not 3.9 or 4.0, you might be ready to spin it a bit. "Yes, it's 3.2, but I've buckled down and have 3.84 in the last three semesters." "Yes it's 3.1, but you'll note it's 3.6 on courses in my major." Don't get surreal but make that number say something good about you.
Work experience -- you get a big edge for doing something other than a teaching assistant. Internships, co-ops, and summer jobs can help you more than you think in the end.
Second, how did I get my job at IBM? Luck, in part. Right place, right time. Sometimes it really does work for you. Along with that luck, though, was the fact that I'd established a reputation as a smart coder and a fast learner. While I knew far less about Linux then than I know now, that reputation made managers believe that "coming up to speed" would not be a problem, and they judged right. Your reputation, as reported by your colleagues and not yourself, will be your greatest ally (or enemy.) This is never more true than in the Linux community.
Third, advancing? Once you get your foot in the door, work at interacting. Nobody really advances very far without interaction. At first this is with your cubie neighbor or office mate, but pretty soon it's chatting with people down the hall, and then in other projects. Eventually, you have opportunities to help organize informal seminars with the local user's group, and then it's helping out with conferences, and then you're writing papers, and chairing sessions, and before you know it you're standing puzzled in front of a thousand people, wondering how troubled their life must be that they would want to listen to <em>you</em> speak.
Dave Hansen's answer -
Purdue University's Computer Science program. I went to one of the CS job fairs where someone in the large IBM booth saw "Linux" on my resume. I handed my resume off, had a nice chat, and got a sit-down interview a couple of days later. That was followed soon by a plant trip and a job offer. The moral of the story: if you want a Linux job, put Linux on your resume! Make it bold. Make it half the page if that is really want you want to do. Most importantly, you have to learn to walk the walk before you can talk the talk. Engineers usually have better BS detectors than most people and you won't fool them for long.
Advancing - This is probably evident to anyone who has gone through an engineering program at a large school, but the most successful engineers are those who can teach others. You'll notice that there are lots of brilliant engineers and lots of teachers, but those who can do both are a rarity. Learn as much as you can from your colleagues then share as much as you can. The more people who know your name and come to you for help, the more visible you are. There is probably a fine line between getting noticed and being annoying and I have the feeling that a Slashdot interview may be WAY beyond the line :)
AI Kernel (Score:3, Funny)
Dave Hansen, the IBM Kernel who organized this interview...
Wow, IBM wrote a kernel with embedded AI?? And it was smart enough to conduct an interview??!?! Linux hackers, we have to get cracking, IBM is showing us up!
Re:AI Kernel (Score:5, Funny)
Re:AI Kernel (Score:4, Funny)
Linus (Score:4, Insightful)
It really is time for the community to put more pressure on Linus to adopt this.
ThinkPad support? (Score:4, Insightful)
People don't buy many small computers just because they will run Linux (the geek population just isn't that large). People do, however, blow large chunks of cash on big machines just to run Linux. Mom-and-Pop can almost always undercut IBM on prices for small machines, and geeks are thrifty. You don't have to sell many million dollar machines to justify being involved in Linux development.
I think they should have given us a better answer than this. IBM should hire 10 guys like me [mailto], pay them $25 an hour, UPS them some equipment, and let them hack ThinkPads all day from home. I use a lot of Dell laptops, most of their machines work great under Linux.
How do other companies handle their Linux+laptops? Or don't they?
Dont know what to put here... (Score:2, Funny)
SIGN.......ME.........UP!
A spin on my GPA, as per Dave's suggestion.... (Score:3, Funny)
*sigh* It's a miracle I'm still in college.
Re:A spin on my GPA, as per Dave's suggestion.... (Score:4, Funny)
Dave Hansen, IBM Kernel (Score:1)
Cooperating eh? (Score:3, Funny)
(emphasis mine)
IBM Dude: Sure we're getting along... They stick to their events we stick to ours!
p.s. This is a gross misrepresentation of the facts and his answer (in case you didn't catch on to the bad joke;)
Lets play... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Lets play... (Score:4, Insightful)
"We think the Open Source business model is more than just valid, it is fucking cool!"
He wasn't kidding when he said, These were edited by management, but they mostly corrected our spelling mistakes and cleaned up our dirty language
Other IBMers existed too (Score:5, Interesting)
The past few times I have seen him he has struck up a conversation about all the great stuff about Linux he is hearing at IBM, and how important it may be in the future.
I have worked with many AS/400 type people, and let me tell you, it is hard to get them on the bandwagon for stuff like this. I don't know what IBM is doing to communicate their Linux vision, but whatever it is they are doing right.
-Pete
Speaking of Kernel hackers... (Score:5, Interesting)
(I know, it's off-topic, mod me down, et cetera, but do you know how hard it is to find qualified Linux kernel hackers?? I'm willing to risk some karma...)
IBM and Linux (Score:4, Insightful)
I can't tell how many times before IBM jumped into the ring I heard from the Linux ignorant, "I hear great things about it, but who uses it?" You could then rattle off names all day without effect.
Kernel (Score:3, Funny)
I keep telling people, it's spelled C-O-L-O-N-E-L. I don't know why there isn't an R in it, but it's just spelled that way. I wouldn't be disrespecting any colonels asking why, either.
Off the record (Score:1)
These were edited by management...it shows (Score:1, Offtopic)
myself (is a ) kernel programmer
To know whether to use me or I or myself, convert from plural to singular. If you don't have it right, it'll be painfully obvious.
And usually, but not always, you put yourself second and give the other party(ies) top billing.
My group and I are kernel programmers.
To those who are still in school.... (Score:5, Informative)
If you are still in school, and are thinking about applying for a job at IBM, I'd suggest that you ramp up your GPA right now. The importance of GPA for IBM can't be stressed enough. It's an understatement that you will be judged by it by far too many people. You can be the best and brightest programmer in the world, but your GPA is the only thing that will get you an interview. Only after you got an interview can you show how much you know, right?
At the time when I was about to graduate (I didn't apply to IBM or any big corporations, coz I wanted to work in small companies), the only people who got an interview from IBM are the straight-A students, regardless of how much they know about computer and programming (not to be pejorative!!!).
(Notes: at our school, straight-A GPA does not necessary mean you are good programmer, coz our school is very theory-oriented).
I started working at a small company the day after my last exam, so as two of classmates who were hired by IBM. We bumped into each other one year later. By then, I've developed two drivers already, and theses folks are still in training, and had not written a single line of code yet.
IBM can hire the "best students" (in terms of GPA) and send them to training for a long time.
Good for them. This is not sour grape though, as I've never applied to IBM anyways.
Thinkpads... (Score:2, Interesting)
I've had it for awhile, and while it took some time to ramp up the Thinkpad Linux support is far superior to pretty much every other laptop support available. To call the support "sporatic" is inflamatory at best.
What does IBM *REALLY* think of Linux.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Consider this:
- While IBM considered the PC to be nothing more than a fad they where slow to release the basics that would make the PC more competive with the mainframe such as networking adapters. It wasn't until ethernet had already come out that IBM got around to releasing Token Ring. They continued to push that mainframe 3270 terminals where a super-set of the PC capablities.
- While IBM states that Linux will run on several of their systems including the RS/6000, they continually refuse to release the basics. There is no Tivoli Storage Manager to backup Linux PPC and the specifications for writting drivers for their SSA adapters are still unavailable to Linux developers.
- IBM now promotes AIX to now be a super-set of Linux which is now at the version 5.1"L" (where L stands for Linux personality). In fact, this marketing move seems to clearly indicate that IBM considers Linux to be nothing more than hot-word compliant as AIX 5L does nothing to acknowledge the additional features Linux provides such as
Solaris vs Linux -- Hardware is a big part of it (Score:2, Insightful)
Have a look at Solaris on x86, which Sun dropped completely for a while (I don't remember for sure, but I think they brought back some support for it). It has never been used much, because those that need the scalability and stability that Solaris is reputed to provide know that they'll only get it when using Sun's hardware.
I'm guessing that we'll see an iterative process that will improve matters on the x86/Linux side. As Linux is used more widely for server deployments, more hardware vendors will jump in the game and provide better hardware, and as the hardware becomes available the reputation of Linux on that hardware will improve and the cycle will repeat itself. For now, there are a few small vendors (small marketshare) trying to make x86 server hardware that is actually appropriate for big installations, but most people buy a machine labeled for server use and install Linux on it, and then they blame the shortcomings of the desktop user hardware on Linux.
- Russ
GPA (Score:2)
I've never understood how so many people can look for a 4.0 GPA. 2.0 is average, and in all my classes the professors made sure that most of the students got a C. Now I can accept that the F and D students re-take the class or drop out, but that still doesn't explain how there can possibly be that many people with GPAs of more than 3.5.
There is one exception to the above: honors class. To stay in Honors you need a 3.0 are better GPA, so a C in honors can easially mean you learned less than a F student in the equivelent non-honors class. Yes I'm bitter, I had friends in honors with a better GPA for this reason alone.
I don't get the IP policies (Score:5, Insightful)
It seems strange to me that the Linux developers can't lift code or at least ideas directly from AIX. It makes me wonder if someone hasn't thought this through.
Lifting a snippet of AIX code and putting it into Linux would constitute relicensing that code under the GPL. Doing so would in no way compromise IBM's ability to continue selling that code under the closed-source license as part of AIX; dual-licensing schemes are an established, proven business model.
The policies described seem very wasteful. Consider: IBM owns the AIX code because they paid the salaries of the engineers who wrote it. In exactly the same way, IBM owns the code written by the IBM kernel hackers, but IBM's management has decided that they'd like to donate this code to the world by releasing it under the GPL. If the IBM kernel team is solving a problem that the AIX team has already solved, then IBM is paying two sets of engineers to solve the same problem twice (IBM does a lot of that, but not usually on purpose). It's likely that both teams will arrive at the same solution (particularly if the AIX team is giving hints), and even to generate highly similar code, but IBM has to pay for it twice!
Wouldn't it make a lot more sense for IBM's kernel team to save developer hours by copying ideas or even code from AIX? It's IBM code that's being given to the world via GPL either way, right? Or are is the AIX team so much better than the Linux team that their code is too valuable to donate, while the crap the Linux team produces is okay to shovel out the door? ;-)
Allowing relicensing of snippets of AIX will allow the kernel team to be more productive, getting IBM more of what it wants Linux to be for less money, that's pretty clear. And IBM would in no way lose control of AIX, so what's the downside?
I can certainly see that it might be a good idea to keep the AIX developers away from Linux code, since succumbing to the temptation to lift a useful routine and drop it into AIX violates the GPL and puts IBM at risk of losing its right to use Linux at all if the misappropriation is discovered. And I can see that there might be certain features or techniques in AIX that IBM prefers not to put in Linux, so it might be good to avoid giving the Linux team free access to the AIX codebase, but I cannot see any reason why, for features/refinements that the Linux team is going to make anyway, they shouldn't save time by getting them from AIX.
How does this intentional reinvention of the wheel protect IBM's IP?
Re:I don't get the IP policies (Score:4, Informative)
Now then
The short story is, the problem is not one of proper licensing. It's one of losing a business advantage. And I think it's fair to suggest this dilemma is not being faced solely by IBM either.
Let's examine your theoretical snippet of AIX code. It could fall into one of three buckets.
- Useless. Nobody cares if it's open sourced. The overhead and accompanying fear is unnecessary. (That's almost always discovered in hindsight, unfortunately
:) - Useful but hardly secret. The main danger here is that while not secret, it still gives some advantage to "the competition". Maybe the breakthrough was to drop the bubblesort and use a B-tree. Hardly revolutionary but sometimes clever code really isn't complex. (Simple example, I know, but you get the point.) If "the competition" hasn't figured this out already, IBM doesn't want to give them any clues.
- Patent or trade secret. Ok, now IBM has invested real dollars in documenting and protecting this information. Serious scrutiny will happen before it goes out, just because of the dollars already invested.
And of course, remember through all this that "the competition" is not Linux or even Open Source. It's those companies (who may also be promoting and participating in Open Source) who simply happen to send sales people to the same customers IBM is sending sales people to. If IBM can show AIX is better in some way, it would be karma-good but business-stupid to give that up voluntarily. And by placing advantageous code into Open Source they will both make it available to the community at large (good thing) and make it available to the competition (not a good thing.)Determining code that is patented or constitutes a trade secret is relatively easy. Separating useless from useful is hard (read
It may comfort you to know there are a host of Linux hackers, only a subset of which participated in the interview, which are hammering at your questions all the time. The engineers hammer, and the lawyers hammer back. In general, the perception is that engineers could care less about IP and lawyers could care less about sharing with the community. Neither is entirely true. Their jobs and goals are very different, and objectively, their ongoing battles -- ahem, I mean dialogues -- do in the end yield a pretty good balance.
Linux on ThinkPads (Score:3, Funny)
"That sounds pretty interesting", I thought. Try it for yourself. No soup for you!
How do we encourage ViaVoice? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'll happily both pay and code for the newest engine under linux. If it would get it past the 99.9% accuracy point, I'd buy a power5 to run it on.
I tried to use the contact on the SDK page, but it bounced. Who do I have to bribe?
If IBM is listening, be aware that people who have hand problems are more than willing to shell out the cash for the top end hardware. A dual Opteron is cheaper than a new pair of hands. The minimum hardware requirements are pointless. Use my CPU power; I'll buy an extra one to run emacs with.
How about multiple microphones?
ViaVoice is available for Linux! (Score:2, Informative)
IBM ViaVoice Dictation for Linux allows you to:
Say letters and numbers naturally
Dictate memos and documents using natural voice
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Multi-users are supported for each system
supporting both GNOME and KDE? (Score:2)
Well they do have one or two articles on GNOME development on their developerworks site. But I'm convinced Sun has contributed countless more manhours to the user interface aspect of GNOME than IBM has.
Great interview (Score:1)
Fantastic!
Women not in engineering (Score:2)
Not to mention that there may be a natural or social differentiation in roles and tastes, and that's not bad in itself. I don't see anything in the Natural Law stating each profession must have a 50-50% split on sex lines. We Brasilians tend to like being real men and having our women really different from ourselves.
Re:OS/2, anyone? (Score:2)
Having worked at Best Buy when both OS/2 Warp and then Win95 came out, I can say it wasn't just IBM marketing.
Our store manager didn't even want to put up the OS/2 stuff. Is that because he wasn't won over by the marketing, or was it HIS boss that wasn't won over?
In any case, there are VERY many people who didn't see marketing materials because of just a few people. I still have that nice heavy 3'x5' Warp poster at home.
Re:rofl (Score:1)
Because they know Linux is evolving and growing faster than any other unix operating system out there. "Free eh? Open source eh? And we can hack it? And call it our own? And mass market it?". Seriously, IBM is really marketing Linux because everyone keeps hearing about it. "What is this 'Linux'? I dont know, but IBM is backing it, so it must be big!" and up goes the stock.
Re:rofl (Score:1)
Funny thing about Ferrarris -- they only go fast on very smooth roads. Hummers can go fast without paved roads. Most of the planet is not paved, so for most terrain, the Hummer will run the Ferrarri into the ground.
Kind of like OSs -- most of the world is a rough place, and your OS (even on a desktop) needs to be able to handle the rough spots without crashing. I'm not saying AIX and Solaris have that problem, but other well-known OSs do.
Re:OS/2, anyone? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:F is for firsty (Score:2, Funny)
Weird.
Wonder what that was all about...
Re:rofl (Score:1)
Unix doesn't belong on the desktop, it wasn't designed for that purpose. It's like racing a hummer against a ferrari.
I suppose that Mac OS X doesn't belong on the desktop, then?
In my experience, it's very slick and very easy to use, certainly more like a Ferrari than a Hummer. My wife had no trouble adapting to it, and she has serious misgivings about learning to use Linux. Unix appears to work quite well on the desktop.
Re:rofl (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm no fan of KDE/GNOME/etc., but the fact that they're there is saying something.
You, on the other hand, said nothing. Simply stating that UNIX wasn't designed for the desktop and giving a random analogy doesn't prove any points. Why is it like a hammer? Who is the Ferrari? Windows? Why is it unsuitable?
BSD-basedness of Mac OS X isn't at all a whole 'nother can of worms. It's a UNIX system. Libraries run on UNIX systems. Avi's been asked why OS X isn't Linux-based before and he pointed out the obvious: they already had a perfectly good OS running on Mach/BSD. Not because another kernel/etc. couldn't do it, but because there was no need to re-do work. The reader with the long attention span will note that the OpenStep libraries were released for Solaris and Windows NT. It doesn't have anything to do with which can of worms it occupies. And Macs are good for much more than graphics, but I'll opt to stop here and not further feed a troll.
Re:Linux Geekin' (Score:1)
Re:How to get hardware information? (Score:1)
Re:Not again (Score:1)
There is one exception, though. I have found one way to consistently crash (Blue-screen) my Win2k installation. This technique is 100% repeatable. With the PC in sleep/hibernate-mode (power apparently off, but will resume where it was upon a mouse-wiggle), alter the hardware. Change video cards, add a parallel-port card, plug in a USB hub, etc... When you bring the system back up it will freak out.
I can excuse this, as I don't think it's fair to demand the OS hadle this. But it will nail Win 2k dead-to-rights. Other than that situation, though, I've not seen Win2k crash either.
Re:OS/2, anyone? (Score:1)
Re:Not again (Score:2)
And I do work for a company that was running a Win2K server not hard at all (9 users, doing nothing more strenuous than file serving), and they've experiences two major crashes (which required "disaster recovery" measures) in less than a year, both due to bugs in the OS.
Only in MS-land does "you're low on disk space" equate to "SYSTEM ERROR - MAJOR FAULT - I WILL NOT BOOT ANY MORE!", and require you to do a fresh install so that you can delete the stupid log files (that weren't deleted because of an OS bug) that were simply logging "YOUR DISK IS ALMOST FULL"
Re:Not again (Score:1)