2018 was one of the best times for Linux and Linux Open Source. At the same time, one could say that it was one of their worst years. The top five Linux posts within 2018 will let you decide:
Specter - Meltdown
Last January there were a lot of exhausted and angry Linux kernel developers because a fundamental design flaw in the chips left Linux and all operating systems using Intel processors with major security problems like our familiar Specter and Meltdown.
Intel's refusal to let developers work openly with each other led to huge delays in solving the problems. Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux kernel manager, explained: “When we have a kernel security bug, we want the right people, working with the distributions to build updates. This time it didn't happen like that. Intel supported SUSE, supported Red Hat, and Canonical, while in Oracle and they didn't say anything to us."
Linus Torvalds, chief developer of Linux, added that with "security issues that do not open, we could not use our usual open methods, which made the errors much more painful than they should be".
Specter's problems continue until today, and repairs cause significant slowdowns in Linux and all other operating systems.
IBM bought Red Hat
IBM has made the largest software market for all time, since it has paid 34 billions of dollars to buy Red Hat. This agreement was not about Linux but IBM wanted an opening to the cloud, container, and Red Hat Kubernetes.
Will it work? It can. IBM has made a bet with her becoming dominant in the hybrid cloud. On the other hand, if IBM had not made the purchase, it would continue towards its long and slow decline.
Torvalds returned to Linux with a new code of conduct
Even now it is hard to believe that Linus Torvalds took a break from programming the Linux kernel. For almost 25 years, Torvalds was the benevolent dictator of Linux development, and the only way most could imagine going away was if a bus hit him.
It turns out that his absence turned out to be a good thing as it helped him realize that something was wrong with the way he had chosen to management.
Torvalds said: "I have to change my behavior and apologize to the people who hurt my behavior. Maybe I will avoid the complete development of the nucleus ".
Torvalds was not missing much, and when he returned, he brought with him a new code of ethics for Linux core developers.
Google integrates Linux into Chrome OS
You may know that Linux is the operating system which Google's Chrome OS is based on. This makes Chrome OS the most successful Linux operating system available today.
2018, Google has made it possible to run native Linux with Chrome OS simultaneously, following Microsoft, which allows Windows 10 users to run Linux with Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). So 2018 Linux came as a built-in add-on to other operating systems.
Microsoft buys GitHub and opens up the sources of its patents
Microsoft opened up the patent portfolio and bought it GitHub.
By joining the Open Invention Network (OIN), an open source patent consortium, Microsoft essentially agreed to grant an unlimited license throughout the patent portfolio to all other OIN members.
This was the biggest news for Open Source and Linux in general for 2018, not the removal of Torvalds from core development.
Of course there are many who believe that Microsoft can back up Linux and open-source at some point.
But with this move, Microsoft has released its (own) multi-billion dollar intellectual property on Linux.
It was undoubtedly a good year for Linux and Open Source. We hope that 2019 will bring even greater surprises. Do you tell us to see the distribution of MS-Linux sometime?
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- Meltdown and Specter: Why is Intel so secretive?
- Fuchsia: Will it be released so soon? See Live
- Linux: Diversity and why it is not an operating system
- TOP500 supercomputer the list of top for June of 2018
