Holy Kernel Bloat, Batman!

[elfs]

I'm trying to rebuild the Linux kernel and see if my laptop can handle 2.6.0. The number of questions asked during the configuration process was simply mind-boggling, and the number of applications I may or will have to rebuild afterwards is daunting-- Linux 2.6.0 stops using the OSS (Open Source Sound) system, which was always a little unreliable, in favor of ALSA (Alternative Linux Sound Architecture)-- Hey, if it's the default, can it still call itself "the alternative?" The source tree was nearly 70 megabytyes.

But I think I've got it set up now to build correctly. The only question then becomes, have I done it "right enough" to bring back the console on reboot? If I haven't, then I may be in real trouble-- there's no guarantee that the 2.6.0 module init functions work right with the 2.4.0 kernel. And what about suspend mode? Does that even work? PCMCIA? Eeek... I hope I haven't consigned myself to upgrade hell. Good thing I backed up the laptop last night.

A few depressing statistics:

• 78% of my readers use Windows.
• 6% use Mac.
• 5% use Linux.
• 11% wouldn't reveal their operating system.
• 162 readers use WebTV, 15 use OS/2, and 1 uses BeOS.

I downloaded and watched The Matrix Revolutions trailer. I'm ambivalent about it. We'll see.

Anyway, if you don't see anything more from me today, it's because I fried Lain trying to give her an upgrade. See you all later...

Comments

Distorted Statistics.

[(Anonymous)]

You can count me as one of the readers that are Linux users, even though my user-agent says Win 2k. Right now I'm writing from the spare computer at work while waiting for my Linux desktop to download an hour of video from a DV Camera (a real-time job that's much more finickey than burning CDs).

When the video is downloaded, I'll be uploading it onto a Linux fileserver so it can be edited by someone else in Kino on annother Linux desktop. My boss is in the other room using his Linux Laptop (and he's anything but a techie. he uses it because it's easier).

I found this page while searching for "Linux 2.6 Suspend" as I'm re-building my home system (formatted wrong device.. oops), and thinking of setting up my old computer as a one-button backup server. The plan is something like this:

while(1){
suspend
rsync(desktop/home)
if(laptop on lan) rsync(laptop/home)
}