As the central element of Linux, the kernel is equally central to open source software in general. Because the community has such a stake in its design and success, the kernel has proven to be the hub around which much discussion revolves. The kernel's creator, Linus Torvalds, also has a stake in its success, and he takes part in the discussion.

The Linux Kernel community has a proven track record of being in disagreement with - and disconnected from - the academic operating system research community from the very beginning. The famous Torvalds/Tannenbaum debate about the obsolescence of monolithic kernels is just the starting point of a long series of debates about various aspects of Linux kernel design choices."

One of the topics of ongoing interest in the kernel community is that of maintaining quality. It is trivially obvious that we need to maintain and even improve quality. It is less obvious how best to do so. One broad approach that has found some real success is to increase the visibility of various aspects of the kernel.

The Linux kernel is surrounded by hundreds of interested parties. How is it that none of them gains a commanding influence over the kernel's development priorities?HP, IBM, Oracle. Google, eBay and Intel each has a primary stake in Linux and employs kernel developers. Does this mean money talks when it comes to Linux? If not, why not?

The Linux Foundation, which is something akin to the marketing arm of the open source operating system kernel and its related systems software, has today released its second report detailing how the Linux 2.6 kernel is evolving. The report reveals how it is coding the changes in the kernel and what companies are sponsoring the programmers who are making the changes - if any.

Linus Torvalds, lead developer of the Linux kernel community, has merged DRBD, an open source data replication solution, into Linux as a fully supported component.

The Sydney Morning Herald has a Q&A with Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds. It’s an interesting read, but one part more than any stood out for me: “An o/s should never have been something that people (in general) really care about: it should be completely invisible and nobody should give a flying [expletive deleted] about it except the technical people.”

As a Christmas (or holiday) gift to all Linux users, Linus Torvalds last night put out the Linux 2.6.33-rc2 kernel release.

Linus Torvalds, creator and maintainer of the Linux operating system kernel, has reacted angrily to suggestions that the kernel's development process is skewed in a way that prevents improvements on the desktop.