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.

Somewhere between the debut of Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala for those into animal names) and today, the developers/maintainers/overlords of what many consider the leading Linux distribution have fixed the dreaded "kernel mode setting bug" that rendered the X Window system on many computers using Intel video hardware unusable until kernel mode setting was turned off.

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.

Linus Torvalds, Andrew Morton and eighty other important kernel developers are now debating how they plan to proceed with the future development of Linux at the Kernel Summit 2008 in Portland, Oregon.

After the release of Linux 2.6.27, kernel developers are currently busily integrating patches for the next kernel version into the main development branch of Linux. This usually involves discarding some old code and adding new code though on balance, there are usually more new lines than old ones, making the kernel grow continually.

Two weeks have passed since the release of the Linux 2.6.29 kernel that brought Intel kernel mode-setting, the Btrfs file-system, and many other improvements to the Linux kernel. Now though the first release candidate for the forthcoming Linux 2.6.30 kernel is now out in the wild.

Oracle made a big noise in the Linux community yesterday by announcing its own spin on the Linux kernel on top if its so-called Unbreakable Linux. Oracle presented the announcement as offering a "modern" Linux kernel. Underneath the hype, what's Oracle really offering, and what does it mean for Linux?

The Linux kernel development team is turning into a gaggle of geezers. Where is the next generation of Linux kernel developers?

James Morris has outlined a preview of the security subsystem changes he is currently carrying in his security-testing-next branch of the Linux kernel that he plans to have Linus Torvalds pull into the next kernel development cycle for Linux 2.6.36. The big change in the kernel security world is that AppArmor is being planned for integration into the Linux 2.6.36 kernel.