Andrew Tanenbaum: «...A microkernel is much better engineered and is more modular and easier to understand. Monolithic kernels are still too big and unreliable. My metric is the TV set. The system should run for 10 years with a total of zero failures for 99.9% of the users...»

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."

Jim Zemlin’s conversation with Linus Torvalds continues with the posting of Part II of their interview. Linus comments on a variety of topics including patents, internal and external competition, the broader adoption of Linux, Microsoft and much more.

Much attention goes toward mainline kernel releases, but relatively few users are actually running those kernels. Instead, they run kernels provided by their distributors, and those kernels, in turn, are based off the stable kernel series. The practice of releasing stable kernels has been going for well over five years now, so perhaps it's time to look back at how it has been going.

In this multi-part interview Linus Torvalds discusses life, the kernel, and everything.

As many DistroWatch Weekly readers will be aware, I recently spent a week in Hobart, Australia, at Linux.conf.au. The popular annual conference draws many big names from the open source world, including Linus Torvalds (pictured on the right), chief architect and creator of the Linux kernel.

The Linux Foundation (LF) has posted a ten-minute video interview with kernel coordinator Linus Torvalds. Held during the Linux Foundation's recent Linux Kernel Summit, the interview reveals the Linux founder speaking out on issues ranging from kernel/userland interactions to why Linux has so many interfaces.

In this interview Torvalds looks back on the operating system he created, the impact of new hardware, and the ubiquitous OS on everything from cellphones to desktops to supercomputers.

Most years, Linus Torvalds comes to Australia. He apparently likes the place, so the creator of the Linux kernel makes his way to the Australian national Linux conference in January. Torvalds is an excellent subject for an interview; he never evades a question, not even if he has a single word to offer as reply. And despite claiming to have a big ego, he is indeed very approachable.