“The next major release of Linux will be out by year’s end,
Linux creator Linus Torvalds promised a crowd of open-source code
adherents Tuesday night.”
“Some features to look for will be a ‘refined’ interface for a
move into the notebook market… ‘We want to move into the lower
end and try to make it look good there also,’ Torvalds said.”
“The latest release will not be held up based on Intel’s Merced
announcement earlier… ‘The Merced port is going well, but we want
to release before that is all worked out so we will not be able to
get that in there,’ Torvalds said.
Linux also has a future with handheld devices, with several
companies already embedding Linux in prototype devices… Linux
on handhelds could boost the operating systems’ profile among
consumers and non-technical users.
Torvalds said Linux is improving scalablity for the larger
enterprise, although detractors will look hard for flaws. … ‘Our
friends in Redmond will be our beta test site, I’m sure, and look
for problems, but they will have to work harder to find them this
time.’ “