eWeek: Newest Linux: Trick or Treat?

“Apparently unconcerned with the symbolism, the Linux community
is marching toward its self-imposed Oct. 31 feature-freeze date for
the newest operating system kernel. While what will be Version 2.6
has many laudable improvements, there’s still plenty of
post-Halloween maturation needed so that Linux stops frightening
end users–and doesn’t appear to be masquerading as an
enterprise-ready platform.

“Linux still gets a wary eye in the enterprise due to its
restricted features and growing concern about its security. One key
drawback, which will be addressed in 2.6, is support for setting
file access permissions using access control lists. Every other
major Unix version already does this.

“In addition, Linux is still too dependent on local user lists.
Universal LDAP support and systemwide LDAP integration, not
scheduled for 2.6, need to be built in. On the server, this isn’t a
big deal, but deploying desktops without comprehensive support for
a global user directory can be a nightmare. To alleviate management
headaches for groups of Linux desktops, some system for pushing
administrative policy and configuration changes to multiple users
is a must…”

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