[GRLUG] Meeting agenda?

[Michael Mol]

On 10/11/06, Tim Schmidt <timschmidt at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/11/06, Justin Denick <justin.denick at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Regardless of what your distro may or may not come with, learning about the
> > kernel would make for a very informative lecture. So often, users rely on
> > apt to to their bidding, and that's fine. But some of us want to know why it
> > works and what could make it stop working.
> >
> > I build my own kernels for many reasons:
> > 1) I don't use modules unless I absolutely must, and even then I complain.
> > 2) I don't need to support the hardware I don't own or will never buy
> > 3) I like to know what's going on
> > 4) When a problem comes up, I don't want to rely on solutions like:
> > "reinstall the package"
> >
> > So I say we keep the Kernel Building lecture alive.
> > I would give the presentation, but I must admit there are many on this list
> > who know volumes more than I do; I'm probably still a newb.
>
> Sure...  I'm not opposed to the kernel presentation...  Just pointing
> out that building a kernel isn't a common task for most people any
> more.  When I started using Linux in 1998, building a custom kernel
> for each and every install of Linux was almost the expected norm.
> Now, even most 'bleeding edge' hardware like SATA controllers, 10
> gigabit ethernet, and crazy Taiwanese rebranded ultra-generic hardware
> X work out of the box.  Even when hotplugged :)

Last I checked, you still can't run SMART tools over SATA on most
distros.  I'm not even sure the passthrough ioctls have been added to
the main kernel tree yet.

>
> As far as your reasons go...  There are some pertinent counterpoints:
>
> 1) The only reason I can think of to be weary of modules is a
> bordering-on-paranoia fear of rootkits...  quite a few load as
> modules.  However, a few that I know of use only /dev/kmem or similar
> to bootstrap themselves into kernel-space - no module support needed.
> Otherwise, modules are functionally identical to compiled-in drivers.

On some distros, like stock Debian, module loading isn't always
automatic...I remember one configuration I had where I had two sound
cards, and always had to manually load the driver for the second card.
(One was onboard AC97, the other was my then-new Sound Blaster Live)

>
> 2) Unless you, for some crazy reason :), buy it.  Hard to tell a year
> or three in advance.

Very true.  I never, ever thought I'd use USB.  But that was when I
was on a K6-200 desktop system where you had to plug the USB ports
into headers on the motherboard. (No, I don't miss the AT form factor.
 Not one measly bit.)  Once I switched to a box with a USB keyboard, I
found I had no choice. (There weren't any PS/2 keyboards in the house.
 Just a bunch of AT keyboard and a PC/XT keyboard.)

>
> 3) Me too.

That's the reason I first compiled a kernel.  I'd been running my
first copy of Linux for a few days, and I wanted to try it.

-- 
:wq