[GRLUG] ext4/xfs/winfs [Was: WMNTUG Windows 7 Meeting]

[Raymond McLaughlin]

Adam Tauno Williams wrote:
> On Fri, 2009-09-18 at 11:02 -0400, Steve Romanow wrote:
>> Not comparing features, just looking at the amount of experimentation 
>> and products that come to market for *nix compared to msft plodding 
>> along with ntfs.
> 
> There are numerous versions of NTFS; Microsoft just continues to call
> all of them NTFS.  Unlike the nerds at Sun [with GFS] Microsoft doesn't
> view filesystem technology as marketable - you just have to have one.
> NTFS [currently] is a very good filesystem.  I think success in the
> marketplace [is Sun a "success" in any arena anymore?] makes it clear
> who is correct on that score. :)
> 
> Actually I'd view NTFS as a success, much like ext2 -> ext3 -> ext4, as
> they've been able to bring everyone forward with an improved filesystem
> without making the migration a big deal.  Most of the time it is
> completely unnoticed.

This raises the question of backward compatibility. For instance will a
portable drive formatted ntfs by Windows 7 be readable if connected to a
Windows 200 machine?