The Linux kernel: now and then

Sam Varghese
Wednesday, 30 January 2008 16:00

Opinion and Analysis

When Linus Torvalds was writing his kernel way back in the 1990s, he was working in a small bedroom in an average house in Finland and using hardware that wasn't exactly top of the range.
Torvalds was also using his own money to do what he loved.

Sixteen years and some after the release of the first version of Linux (the kernel) in 1991, development is largely done in air-conditioned rooms and funded by a variety of sources, with big companies figuring prominently.

These companies hire kernel developers and allow them to work on the kernel for either some, or else part, of their working hours.

Needless, to say all these companies have a stake in the kernel - in other words, Linux translates into dollars for them.

The editor of Linux Weekly News, Jonathan Corbet, who presents what he calls The Kernel Report (this is the fourth time he's done it in Australia), provided plenty of interesting details about the kernel in his talk at the Australian national Linux conference today.

Apart from his editorial activities, Corbet himself is an active kernel contributor.

Among the companies that fund contributions to the kernel in the manner described, Red Hat, the premier Linux company, stands first with 11 per cent. A larger percentage is funded by individuals (17 per cent).

The Linux Foundation, which employs Torvalds, funded 2 per cent of the work.