OStatic

Today, the Linux Foundation released its updated study of mainline kernel development. The report examines the slight variations in release frequency, the lines of code submitted, deleted and modified since the April 2008 study, new trends in subsystem patch signoff, and the remarkable diversity (and, perhaps, adversity outside the realm of kernel development) of the companies contributing to the kernel.

While the study is obviously pertinent to those working in kernel development, it covers so many aspects of the development process that everyone working with open source software -- developers, community managers, and even non-IT managerial roles -- can find something directly related to their positions.

It's also (perhaps surprisingly) engaging reading for those interested in the Linux kernel but a little foggy on how the kernel relates to the rest of the operating environment or how changes are approved and applied to the kernel tree.

In a guest post earlier this month, Aaron Fulkerson, co-founder and CEO of MindTouch, outlined why he believes that businesses do themselves a disservice by relying on existing social networking tools to boost productivity among employees and foster communication with customers. In reality, it only allows for one-dimensional superficial dialogue that serves very little purpose in the long run, and does nothing for overall workflow.

These days it's common for each team within a company to have its own blog, collaborate on inter-departmental projects via wiki, and plan meetings over email. In the meantime, files, databases, ERP, CRM, and other data are typically spread out all over the place. Companies communicate with customers through social networks, while employees communicate with each other via group chat. Each method works well on its own but [s]ocial software is not solving business problems, writes Fulkerson. In fact, these applications only serve to treat symptoms of the problems businesses face.