Kernel custodian: Let`s move on from 2.4

The programmer in charge of the current version of the heart of Linux, 2.4, plans to curtail new features in order to encourage a swift move to the upcoming 2.6 kernel. The decision has irked some programmers, reports CNet.

Marcelo Tosatti, the deputy that Linux leader Linus Torvalds appointed to maintain the 2.4 Linux kernel, said in a posting to the Linux Kernel Mailing List this week that the follow-on 2.6 kernel is mature enough that it should be the foundation of new projects. The site reports that Tosatti`s decision didn`t go down well with programmers who are reluctant to move to untested software.

New wireless standards intended to enhance security and support high-bandwidth applications are in the works and will appear in products by the end of next year, said industry analysts at the WiFi Planet Conference and Expo in San Jose, California, last week.

Computerworld reports that the new 802.11e standard is designed to improve quality of service for voice calls, high-resolution video, and other demanding applications. The 802.11i security specification is based on the Advanced Encryption Standard. Both are scheduled to be finalised and published by next summer, say IEEE and WiFi Alliance officials present.

Sun Microsystems plans to unveil an agreement with the UK government to distribute its Java enterprise software and Linux-based desktop operating system. CRN.com reports that under the terms of the deal, the UK purchasing body will use Sun`s Java Enterprise System and the Java Desktop System as infrastructure and desktop software for the country`s public sector, according to a Sun spokesperson.

Japan`s top mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo, has developed a test model of a cellphone that offers both its super-fast third-generation (3G) mobile service and a wireless local area network Internet phone service, reports AP.

NTT DoCoMo 3G mobile phones can relay data at up to 40 times the speed of other 3G-enabled phones, allowing users to relay live video and facilitating services such as a videophone.

IBM is tinkering with a new material that could drastically slash the costs of "drawing" circuits on semiconductors. The stuff is a close relative to tennis shoe glue, reports ZDNet. At the International Electron Devices Meeting in Washington this week, IBM researchers will present a paper showing how they have developed polymer molecules that can assemble themselves into tiny, precise and predictable patterns. The resulting hexagonal pattern then serves as a stencil for mapping out circuits on silicon wafers.