Team FREDNET's open source approach to winning the Google LunarX Prize.

The Google Lunar X Prize, $20 million to the 1st private team that lands a data transmitting rover on the moon, is itself very interesting. Team Fred Net's open source (Web 2.0 approach) team project for winning the prize is also of some interest. Honestly though, I was much more interested in some of the other contesting team's approaches to the problem, in particular the Romanian team's effort . They actually have their own complete plan for getting their rover to the moon inexpensively (relatively speaking), unlike Team Fred Net, which apparently hopes enough people will donate enough money (6-10 million dollars) for them to pay to have their rover piggyback on a conventional rocket launch platform. The open source concept of the team is neat to be sure, but considering they have only put together about $3,000 so far, I think their approach may be too dependent on the good will and interest of others. I for one will not be contributing to their effort, unless they can at least better prove their own capabilities. I love how these X Prizes promote private entrepreneurial efforts in space exploration. I look forward to seeing if anyone will win this particular prize, and seeing how they did it if they do.

How Linux Kernels Are Numbered.

There are three different Linux kernel numbering systems. The very first Linux kernel version was 0.01, followed by 0.02 through 0.03, then 0.10 through 0.12, and then 0.95 through 1.0 and onward to the current version. That was the first kernel version numbering scheme. From Linux release 1.0 through to just before release 2.6, the kernel version numbering system was composed of three numbers, each separated by a decimal point. The first number was the kernel version, with the second number being a major revision of that kernel version, and the third number being for minor revisions (such as for bug fixes and security patches). As of 2004, the kernel version numbering system has undergone a third change in which the version consists of 3 to 4 numbers, each separated by a decimal, with the third number being the actual kernel version number. The fourth number now indicating security patches and/or bug fixes. A kernel version with the letters "rc" in front of the numbers indicates a release candidate version. Letters after the numbers may indicate initials representing who made that kernel version, or may instead be initials or an abbreviation that indicate what that particular kernel release is meant for.