Video: Ted Ts'o on Ext4, BtrFS and first steps with Linux

Feb 26, 2009

Linux Magazine Online took the opportunity of Fosdem 2009 in Brussels to track down and talk to kernel developer and CTO of the Linux Foundation, Ted Ts'o.

Ted talks about the improved acceleration of ext4 and the difference between ext4 and BtrFS. He explains who actually pays him, and why he's on assignment from IBM. Subsequently, Ted reminisces about what he did with Linux when he first discovered it in the 1990's.

Theodore Ts'o has been assigned to the Linux Foundation for two years. As CTO, the Californian works mainly on the ext4 filesystem, which he says can be regarded as stable since October last year when it became part of the Linux kernel. He's also accompanying the development of the extended filesystem, (ext), that has been continuously built with backwards compatibility in mind.

Ted Ts'o, CTO with the Linux Foundation

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Comments

  • Can I Get A

    Where can I get the OGG version of the video?

    Thank you!

  • flash...

    I'm one of those disturbed by the sin of non-FOSS. GNU/Linux (or Linux, if you insist) and also the internet wouldn't be what they are now if people always only had looked at the most convenient (for them) solution.

    Thanks for the wget-link.

  • Nice video. And please, stop bothering.

    Nice video. Very interesting. I'm actually waiting for BtrFS to become stable so much happy. I believe it will be great thing.

    P.S. as for "open" formats... Flash specs are here. Furthermore, video stream specs and GPLed encoders\decoders are ALSO here. So if you do not want Adobe, you can use for example wget + any player you like. And about Theora.... right now it's incredibly crappy codec. It loses to simplest MPEG-4 like XviD. And it beaten to the hell by things like H.264. In my country there is no such moron things like "software patents" so it is perfectly legal when I'm using GPLed codecs. Am I expected to download video which is twice more in size but still loses in quality just because USA guys can't cancel software patents up to date? Thank you very much but NO. Let's these USA guys to deal with their stupid issues themselves. So if you do not like software patents, just do what you can to cancel them. They're used mostly by patent trolls anyway. Look, Red Hat attacked by patent troll, etc. It is not codecs what have to be fixed. It is moron USA laws...

  • please take example from ted.com that have ogg links under the videos

    great video , thanks happy

  • Ogg

    It really wouldn't be much effort to also supply the video in ogg format. Really.

  • Please think of the children...and other people in the future studying filesystem design..

    Thank you for assuming my system uses a mainstream microprocessor on a commercially significant operating system, and don't intent to view the video in the far future..

    There could at least be a second link to an alternate encode of the video.

  • Plea for Non-Proprietary Video

    Could future videos please be provided in an open format? Yes, Adobe has begun to open the Flash specification but still, let's be serious, gnash is not there yet. If you want to offer video in Flash alongside an open format, fine. But it's not as if perfectly good open formats such as Theora and Dirac do not exist. Open systems such as Linux are built upon open standards and the exchange of information. Proprietary formats at best slow down this exchange and at worst impede it. In the future, please consider offering all of your content in an open, documented format.

  • People just want to be able to watch the people. PERIOD

    Why not post the video on youtube? Yes they use flash, but who cares, as long as the content is accessible people are happy. If you want to be politically correct, then post an ogg link for the ones that are disturbed by the sin of non FOSS. If you post the video(s) in youtube at least they become more accessible to others and easier to tag and find in the future.

    Lets face it, there will always be a mix of proprietary and non-proprietary software. Even as I type this comment and enter the catch phrase code above for the antispam. Notice that the audio link points to an mp3 audio format.

  • There's a free alternative of flash!

    What's so awful using flash formats on linux-magazine.com?
    For everyone, who doesn't like to use the Adobe Flash Player, there is a free alternative called gnash.
    Look here: http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/

    Greetz
    Ignatz

  • Linking is still trivial

    Britta; thanks for the response. Even if you went this way, you still should realize that also your requirement of Flash will cause problems, and the trivial way (where you don't have to change or add to any technology that you have decided to use) to correct many of them is to do what I suggested first in my message, that is, simply provide a link to the flv in addition to having the embedded player on the page.

    While I would prefer more free approaches which I endorsed later in the message, this simple thing would be a major usability improvement already, and supportive of free software (since flv can be played with many free players quite well, even if flash itself can't).

  • Followup

    Oops,
    #include <apology.h>
    That's Mikko.

  • Flash inna page

    Thank you Mikka for your contribution.
    I used the link you provided to download the movie, I will watch it later when I'm on the train and therefore OFFLINE.

  • Flash File

    Actually we've decided for using Flash because this format causes the least problems for ALL visitors on our website, no matter what operating system or browser they use.

  • Flash indeed

    It does seem to require Flash, which is an unfortunate practice from a Linux magazine. Sure, there's a proprietary flash player that even nowadays supports two of the Linux hardware platforms, but really, people, would it be so hard to at least provide a direct link for those who can't or just would rather not use that (or one of the in-progress free replacements, where "in progress" means, with all due respect to these important projects, that they don't always work that well and may interfere with one's usual browsing).

    That being said, reading the page source yielded me the correct guess that I want to wget http://www.linux-magazine.c...2808190b9ed05e9f97b0c17490.flv and play that in the video player of my choice. This should be made somewhat easier, though (never mind that the format is... nasty, but at least it's playable), and I do hope the magazine will consider offering <video> with Theora once the next Firefox release gets its wings with integrated support. (One can of course still support other means of playing the same content, even sticking to the old means as an alternative, or, say, the Cortado Java player as Wikimedia does.)

  • Video?

    Where is the video? Is this a Flash Player required thingie?
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