On Sat, 2005-03-05 at 18:27 +0100, M. Fioretti wrote: > On Sat, Mar 05, 2005 10:39:46 AM -0500, mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > (mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) wrote: > > > On Sat, Mar 05, 2005 at 12:52:56PM +0100, M. Fioretti wrote: > > > Saying that "in the linux world, bootup still is such a small slice of > > > the pie" is a sure way to keep linux confined in the server/hackers > > > for hacking pleasure niche. Whether one cares is another thing, of > > > course. > > > > Yes, it is. And ensuring that this thinking stays in place is the only > > thing that will *keep* Linux more secure, more stable, and so on, than > > other operating systems. :-) > > I really hope that Linux remains more secure, stable etc.... But it > won't happen _because_ it keeps thousands of non-geeks users wasting > electricity and leaving holes open because a longer uptime seems cool > to have. Nor will they ever switch to something that takes much longer > to boot. > A long uptime is not equivalent to not being up to date on applications and security. In other words, the fact that my machine has not been rebooted for the last 3 weeks does not imply it does not have the latest security patches loaded. The kernel is the only thing that must run continuously when the machine is up. Applications can (and do) get updated while the system is running so there is no reason to reboot unless the code being updated is the kernel itself. The argument about cost of electricity may be valid, but just as valid is the other argument that hard drives (and other hardware items) fail most often when they are power cycled. Some drives will run 3 to 5 years if never powered down (as done in server environments). The same drives are often known to fail in as little as 2 years if they are daily (or more often) started and stopped. It is a trade off at times. Cost of power versus cost of hardware is a relevant factor in deciding whether to leave it on or shut it down. > Marco > > -- > Marco Fioretti mfioretti, at the server mclink.it > Red Hat & Fedora for low memory http://www.rule-project.org/ > > THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF SUCCESS THAT CAN COMPENSATE FOR FAILURE > AT HOME. >
