I’m always in awe of kernel hackers, mostly because i have only a very vague idea about how you write an OS. On an equal footing are linux device driver hackers who reverse engineer proprietary drivers – voltmeters and assembler – because let’s face it, high-level languages are for wussies.
The kernel and driver programming are closely knit, of course – from what i understand (under Linux) device driver modules slot into the kernel. Well, no longer. The connection between both is being partially severed. Linus is doing the necessary to put drivers in userland.
The NY times talks about the poor state of the ‘net in Afrika. My sister was 2 years in the Ivory Coast, and during her stay it was difficult to mail, let alone VOIP. And forget it in the rainy season. After One Laptop Per Child, maybe we need One Access Per Village.
