Linux.com: The Linux Filesystem Challenge Jul 29, 2004, 02 :30 UTC (5 Talkback[s]) (8862 reads) (Other stories by Mark Stone)
"Linux boasts the widest array of filesystem support among mainstream operating systems. However, Microsoft (with Longhorn) and Apple (with Tiger) have made it clear that they consider the filesystem of the future to be a database of information to be mined, and that client PCs will be a major part of the next chapter in the "search wars." The future of Linux may depend on whether Linux filesystems continue to innovate.
"The filesystem mediates between the operating system and the storage device, mapping what the operating system understands as directories and files onto what the device understands such as tracks and sectors. This seems like an essential but mundane function--not one that has a major bearing on IT decision-making. However, anyone who has ever had to defragment a Windows disk, or watch fsck grind through a long recovery on a Linux ext2 disk partition, can appreciate how important the filesystem can suddenly become..."
