Summary
One of the best features of Linux and the open source movement in general is that anyone can contribute. This is not only because Linux does not have a meaningful "old boy's" network, but more importantly because anyone can get the Linux source code and see exactly how to integrate their favorite concepts or existing research projects. It's no wonder that Linux is the operating system of choice for most of the research projects underway at universities all over the world.
Getting excited about filesystems isn't something that would occur to the standard computer user, who just wants to read and write files without losing anything that they are working on. However, filesystems are an exciting area for MIS, IT, and other corporate personnel who have to maximize performance, usability, and security; guarantee the 24x7 availability of information; and deal with a flexible and demanding user community and set of storage requirements. As the articles in this series have hopefully shown, exploring powerful new developments in filesystems in Linux and selecting the filesystem that best suits your needs can help solve all of these problems. It can also significantly reduce your MIS and IT group's dependence on aspirin, Ibuprofen, coffee, and the occasional weekly Oktoberfest.