Linus Torvalds releases Linux 6.6 after running out of excuses for further work
Linus Torvalds releases Linux 6.6 after running out of excuses for further work
Removes references to the NSA, adds KSMBD in-kernel server SMB networking
I get that Linus is a superhero, but it's still so weird to me that this vital piece of the world's infrastructure relies on one man.
I think its better to think of it like a president or prime minister. He might set the plan and direction and making the big decisions, but there are thousands of others supporting and making the plan actually happen.
In the past he has delegated the release to others as well.
So if the worst would happen, the linux project would continue operating fairly seamlessly.
That's pretty much all of open source to be fair. It's a real problem.
It's also mind blowing to consider that as many other projects, both Linux and Python started as a hobyist project never meant to do more than cater to some personal needs.
This taught me how important is allocating time for your team for their personal projects, as the next school romance anime tagging system could be the cornerstone of every AI in the future.
Relevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/2347/
It is a small bunch of people though.
https://www.theregister.com/2016/03/23/npm_left_pad_chaos/
This legit actually happened
That's because it doesn't : ) He is the top level engineer/manager for releases and technical consultation but there are many more engineers "under" him leading and moving the pieces into place.
OSS is heavily undermaintained, always has been. But the world hasn't exploded from it yet (somehow).
The kernel will figure something out. There are already lots of companies investing their own development resources into it. Would just need a new leader to emerge. Perhaps it'd be a rotating group of people who are responsible for managing a single release.
Tons of smaller but important projects don't have this luxury, though.
Linux is developed by a ton of people. As soon as Linus is out of the picture (say, because he retires), someone else will take his place.
Apple didn't disappear just because Steve Jobs was gone.
Not really, the bus factor (or in Linus' case, shark factor) is greater than 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL7BqWDCd8Q
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=eL7BqWDCd8Q
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
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I know I shouldn't put too much weight onto what the numbers actually mean, but it's still weird to think we're only on version 6 after all this time.
I blame browsers for their out of control versioning.
Chrome is on version 118 now and gets a bump roughly every 6 months. Firefox is 4 years older, yet they started following the same rapid versioning at version 5 to "keep up" with Chrome which was already on version 12 but a younger browser.
Their release cycle is rougly 1 month. Same with all other browsers. I know because I worked on a tool that had to keep up with browser versions.
Even more weird: Version 3 was released in 2011. In the same timespan we went from 2 -> 3 we went from 3 -> 6!
2011 is actually the same year Firefox started their rapid versioning to try and match Chrome. There was definitely a shift in versioning styles around then.
!unexpectedfactorial
I still have my Firefox 3.0 Download Day PDF certificate.
yeah, windows are clearly ahead... bastards!
Rubbing it in our faces going from 95 all the way down to 11 too smh...
Just for fun bro
Im happy that I'll live through kernel of the beast times
Crappy title.
It's paraphrasing Torvalds himself though. It's a cheeky title.
"... and I have absolutely no excuses to delay the v6.6 release any more, so here it is,"
Idk. I found it pretty funny
This is the best summary I could come up with:
"So this last week has been pretty calm, and I have absolutely no excuses to delay the v6.6 release any more, so here it is," Torvalds wrote early on Monday morning, as version 6.6 debuted as planned.
Among the highlights of the release are the KSMBD in-kernel server for the SMB networking protocol, which adds additional features for sharing files and improving inter-process communication in Linux, hopefully speeding I/O.
Speaking of AMD, early tests by the Linux-lovers at Phoronix found substantial performance gains for its manycore "Bergamo" CPUs thanks to the inclusion of the Earliest Eligible Virtual Deadline First (EEVDF) scheduler.
The kernel also added support for AMD's Dynamic Boost Control tech that allows users to tune Ryzen CPUs for optimal performance.
A change to this cut of the kernel rebrands it as just "SELinux" – a reaction to the Agency's role in ops that have harmed privacy, per Edward Snowden.
US-based contributors will also have a Thanksgiving-sized hole kicked in their schedules, making it possible work on this release will be slow and Torvalds could push it into early 2024.
The original article contains 506 words, the summary contains 181 words. Saved 64%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Two included contextual references got lost - "speaking of AMD" and "this cut of the kernel".