Yesterday has seen Linus Torvalds, the founder and chief architect of the Linux kernel, approve the next step of the Linux kernel – Linux 3.0-rc1. The debate has been raging in the Linux community for a while now over the step to a higher numbering of the Linux kernel, but Torvalds has decided to use his powers as Linux-man to start the ball rolling and call the next Linux kernel revision v3.0.
What will be the big changes for Linux kernel 3.0? “NOTHING. Absolutely nothing,” as Torvalds puts it in his message posted by TechSpot. The change to v3.0 will bring nothing revolutionary, no outstanding new features and nothing particularly special. Instead there will be lots of fixes to the kernel, driver updates and the usual stuff that goes into a Linux kernel update. Essentially, kernel 3.0 will be another day in the office and release close to the 20 year anniversary of the Linux code’s release on October 5, 1991, which is a good enough excuse for Torvalds to approve a renumbering.
Torvalds signed off on the Linux kernel 3.0-rc1 on May 30, bringing support for the Xbox 360 Kinect controller, updated graphics drivers and some processor optimizations on Intel’s Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs along with AMD’s Fusion APU. There are other scattered fixes throughout but again, there is nothing major to note with the new kernel other than the step forward with naming.
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