Linux Celebrates 32 Years with the Release of 6.6-rc2 Version
on September 17, 2023
Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Linus Torvalds introducing the inaugural Linux 0.01 kernel version, and celebrating this milestone, Torvalds has launched the Linux 6.6-rc2. Among the noteworthy updates are the inclusion of a feature catering to the ASUS ROG Flow X16 tablet's mode handling and the renaming of the new GenPD subsystem to pmdomain.
The Linux 6.6 edition is progressing well, brimming with exciting new features that promise to enhance user experience. Early benchmarks are indicating promising results, especially on high-core-count servers, pointing to a potentially robust and efficient update in the Linux series.
Here is what Linus Torvalds had to say in today's announcement:
Another week, another -rc. I think the most notable thing about 6.6-rc2 is simply that it's exactly 32 years to the day since the 0.01 release. And that's a round number if you are a computer person. Because other than the random date, I don't see anything that really stands out here. We've got random fixes all over, and none of it looks particularly strange. The genpd -> pmdomain rename shows up in the diffstat, but there's no actual code changes involved (make sure to use "git diff -M" to see them as zero-line renames). And other than that, things look very normal. Sure, the architecture fixes happen to be mostly parisc this week, which isn't exactly the usual pattern, but it's also not exactly a huge amount of changes. Most of the (small) changes here are in drivers, with some tracing fixes and just random things. The shortlog below is short enough to scroll through and get a taste of what's been going on.