Torvalds on Linux Kernel 2.6.28-rc1: More Drivers Than Ever
Linus Torvalds presents the first test candidate of Linux Kernel 2.6.28 on his mailing list.
"The changes in -rc1 are (as usual) too many to really enumerate, with the bulk of them being - again as usual - drivers," writes Torvalds in the gmane.linux.kernel newsgroup. Having merged the drivers from the staging tree makes this "doubly true." Nearly half the merged drivers are in the staging tree that Greg Kroah-Hartman created back in June 2008. This tree was to hold drivers and other additions to the Linux kernel that were not quite ready to be merged. Developers can adopt the staging tree at new kernel installation, with the caveat that the drivers might be something less than stable.
Torvalds presents further statistics for those who appreciate them. The kernel involved 7,141 non-merge commits, 419 of them merges to separate developer source code archives. Each change removed on average 39 lines and added 104 lines of code. About 880 authors contributed, of which 183 had 10 or more commits and 340 had just one commit. Linux users lagging behind on updates can take an example from Kroah-Hartman, who just recently committed a fix made in April 2002. With a twinkle in his eye, Torvalds presents Kroah-Hartman with the "most screwed-up clock award": "it's a fix to a driver that was merged this July!"
Linux Kernel 2.6.28-rc1 is available for download here. Torvalds wishes everyone fun in testing, "and report any interesting anomalies you find."
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.