The creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds, sat down for a chat at the Linux Foundation Open Source Summit in South Korea earlier this month to talk about a wide range of topics, including AI in software development, his role within the software ecosystem, and the state of Linux today.
When asked whether he'd like to say anything about the most recent Linux Kernel release, 6.18 RC4, Torvalds seemed reluctant to espouse on the virtues of the update:
"6.18 does not seem to [have] problems. But we had a rash of test failures, and it turned out they were… actually failures of the tests, not of the kernel," Torvalds continued. "So I was a bit worried a couple of weeks ago, but it seems to be shaping up to be another incremental, and boring in the best possible way, release."
Microsoft and the Windows operating system spring to mind, for example. While "break[ing] machines for millions of people around the world" may be an overstatement, Microsoft's continual update cycle (along with its many feature pushes) has certainly caused issues for many, with the disastrous-for-some Windows 11 24H2 update being of particular note.
Not to mention the CrowdStrike bug, although that was caused by a third-party security update gone horribly wrong, not MS itself—although it did knock over many vital Windows machines the world over in the process. The "move fast and break stuff" tech industry mentality has certainly led to many public failures over the years for a variety of companies, while in Linux land, things seem to move at a more sedate pace—although it's far from perfect, as our Jacob found on a recent work trip.
Not that Torvalds seems keen to take too much credit for recent updates: "What I do have to say, and I tend to repeat this because it's important, is… I don't do any of the real work."
"For the last almost 20 years, I've not been a programmer. I've been a technical lead and maintainer of the system, and that's true both of Linux and even more so of Git, where I really just look at it from the side.
"So I want to just remind people that all the real work is done by other people, maybe some of the people in the audience. So people sometimes give me too much credit for being around."
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