Linux 3.3-rc2 Kernel Is Out Late Due To "Mind-Fart"

The second Linux 3.3 kernel release candidate is now available, which is coming a bit late due to Linus Torvalds falling behind.

Fortunately Linux 3.3-rc2 wasn't delayed for technical reasons, but just a "mind-fart" by Linus. "Ok, so for no real reason at all - except me being disorganized and just not thinking about it - rc2 is several days delayed. It's closer to two weeks rather than the standard one week I try to have between rc's. So as a result of that, this -rc2 is a bit bigger than the ones historically, but that's really just because timing-wise it's more like an -rc3. And for that, it's right in line with normal trends, and possibly even on the smaller side."

Linus goes on in the Linux 3.3-rc2 announcement to explain that besides it coming a bit late there really isn't anything extraordinary -- for better or worse -- about this update. He also goes on to talk about how he's liking pull requests with signed tags and nice merge messages. "Go forth and test."

Key features of the Linux 3.3 kernel are outlined in the multitude of Phoronix articles and there is a small summary in the 3.3-rc1 article. There's some exciting features to go widespread with the Linux 3.3 kernel, although the Git junkies already have work to look forward to with the Linux 3.4 kernel.