The Linux 2.6.37 Kernel Nears Completion

With it being just over a week since the release of Linux 2.6.37-rc5, Linus Torvalds has this evening put out Linux 2.6.37-rc6. This seventh release candidate to the Linux 2.6.37 kernel is just packing regression fixes as it nears completion.

This evening's release includes fixes for the Btrfs and EXT4 file-systems, ARM architecture updates, a few driver updates, and other work. There still was more churn in code changes over the past week than Linus is normally content with for this stage of the development cycle, but overall the 2.6.37 kernel is getting into shape.

This kernel's new features include DisplayLink updates, Broadcom's 802.11n driver, a Intel Poulsbo Linux driver, many open-source GPU driver updates, file-system changes, and much more. But this kernel is also missing a few things.

While the Linux 2.6.37 kernel is nearly ready, Linus Torvalds will be waiting to open up the Linux 2.6.38 kernel merge window until after Christmas / New Year's is over. As a result, there still will be a Linux 2.6.37-rc7 kernel and potentially even a 2.6.37-rc8 release before it goes gold in late December or early January.

The Linux 2.6.37-rc6 kernel release announcement can be found at LKML.org.