Slashdot Mirror


Linux 2.6.39 Released

Rainmaker2006 writes "The latest iteration of Linux kernel is out. The kernel 2.6.39 is listed in kernel.org, ready to be yours!" Linux for Devices has a short overview of what you can expect in the newest kernel; an article at Phoronix (complete with obnoxious pop-out advertising) points out a few bugs, as well.

76 comments

  1. So when is 2.8 due? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Enough with the 2.6. We want Chrome style versioning! Linux 57 here we come.

    1. Re:So when is 2.8 due? by kthreadd · · Score: 2

      It has been stated repeatedly that it will be out by Christmas. We just don't know which year yet.

    2. Re:So when is 2.8 due? by blair1q · · Score: 2

      2010.

    3. Re:So when is 2.8 due? by armanox · · Score: 1

      SCO v IBM eliminated 2.8, when SCO said that IBM's stolen code was contributed to 2.8 - I think we'll have 3.0 instead.

      --
      I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
    4. Re:So when is 2.8 due? by WorBlux · · Score: 1

      Only when something really big comes along that requires restructuring of a big chunk of the kernel.

  2. About that Phoronix article... by SheeEttin · · Score: 5, Informative

    And for those of you who would like to actually see the Phoronix article mentioned in the summary, it's here

    (Yes, there are obnoxious ads, but only if you turn off your ad blocker and Flash blocker and mouse over the double-underlined blue words.)

    1. Re:About that Phoronix article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No no no. No need to fix it. I think we'll all survive without another set of Phoronix pop-outs and persistent rumor mongering about how Valve is obviously going to release a native Linux Steam client and native ports of Source games aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaany second now.

    2. Re:About that Phoronix article... by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the link!

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    3. Re:About that Phoronix article... by timothy · · Score: 1

      Thanks for spotting -- cut and paste error. Secretly, I blame Chrome. Now fixed, thanks to you.

      timothy

      --
      jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
  3. Links in summary are bad by DavidR1991 · · Score: 1

    "what you can expect in the newest kernel" and "points out a few bugs" are the same URL

    1. Re:Links in summary are bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "what you can expect in the newest kernel" and "points out a few bugs" are the same URL

      I'm not entirely sure that's an error.

    2. Re:Links in summary are bad by blair1q · · Score: 2

      You have to get the latest kernel for it to work right.

  4. Re:Former IMF chief indicted by grand jury by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's funny how often I see this in the mainstream. First off, if its true, the only people it actually matters to are those that are directly involved. Second, the fact that the media is trying to blast this everywhere just makes me think we're all being set up for something - like its propaganda. Third, this thread has nothing to do with that. Forth, you, sir, are and idiot.

  5. New acronym needed by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I really wish they wouldn't refer to Direct Rendering Manager as DRM. I know it's clear that it isn't that DRM but those letters are forever tainted, it's distracting.

    --
    Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
    1. Re:New acronym needed by royallthefourth · · Score: 1

      Direct Rendering Manager seems to be a more straightforward (and therefore honest) use of language than Digital Rights Management; so, it is the latter that really ought to change.

    2. Re:New acronym needed by dkleinsc · · Score: 2

      Yeah, WTF is with those overlapping TLAs?

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    3. Re:New acronym needed by gweihir · · Score: 1

      There should be a TLA to prevent TLA overlap!

      (For the TLA challenged 1. ThreeLetterAgency 2. ThreeLetterAcronyom)

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    4. Re:New acronym needed by NoAkai · · Score: 1

      Try convincing the big content bigwigs of that...

    5. Re:New acronym needed by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 3, Informative

      A company I used to work for decided to use the initials "AOL" to refer internally their online product. seriously. I'm pretty sure they still do. I'm amazed that nobody ever pointed out to them that those initials were pretty much already spoken for, especially as an online product.

      Names stick. Say what you will, once a name is taken, it is taken, and you can't appropriate it unless you are pretty much in a completely different business (e.g. Apple computers vs Apple records, and that didn't blow up for a good 30 years!).

      Hell, if you want an example of name longevity, "whammy bars" on guitars are still called "tremolo bars" by most guitarists even though it is more specifically producing a vibrato effect, not a tremolo effect. Some early guitarists couldn't tell the difference, and the name stuck.

    6. Re:New acronym needed by causality · · Score: 4, Funny

      Direct Rendering Manager seems to be a more straightforward (and therefore honest) use of language than Digital Rights Management; so, it is the latter that really ought to change.

      Michael Bolton: "Why should I have to change my name? He's the one who sucks!"

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    7. Re:New acronym needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ThreeLetterAgency challenged or ThreeLetterAcronyom challenged?

    8. Re:New acronym needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, it was Leo Fender that didn't know the difference between tremolo and vibrato. Thus, when he released the Stratocaster, he called it the tremolo bar.

    9. Re:New acronym needed by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Funny

      You don't get it. This way you can sell Linux to big business, because if they ask if it has DRM, you can answer "it doesn't just have it, it's right in the kernel!"

    10. Re:New acronym needed by the_olo · · Score: 1

      DRIM? Direct Rendering Infrastructure Manager.

  6. Re:Former IMF chief indicted by grand jury by Galactic+Dominator · · Score: 0

    I see you like the flavor of the kool-aid.

    This is indeed a sub-atomic deal regarding anything except for the individuals involved. The news coverage given to the topic is disproportionate to effect this would have on IMF's daily operations, let alone how this would effect the world-at-large.

    And yes, it's totally off-topic.

    --
    brandelf -t FreeBSD /brain
  7. Mod that man up, up and away! by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 2

    After all, we still talk about vocal cords even though they're actually muscular folds, and as such should be called vocal folds.

    --
    "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
  8. So finally USB slow copy times are over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I mean Linux still has this serious bug. :(

    1. Re:So finally USB slow copy times are over? by kvvbassboy · · Score: 1

      I don't know what you are smoking, but if you compare it with the copy times you get from NTFS in windows, it is noticeably faster.

    2. Re:So finally USB slow copy times are over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Copy a big file from Linux to an ext 3 formatted USB pendrive
      Now do the same from Windows.
      Compare times
      Now get off my lawn..

    3. Re:So finally USB slow copy times are over? by rubycodez · · Score: 1, Insightful

      They both craw at about 4 Mbyte/sec to vfat with my 4GB piece of shit sancruizer I was given for free. However using actual spinning disk, TOSHIBA MK6034GSX, Linux smokes windows xp, 250 Mbyte/sec versus 200 Mbytes. Thus we know why you post AC, you talk out your ass

    4. Re:So finally USB slow copy times are over? by fnj · · Score: 1

      Ah ... you DO realize that 250 MBps is about four times the raw transport speed of USB2, and AT LEAST 10-15% of that is sucked up by unavailable overhead.

    5. Re:So finally USB slow copy times are over? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please, i'm talking about pendrives with 16GB+ capacity...

  9. Power management still out by Chemisor · · Score: 1

    Power management regressions do not appear to have been corrected. My Radeon is still failing to downclock with dynpm and is running hot.

  10. oblib kernel newbies link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://kernelnewbies.org/Linux_2_6_39

    >The changelog is not ready due to lazyness^Wtime constraints.

    :(

  11. So long, Riscom/8... by Tetsujin · · Score: 1

    One of the drivers on its way out between 2.6.39 and 2.6.41 is the Riscom/8 driver. I owned two of these cards at one point (you know, back when I had a use for 8 RS-232 ports on my machine, and back when my PC still had ISA slots in it) - I bought them at a flea market (Hoss Traders, yeah!) - two cards, one cable set - which meant that I could only actually use one of the cards. The cable set was this massive thing - a giant multi-pin connector occupying the whole back end of the card which connected to 8 DB-25 connectors. Later on I found a source for the connector and made my own cable with DB-9 ends to save some space.

    I don't remember what I used all of the serial lines for - a couple dumb terminals, probably, and a modem, Palm Pilot cradle, can't remember what else.

    Anyway, the first one died as a result of a lightning strike (through the phone line, presumably. My old modem also died that day) - impressive release of magic smoke when I turned the machine back on. I used the second card for a while - don't remember what I did with it. Probably got rid of it along with one of those old computers...

    So, farewell, Riscom/8 driver. You were good to me. XD

    --
    Bow-ties are cool.
  12. Quantity over quality :P by billcopc · · Score: 2

    Didn't 2.6.38 come out just a few months ago ?

    I'm a bit concerned at the rapid rate at which these new kernels are minted. We're seeing more and more regressions and critical bugs while people ravenously add new, unrefined functionality to the kernel. Over the past year, I've spent (wasted) more time fixing crashes and data corruption than actually deploying new boxes. This isn't the Linux I used to know and love.

    Me, I just want a 2.6 that's freakin' stable, so I can have one week where none of my servers throw a panic. One week! Older kernels aren't being properly patched, not even by downstream distro maintainers, so the result is a bunch of awesome gear that's not safe to use with Linux, because someone was in a hurry to make $SHINY_GADGET play nice with lspci. It's great that we have people interested in current hardware, but the whole project is now suffering from ADHD.

    What was once the stable branch is practically beta, and beta is now bleeding edge nonsense.

    --
    -Billco, Fnarg.com
    1. Re:Quantity over quality :P by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go use freeBSD. Seriously.

    2. Re:Quantity over quality :P by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haven't had a single unexpected panic on 2.6 since 2.6.28 on multiple servers (various Slackware versions, custom kernel, some of them heavily utilised). Are you (accidentally) creating a mess yourself?

    3. Re:Quantity over quality :P by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      that would be nice, but certain very useful and cool things seem forever out of reach of BSD land. Like vmware workstation and certain multimedia that can only run in "linux-compat" mode with issues, and certain hardware drivers like high-powered graphics. As I prefer *BSD for servers I'd love to kick the increasingly annoying penguin into the dumpster for my desktop, but then wouldn't be able to do my work

    4. Re:Quantity over quality :P by fnj · · Score: 1

      For those of us who couldn't give a flying fuck about flashy 3D graphics on the desktop, however, bsd doesn't look that bad. You're absolutely right about missing and semi-missing apps, though, and to that I would add the less than impressive default file system and the wacko two layer disk partitioning scheme. On the other hand, ZFS rocks, but it's way inappropriate for desktop use.

      PC-BSD, a friendly-install desktop clone of FreeBSD, is keeping pace and getting better and better.

    5. Re:Quantity over quality :P by hitmark · · Score: 2

      There was the opposite issue before the release of 2.6.0. 2.5.x went on virtually forever, resulting in Red Hat and others backporting more and more to their 2.4.x builds and making issue tracking a mess.

      If you want stability, go with a Ubuntu LTS or Debian stable. In either case one will see patches to issues given priority over shiny new features.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
  13. If you think about it for a moment, by aussersterne · · Score: 1

    you'll realize that this comment increasingly applies to the entire Linux ecosystem. From Kernel 1.2.13 or so through the age of KDE3+GNOME2, Linux was a fabulous, stable, powerful operating system, a free-as-in-both workhorse that you could recommend for a huge variety of roles.

    Somehow, in the last half-decade or so, things have disintegrated; Linux is now more like a sandbox in which OS and UI geeks run their experiments and/or argue ideological points about software theory. There is this sense that "we'll leave it to the OEM [Google, IBM, whomever] to actually make a working system," leading to fragmentation, the beginning hints of vendor lock-in, and an absolute lack of canonical(no pun intended) choices for the community of enthusiasts, whitebox users, project hackers, and small-enterprisers that long called Linux home. Back in the day, you could choose Slackware, Debian, Red Hat, SuSE, Caldera, and a plethora of other Linux systems and they would all be very similar, very similar to "stock," and thus collectively definitive of this thing that was the "Linux operating system."

    I used to argue with people that said "Linux is just a kernel," saying that the de-facto situation was otherwise, but these days they're right; Linux is just a kernel, and an increasingly massive, complex, and less-stable-than-other-Unices one at that.

    --
    STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    1. Re:If you think about it for a moment, by rubycodez · · Score: 2

      the major non-commercial distros are still very solid and stable, Debian and Slackware you mentioned first in your list, they're doing just fine...it's those others that are getting wrapped around their own axle.

      Less stable than other Unix? The only major ones left are Solaris (costs money, except for OpenSolaris which is now zombified), HP/UX (won't run too well on your x86), and AIX (ditto)

    2. Re:If you think about it for a moment, by celle · · Score: 2

      "Less stable than other Unix? The only major ones left are Solaris (costs money, except for OpenSolaris which is now zombified), HP/UX (won't run too well on your x86), and AIX (ditto)"

      You know there are also the various BSDs. (FreeBSD, PCBSD, OpenBSD, ...)

    3. Re:If you think about it for a moment, by mikael_j · · Score: 1

      The only major ones left are Solaris (costs money, except for OpenSolaris which is now zombified), HP/UX (won't run too well on your x86), and AIX (ditto)

      You left out Mac OS X (certified UNIX 03) and FreeBSD (not certified but a direct descendant of a "real UNIX" unlike Linux).

      --
      Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
    4. Re:If you think about it for a moment, by mikael_j · · Score: 1

      Maybe I should've put "the *BSDs" instead of FreeBSD but these days I rarely see any mention of the other BSDs, it's all about FreeBSD and FreeBSD derivatives...

      --
      Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
  14. Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Considering how vocal Linus has been in some very technical issues in the past, I am appalled to see how underplayed the power consumption issue has been. It's a *major* issue, 30% more power consumption is a deal breaker for many users. And instead, what do we see from the kernel list: Nothing. The regressions that lead to these came in since kernel 2.6.38, and they went by in 39. At this point, I seriously doubt about the QA going on at kernel level. For example do they keep track of these kind of regressions in first place? It seems that Phoronix is doing the admirable job, but it seems it's going completely unheard. I am hopeful that 2.6.40 will fix this mess.

    1. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by nukem996 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The bug will be fixed but its a very very complicated bug. All that is known is that somewhere between 2.6.37 and 2.6.38 some patch or patches caused the kernel to increase machine power usage. Finding the patch or patches that caused this is very difficult and thats just finding the bug. It then has to be debugged and fixed. One bug can't be a show stopper for everything else. Just give them some time.

    2. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, I will give them time. The point though remains: For the user this is a major step back, that should be a game stopper. The bug got into the system two releases back, and wouldn't be for Phoronix, it would pass unnoticed. This is what I mean by QA. Making sure that patches actually have no major regressions. If they do they should not belong to the main tree, but remain in stage until fixed. Instead, and in the meantime, the kernel evolves, and it becomes more difficult to identify, untangle and correct the regression.

    3. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by fnj · · Score: 1

      Yep. 2.6.39 should NOT have been released until this sucker was fixed. Priorities. Usability before fun.

    4. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Insightful

      One bug can't be a show stopper for everything else.

      Actually, yes, it can. It depends on the seriousness of the bug.

    5. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by nukem996 · · Score: 1

      A show stopping bug must effect everyone at at least the majority. This bug does not. It does not limit the functioning of the kernel as a whole on any system(including mobile devices). The only thing it effects is power usage.

    6. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by nukem996 · · Score: 2

      Yes it is a big bug(I use Linux on my laptop and phone so I'm effected as well) but alot of people are also not effected. Its unfair to hold them back because a subset(even though it may be large) of users are effected by a bug. There is no requirement to upgrade either, they can just stay at an older version.

    7. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by gabba_gabba_hey · · Score: 1

      Doesn't limit the functioning of the kernel? I'd have to argue some semantics on that one. It may not affect functionality of the kernel but it certainly interferes with the functioning of a system using battery power. If that system is able to run for less time on battery power than before, that device's functionality is reduced. This is a major issue as many users (myself included) are using linux on lapotps/mobile devices. Even for those that aren't, more power being drawn by servers = more cost in electric bills in data centers and that is no good either.

      It's incredibly disappointing and will hopefully be fixed soon.

      The poster below stating that no distros are using kernels affected by this issue as their default makes a valid point. Hopefully none will use any kernels affected by this as it is a total showstopper for laptop/mobile users.

      Cheers

    8. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Could be he is not a user of laptops for long periods of time away from a socket.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    9. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by swaq · · Score: 1

      Except that that is wrong. A little distribution called Ubuntu 11.04 uses 2.6.38 which is affected. But no one uses Ubuntu, right? https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyNarwhal/ReleaseNotes

    10. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 1

      The problem is not JUST about who's affected. I bet that wouldn't be for a vocal contribution from Phoronix, the bug would have stayed there further. The problem is with QA. Pushing patches that do not take into consideration all factors (including power consumption) is simply irresponsible. It's like presenting a new car model with a 30% worse mileage, but "it's better". Would you buy it?

    11. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 1

      This is a very good point! It's not just laptops/mobile. It's servers too. Consider the effort Google is putting into power savings, and how much of a blow the new kernel could be for their effort...

    12. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 1

      As I said above it's not about laptops but servers too. Imagine a server farm with it, and this spike in consumption... Not nice.

    13. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by gabba_gabba_hey · · Score: 1

      Ah, there you go then. I'm actually running kubuntu on a laptop but haven't upgraded it past 10.4 for the moment. Somehow I missed that 11.04 was using that kernel by default. That's horrible.

      I'll add that to the ever-growing list of reasons to switch to another distro.

    14. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      git-bisect FTW

    15. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by sjames · · Score: 1

      It seems this issue really bugs you. You could always bisect it to find the problem and report it on LKML, I'm sure it would be appreciated.

    16. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by gottabeme · · Score: 1

      So if a bug only affected 49% of users, it couldn't be a showstopper? Baloney.

      A major regression is a showstopper, period. I don't care if it only affects 5% of users, that's 5% too many. One of the primary benefits of FOSS is (supposed to be!) that once a problem is fixed, or once functionality is introduced, it stays functional--people can depend on it to work even in new versions.

      Contrary to your opinion, 30% greater power drain is a major problem, and it should have been fixed before release. With all the kernel devs that there are, a distributed bisecting effort could track it down quickly.

      Regressions suck. And they should be stomped out.

      --
      "Those who consume the bulk of goods are those who make them. We must never forget this secret of our prosperity."
    17. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 1

      Make sure you don't switch to Fedora or Mint, because they use the same kernel.

    18. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by feranick · · Score: 1

      Don't you think Phoronix didn't do it? All it got as a response was silence.

    19. Re:Major power consumption: an overlooked issue by sjames · · Score: 1

      Apparently, they did NOT do that. They talk of speculation, but do not present a particular commit that makes the difference.

  15. Question for you by dbIII · · Score: 1

    How many distros are using the kernels with that problem as their default? Any? Can you name one?
    You have to expect a bit of bleeding at the bleeding edge and a kernel version or two that won't end up in the mainstream at all.

    1. Re:Question for you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ubuntu 11.04

    2. Re:Question for you by swaq · · Score: 1

      ubuntu 11.04

      Yep. And all variations. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyNarwhal/ReleaseNotes

    3. Re:Question for you by feranick · · Score: 1

      Let's see:

      Ubuntu 11.04
      Fedora 15 (to be released next week)
      Mint (also to be releasedvery soon)

      Considering this is a bug that affects mostly consumers, these distros are among the most used ones with consumers.If you really want to have bleeding edge, than say so, don't hide behind a "stable" release that is not.

    4. Re:Question for you by dbIII · · Score: 1

      OK, I stand corrected.