14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few moments ago, Linus Torvalds announced the availability of the first Release Candidate (RC) development build of the upcoming Linux 4.11 kernel series, which users can download, compile, and test on their GNU/Linux distributions.
It's been two weeks since Linus Torvalds opened the merge window for Linux kernel 4.11, so it was about time for it be closed and for the first RC to hit the streets today, on a Sunday evening. According to Mr. Torvalds, the Linux 4.10 RC1 kernel is a fairly regular release that's pretty much the same size as those of the Linux 4.10 and 4.9 series.
"This looks like a fairly regular release. It's on the smallish side," said Linus Torvalds, who seems a little upset about the things that landed during the merge window. "It _does_ feel like there was more stuff that I was asked to pull than was in linux-next. That always happens, but seems to have happened more now than usually."
Users can now test drive the first Release Candidate of Linux 4.11
If you're an early adopter of the Linux kernel, you can now download the first Release Candidate of Linux 4.11 from kernel.org or via our website, compile and tweak it for your hardware, and then install it on your GNU/Linux distribution. However, always remember that these RC builds are pre-release versions that aren't suitable for use in production environments.
That being said, we look forward to the development cycle of the Linux 4.11 kernel series, which should conclude sometime at the end of April, on the 23rd or on the last day of the month, depending on whether there will be seven or eight Release Candidates, as well as other things that might get in the way, such as Linus Torvalds not being able to announce an RC during a particular period.