Linux 5.1-rc6 Kernel Released In Linus Torvalds' Easter Day Message

Linux 5.1-rc6 is larger than the previous release candidate, but he isn't too worried right now about the condition of the upcoming Linux 5.1 kernel.

"It's Easter Sunday here, but I don't let little things like random major religious holidays interrupt my kernel development workflow. The occasional scuba trip? Sure. But everybody sitting around eating traditional foods? No. You have to have priorities. There's only so much memma you can eat even if your wife had to make it from scratch because nobody eats that stuff in the US."

For those wondering about the memma (mämmi), it's a Finnish/Scandic Easter dessert made of water, rye, salt, and orange zest that reportedly takes a long time to prepare.

But on the topic of 5.1-rc6, Torvalds says it's larger than he would have liked but it's not all that unusual compared to recent kernel cycles. More commentary in Torvalds' mailing list post.

One late change found in 5.1-rc6 is mapping some extra HID keys that has been long overdue but now in place.

If all goes well, Linux 5.1 will be released in two or three weeks followed by the opening of the Linux 5.2 merge window. See our Linux 5.1 kernel overview to learn more about this second major kernel cycle of 2019.