14 DAY TRIAL // Another Sunday, another chance for us, Linux enthusiasts, to take the latest RC (Release Candidate) build of the upcoming 4.6 kernel for a test drive on our computers.
Yes, that's right, we're talking about Linux kernel 4.6 Release Candidate 4 (RC4), which was made available for download just a few minutes ago (see download options below), as announced by Mr. Linus Torvalds himself.
And from the looks of it, things are going pretty well in the development cycle of Linux kernel 4.6, which should reach its final form in about three or four weeks from the moment of writing this article, sometime around mid-May 2016.
"It's been a fairly calm week, and rc4 is not all that big. Nor is there anything particularly scary in there," says Linus Torvalds in today's announcement. "So there really isn't anything particularly interesting here. Just like I like it in the rc series. Let's hope it stays that way."
What's new in Linux kernel 4.6 Release Candidate 4
Looking at the diff from last week's RC3 release, and according to Linus Torvalds, the fourth Release Candidate build of Linux kernel 4.6 consists of 40% updated drivers, 30% architecture fixes, and the rest of 30% split between VM fixes (approximately 5%) and core kernel improvements.
That being said, you can help test this new RC build of the upcoming Linux 4.6 kernel by downloading its sources right now via our website or directly from kernel.org, whichever suits you best. As usual, don't forget to report any bugs you might find.
We're reminding you again that an RC (Release Candidate) version is a final product that you can install on your production-ready machine, so please do not replace your stable kernel with this one. Please check Mr. Torvalds' announcement for more details.