Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

zdnet.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 135 posts

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#101

Post by znpy »

cube00 wrote: post #17
TheCleric wrote: post #4

So it's early Monday morning (well - early for me, I'm not really a morning person), and I'd love to have some good excuse for why I didn't do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon release schedule. I'd like to say that some important last-minute thing came up and delayed things. But no. It's just pure incompetence. Because absolutely nothing last-minute happened yesterday, and I was just clearing…

> But no. It's just pure incompetence. While I don't agree with how he conducts himself on the mailing lists; I respect he uses the same language when talking about himself.

The guys is truly a beacon of fairness. Linux as a kernel will probably go downhill after we lose Linus.

And I'm only 50% ironic/joking.

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#102

Post by rstuart4133 »

maccard wrote: post #82
zamadatix wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think a "he used to be worse" defense is a takeaway from the above. The comment mentions the past to highlight it's not like previous rants people may assume it might be like to encourage giving it a read. Separate explanations were offered for why they believe the message was a reasonable response in its own light. I agree the last 2-3 paragraphs could be better but I disagree that's the bar for what's profe…

> We aren't all perfect in communication all the time, even the most ideal professionals. A large part of good discourse is accepting reasonable amounts of people being human and de-escalating smaller perceived slights naturally before declaring the conversation can't be stood for. Do you not rink its fair to say that Linus has a track record of provoking that sort of behaviour?

> Do you not rink its fair to say that Linus has a track record of provoking that sort of behaviour?

Your point about Linus's behaviour are correct in some sense: other people would make the same point less aggressively. But you aren't making any attempt to balance the scales.

There isn't some other version of Linus lying on the shelf that has the technical decision making record he does, and is also a great diplomat. So the choices are: keep the flawed but highly talented man we have, or discard Linus for someone else who almost certainly will be worse technically, but may be a better wordsmith.

I'd wager most of the people here have jobs that depend on Linus's technical skills. That's certainly true of most people whose day jobs are working on the kernel. They've made their choice, and it's the obvious one. They'll take the man that abuses them for their mistakes over a silver tongued Mr average.

If you don't like that, go and work on your own kernel for Mr average. But if you take that route, be prepared for the fact that no one is going to want to use your kernel because, well, it's average.

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#103

Post by robertlagrant »

maccard wrote: post #52
fn-mote wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with my sibling commentors, but I want to point out for people who do not go read the comment: this is not the off the walls Linus rant of the past. This is a very even-handed response where Linus tells people to calm down, that the purpose of linux-next is to discover problems, and that Rust is not causing all of the problems. At the very end there is a sentence or two that might be offensive, especially if…

I don’t think saying “he used to be worse” is a good defence. Has he gotten better? Yes. Is his email gone professional? No. I think you’re wrong about the end, it’s an unnecessary personal attack that’s only purpose is to insult and/or to make Linus feel better. If you remove the last two or three paragraphs it’s a perfectly fine constructive response. With them, it’s a shitty, unnecessary escalation.

> Is his email gone professional? No.

Is it worth making absolutist assertions about such a relative topic? Offence is taken as much as it's given, and everyone has a different thickness of skin in these matters.

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#104

Post by robertlagrant »

maccard wrote: post #82
zamadatix wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think a "he used to be worse" defense is a takeaway from the above. The comment mentions the past to highlight it's not like previous rants people may assume it might be like to encourage giving it a read. Separate explanations were offered for why they believe the message was a reasonable response in its own light. I agree the last 2-3 paragraphs could be better but I disagree that's the bar for what's profe…

> We aren't all perfect in communication all the time, even the most ideal professionals. A large part of good discourse is accepting reasonable amounts of people being human and de-escalating smaller perceived slights naturally before declaring the conversation can't be stood for. Do you not rink its fair to say that Linus has a track record of provoking that sort of behaviour?

> Do you not rink its fair to say that Linus has a track record of provoking that sort of behaviour?

It's true that reporting on Linus' emails has a track record of only highlighting the rudest ones, creating this impression in your mind. Anything else is speculation.

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#106

Post by progmetaldev »

asah wrote: post #28
TheCleric wrote: post #4

So it's early Monday morning (well - early for me, I'm not really a morning person), and I'd love to have some good excuse for why I didn't do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon release schedule. I'd like to say that some important last-minute thing came up and delayed things. But no. It's just pure incompetence. Because absolutely nothing last-minute happened yesterday, and I was just clearing…

As I cross 40 years in this industry, I find that my procrastination often has subtle root causes. I assume others have the same experience. Currently, I've been putting off a long report for a few days and it's because I'm trying to balance a number of conclusions, tones, etc. When I'm ready, I'm ready.

For myself, I think it's just as much how to word things properly to most effectively get your point across, as it is to be ready if your report has some kind of backlash or isn't seen the way you meant it. You need to be mentally prepared to handle the response you get back, even if it's no response at all after you spent many hours putting a report together and worrying about how to make it just right. Obviously this will change depending on how important what you're reporting on is, and whether your work contributed to that report's findings.

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#107

Post by maccard »

jchw wrote: post #89
maccard wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right at the end > So next time you want to write an email to complain about rust support: take a look in the mirror. > Is the problem actually the rust code causing you issue, or is the problem between the keyboard and the chair, and you just want to vent?

Could certainly be less confrontational, but in this case, it doesn't really feel so unwarranted, in large part because coming from Linus regarding the Rust for Linux project, a stronger expression of frustration feels justifiable. It's a lot different than the real-life "toxic" communication I've witnessed, where the harshness is strictly one-sided and feels unjustifiable. But I guess the line will be up to taste. I…

I disagree - the harshness here is personal insults and passive-aggressiveness. That's uncalled for and definitely "toxic".

It's very possible to be assertive and shut down unconstructive discussions, as Linus has repeatedly shown. Here [0] is a great example of Linus being firm, assertive, calling someone out on their shit.

[0] https://lkml.org/lkml/2025/2/20/2066

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#108

Post by maccard »

rstuart4133 wrote: post #102
maccard wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We aren't all perfect in communication all the time, even the most ideal professionals. A large part of good discourse is accepting reasonable amounts of people being human and de-escalating smaller perceived slights naturally before declaring the conversation can't be stood for. Do you not rink its fair to say that Linus has a track record of provoking that sort of behaviour?

> Do you not rink its fair to say that Linus has a track record of provoking that sort of behaviour? Your point about Linus's behaviour are correct in some sense: other people would make the same point less aggressively. But you aren't making any attempt to balance the scales. There isn't some other version of Linus lying on the shelf that has the technical decision making record he does, and is also a great diplomat…

Linus is perfectly capable of making the same point less aggressively, he's done so on the same topic [0].

> So the choices are: keep the flawed but highly talented man we have, or discard Linus for someone else who almost certainly will be worse technically, but may be a better wordsmith.

I don't think that's true. There's always other options.

[0] https://lkml.org/lkml/2025/2/20/2066

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#109

Post by maccard »

nchmy wrote: post #76
maccard wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t think I’d be bothered by it in a workplace environment https://lkml.org/lkml/2025/2/23/351 This was a month ago. I wouldn’t stand for this in a company I worked for.

What? There was literally nothing wrong with that message - including the final sentence. He's calling for everyone to self-reflect and have humility - only someone profoundly lacking in it could be bothered by a message like this

Is he? or is he venting at someone while accusing them of doing the same thing back.

If instead of "Is the problem actually the rust code causing you issue, or is the problem between the keyboard and the chair, and you just want to vent?"

he said "Is the problem actually the rust code causing you issue, or do you just want to vent?" it's perfectly acceptable. The snide insults are petty, unprofessional, and unnecessary.

> only someone profoundly lacking in it could be bothered by a message like this

I could just as easily say that anyone who doesn't see that should look in a mirror and see if the see an ass staring back at them, but I wouldn't. When I read this, I see someone blowing off steam and knowing they can get away with it. I respect linus, and as I've said elsewhere he's perfectly capable of handling himself without resorting to passive aggressive insults.

Re: Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

#110

Post by tdb7893 »

le-mark wrote: post #95
tdb7893 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I know multiple people running Linux at home and Windows compatibility us a critical feature for them. For the people I know not in tech about half would switch if Linux got up to par in: 1. Ability to play any video game 2. Compatibility with hardware (e.g. one of my friends is booting windows temporarily as his graphics card has an issue on Linux) 3. Usability/looks. This is subjective but for people used to…

> Anecdotes everyone in this discussion knows I’m genuinely curious why you think this post is appropriate or beneficial for this topic or even this subthread? Linux isn’t a windows clone; everyone knows that.

Linux isn't a Windows clone but compatibility and parity with Windows are the biggest blockers to adoption for a lot of the potential userbase. This thread is specifically about compatibility with Windows so talking about how it's the most important feature for people I know (and also mentioning a few other ways people view Linux as generally a worse experience) is not off topic entirely. This thread is part of a broader context of driving Linux adoption by poaching a specific subset of Windows users, which this change is directly in service of.
Post reply on HN