Re: Unknown source of kernel lock-ups?
A new Linux kernel is not an end-user product. It is just a component that early adopting distros might use after they subject it to their own test cycle. Then, after another 6 months of testing and usage, more stable distros might adopt it, but still fairly bleeding edge. After another year or so, it might make its way into a commercial distro (Say Red Hat 7.x).
After another couple of years, it might start to get used more widely in industry, like kernel 2.6.32, which is what you find in Red Hat 6, or 2.5.18 which is in RHEL5 and likely powering a large number of production servers. Eventually, embedded devices will get it, and webcams, DVD players, toys, industrial controllers and the rest of it.
So a lock-up in Linux 3.17 is indeed a serious issue, and enthusiasts may encounter and report it, but planes will not drop out of the sky. Instead, the bugs are publicized, publicly addressed and remediated. This isn't a scandal, it is what is supposed to happen.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
