Linux 7.3 Released
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Linux 7.3 kernel released, a record-breaker with 18,765 commits from 3,021 developers.
Linus Torvalds released the 7.3 kernel as expected, with a record 18,765 non-merge commits from 3,021 developers (807 first-timers). Significant changes include binfmt_misc extensions, group-scheduling work, the failfs filesystem that fails all operations, the fchroot() system call, global per-CPU data for BPF programs, completion of the sched_ext subscheduler feature, working-set tracking for virtual machines, alternative data-stream support in ntfs3, and a long list of SMB server improvements including opt-in Apple Time Machine support. The merge window for 7.4 opens tomorrow, though Torvalds is on family vacation.
What commenters are saying
Commenters focused heavily on failfs, discussing its use for sandboxing by preventing filesystem access after chroot. Some argued it is a step toward capability-based security but falls short of Capsicum. Others noted limitations: dynamically-linked apps break because failfs blocks absolute path resolution for library loading. A separate thread discussed the new kernel SMB server's Time Machine support, with users sharing mixed experiences-some find it works well with NAS devices, while others report reliability issues. A few commenters debated the merits of commit count as a metric versus feature quality.