First Release Candidate of Linux 6.1 Kernel Announced

The 6.1 kernel has hit the RC stage. Although this won't bring about any massive or deal-making changes to Linux, there are still a few features to get excited about. Most important is the first inclusion of Rust, which will be greatly expanded over the coming years.

Other notable features include support for the new Intel Arc and AMD RDNA3 graphics, Multi-Gen LUR VM series (which will give the kernel a significant performance boost on memory-constrained systems), and the new Kernel Memory Sanitizer.

In addition, the x86_64 version will warn over W+X mappings, the AMD Platform Management Framework has been merged, five vulnerabilities with WiFi handling – CVE-2022-41674 (kernels up to 5.19), CVE-2022-42719 (5.2 to 5.19), CVE-2022-42720 and CVE-2022-42721 (both 5.1 to 5.19), and CVE-2022-42722 (5.8 to 5.19) – have been fixed.

This release also has better support for Intel's new Gaudi2 AI accelerator chip, EUFI support for LoongArch CPUs, and more.

However, Linus Torvalds hasn't been 100 percent happy with how things have been going. Prior to the RC release, he made a very pointed statement about developers pulling all-nighters to meet deadlines.

On that issue, Torvalds said, "that should have gone out the window after high school. Not for kernel development."

Read more about the announcement in a message from Linus Torvalds on the Linux Kernel mailing list (https://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/2210.2/00359.html).

Juno Computers Announces New Tablet for Preorder

The promise of a Linux tablet has been one so many in the community have been holding their breath over. Every so often a company will make a promise, only to fail on the delivery. If Juno Computers has anything to say about it, that all changes with a Debian-based, Mobian Linux/KDE Plasma device.

The new tablet has a 10.1", full HD touchscreen that also has an optional stylus pen, which is an extra $22. The new tablet is powered by an Intel Celeron N5100 4 Core CPU that runs at 1.1 GHz and includes a 2.8GHz turbo and 8GB LPDDR4 RAM. Internal storage is 256 GB and is upgradeable to 1TB. The display features a 60HZ refresh rate and an FHD IPS touchscreen at 1920 x1200.

You can stick with the default Mobian OS or go with Plasma Mobile or Phosh (both of which are based on Manjaro). Also featured are a 3200 mAh 7.6 battery, a 5MP rear and 1MP front camera, a built-in microphone, and stereo speakers.

You can now pre-order the tablet, which starts at $429.00. One thing to keep in mind is that, according to the Juno Computers website, "Juno Tablet is a Beta product – overall the tablet works well but it is still facing some bugs that need to be fixed."

Pre-order your tablet on the official Juno Computers site (https://junocomputers.com/us/product/juno-tablet/).

VirtualBox 7.0 Now Available for Installation

VirtualBox 7.0 is now ready for public consumption. Not only did this release see a major overhaul to the user interface, it finally enjoys support for Secure Boot, which means adding hosts like Windows 11 will be much easier.

Other important additions include:

• fully encrypted VMs
• a new resource monitor has been added
• a more streamlined workflow for unattended guest OS installation
• initial support added for automatic updating of guest additions for Linux
• support for guest debugging through GDB
• experimental support for debugging guests with KD/WinDbg

Read the official changelog for VirtualBox 7.0 (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-7.0) to find out more.

As of now, VirtualBox 7.0 hasn't hit the standard repositories for many Linux distributions. However, you can download installers for Linux (as well as the new extension pack) from the official VirtualBox download page (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads).

For those who want to benefit from the new features, go the manual installation route. For those who know how complicated a VirtualBox upgrade can be, your best bet might be to wait until 7.0 hits the standard repositories for your distribution of choice.