“Actually, to the hardcore Linux user, the release of 2.4 as a
‘stable’ kernel has little practical significance. After all,
numerous 2.4 ‘test’ releases have been usable for most purposes for
months while obscure bugs were being tracked down; and there are
sure to be more minor bugs found in the 2.4 tree over time.”
“In the closed-source world, releases are a big deal because
they are seen very seldom and usually contain major feature
additions. By contrast, an open-source software release is
essentially a milestone — a declaration that what was already
available is now stable.”
“Thus, it’s amusing to read uninformed opinions about how 2.4
was ‘vaporware’ and ‘behind schedule.’ In reality, the latest Linux
is always constantly available! Get this: open-source projects just
don’t have formal schedules in the sense that closed, commercial
projects do.”