Linux 6.0 to arrive soon, along with performance gains
The next version of the Linux kernel is jumping version numbers, with some performance gains, but it's not a major change all the same.
Roughly every two dozen kernel versions, Linus Torvalds tends to bump the Linux kernel's major version number, essentially so the minor version number doesn't get too large. As such, what was previously planned to be version 5.20 is now Linux 6.0. The "merge window" during which contributors can send in requests for their new code to be incorporated is currently open, and then will come a period of testing and integration work, marked by a series of "release candidates."
Samba, the Windows-compatible filesharing tool for FOSS xNix, has a new in-kernel server for SMB3. This is receiving improvements to its multichannel handling, as well as further steps in the ongoing deprecation of the SMB 1 protocol. According to Microsoft's analysis, this should boost performance.
Support for the RISC-V architecture continues to accrue, with changes that improve the new platform's support for handling for Docker containers and apps packaged with Ubuntu's Snap system, plus page-based memory types.