The new version of the core, or kernel, of Linux has several changes that make it better suited to powerful computers with numerous processors, a market dominated today by servers running versions of the Unix operating system on which Linux is based.

The new version will be the first major change since 2.4.0 was released in January 2001. From its lowly roots as a student project Linus Torvalds began 12 years ago, the software has matured to become a major competitor to Microsoft and a key part of most computing companies' plans.

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