If the Terminator movies are to be believed, we are getting closer to the end of the world. It looks like the T-800 model is running Linux kernel 4.x and we already know that Linus Torvalds is thinking about releasing the 4.x branch soon.
Linus Torvalds said a while ago that he was thinking of launching Linux kernel 4.x instead of 3.20, but he hasn't made up his mind yet. He posted a poll on Google+, which seems to favor the jump to 4.x, but he probably has a few other things on his mind as well. He says he doesn't want to end up with another complicated version, like the one for the 2.6.32.x branch.
It's still not clear what he will decide, but it's more than just a matter of changing the version number. If he goes with 3.20, then it's going to be a natural progression. He has mentioned that he plans to make the 4.x branch a very stable release, asking developers to focus more on fixes than on new features. In any case, Terminator is running Linux kernel 4.1.x, so Linus has a very important decision to make and the end of the world might depend on it.
Terminator running Linux makes perfect sense
If Skynet comes to fruition, it will probably use a Linux base, and the same is true for the cyborgs it will produce. You don't want to have something that can break down or look for updates right in the middle of an assault for the last base of the human resistance.
A user on Reddit has posted a screenshot from a Terminator movie (not clear which one) indicating the fact that the original T-800, the one portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is actually based on Linux kernel 4.1.15. And it's not the vanilla one, it's a Skynet edition.
This begs the question: Is Linus Torvalds still alive then to release kernels every Sunday or Skynet has adopted the naming systems and the GPL licenses for the OS used for its cyborgs?
