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'I'm not a programmer' anymore: Linus Torvalds on the only two tools he uses now

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ZDNET's key takeaways

Linus has no interest in supporting obsolete hardware or software.

While Rust is important, it's no panacea for bad programming logic.

Linux developers have adopted AI tools for maintenance work.

MUMBAI -- At Open Source Summit India 2026, Linux creator Linus Torvalds and his friend Dirk Hohndel discussed the current state of Linux and where it's headed.

Linux 7.1: Slow and steady, not splashy

The conversation opened with Hohndel asking about what Torvalds thought about the Linux 7.1 release. Torvalds said he doesn't think in terms of blockbuster releases: "For me, the highlight has been that it's been a very steady progression of continued improvements." He stressed that since they created the Git version control system, "We don't do releases that have big new splashy features, and I actually actively try to avoid that kind of model; we want to have this kind of incremental improvement and steady progress all the time."

Also: Linus Torvalds built Git in 10 days - and never imagined it would last 20 years

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