Back in the day you could finger Linus Torvalds to check for the most recent linux kernel version:
"8. Keeping track of current releases
Important new releases, programs, and ports are usually announced in comp.os.linux.announce. finger torvalds@klaava.helsinki.fi or finger @linux.cs.helsinki.fi to get some information about the current kernel."
$ finger linux@kernel.org
[kernel.org]
Trying 149.20.20.133...
finger: connect: Connection refused
Trying 204.152.191.37...
The latest stable version of the Linux kernel is: 2.6.30.4
The latest prepatch for the stable Linux kernel tree is: 2.6.31-rc6
The latest 2.4 version of the Linux kernel is: 2.4.37.5
The latest 2.2 version of the Linux kernel is: 2.2.26
The latest prepatch for the 2.2 Linux kernel tree is: 2.2.27-rc2
The latest -mm patch to the stable Linux kernels is: 2.6.28-rc2-mm1
"8. Keeping track of current releases
Important new releases, programs, and ports are usually announced in comp.os.linux.announce. finger torvalds@klaava.helsinki.fi or finger @linux.cs.helsinki.fi to get some information about the current kernel."