The latest version of this Linux kernel branch is now available for download

Apr 2, 2014 08:30 GMT  ·  By

The latest version of the stable Linux kernel 3.13.8 has been announced by Greg Kroah-Hartman, marking another update for this branch.

The latest build of this kernel is not a major update, but this remains one of the most advanced iterations available. This is no longer the most advanced stable Linux kernel, now that 3.14 has been released, but it's still one of the newest one to have.

Having a fresh Linux kernel is important for many users because they usually bring support for the newest hardware available, but the kernel also brings tons of new features that just can't be backported to older and supported branches.

It will be a while until the developers of the Linux distributions upgrade their kernels, if they have integrated the 3.13 branch, but it will be done because this particular branch of the kernel has been very successful. It's present in a lot of operating systems and it's being used in new ones.

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS for example will launch with the 3.13.x branch. If the Linux kernel developers choose not to make 3.13.x LTS (long term support), it's very possible that Canonical will pick up the slack and support it at least until the first point release in the new series.

“I'm announcing the release of the 3.13.8 kernel. All users of the 3.13 kernel series must upgrade.”

“The updated 3.13.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-3.13.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git;a=summary,” Greg Kroah-Hartman said in the email announcement.

This is not a particularly large Linux kernel update and it only packs some changes and improvements for drivers, Arch, and other various fixes.

If you are using any of the versions released until now in the Linux kernel 3.13.x branch, you should consider an update to this build, or you can even update to the latest one, 3.14.

We have covered the launch of Linux kernel 3.14 and it's a pretty exciting new version. It comes with a ton of new features and better hardware support, so if you get the chance to upgrade to the new version of 3.14, maybe through the repositories (Arch or Manjaro might get the new version faster), don't waste any time and do it.

A complete list of commits in this branch of the kernel can be found in the official announcement. Download Linux kernel 3.13.8 right now from Softpedia.