14 DAY TRIAL // Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) is about to launch in just two weeks and the developers have decided the final version of the Linux kernel that will be implemented.
Canonical has been working on the new Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) operating system for the past six months and they managed to get a lot of new features into distro, especially if we consider the fact that this is an LTS version.
The LTS version of Ubuntu comes with a five-year support plan for both the Desktop and the Server, which means that the included apps and the choices that the developers will make are very important. People are going to download and install this system for years to come. The apps won't change much, but the Linux kernel will.
Canonical issues a number of point releases for each LTS version of Ubuntu. For example, there is going to be an Ubuntu 12.04.5 release, that will probably be made available later this year. This major update will arrive two years after the official launch.
Ubuntu developers have now narrowed down the Linux kernel version that they are going to use in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr). As usually, this is not the vanilla version of the kernel. Canonical has their own kernel team and they adapt the Linux kernel to their needs.
“The 3.13.0-21.43 Trusty kernel has been uploaded to the archive. With kernel freeze about to go into effect this Thurs Apr 3, I do not anticipate another upload between now and then. After kernel freeze, all patches are subject to our Ubuntu SRU policy and only critical bug fixes will warrant an upload before release,” said Joseph Salisbury in the mailing list.
As it stands right now, Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) includes the 3.13.0-22 Ubuntu Linux kernel which is based on the 3.13.8 upstream Linux kernel. Unfortunately, the Linux kernel 3.14 development cycle didn't overlap properly with the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS development cycle, which means that users will have to contend with the 3.13 branch.
This is not actually bad news. Linux kernel 3.13 is still one of the most advanced kernels out there and Ubuntu will definitely benefit from it, especially if the Linux maintainers decide to make the 3.13 branch an LTS one.
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) is scheduled for launch on April 17. The final Beta freeze is already in place and the final kernel freeze is on April 3, which is today.