14 DAY TRIAL // Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) is scheduled to launch in less than a couple of months, and the developers are making the final preparations for the release, including the upgrade of the Linux kernel.
This latest Ubuntu build is not one of the most interesting, and very few new features have been implemented. It's full of upgraded packages and numerous fixes, but it's not going to be too different from the current 14.04 LTS version.
Even so, some of the major components have been upgraded, and that includes the Linux kernel. Each new Ubuntu iteration comes with a brand new kernel, and the same is true for Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn). The developers have been upgrading the kernel gradually and they have already reached the final branch.
Ubuntu 14.10 is now powered by a new kernel
The developers are constantly bringing new versions of the kernel and that happens until the kernel freeze. The latest version added is Linux kernel 3.16.2, which was just released. It's now the most advanced stable kernel available and it will remain so until the release of Linux kernel 3.17, which might happen just before the official Ubuntu 14.10 launch.
This has been a regular occurrence for the Ubuntu project, and they seem to be just a few steps behind the kernel development schedule. The same happened with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Ubuntu 13.10. Soon after those systems were released, the kernel they were using reached end of life and Canonical had to pick up the maintenance. They will have to maintain those kernels until the Ubuntu OSes, in turn, get EOL status.
"The Utopic kernel has been rebased to the v3.16.2 upstream stable kernel and uploaded to the archive, ie. linux-3.16.0-14.20. Please test and let us know your results. I'd also like to point out that our Utopic kernel freeze date is about 4 weeks away on Thurs Oct 9. Please don't wait until the last minute to submit patches needing to ship in the Utopic 14.10 release," says Canonical's Joseph Salisbury.
The final Ubuntu 14.10 version will land very soon
The Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) final freeze is expected to arrive on October 16 and the final version will land on October 23. Canonical hasn't been late so far and this is not a terribly exciting release, so there won't be any reason for a delay.
You can test Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) right now by downloading the daily image from Softpedia, and a Beta release will be available for download on September 25.