Ubuntu 13.04 To Target The Linux 3.8 Kernel

Written by Michael Larabel in Ubuntu on 31 October 2012 at 01:04 PM EDT. Add A Comment
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Ubuntu 13.04 will likely be shipping with the Linux 3.8 kernel. Plus other kernel changes were talked about during the Ubuntu Developers' Summit this week in Copenhagen.

Right now it's looking like the Linux 3.8 kernel will be used for Ubuntu 13.04 since it will be released likely in mid-March, just one month ahead of the 13.04 release. With Ubuntu 13.04 not being a Long Term Support cycle, this is what the Ubuntu kernel developers believe will be their best bet. In terms of other fundamental kernel changes or new flavors, there aren't likely to be any except for PowerPC possibly coming back to Ubuntu.

On the ARM side, a single kernel supporting multiple ARM SoCs should benefit the 13.04 cycle. The improvements to be found in Linux 3.8 over the Linux 3.5 kernel in Ubuntu 12.10 are covered in Interesting Features For The Linux 3.6 Kernel, The Most Interesting Features Of The Linux 3.7 Kernel, and Features On The Horizon For The Linux 3.8 Kernel.

Supporting the Linux x32 ABI was also talked about for Ubuntu 13.04. They may enable the kernel support for Linux x32 in their 13.04 kernel while they already have the x32-supportive GCC 4.7 and glibc 2.16 within the Ubuntu repository. However, there's no plans right now to continue with x32 user-space changes for this next release. Right now it's up in the air if/when an Ubuntu x32 flavor will appear.
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Michael Larabel is the principal author of Phoronix.com and founded the site in 2004 with a focus on enriching the Linux hardware experience. Michael has written more than 20,000 articles covering the state of Linux hardware support, Linux performance, graphics drivers, and other topics. Michael is also the lead developer of the Phoronix Test Suite, Phoromatic, and OpenBenchmarking.org automated benchmarking software. He can be followed via Twitter, LinkedIn, or contacted via MichaelLarabel.com.

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