14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical is hard at work building Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) and they are implementing all sorts of important updates, including for the Linux kernel and other core components.
The Ubuntu 15.04 edition is a very interesting one because the entire Ubuntu project is going through some important modifications right now, like the adoption of Mir and the implementation of a new Unity version. There are a lot of features left to implement and users will be paying very close attention to this new release.
The Linux kernel is a very important component of any operating system, so it's actually very interesting to see what version will eventually be used for the stable edition of Ubuntu 15.04. During the development cycle, it gets updated all the time and the devs follow the kernel project really close.
Ubuntu 15.04 will be out in just a few months
Each Ubuntu version lands every six months, like clockwork, but there is also a kernel freeze date that dictates which particular version of the Linux kernel will be implemented. Each new version is tested, so if a stable edition of the kernel launches days before the freeze point, it won't be adopted.
"Both the master and master-next branches of our Vivid kernel have been rebased to the v3.18.2 upstream stable kernel. This has also be uploaded to the archive, ie. 3.18.0-9.10. Please test and let us know your results. We are also starting to track the v3.19 kernel on our unstable branch and have pushed preliminary packages to our ppa," said Canonical's Joseph Salisbury.
The kernel development cycle is not really predictable, so it's hard to determine beforehand what version will eventually land. It's quite possible that Ubuntu 15.04 will end up with Linux kernel 3.19, but it remains to be seen. If Linus moves fast, it could be possible to see even Linux kernel 3.20, but that really is a stretch.