Stable linux kernel 2.6.18 just released!

[hemant_mathur]

Source : http://www.digg.com/linux_unix/Stabl..._just_released

Change log (3.6mb) : http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kern...angeLog-2.6.18

[mehulved]

That's good. Will download it tonight and compile it as soon as possible. Kernel compiling is fun.

[mehulved]

Just got time to compile and install the kernel today. Let's see the how it goes. It is going nice till now. Compiling a custom kernel is just great. This is a nice how-to for ubuntu users http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=157560 and http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...&postcount=507

[JGuru]

Yes, that's good news. @Mehul, does a Kernel update lead to some problems?
Sometimes it does create one.

[mehulved]

Not really if you follow a good how-to and have some idea about your hardware. Anyways always leave the old kernel in stock so if your new kernel has some problems you can always boot back using the older one.
If you miss out something important then you may have some problem like once i created reiserfs as a module when I has the filesystem as reiserfs, so I couldn't boot using that kernel, had to recompile it. It may take a few tries to understand but nonetheless kernel compilation is a very easy process if you know your hardware, as I said before too.
My strategy is keep whatever you are sure you need, remove whatever you surely don't have and if you are really unsure keep it. And yeah use

make xconfig

instead of

make menuconfig

it will give you a GUI environment to configure your settings and it will display some info on the current item.
I have compiled about 10-15 kernels by now and everytime I do learn something new. It's really fun to compile a kernel and totally harmless. Just that you need time and little understanding nothing else. If you don't really understand anything, just use the defualt configuration, find a how-to, follow what it says and you are done.

Do not try it on a production system if you don't know your way around.
Not a problem if you do it on your home PC. It's a really good way to learn.

[nishant_nms]

will I get it with auto update in ubuntu

[mehulved]

Not anytime soon. Ubuntu's still on 2.6.15. I don't think it will move to 2.6.18 before edgy. Best way is to compile your own with the help of above mentioned tutorial.