Linux creator Linus Torvalds has announced the fourth release candidate (RC) build of the upcoming Linux 4.14 LTS kernel. The arrival of the second last RC build means that the final version of Linux 4.14 LTS will arrive early next month — as soon as November 5.
In a mailing list announcement, Torvalds details the stable development cycle of Linux kernel 4.14. The RC4 milestone of Linux kernel 4.14 is claimed to be significantly larger than expected. The release candidate includes the usual drivers and architectural improvements. Additionally, most of the updated drivers are related to the networking department.
The large watchdog merge took most of the time of the Linux creator. Among the other changes, there are improvements to USB, MMC and HID.
Next RC build to include minor tweaks
Alongside the new release candidate, Torvalds confirms that the final build of Linux kernel 4.14 LTS will be launched on November 5. The RC5 build will, therefore, bring usual changes and fixes to the reported bugs. But notably, if the next snapshot would bigger than expected, the final release of Linux 4.14 LTS could get delayed by another week.
You can download the Linux kernel 4.14 RC4 from the official kernel.org site.
