The ubuntu family of distros finally gets the highly anticipated linux kernel 5.0. This new kernel brings performance improvements, bug fixes, and more hardware support. You also get an updated X.org and graphics drivers. The 18.04.3 point release was released 2 days ago on Aug 8th. I've been using the new kernel for an entire day now and does feel snappier though it can be a placebo effect. Also hard to discern running on a fast SSD. Very Important: If you installed iso 18.04 or 18.04.1 you will not get the new 5.0 kernel. If you installed 18.04.2 or 18.04.3 then you'll get the new kernel because these point releases have “hardware enablement” (HWE) enabled. How to get the kernel if you installed iso 18.04 or 18.04.1: Open your terminal and run the following command... Code (Bash): sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-18.04 xserver-xorg-hwe-18.04 Upon completion, you must reboot. After rebooting open the terminal and confirm the 5.0 kernel is installed with the following command... Code (Bash): uname -r Enjoy kernel 5.0 and new X.org! Many thanks to OMG! Ubuntu! for the tips and early coverage. You guys rock!
Well, one of these days, when I finally upgrade my newest laptop's Kubuntu 14.04 to 18.04, I'll get to see for myself!
There's an extra step that the guys at OMG! Ubuntu! do not know about that I discovered for the folks that originally installed 18.04 or 18.04.1. If you started out with 18.04.2 or 18.04.3, then this does not apply to you... Once you have tested linux kernel 5.0 and are satisfied with it, you will need to remove the old kernel so that it doesn’t update and revert back to the old kernel. To remove the old kernel run the following command… Code (Bash): sudo apt remove linux-generic linux-headers-generic linux-image-generic By the way, I love Xubuntu. It's my favorite. I even run it on my powerful systems that can run any of the bloated *buntus.
I'll bet you include Kubuntu in your list, right? I don't know anyone who doesn't, so I'm guessing you're with the rest of us. But, I think that perception should change. The author of this article ran tests and said, "...in much of my initial testing the latest version of KDE (5.17) is using less RAM than Xfce 4.14." His colleague also ran tests and found that, "Incredibly, KDE Neon is neck-and-neck with Arch, and comes out ahead versus Xubuntu." I don't know about anyone else, but I'm very surprised by this. I've used Xfce in the past, when a laptop was simply not up to the latest version of KDE. (Yeah, I used to actually upgrade...at times.) No way would I have thought KDE now beats it in terms of resource hogging.
I already said Kubuntu is just as light weight as Xubuntu over 2 months before that forbes article was written. Since that forbes guy started using linux again last year, he got some catching up to do. Here's a direct quote of me saying it: "One thing that impressed me about kubuntu is that it is now just as light weight as xubuntu." ^^^ I tested on the latest LTS releases which is how it should be done. KDE is just not my thing.
