Five days ago I updated my Linux Mint system’s kernel from version 5.15 to 6.5. You can do that through the Update Manager, via View | Linux Kernels. You’re then presented with a list of available kernels that includes how long support will last. The end of life for kernel 6.5 is until August of this year. By then I should have stepped up to the next major release of Linux Mint, version 22, NET April of this year, which should include the Ubuntu 24.04 kernel, whatever version they decide on.

I stepped up as a bridge to future Linux Mint, to see if there would be any problems with my hardware setup. As I anticipated there were none, but it doesn’t hurt to check. The most critical functionality on my system, which is the ability to communicate with all my embedded devices via USB, wasn’t effected in the least. Everything continues to work without drama. One behavior I find interesting is swap space usage. It’s only been five days or so, but the amount of swap space being used has been dramatically reduced from hundreds of megabytes to around five megabytes, or two orders of magnitude. I’ve not done anything different work-wise, and I’m still accepting the updates that come in. I attribute that dramatic reduction of swap usage to the advances in the 6.5 kernel over the 5.15 kernel running previously.

I continue to use Linux Mint because of its low profile, drama-less, rock solid performance. As Apple once claimed but no longer can, It Just Works.