Version 6.14 of the Linux kernel arrived Monday and brought with it several optimizations and security improvements that are bound to make the Linux computing experience smoother.
One of the biggest improvements is one that caters to the Linux world’s gamer crowd that’s always in need of better Windows game support. Kernel 6.14 adds a primitive driver called ntsync, short for “NT synchronization.” If you’re familiar with the inner works of Windows, that name should give you an idea of what it’s about.
In short, ntsync will assist Windows compatibility layers such as Wine in managing resources in the same way that Windows NT systems do. The Linux kernel has been able to do this for a long time, but ntsync will simply do it better. That means Windows games and apps you’re running on Linux using a compatibility layer, whether it’s Wine or Proton or something else, ought to run more efficiently on Linux. According to the patch author, games saw frame rates improve anywhere between 50 and 150 percent with kernel 6.14.
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Linux gamers are also seeing a boon with the ability in kernel 6.14 to use off-brand Xbox 360 wireless controllers through the xpad driver. In fact, there are several new peripherals joining the Linux gang, including the Nintendo Switch Online Sega 6-button gamepad and the Lenovo Go S’s built-in microphone.
This release also brings a new driver that AI-heads should take note of. The driver brings support for AMD’s new NPUs (Neural Processing Unit) called XDNA. It’s an architecture you’ll see in AMD’s latest chips that aim to aid in artificial intelligence tasks. The driver’s arrival means you’ll be able to take advantage of those chip’s machine learning capabilities for things like local LLM chatbots, all while staying in the Linux realm.
Speaking of AI, another notable entry with this kernel is the ability to map the Microsoft Copilot key you see on some of the latest Windows laptops and certain external keyboards. Obviously, Microsoft’s AI assistant isn’t offered natively on Linux computers. But with the official label “KEY_F23”, the Copilot key will be capable of being used in keyboard shortcuts, or just on its own to launch whatever you want it to launch. It’ll be up to distro developers to decide what, if anything, it does by default.
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There’s also a bevy of security fixes and performance boosts in this release. They range from leak protection to GPU management optimization, meaning you should get overall better use out of your hardware with this Linux kernel.
If you want to use version 6.14, perhaps the easiest way is to just wait until the release of Ubuntu 25.04 next month. It’s planned to have 6.14 on day one, in addition to the recently-released GNOME 48. For context, I can see by checking the stats on my laptop right now that Ubuntu 24.04 LTS currently uses kernel version 6.8. There are plans for backporting 6.14 to 24.04 My desktop computer running Garuda Linux, which is known for being more bleeding edge, runs a modified version
Speaking of release dates, you might note that this kernel release was a day later than expected. Linus Torvalds owned up to that fact being his own fault, remarking about his procrastination in the kernel release announcement that:
I’d like to say that some important last-minute thing came up and delayed things. But no. It’s just pure incompetence.
If you want to learn more, you can check out the 6.14 git commits. There are overal 5,000 changes in total, so if you do some Linus-style procrastination on studying them, I would not blame you.
Source: OMG! Ubuntu
