The ones that run the Loki games. (That's the 2.2 series.)

That said, I'd be quite happy running them in emulation, but about a week ago an update broke QEMU.

4.20 because it supports AMD Zen 2.

I so look forward to when I can afford a zen2 system...

I guess I'm not much into favourite kernel versions. My favourite kernel versions are usually those, which are repaired (including my own patches of course ;-) ) or the ones which got a new functionality.

Hmm maybe 2.6.29 could be considered as my favourite too (anyone can guess why? :-D ).

Probably my first compiled kernel would be favourite, but I don't know anymore which minor version of 2.4 it was.

Whatever's the latest that Clem and team have checked out with Mint 19 Cinnamon. Unless something's erratic or hangs, then I back down to the previous version. My hardware is so old, everything has been supported for a long time. I just need the occasional security hole plugged or bug fixed.

4.20 for rolling releases (Arch / Manjaro) and whatever the updates suggest in scheduled releases (Kububtu / Xubuntu).

4.9.0-8-amd64 I just upgrade to the next stable version of Debian as it arrives. So I would say the latest version is my favourite.

Q4OS is my favorite distro.

I don't really keep track of kernel versions either. My first experience was in the late 1990's with the original Red Hat version 8, which I purchased because I wanted the help they offered. After that, I used Fedora for several years, until about 2012, when I experienced so many bugs and lack of support that I moved to Ubuntu with KDE GUI. At work, I also found the same issues with Red Hat. Just too many issues. I have been very happy with Kubuntu (currently kernel 4.15.0-43), especially the LTS, and ease of upgrades.

I have also been using Raspberry Pi's for years, and also have a couple ODroid C2's and an ASUS Tinker Board. For RasPi, I like Raspbian the best of all, and always run the latest with each project. I spent quite a bit of time trying various RasPi distro's, including Fedora. Of all of those tested, I found Raspbian to be the best for what I do. The ODroid and ASUS distro's don't keep up, and lack many of the perks, and the backing that Raspbian has.

I am kernel agnostic and use whatever kernel the distro provides.

1 members found this post helpful.

I have to go with GENTOO

I've learned a great deal using it. Still learning, and I've forgotten a lot. After you've used GENTOO, most of the other kernels seem a bit simpler to use.

My first professional use of unix was working for FloatingPoint in 1985 as a Field Engineer. They were an early pioneer of massive multiprocessing systems. I first installed Linux on my Amiga 1000 which featured hardware memory hacks, and hacked processor upgrade some time around 87..?. I"ve been through many generations and distributions of Linux and currently am running Linux Mint 18.3.

I don't have a favorite kernel but I must say that the current kernel does everything I've ever wanted to do. I can access an older video camera's recordings, use a bluetooth mouse if I wish, watch any format of video, and play advanced graphics games originally written for MS Windows at full graphics power with extremely fast FPS. I do tend to upgrade when a new kernel is released. This is generally safe as I don't delete the previous kernel and can always fall back at boot-up time. Fair to say, I have never had to do that with Mint.

Thank you, JZL240I-U. I stand corrected. I forget that FORTRAN decodes to "formula translation".

Good article you linked to. I enjoyed it.

3.2 - 3.6

Yeah when the title to this thread came up on my email notice I said "What? in this age?". Sort of like flshope here.

After reading the OP I would have titled it "favorite kernels of yesteryear". Only back in the 90's and early Aughts did a sizable number of Linux users real choose there kernel.

Now-a-days 90% of users just choose the kernel that comes with there distro. Now only people using Arch, Linux from Scratch, Gentoo, and a few other "gear head" type distros actively choose there kernel. And even, the answer is usually, "which ever kernel is newest".

But to answer the question in a now-a-days my favorite way to pick kernels if to choose a longterm stable series kernel and stick with it. That is until I need to change due to a new feature I wish to explore (overlayfs) or some new piece of hardware that needs an unsupported driver (mt7601u).

As far as a historic kernel, I have a fondness and a since of accomplishment back around 2.2.X and 2.4.X when I would patch in a driver in development such as the first version of the Zydas1211 driver before zd1211rw when mainline. I also remember when a simple minor number upgrade broke the driver for my tried and trusty "tulip board" (non-mobo Ethernet card). I have to patch in a tulip driver into the kernel source and compile, those were the days kids. Yeah, that old tulip card, that brings back memories, I almost want to get that pci card bronzed (like baby shoes).

1 members found this post helpful.