It’s been two weeks since the Linux 4.18 kernel series was launched, so the merge window for the next major release, Linux kernel 4.19, is now officially closed as Linus Torvalds announces today the availability of the first Release Candidate (RC) for public testing. By our calculations, the Linux 4.19 kernel series could hit the streets sometime in mid-October 2018, either on the 14th or the 21st, which will depend on how many Release Candidate (RC) milestones are going to be published, something that only Linus Torvalds decides.