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I wouldn't really recommend doing this, but if you really want to do this, it would probably be easier just to use the pre-spun mainline kernels: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/MainlineBuilds

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Exactly, and use 4.14. According to a recent comment from a kernel dev both kernels use the same patch approach. 4.4 and 4.9 are using a different approach that’s less ideal, less complete and apparently less tested.

I can somewhat understand where you're coming from if the person doing it only wants something that works.

But for those who would be willing to risk breaking a few things to try something out, building a kernel is a worthwhile effort, and the meltdown / spectre bugs provide a perfect excuse to do it.

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