Which kernel to upgrade to?

[chitturi at dns1.state.mi.us (chitturi at dns1.state.mi.us)]

Hello,

I have a linux system at home which I got sometime late 1994. The
kernel version is 1.0.9. I know that a lot of changes have taken
place in the linux kernel.  I decided to upgrade my kernel and get a
better understanding of it in the process.

I will be using my system to connect to a Internet services provider
( to telnet to work ) or may dial to work directly. My employer may
allow call back system so I don't get the bill.

My questions for upgrading are,

1. Which kernel version(stable) should I upgrade to?

2. Do I need to get the ppp code and compile it seperately or is it
part of the kernel?

3. At tsx-11 and sunsite, I saw the source directory has
LINUX-1.3.33-IS-THE-LATEST. This directory has a compressed source
file and a patch files. Almost all the kernel version have a source
file and a patch file. Should I get both these files and untar them
in the same directory before compiling them?

These are the only questions that come to my mind at this time. Any
help is appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

-- 
chitturi at dns1.state.mi.us
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Disclaimer - I question and speak for myself.