As you may know, Ubuntu has a very regular release schedule. Some say this prolific schedule gets in the way of users growing accustomed to the distribution. The minute a release gains a modicum of familiarity, Ubuntu releases another, better version. On the other hand, Ubuntu offers what is called a Long Term Support version. LTS releases happen every two years and enjoys support for 3 years. So instead of jumping on every release, you can upgrade only when an LTS release comes out. Ubuntu 10.04 is an LTS release (due out in April 2010), so users could hop onto this release and ride it until 12.04 is released. But what will 10.04 bring to the table? Let’s find out.

New look

Figure 1

Even though GNOME 3 will not be released in time for 10.04, Lucid Lynx will be getting a major face lift. The Ayatana Team of Ubuntu developers are working on an enhanced version of GTK+ that will include RGBA support. What does this mean? You know that sleek Aero interface that Windows Vista and 7 used by default? A Linux take on that theme will be enabled, out of the box, for 10.04. If you are more visual, then take a look at Figure 1 for a reference. Upon first glance I would immediately say that theme could be taken care of with the help of a few Compiz and Emerald tweaks. It can. But this is out of the box goodness. This is not preferences hacking, this is out of the box, global transparency for all applications.  And this is transparency on the widget level – not border and window level.

Speed

Benchmarkings are out of the question as 10.04 is very much alpha. But word from Canonical is that coveted 10 second boot time just make make it to fruition. What they are doing differently this time is targeting a mid-range machine to reach the 10 second time. This will mean some machines will boot fast and some slower. The targeted machine: A Dell Mini 9 netbook. If they can get a netbook to boot in 10 seconds, imagine how fast your quad core will boot!

Also along the lines of speed improvements is installation time. Ubuntu 10.04 will install (under the hood) a bit differently than previous versions. In earlier versions the install required downloads to occur first. Now downloads and installation will happen in parallels so to greatly shorting the installation time.

Startup/Shutdown

One nice feature that was planned for 9.10 (but didn’t make it) is the ability to install updates at shutdown. Another nice feature proposal is a graphical OS selector for multi-boot machines. Instead of a text-based selection menu, you will have a GUI for the selection of your os too boot.

Ubuntu Software Center

When 10.04 releases, the Ubuntu Software Center will finally take over as the sole installation tool for Ubuntu. Synaptic, GDebi, and even the update manager will all be replaced by USC. Hopefully USC will include the ability to install more than one piece of software at a time.

Final thoughts

So far that’s all that has been released for 10.04. But you can rest easily knowing that 10.04 will have to endure its 100 Papercuts before it reaches the public (it will go through 10 rounds of “healing”). I hope you are as excited about 10.04 as I am. I believe this could be the Ubuntu release that the public would have a hard time turning down as its desktop OS. Not only will it have a very solid foundation, the overlaying structure will be much more modern looking.

In this article I will give you reasons why you should and should not make the jump to the most recent release of your distribution. Hopefully, after reading this you will either want to immediately download the latest ISO or you’ll close your browser and go about your merry business.

Ubuntu

The Ubuntu update enigma can be made very simple by looking at one unique feature: LTS. LTS means Long Term Support. Every 2 years Ubuntu releases a new LTS version. When a release benefits from LTS it means it will enjoy three years of support on the desktop and five years on the server. This means that for 3 and 5 years your installation will get free supported updates. With a non-LTS release you only get 18 months of free, supported updates. When dealing with a server this can make a huge difference.

Now it does get a little confusing here. Why? Because a new Ubuntu is released every six months. So in the period of two years you will have gone through four releases. So the question then becomes “Do you deal with one release for two years that will always have updates, or do you just update the latest greatest every six months?”

I think most will agree that updating every six months is a bit much. And “updating” is a tricky word to use as the experience with updating from one release to another is not always the same…especially when looking at a major release update (going from 8.10 to 9.04 for example).

If you are still unsure if you should update your machine the next question you should ask yourself (once you’ve managed to get beyond the LTS or non-LTS question) is to find out if there is a new technology that you must have. For example, the 9.04 release of Ubuntu offers the ext4 file system and a brand new desktop messaging system. For some the ext4 file system was enough to win them over. But for others, a brand new file system is something that will need to have the bugs worked out before they are ready to use.

So ultimately with Ubuntu you have to first ask yourself if you want Long Term Support. If you do want LTS then you will update every two years. If you do not want LTS then you need to go to the next question: Is there something in particular in the new release that you want? If so take the plunge. If not, then you will want to wait for either a new LTS release or a the secondary release of the major release (i.e. 9.10 instead of 9.04).

Fedora

If you are using Fedora you are using the cutting edge. And using the cutting edge comes with a price. Often upgrading the latest Fedora will result with broken features or hardware that won’t work. With the update from Fedora 10 to 11 there are a number of complaints arising from the community. In particular are: Intel graphics issues, Sound issues, Font issues, and more. And with Fedora updating is more of a crap shoot than any other distribution. But, as stated, you know you are living on the edge by choosing Fedora as your distribution. So if you are using Fedora the choice to upgrade should be a no-brainer.

Remember, Fedora Linux is the primary testing ground for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The more people use the lastest release, the more bug reports are sent in. The more bug reports that are sent in means RHEL will continue to improve. The more RHEL improves the more likely enterprises will make the move to Linux.

But even knowing that Fedora is a cutting edge distribution, when you have finally managed to get everything running exactly how you want it, the idea of breaking all of that hard work is something that will cause many a fanboy to hesitate. But where is the fun in that? Fedora is about testing, tinkering, and reporting.

User types

There are generally two types of Linux users: Those that like the latest-greatest, and those that are happy that everything works. If you are one of the former groups you know that nothing will stop you from updating your machine. You are probably anxiously awaiting for the second the new release hits the mirrors so you can burn it and install it.

If you are one of the latter users than you wait, patiently, to hear the reports of how a release is going. For those people I will give this advise: Subsribe to the users mailing list of your distribution of choice. By subscribing to that list you are going to know, right away, what the problems are for that new release. And most likely you will see something pass through that list that will sway you one way or the other.

Final thoughts

It’s not an easy choice. But it is one you will have to make at some point. And I realize that this choice is based on personal taste, time, resources, and knowledge. But the temptation to upgrade is a power to be rekoned with.  I have often succumbed to that temptation. And just where do I stand now? I am currently still using an older version of Elive Compiz because I know the latest version still has some bugs to be worked out (bugs that directly effect the very reason I use that particular distribution.) So I am in a holding pattern until the 2.0 release of my favorite distribution comes out.

What about you? What is your choice? Do you constantly live on the edge, or do you play it safe and stick with a release that works for as long as you can?