To Upgrade Or Not To Upgrade?

Hi everyone,

With each and every cycle, the same question is being asked over and over again:

Should I upgrade to the latest release? or should I keep my system as it is?

Well, luckily with Ubuntu GNOME, you don’t need to worry much or be confused at all. We shall make life super easy for you so relax and read this post 🙂

As of this very moment, Ubuntu GNOME has ONLY two main releases:

  1. Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 (Trusty Tahr) LTS.
  2. Ubuntu GNOME 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn).

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS has been released in April, 2014 while Ubuntu 14.10 has been released yesterday.

The answer to the endless question is very easy, more than what you may think:

  • If you would like to run and use the latest packages/software we are offering with our latest version of Ubuntu GNOME – that is 14.10 Utopic UnicornAND you do not mind a short term support release (9 months only) THEN go ahead and upgrade – please read this.
  • If you would like to run and use a rock solid system with long term support (3 years) AND you care less about using the latest packages/software THEN do not upgrade and stick to Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 LTS.

Tip: a side from upgrading, of course you can always do a fresh new install but please do NOT forget to backup your files – either way. Better safe than sorry.

So, mystery is solved. You need to ask yourself before asking anyone:

What do I need?

Run the latest release? or run the Long Term Supported release? you are the only one who knows the answer to that question and we have tried to make life easier for you. Now, you know what to do with each and every cycle 😉

If truth to be told, Ubuntu/Canonical Team has made life easier. It is either you keep and use the LTS version that is supported for 3 or 5 years (depends on which flavour you are using) OR you use the latest release and keep upgrading (or do fresh new installation) each 6 months.

You need to understand there is NOTHING wrong to keep the old version and there is NOTHING wrong to upgrade to the latest one. This is entirely up to the user to decide based on his/her needs.

By the way, this applies to Ubuntu and all its official flavours. Starting from 14.04 (Trusty Tahr), all Ubuntu and its official flavours have LTS releases.

Hope this will help many who are confused and keep asking 🙂

Thank you for choosing and using Ubuntu GNOME!

Ali/amjjawad
Non-Technical Leader of Ubuntu GNOME

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