Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will get 12 years of updates

[crosscourt]

Canonical announced this and theres a possibility that some other LTS versions may also get the same 12 years of support.

https://news.itsfoss.com/ubuntu-24-04-lts-support/

[crosscourt]

I find this interesting particularly for distros like Zorin that are slower moving in development. There may not be a good reason to move to a newer version of distro if its supported for so long.

[wove]

Ubuntu was hoping to have their "immutable system" ready to go for the released of 24.04, but from what I read that is being pushed back until summer. It is to be entirely Snap based, which I am sure will irritate many folks. But that could have a very (nice?) long term impact on Ubuntu derivatives going forward. Fedora has started what they are referring to as Atomic releases, in which all their various spins will be available as immutable versions.

My X230 has had Endless OS on it for years now. I started with Endless V3.X and now it is up to V5.X and all of this has happened essentially without any intervention on my part. The entire update/upgrade happens in the background. The the update happens in the background, a new tree is constructed in the background and when it is ready I get a notification saying that I can use the new tree upon restart. I know many like a more hands on approach to this, but for me it has worked very well. For me it is like having a table saw where I never need to get involved in changing the blade, or cleaning out the saw dust.

[crosscourt]

I dont see Zorin or Mint becoming immutable anytime soon but the use of Snap is a deal breaker for many. Its going to be interesting to see what decisions many distros make down the road as the landscape changes.

[dai_trying]

To me it's yet another reason to stay away from the distro (and it's derivatives, as they by definition must follow suit) I much prefer to have the freedom to choose the software I have and how it is installed on my system, and so I feel that immutable systems by their very nature take away the most important feature of any OS.

Looks like I will be staying with Debian only systems and to date I only have one package installed by appimage (the lesser evil of the three) and that is Cura (for 3d printing) although I will most likely have to install Lightburn (again via an appimage) for my laser engraver/cutter as I didn't find anything better suited via repositories.

It will be interesting to see how the derivatives cope with having an immutable system as it's base as it seems to me like a contradiction that an immutable OS could have a derivative that looks/works differently.

[wove]

Oh man you have the coolest toys. Good thing an ocean separates us or you would be sick of me stopping by to see them all in action. People have lots of approaches to getting done the things they want to do. For me the thrill is always more in the final product than the methodology used to create it.

As noted in a past post I am a "jack leg". I do not tend to customize; I do not tend to search much for the "ideal" tool(s); my knee jerk action is to just use whatever I have at hand. Of corse the down side is that much of what I do is "half-a$$ed". I have a car so I can haul lots of groceries from the store. I do not care about a car one bit. I want it to start take me to the store and bring me back. I certainly do not want to fiddle with a car, so in the end I really do want an "immutable car."

For me anyway I look at computers much like I look at cars. I want to do stuff on them and I certainly overtime I have lost most all interest in fiddling with them. So in that regard an immutable OS fits me nicely. But with that said I have Homebrew installed on Endless so I can compile and run applications not available in a flatpak format. If I needed 3d printing, or decide to go with one computer I can create containers to run the needed services that are now present on several different services.

[crosscourt]

Agree Dai as I prefer to pick my apps and have more control over my install.

[bin]

Of course, the price of 12 years updates is that you have to sign up for Ubuntu Pro. Of course (right now) that is 'free'.
If I were a gambling man I'd be betting that state of affairs will last 5 years, then the screws will start to turn.
TANSTAFL!

[dai_trying]

Oh man you have the coolest toys. Good thing an ocean separates us or you would be sick of me stopping by to see them all in action. People have lots of approaches to getting done the things they want to do. For me the thrill is always more in the final product than the methodology used to create it.

Thanks, I also have a small cnc machine and many wood/metal working tools, anything I need I can make (slight exaggeration ) But I lean more to the fun of creating something myself and the end result is the final satisfaction, oh yes, and the mark of starting the next "project" of course.

[dai_trying]

Of course, the price of 12 years updates is that you have to sign up for Ubuntu Pro. Of course (right now) that is 'free'.
If I were a gambling man I'd be betting that state of affairs will last 5 years, then the screws will start to turn.
TANSTAFL!

I agree, I think this would be a marketing strategy as any company needs revenue, and this could create an additional income stream which as any company grows this becomes more and more important (to them of course).

I do think they are aiming more at companies rather than home users though, and that could make a significant change to the market share between windows/mac/linux in the future. it will definitely be interesting to see how it goes, but like the dragons say "it's not for me, I'M OUT!"