[Discuss] ubuntu 14.04

[richb at pioneer.ci.net (Rich Braun)]

Richard Pieri <richard.pieri at gmail.com> wrote:
> Huh. For some reason I though[t] the last Ubuntu LTS was 12.04.

Decoding the Ubuntu release schedule; since at least 2007 it's been predictable:

* Every April and October, they do a major release
* Each major release has an code name; starting with Dapper Drake up through
Trusty Tahr they've been in alphabetical order
* There are usually 2-4 minor updates in between (e.g. 12.04.3)
* LTS releases since 2006 are the first one in each even-numbered year, and
get published updates for 60 months.
* Non-LTS releases get updates for 18 months but they're now planning to cut
that to 9 months.

So if you look at a version number like 12.04, you know it was put out in 2012
during the 4th month (April).

I ran across Ubuntu in 2007, and it seemed to come out of nowhere in an
already-crowded field of distros.  Their testing and release strategy put them
leagues ahead right out of the starting gate, and I've found myself emulating
their model as I pursue my own career with continuous-integration (hence, in
part, my email address ci.net).  Others like OpenSuSE (which I still use as
well) have copied their model quite successfully.

-rich