Bitsenbloc

Since its inception, Ubuntu has released a new version every six months, which allows to quickly integrate new technologies and to release them to the community. Thus, users can test them and give feedback. This way there is a constant dialogue between the project and the users, which enables the project to improve rapidly.

However, not all Ubuntu versions have the same quality. Every two years Ubuntu releases a LTS (long term support) version of the distribution, which is more stable and has a much longer support.

As a consequence, thanks to the short release cycle, Ubuntu progresses rapidly, and thanks to the longer LTS cycle, Ubuntu adapts well to the needs of companies and users who use the distribution in critical environments.

One of the most important differences between the distributions of GNU/Linux and other operating systems such as Mac OS or Windows is that, in the world of Linux, software is distributed from a central repository. This repository contains the software, which the user downloads and installs, using an intelligent system that takes care of everything. This way, installing software on Linux is trivial and trouble free most of the time, provided that the needed program is in the repository (the vast majority of cases).

The disadvantage of this approach is that when a version of Ubuntu is released, the programs in the repository are frozen, they are only updated if there are problems related to security. This means that if you decide to only use LTS versions of the distribution, then you’ll just have software updates every two years, which sometimes can be a problem.

However, the Ubuntu project has recently solved this problem, creating the PPA system (personal packages archives), which allows to any developer to create her own repository for her specific program. Thanks to this system, we have the best of both worlds. We can use a LTS version of the system, which is very stable, together with the latest version of that specific program that needs to be updated often, as its new versions provide new important features. Thus, thanks to the PPA system, it is not as necessary as before to upgrade every six months.

Recently, Ubuntu has released version 9.10, which is also known as Karmik Koala. This release is not a LTS, therefore is not as stable as some people expect a Linux distributions should be. So there was quite debate (here and here), because some users have reported problems with their upgrades. Probably this error of perception about the system stability is due to the fact that all Ubuntu versions are advertised in the same way.

My point of view is that now, that we have the PPA system, the way Ubuntu advertises its releases should change. Ubuntu should continue to publish a new version every six months, but it should not make too much advertising of non-LTS releases, as these should only be used by early adopters. Most users should use LTS releases, which should be as solid as a rock.

This strategy would have the benefit to also improve the marketing. Significant marketing efforts could be done every two years, instead of every six months, which would allow to reach more people. After all, a newspaper will not run a cover story of news that take place every six months.