I'm new to Ubuntu, is it a bad idea to use the newest version or should I use the long term support version? I mostly just play games on steam and use the browser (firefox)
First Cup of Ubuntu
I'm new to Ubuntu, is it a bad idea to use the newest version or should I use the long term support version? I mostly just play games on steam and use the browser (firefox)
Ubuntu addict and loving it
It's really a personal decision but the primary reasons for moving to a non-LTS release would be if something is failing on the LTS or newer software that you want/need is available on a newer release and not on the LTS. Much easier to upgrade from one LTS to another is a 3rd reason.
Ubuntu addict and loving it
+1Originally Posted by yancek
But brand new hardware is a reason in itself to use the latest release regardless of the LTS status.
Ubuntu addict and loving it
As a general rule I recommend new users go with the LTS releases. They have 5 years of support, but the interim releases only get 9 months. New users sometimes to forget to upgrade, so they end up stranded on the interim releases. LTS releases get all the security fixes, but don't get new versions of most software.
The main exception is if the user has very new hardware, particularly very new AMD hardware. It takes a little while for support for that hardware to trickle down, so being on the newer releases gets you that support sooner.
If you need other very new software that's only available in a non-LTS release, then you need to go with the non-LTS release, obviously, and remember to upgrade when the time comes.
Last edited by CatKiller; January 22nd, 2020 at 06:38 PM.
None but ourselves can free our minds
Ubuntu addict and loving it
19.10 is the most current release. I would probably install that and then upgrade to the 20.04 LTS release in a few months. And then I would stay with 20.04.
Cake for coffee's sake
That makes a good deal of sense. If you want to upgrade only to LTS versions you can set the system to only offer you LTS upgrades. You will be offered an upgrade at 20.04.1 which should appear around June or July.
Last edited by rsteinmetz70112; January 27th, 2020 at 04:49 AM.
5 Cups of Ubuntu
As above, LTS. You can always go to the software authors website and get the newest software release of your favourite app if it has not been put in the repos yet, like gimp image editor, etc.
Fedora 39 Workstation
One more vote for LTS.
And if you want to play Windows games on steam, you'll need to install proton on steam. You'll do that in steams settings ---> Steam Play
Linux & Art: https://artofstorm.dk/
Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
For your usage style noted above and the longer support periods with each install, sticking with LTS is what I'd recommend.
Edit: I'd only consider intermediate installs if some new hardware required the latest kernel etc, otherwise LTS.
Last edited by yetimon_64; January 23rd, 2020 at 04:32 AM. Reason: afterthought re hardware needs
<--- Run xman to see that window.
I'm an LTS-only user, unless I happen to have specific hardware that needs a newer kernel. I don't want to be forced to update or more likely, reinstall, every 6 months.
Today, I'm still running 16.04 across almost all systems. So far, only 1 program where I needed a newer release wasn't available and it wasn't THAT important to risk my current stability. The more social networking software you use, the more likely that newer software will be required. That is not me.
If I were new, I'd install 18.04 today, which has no hassle support until 2023, so you aren't forced to move to 20.04 in the early months as the larger bugs addressed. More and more, Canonical has been putting out less and less "finished" code with each release. There are still issues with 16.04 updates to networking, for example as they try to move more and more of that under systemd. To a typical desktop-only user, perhaps those changes don't matter? IDK. I'm not a typical user.
If you jumped onto Win10 alpha releases, then you would probably be happy with 19.10.
If you ran Win7 until last month, then you'd probably be happiest with 18.04.
I have the luxury of being able to choose whatever OS I want. I'm hoping that 20.04 will meet my stability needs better than 18.04 does. I'm afraid that some larger architecture choices by Canonical will force me to move to Debian next fall, before 16.04 support ends in 2021. With Linux, 1-size doesn't fit everyone, so we have choices.
New is the enemy of stable.
Posting Permissions
Adv Reply
Bookmarks