DELL's post Ubuntu 8.04 LTS dilemas...... what to do?

[madjr]

What should DELL do with post LTS releases ?

We all know Hardy is the LTS release (less bleeding edge stuff, less bugs and higher stability... we hope)

so should DELL change to Ubuntu 8.10 (more bleeding edge, more buggy) once it's out?

or stick with 8.04 LTS and it's service packs (upgrading gnome, etc.)?

Don't take this decision slightly.

Many other mayor hardware vendors are not supporting Ubuntu at this time and prefer to use SUSE (Lenovo, HP, etc)


So, should the LTS be focused on OEMS?

is the 6 month release cycle affecting the OEMS?


Ubuntu focuses too much on the latest release instead of the LTS.....

Should we focus more on the LTS?


Once 8.10 is out, hardy will not be very attractive anymore...

what can we do to make the LTS not look "old" compared to the latest release?

release the LTS service packs at same time as 8.10?

These are BIG questions...

[Barrucadu]

I think, after 8.10 is released, Dell should offer customers a choice when buying a computer, and take care to explain that 8.04 is a Long-Term Support release - which means that they will get updates for longer, whereas 8.10 is just a regular release.

I would say that the 6-month release cycle is harming OEMs, as just as they are used to installing and configuring Ubuntu for the hardware they use, a new version with it's own hardware bugs comes out. Plus, everyone will want the latest version, so any older ubuntu systems the OEM has will either need to be upgraded to the newest version or just scrapped.

I can't say about focusing on the LTS, as I always upgrade immediately, sometimes before when the beta comes out. However, I think the LTS should recieve just as much support throughout it's lifetime as it did in the beginning - the level of support should be constant.

The LTS will not 'look old' compared to the newer versions, as it will have more updates, and so will still be pretty up to date.

[Erik Trybom]

They could offer both versions. 8.10 for the home users who want the latest and 8.04 for corporate customers who prefer stability over novelty.

But I think 8.10 will do just fine in most cases. Despite being new and perhaps a little buggy, it will be a final release and not a beta. No released Ubuntu version should have too many bugs to be used by a regular desktop user - if that turns out to be the case, then it should be considered a failure.

I don't believe in recommending your customers anything but the latest stable release. The LTS should be for customers with special needs, i.e. very high stability requirements.

[hellmet]

8.10 for the Inspiron, and 8.04 for the Vostro series?

[NilsHG]

they should stay up to date with the newest release.
dell offers new system configurations on a regular basis and thus it is no more a hassel to keep the software up to date than to apply old software to new hardware.

[rudlavibizon]

As far as I know Dell is currently targeting "enthusiasts", so they should go definitely with the latest version possible.

[Raven_Oscar]

I agree with Erik Trybom. Customers should decide which version is more suitable for them. So Dell should provide them with this option. Or they have to use 8.10 for SOHO and 8.4 for enterprise and server segments.

[PartisanEntity]

IMO, unless you work for Dell madjr, your questions are very specific yet completely beyond anyones control here. You ask "should Dell" and "should we". I don't understand the "should" part. How will our discussion here affect Dell?

[rudihawk]

I reckon that Dell should stick with the LTS version. Most users would just like a PC that works. If they would like the bleeding edge stuff, they should download 8.10 themselves

[LaRoza]

What should DELL do with post LTS releases ?

We all know Hardy is the LTS release (less bleeding edge stuff, less bugs and higher stability... we hope)

No, LTS is just long term support.

I installed the Beta on my laptop, and I can assure you, it is bleeding edge.

On my laptop:

* Feisty : DVD drive didn't work
* Gutsy : Everything worked, except Compiz (Intel blacklist)
* Hardy Beta : Everything works and and for the first time, I thought Ubuntu was pretty.

I am entirely impressed with Hardy. Ubuntu is just going up.

(I am not going to minimize the importance of getting the right hardware, or that Ubuntu doesn't need more RAM to do the cool stuff. Heron doesn't need to be heavy, one can do a base install and build up as one can always do)

For Dell, I don't think it matters. It would be trivial to upgrade or reinstall a higher version. This isn't Windows. I just recently installed 6.06 on my other notebook (G3 PowerPC).