Canonical has announced the latest Ubuntu 14.04, a Long Term Support (LTS) edition for Linux servers and desktops, claiming it to be a “cost-effective replacement for Windows XP.”
The Ubuntu 14.04 release dubbed the “Trusty Tahr,” available from Thursday 17 April, offers a range of performance improvements. The company has also rolled out an update for the versions of Ubuntu on smartphones and tablets in the Ubuntu 14.04.
“We believe that Ubuntu has been a great alternative to Windows for years, so our focus is on making certain that Ubuntu 14.04 LTS runs on the latest hardware, including touch screens and high DPI [dot-per-inch] displays, while still supporting legacy hardware that users might have,” said Rick Spencer, vice president of Ubuntu Engineering at Canonical, notes eWeek.
“Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is certainly a great alternative for anyone looking to replace Windows XP.”
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is said to be optimised for desktops and laptops with multi-touch trackpads and touchscreens. The release provides organisations with a seamless migration path for upgrading from the previous 12.04 LTS, with improvements to the Unity UI.
In Ubuntu 14.04 LTS edition, users will get to use Unity 8 UI, currently the UI versions of the Ubuntu smartphone operating system. The company launched the version 1.0 of Ubuntu for phones last October in the 13.10 release, while Ubuntu for tablets version 1.0 is hitting the market with the 14.04 release.
This will “form the basis of the first commercially available Ubuntu tablets from Canonical’s OEM partners,” Canonical said in a press release.
The tablet code to be released “is a 1.0 release with basic tablet functionality, including Scopes, Applications, and Side Stage,” Spencer said. “However, this is not an LTS release, and, in fact, users who install this version will receive frequent updates as development continues. Ubuntu for Tablets is very usable, but is currently directed at enthusiasts and developers.”
Also released is the Ubuntu Kylin 14.04 LTS, OS designed and developed on Ubuntu specifically by the China Software and Integrated Chip Promotions Centre (CSIP) and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), Canonical and the Ubuntu community.
Just the latest version of LibreOffcie that comes default with Trusty Tahr warrants an upgrade.
Not to talk of all the nice goodies that adds speed, performance & polish which justifies an immediate upgrade as well!!
Since 9.04 when I started using Ubuntu, this version has been most stable, compatible and 99.8% perfect. Something used to break before at the start of each new version, e.g. wi-fi, network share, sound, to name a few, but this time, all of these work perfectly out of the box.
For those with old single-core PCs, consider Lubuntu or Xubuntu. I have been using Lubuntu with the gnome flashback desktop because of my old PCs and I like the lightness as well as speed without the bells and whistles of the Unity desktop.
With 14.04, things are even speedier and snappier – from bootup to execution and shut down. Way to go Ubuntu! Thanks!