What are the benefits of Ubuntu LTS(Long Time Support)?

Question

linux

Good afternoon, dear Ubuntu gurus
Can you please tell me if there are actual advantages to LTS versions other than increased security? Are the versions of software packages that can be installed on a particular version of Ubuntu and the freshness of the software packages version related?
for example, when searching in the Ubuntu Software Center, I found only version IDEA 13, although version 14 can be downloaded on the IDEA website for a long time. The same situation with many other packages, by default Ubuntu LTS does not install the latest versions and as a result, some of the packages simply do not work because designed for newer libraries. Is there a civilized way to have fresh versions of packages on not the newest versions, or do you need the latest Ubuntu to get the latest packages?

Answer 1

The actual advantages are precisely in the fact that in this release they do not experiment with new products, and the software in it is run-in.
If you really need new software and you are ready for some inconsistencies that may be with it - don't give a damn about LTS.
I usually have enough LTS-freshness software and self-installation of what I really need fresh, manually or from a ppa.

Answer 2

Well, firstly, LTS support is much longer (5 years) than in the case of regular versions (1 year). This means that for 5 years you can use it, get security updates and not worry about big updates that could potentially break something. Usually, before releasing a new LTS release, Cannonical doesn't experiment or make any big changes, but only palliate and fix bugs of the previous, regular release.
Of the minuses, perhaps, I would note the outdated versions of the programs in the official repositories in a year, not to mention 5 years of use, during which a lot can change.
The main focus of LTS releases is stability and longer support. First of all, this is useful for servers, but for many and on a working PC, these LTS features are more important than new versions of programs, and someone adds third-party PPAs to always have a more up-to-date set of certain programs.

Answer 3

Ubuntu, which is not LTS - it is IMHO not usable at all, due to the support period of 9 months.
It can be compared with a preview of Windows 10: it seems to work, but it will stop soon.

Answer 4

Hello!
The advantage of LTS versions over Latest is that the former are more stable, while Lates position themselves as a “bleeding edge” and are more intended to familiarize themselves with new functionality, which may later be included in LTS versions.
If you want to see what the developers have coded there and what they are working on at the moment, your choice is Latest, but it seems to me that the software versions from the Ubuntu Software Center do not depend on this, you just need to look for PPAs with newer versions, or download archives with the latest versions from the official site.
I ask the experts to correct / supplement me, because I can be wrong.
Should You Use Ubuntu LTS or Upgrade to the Latest...

Answer 5

The situation is the same with many other packages, by default Ubuntu LTS does not install the latest versions and as a result, some packages simply do not work because they are designed for newer libraries.

Nonsense.
No one will knowingly put packages in a repo that depend on more recent libraries than are in the same repo. By mistake, possibly.

Answer 6

The main advantage is that it can be left untouched for a long time and not updated to a new release: it is supported, security updates are coming, some packages are also updated. Great for servers and for parents' laptops. In general, the packages there are older than in non-LTS, and you should not wait for the just released version. If you are concerned about the freshness of packages, then LTS will be a minus, one day you will definitely suffer with connecting rep.
If you want the newest packages and keep updating, then you need a rolling release distribution like Arch, there are no other options just architecturally, there will always be newer packages, it will be easier to get them.

Answer 7

I'll share my own experience:
In December I set myself 14.10 - RVM and amqp didn't get on it.
Delivered 14.04 - everything worked like clockwork.

Answer 8

Ubuntu Software Center only found IDEA version 13,

Are you seriously? Such software is not installed through package managers, because. it updates itself, and for this it will need root rights, and when updating files, the integrity of the installed package will be violated. So just an archive from the site, unpacked somewhere in the home directory.