Ubuntu 14.10

While researching something else online, I stumbled on the fact that Ubuntu 14.10 was released yesterday (23rd) and one can install it, if one wishes, from the current 14.04 flavor (about which I'd written earlier on Linked-In.) One should be aware, however, that it isn’t a Long Term Service (LTS) build, the term of service extending for just nine months.

Although I was tempted at first to install the new build in order to do some more testing, I felt it prudent to be a bit more careful about installing Ubuntu 14.10. Also, many sites are not too excited about this release, including Ubuntu Portal, which claims that "There’s nothing special on this release. The kernel has been updated to 3.16, which means some new hardware support and unity updated to version 7.3."

I therefore intended to do some extensive research online to see what others are saying about it before I upgraded.

While there were many websites with instructions to upgrade/update Ubuntu, this one -- with clear steps to install an Ubuntu upgrade -- appealed to my slower understanding. From the Ubuntu 14.04 desktop, I clicked through to the Ubuntu 14.04 Software Updater and changed the default option in the drop down menu to "For any new version," keyed in my password to authenticate the change, and that's it. Clicked back out from the Software Updater and waited for a short while.

Presto! The option to upgrade presented itself. Ubuntu sure has come a long way since all those years ago when I first dabbled with a dual-boot!

However, as I said, I'm going to be circumspect and wait for a while (especially -- as I earlier wrote -- as there isn't much of a change between 14.04 and 14.10) until I'm certain I really need to upgrade.