14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical has just released Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn), a Linux distribution based on Debian that uses the Unity desktop environment. The ISO images are now ready for download and the upgrade path from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is open.
The new Ubuntu 14.10 release is not a terribly exciting one, as we detailed in our review of the distribution, but that doesn't mean that users should not upgrade. It's not always just about shiny new features in the UI, and Ubuntu users will soon discover this if they get the new version.
As usual, if you already have the Beta version of Ubuntu 14.10, you don't have to do anything special to get the final iteration. Just update the system like always and you will be on par with the new release. Also, if you have Ubuntu 14.04 LTS right now, you will be able to upgrade all the same.
What are the new packages in Ubuntu 14.10?
"As with every new release, packages--applications and software of all kinds--are being updated at a rapid pace. Many of these packages came from an automatic sync from Debian's unstable branch; others have been explicitly pulled in for Ubuntu 14.10," note the developers.
The Linux kernel integrated in Ubuntu 14.10 is the 3.16 branch, but Canonical usually has a custom version built from that release. From what we've seen until now, Linux Kernel 3.16 will most likely get a lot of updates and it's possible that it will have a longer life than the distro itself.
Canonical changed the support periods for its distributions a couple of years back, and now the intermediary releases only get nine months of support. The same is true for all the other flavors that are also out today: Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, and Lubuntu, just to name the major ones.
It's worth pointing out that AppArmor has been updated as well. "AppArmor added support for fine-grained mediation of unix abstract and anonymous sockets and also added various policy updates and bug fixes. AppArmor policy has been adjusted for packages that ship it to work with these changes, but local policy may need to be adjusted unix rules," reads the changelog.
You can check the release notes for more details about this build and you can download Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) right now from Softpedia. This is a Live CD, so it's very easy to test without having to install it.
