Tuesday 29 October 2013

Ubuntu 13.10 should be upgraded to LTS status

[Moved here from bug 1245870]

I believe that Ubuntu 13.10 should be upgraded to LTS status.

Rationale:
- Mir missed 13.10, and may not be sufficiently mature to put into
14.04LTS, although would be acceptable in a non-LTS release.
- Windows XP ceases to get support after April 2014. Anyone looking to
Ubuntu as an upgrade path currently has three choices:
-- Install 13.10, which ceases to be supported only shortly after XP[1]
-- Install 12.04 LTS, which is quite old (but currently the best choice)
-- Wait until the last minute of XP support to install 14.04LTS,
which may or may not work on the XP hardware and prevents any staged
migration.

Upgrading 13.10 to LTS status would make Ubuntu a viable choice to be
really pushed out at XP users looking for an upgrade path, and clear
the way for Mir development to take place without the LTS looming.
Even if it is too late to "stop" 14.04 being considered LTS, I believe
that the extra investment required to commit to LTS support for 13.10
would help make Ubuntu a realistic option for XP refugees, of which
there are many.

Note 1: LTS is important for XP refugees because many (most?) of them
will be supported in the migration by other Ubuntu users, often
remotely. Getting them onto a stable platform is essential for turning
them into long term Ubuntu users. 13.10LTS would be perfectly timed
for XP users needing a migration path. Another opportunity like this
won't arise for many years.

NB: Having just subscribed to this list I am assuming this is on topic
because I have been directed to post it here. Please be nice to me if
I got that wrong...

--
Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450
Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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