Is Ubuntu 15.10 a Fearless Werewolf or a Boring One?

[Batu69]

Let's find out if it's worth upgrading to Wily or not

I believe that every Linux and Ubuntu user out there knows that Ubuntu 15.10 (codename Wily Werewolf) has been released, and it aims to become a better replacement for the previous version, Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet).

The main question I’m asking today is if users will update to Ubuntu 15.10 or stay on the latest LTS (Long-Term Support) release of the world’s most popular free operating system, Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr), waiting for the next long-term supported version, the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus).

Let’s analyze things a little bit first and see whether Ubuntu 15.10 is a release worthy of its fearless codename, the Wily Werewolf, and if you should upgrade to it right now from a previous version, or if it is yet another boring release, as the Vivid Vervet (Ubuntu 15.04) was.

What's new in Ubuntu 15.10?

OK, so what exactly is new in Ubuntu 15.10? Looking at its official release notes and from my experience, the number one feature of Ubuntu 15.10 is the inclusion of the latest stable and most advanced Linux kernel version available right now, which is something never done before in Ubuntu OSes.

All Ubuntu releases before Wily Werewolf were always behind with the latest stable kernel releases. For example, Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) launched with Linux kernel 3.19 on April 23, 2015, when Linux kernel 4.0 was already in development and saw the light of day on April 12, 2015.

Neither the 3.19 nor 4.0 kernel branch is still supported at the moment of writing this article, but my point is that, looking at how the Ubuntu developers managed to track the release of Linux kernel 4.2 while the development cycle started with Linux kernel 4.1, they could have done the same with previous releases, right?

Having the latest stable Linux kernel version installed, Ubuntu has support for the latest hardware components, and it provides users with the latest Linux technologies. So, besides the inclusion of Linux kernel 4.2, is there anything else worth upgrading? Not much, looking at the release notes of Ubuntu 15.10.

Most of the packages have been updated to their latest version available at the moment of the operating system's release on October 22, 2015, including but not limited to Mozilla Firefox 41.0 (also available in Ubuntu 15.04), LibreOffice 5.0 (not in Ubuntu 15.04 or previous versions, but installable through a third-party PPA), as well as Blueman 2.0 and BlueZ 5.35, two important updates for those who want out-of-the-box Bluetooth support in Ubuntu.

Among other things new in Ubuntu 15.10, we can mention the rebase of many packages on the GNOME 3.16 stack, which is an old technology, considering that GNOME 3.18 is already available on the market, released on September 23, 2015 (see my point about tracking the latest Linux kernel branch above), small updates to the Unity 7 user interface, support for the new Steam Controller, and some other minor under-the-hood improvements.

Ubuntu 15.04 reaches end of life on January 2016

I always recommend people to upgrade to the latest version of a software or GNU/Linux operating system, and considering the fact that Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) will reach end of life in about two-three months from today, on January 2016, I strongly advise you to upgrade to Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) as soon as possible or install do a fresh install.

On the hand, Ubuntu 15.10 will reach end of life on July 2016, so if you're currently on the latest long-term support release, Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS (Trusty Tahr) and you don't care much about having the latest Linux kernel available and software packages, I recommend holding your horses a little bit longer, until spring 2016, when Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) will land, as it promises to be a pretty awesome release.

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[smallhagrid]

LTS, always, for me.

[steven36]

I'm always on the breaking Edge with Linux Mint and the more use it and I learn it the less I use my Windows machines . B)