Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Is The "Precise Pangolin"

Mark Shuttleworth has just revealed that the codename for the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Linux release is the "Precise Pangolin", which will succeed the soon-to-be-released Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" version.

Mark has revealed the Precise Pangolin codename via his blog. Below is the key part from Mark's post.

Let’s ask the question differently – what are we trying to convey? 12.04 is an LTS. So we want it to be tough and long-lasting, reliable, solid as a rock and well defended. It’s also going to be the face of Ubuntu for large deployments for a long time, so we want it to have no loose ends, we want it to be coherent, neat.

We’ve told the story of the cloud in previous releases, and that comes to fruition in 12.04 with the first LTS that supports both the cloud guest, and cloud infrastructure, across ARM and x86 architectures. We’ve also told the story of Unity in previous releases, and that comes to fruition in a fast, lean interface that works well across clients both thick and thin. 12.04 is going to be a lot more than all that, but for the full reveal, you’ll need to wait till UDS! Nevertheless, we can take reliability, precision, and polish as a given.

Balancing all of those options, I think we have just the right mix in our designated mascot for 12.04 LTS. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Precise Pangolin.

Now, I’ve recently spent a few hours tracking a pangolin through the Kalahari. I can vouch for their precision – there wasn’t an ant hill in the valley that he missed. Their scales are a wonder of detail and quite the fashion statement. I can also vouch for their toughness; pangolin’s regularly survive encounters with lions. All in all, a perfect fit. There’s no sassier character, and no more cheerful digger, anywhere in those desert plains. If you want a plucky partner, the pangolin’s your match. Let’s pack light for a wonderful adventure together. See you in Orlando!

So it's not the Principled Paca, Portentious Palomino, Pawky Python, or Perfidious Puku, but the Precise Pangolin for the next Ubuntu Long-Term Support release due out in April.

Later this month will be the Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS Pangolin) and there will be Phoronix coverage from the event (I'll be there).

There's Wikipedia if you're not familiar with the pangolin animal.