Canonical Extends Ubuntu LTS Support To 12 Years For Ubuntu Pro Customers

[cardpuncher]

for people who like unity untill 2028 they can have it supported

Unity is actively developed. See https://unityd.org/

[M@GOid]

At my workplace we have a PC with... Windows 2000. Like others said, if ain't broke, don't fix it, especially on machines that aren't connected to the internet. After working at this place that I can confirm that yes, Windows backwards compatibility is a big fat lie. I have a bunch of specialized software that will only work in the OS it was homologated and nothing else. So it is a case of "dance monkey, dance" to keep that stuff available for the end-users.

[pWe00Iri3e7Z9lHOX2Qx]

Hmm...set grandma up with a Xubuntu 24.04 install with a "free for up to 5 machines" license, install browser and other apps via flatpak and create a systemd unit to auto-update daily, and go visit her in 12 years at upgrade time?

[Muddy]

This is going to bite them at some point. With the constant discoveries of vulnerabilities and bugs not only updating your packages but your kernel is critical as well.
Unless it's just a marketing scheme since no IT dept I know of keeps servers around on the same software for 12 years.

[Jumbotron]

Hmm...set grandma up with a Xubuntu 24.04 install with a "free for up to 5 machines" license, install browser and other apps via flatpak and create a systemd unit to auto-update daily, and go visit her in 12 years at upgrade time?

Does Grandma have 12 years left? I'd go visit a little sooner and more often than that !

[F.Ultra]

I think this is a problem of the Linux ecosystem. While it is true some software that worked on WinXP doesn't work on 7 or newer, most do.

IMHO, the Linux bases systems needs to be able to handle multiple libraries, have stable and compatible apis so that not everything breaks just because a small update/security fix to a library your app uses.

It's not a problem, it's a feature. Just like @Daktyl198 already said, enterprise uses wants to keep old things running for as long as possible. And to add to what he wrote, all enterprises that we deliver software to also perform extensive QA on every piece of new software for months before their QA departments signs off to put that stuff into production so they have install windows where they only accept a new version every X years since they have to put so much work in certifying each time.

That is why those old WinXP boxes where still around, no one cared if the software might have worked in Win7 because there could be unknown edge cases while the WinXP platform had been a known platform for them for years on end already.

Red Hat started all of this on the Linux platform not due to some problems but because this was the only way to get the contracts when enterprises where replacing their old Unix systems.

This is going to bite them at some point. With the constant discoveries of vulnerabilities and bugs not only updating your packages but your kernel is critical as well.
Unless it's just a marketing scheme since no IT dept I know of keeps servers around on the same software for 12 years.

And one of those days you will discover what backporting is. The whole reason for Ubuntu extending the LTS support for 12 years is that they will provide patches for the vulnerabilities in your old existing libraries/applications, you don't need the Ubuntu PRO license to install and run their old distros.

[varikonniemi]

Unity is actively developed. See https://unityd.org/

wow, looks much better than gnome3 in ubuntu 22.04. And has more features like global menu and HUD

[ezst036]

This is going to bite them at some point. With the constant discoveries of vulnerabilities and bugs not only updating your packages but your kernel is critical as well.
Unless it's just a marketing scheme since no IT dept I know of keeps servers around on the same software for 12 years.

They are offering it because customers are demanding it. Enough customers, that is, paying customers.

As long as there are paying customers, Canonical is giving developers paychecks to do the work.

[pWe00Iri3e7Z9lHOX2Qx]

Does Grandma have 12 years left? I'd go visit a little sooner and more often than that !

Well, I was going to put "(assuming Grandma is still alive by then)" ...

[Daktyl198]

...I wouldn't be too surprised if XP machines are still in existence....

The brand new Fanuc robots installed in a place I worked for used Windows 98/XP as of 2020 on the controllers. There were/are no plans to upgrade since there really is no reason to. The robots aren't ever connected to the internet, and 98/XP allows them to run the controllers on the cheapest hardware available while charging $90k. The software used to program the robots hasn't been updated since the early 2000s.