For the longest time Canonical has slapped an LTS (“long term support”) moniker on some of their Ubuntu releases. Currently, a new major release of the operating system happens every six months, and is supported for 18 months after release. Whereas in the past when LTS versions received two years support or more, the current model — starting with 12.04 — supports new LTS releases for five years. However, a recent public Google Hangouts session revealed that Canonical has been thinking about switching from the venerable LTS model to a rolling release, starting with version 14.04.

Canonical hosts public Google Hangouts sessions, Ubuntu On Air, to provide fans of the operating system with a behind-the-scenes look. During a recent Hangout, Leann Ogasawara, Canonical’s Kernel Team Manager, said that the Ubuntu team has been discussing moving to rolling releases, bouncing from LTS to LTS, and getting rid of the interim releases between them.

A rolling release isn’t exactly uncommon practice nowadays. It constitutes a software system that continually develops, rather than new versions of software that have to be installed over previous versions. An example of something that isn’t a rolling release would be having to install Windows 8 over Windows 7, or installing one of Apple’s new felines over one of their older felines. Examples of rolling releases would be Arch Linux, or something like patches and updates to video games. Complicated rolling release semantics aside, that is.

Check out the Hangout below, and skip ahead to 42 minutes to hear the quick response about the rolling release model.

The advantages and disadvantages of a rolling release have been as hot of a topic as an argument about types of release cycles can be. One of the biggest advantages of a rolling release model is that users simply don’t have to continually install larger-sized new versions, though a natural disadvantage would be continual smaller updates that could become pretty pesky. A major disadvantage of a rolling release is that they tend to be less stable than a standard release, as standard releases have more time to be inspected and tested before they are released into the wild. Rolling releases are ever-changing, potentially creating new problems, but also providing the most current security updates, software fixes, and really whatever else is included in the updates.

If Canonical does decide to replace interim releases with a rolling model, and only releases LTS versions of Ubuntu, then Canonical would be abolishing their six-month release cycle, and we’ll be waiting much longer to discover after which wacky animal the next OS will be named. At the moment, the LTS versions release once every two years, which is still a short window for major operating system releases. As for if the model will benefit the operating system or not, that can only really be decided if the model is adopted and we can have time to see how it affects Canonical’s development cycle. If the model is adopted, we can only assume Ubuntu will stay free, but we wouldn’t be too surprised if the time between LTS releases eventually changes in some manner.

Assuming switching to a rolling release between LTS versions doesn’t disrupt Ubuntu’s growth in any way, the casual Ubuntu user doesn’t really have to pay too much attention to the switch should it happen, though they might get a little annoyed at the probably-higher frequency of software updates. To satiate the more in-depth user, Canonical could theoretically put out a test version in between the LTS releases, which would also help cut down on bugs in the LTS.

Whatever Canonical decides, Ogasawara mentioned the company could switch to the new model starting with 14.04, and 12.10 already released last October. If the current model is to be followed up until 14.04, we only have 13.04 and 13.10 to go.

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