Canonical releases Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS

Four months after Ubuntu 12.04 "Precise Pangolin" arrived, Canonical and the Ubuntu developers have announced the release of version 12.04.1 of the Long Term Support (LTS) edition of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. This is the first maintenance release for Ubuntu 12.04 and has all of the fixes since 12.04 was first made available in April including all security updates released up to and including 16 August.

In a notable change, the ARM version of Ubuntu Server now includes support for Calxeda ECX-1000 SOCs as part of Canonical's plans to support the new generation of low-energy, high CPU density data centre servers. Ubuntu's Cloud Archive also debuts with the release of 12.04.1 offering users the ability to run an LTS edition of Ubuntu while keeping up to date with the latest versions of the OpenStack cloud platform.

The updates in 12.04.1 improve the distribution's overall stability and compatibility by addressing crashing bugs and other high-impact issues. There are also desktop installation fixes for Ubuntu and derivatives such as Kubuntu. Other changes include fixes for installation, booting and upgrading, as well as improved support in the kernel for some hardware. Users who are currently running Ubuntu 12.04 should have already received and installed these updates using the built-in update tool – this point release provides an up-to-date version of the installation media for the distribution.

Further information about the Ubuntu LTS update, including a full list of fixes and upgraded packages, can be found in the release notes and in the change summary. Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS is available to download for both desktops and servers from the project's site. Edubuntu 12.04.1, an update to the first LTS release of the official educational derivative of Ubuntu has also been released and there were LTS updates for the other official derivatives, Xubuntu, Kubuntu, Mythbuntu and Ubuntu Studio.

Long Term Support (LTS) releases of Ubuntu are now supported for five years on both desktop and server versions. Non-LTS releases of Ubuntu provide 18 months of updates for the desktop and server editions. Ubuntu 12.04 LTS will continue to receive maintenance and security fixes until April 2017 with 12.04.2 due in January 2013.

The next non-LTS edition of Ubuntu will be 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal", which is currently available as a third alpha. According to the release schedule, beta versions of 12.10 will be available in September, while the final release is expected to arrive on 18 October.

See also:

• Official Ubuntu 12.04 LTS getting started guide published, a report from The H.
• What's new in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, a feature from The H.

(crve)