When to "Upgrade" to 15.XX

[logan01]

For the casual user like me who drifts aimlessly through the cyber world, when do I know when it's "safe" to go to 15.xx? Will it have one of those of those LTS designators in the version name or .....? Will you knowledgeable folks who helped me go Linux and recommended 14.04 announce here in the forum that it's safe to proceed? Assuming you are now chuckling, this is a real question and I have not been hijacked or am I under the influence.

[Qqmike]

Will you knowledgeable folks who helped me go Linux and recommended 14.04 announce here in the forum that it's safe to proceed?

Actually, "they" will! If not, just ask now and then, and then "they" will.

I like the LTS editions. Safe, easy, fun, stable. Next one is 16.04.

Might depend on your mood, too. You might keep something like a LTS for your main OS, but if in the mood to play/experiment/challenge yourself, install a newer version, in dual boot.

[oldgeek]

I like the LTS versions for my desktop, which dual boots with Windows 10 (which I hardly ever use). Currently I'm using 14.04 LTS, and it's a fine operating system. But I do keep up with the newer versions by installing them on my Lenovo netbook. It now has 15.04 on it (plus Windows 7, which I never use) but I'm going to wipe it clean and install 15.10. Since I don't need the netbook for anything important, I use it for experimenting.

[logan01]

I like safe. Since I'm Kubuntued, is it as simple as something to the effect " click here to install" or is it that insanity I went through (thanks again for yall's help) in installing 14.04?

[Qqmike]

sudo gdisk -l /dev/sda
...
Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048         1026047   500.0 MiB   [B]EF00[/B]  ESP for sda2
   2 [B]sda2[/B]   1026048        62466047   29.3 GiB    8300  [B][COLOR=#0000ff]/ for my main 14.04 <---[/COLOR][/B]
   3        62466048       267266047   97.7 GiB    8300  /home for 14.04 (sda2)
   4       267266048       300034047   15.6 GiB    8200  swap
   5       300034048       361474047   29.3 GiB    8300  / for 15.04
   6       361474048       566274047   97.7 GiB    8300  home for the 15.04 on sda5
   7       566274048       567298047   500.0 MiB   [B]EF00[/B]  ESP for Mint on sda11
   8       567298048       669698047   48.8 GiB    8300  Mint-KDE (uses ESP sda1)
   9       669698048       772098047   48.8 GiB    8300  Debian Jessie (uses ESP sda1)
  10       772098048       773122047   500.0 MiB   [B]EF00[/B]  ESP for the OS on sda12
  11       773122048       824322047   24.4 GiB    8300  Mint-KDE again
  12       824322048       865282047   19.5 GiB    8300  another 14.04 but used to be another 15.04

I have just the one 500 GB HDD in this system, and that's what's on it.
I only use 14.04 on sda2 (using the ESP sda1)--my main OS.
Never boot into the others unless I'm testing something about UEFI booting & et cetera. I keep that table of partitions on a (hand-written) Post It pasted to my monitor, or I'd quickly forget what's on my HDD.
But I am free now to easily re-partition everything from sda5 on out for other experimenting without messing with my main 14.04 on sda2.

[vinnywright]

I like safe. Since I'm Kubuntued, is it as simple as something to the effect " click here to install" or is it that insanity I went through (thanks again for yall's help) in installing 14.04?

LOL,,,,,,,,no that is not insanity ,,,,,,,,well subjectively.

you have 14.04 ,,,,,so muon package manager is installed yes/no ? (not muon discover)

if yes open muon package manager ,,,,,go to settings>configure software sources>updates tab,,,,,at the bottom is the "release upgrade" section ,,,,,,where you can set what type of "releases" you want to be notified about,,,,,,,,,,,when it "notifies" you of one ,,,,it will be point and click to do it .

OR ,,,,, on the command line it is

sudo do-release-upgrade

or

sudo do-release-upgrade -d

for a development release .

@hear I have several partitions that I use for different distros ,,Ubuntu-14.04 , Kubuntu-14.04 , Kubuntu-15.10 , Debian-8-KDE and Netrunner-15

if I had only one it would be 14.04 for now ,,,,,,,,15.10 is working ok but their are still some quirks and missing/different features that you have/can have in 14.04 ,,,,,,,, in my opinion that is ,,,for what it's worth.

VINNY

[logan01]

Thanks guy. Yes I have Muon Pkg Manager. I'm good (chicken) for now . I reckon there are also the "live" versions I can install and run from a flash drive for the experience as I first did with Kubuntu?

[claydoh]

There is no hard and fast rule on when to upgrade, if at all. Many wait for a bit as the servers get hammered with all the iso downloads and upgrades happening. It also allows you to see any recurring problems or gotchas others may have experienced.

[logan01]

Ok, I was under the impression unless it had the LTS designator, it was best to steer clear unless you were very familiar with the ins/outs of the OS. Having no clear understanding of Long Term Support, I figured it would be a pretty much bug free version and determined to be run by us casual users w/ minimal issues such as "oh crap, what just happened?".

[Qqmike]

logan01: I reckon there are also the "live" versions I can install and run from a flash drive for the experience as I first did with Kubuntu?

Yep, you can, with almost any Kubuntu/Linux OS.
This can be interpreted two ways:

(1) Run the OS "live." So it is not installed permanently to anything, not to your HDD, not to any flash drive. However, the live version will, of course, be installed on a DVD or a flash drive, but the OS runs ONLY in the RAM of your computer. When the live session is over, everything disappears, is gone. (You can also make an installation of an OS to a flash drive that will run "live" but it will KEEP new data and new programs you installed during a live session -- that kind of live installation to a flash drive is called a live, persistent installation. A certain space will be reserved on your live flash drive for the "persistent" data created during your live sessions. This has to be made with special utilities--or special, technical knowledge!)

Or,

(2) Install the OS to a flash drive, just as you would install it to a HDD. This IS a "permanent" installation. Running the OS from your flash drive is just like running it from any other drive. Some people claim that doing this and running it all the time for years, may wear out your flash drive -- quite a lot of literature on that subject, but for experimenting, not to worry.

////////////////////////////

Why Upgrade?
See Rog132, Post #5: are you happy with your Desktop? ... a good point ...
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...-Getting-tired

[logan01]

Yes I'm fine with 14.04. Read the linked thread and completely understand it. Last night I installed 15.10 to a flash drive. Why would I want to. No specific reasons other than .......

[DoYouKubuntu]

If you're happy with what you have now, there's nothing wrong with keeping it. Personally, I'm sticking with 14.04 for the foreseeable future--and I'm not new to Linux, nor am I unfamiliar with its nuts and bolts. I just get comfortable and complacent...and don't bother upgrading much!

[ScottyK]

I used to install the latest distros as soon as they came out on my main desktop, and I was really excited to have the latest version. Then as life got busier and I had less time to tinker and fix issues, I found I wanted my distro to "just work". I'm on 14.04 LTS now, and I like it. Everything works, and I know how to use it.

However when I'm in the mood to tinker around, then I'll load whatever on my notebook, since I don't use it all that often anymore.

[Qqmike]

ScottyK -- that's probably how most of us feel now.

When you first start Linux, it is normal to want to try and play with many OS distributions and versions of such. I can recall at one time dual-booting with maybe 10 or 15. But that soon wears off.

One of the classic articles on this, dual-booting 100+ OS's,

The 100+ systems comprise of
3 Dos
3 Windows
5 BSDs (in Part 2 Menu)
2 Solaris (in Part 2 Menu)
97 Linux including 2 versions of NetBSD

http://forums.justlinux.com/showthre...SD-and-Solaris

[logan01]

I believe I am most comfortable with 14.04. Thanks guys.