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I switched back from Ubuntu 13.10 to 12.04 and i noticed that many apps are way behind their stable releases in the 12.04 repository/software center, like Gimp and Texmaker, and i wonder why that is the case. What does LTS really stand for when the software center has many outdated apps?

Neelson
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    "way behind" is a relative term. "Stable" releases such as LTS, debian stable, RHEL have more stability because the bugs have been worked out of the older packages. What makes you think you "need" a new package? Other distros, such as Debian sid or Fedora run newer, sometimes cutting edge packages, but sometimes at the expense of more bugs. Pick your poison ;) – Panther Oct 29 '13 at 19:14

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The wiki states it like this:

Release Plan Details

  1. We start stabilizing the release early by significantly limiting the number of new features. We will choose which features we package into the LTS release, versus which ones we leave out and allow for users to optionally download and use from a separate archive.

  2. Avoid structural changes as far as possible, such as changing the default set of applications, lots of library transitions, or system layer changes (example: introducing KMS or hal → DeviceKit would not have been appropriate changes in a LTS).

Furthermore, we define the LTS to be:

  • Enterprise Focused: We are targeting server and multiple desktop installations, where the average user is moderately risk averse.
  • Compatible with New Hardware: We will make point releases throughout the development cycle to provide functional support for new server and desktop hardware.
  • More Tested: We will shorten the development window and extend the Beta cycle to allow for more testing and bug fixing

... and clearly state that it is not:

  • A Feature-Based Release: We will focus on hardening functionality of existing features, versus introducing new ones1, except for in the areas of Online Services and Desktop Experience2.

    1. Exceptions for priority projects will be documented.
    2. Because these two areas of development are relatively new, they still require new features to satisfy the original reasons for their creation

  • Cutting Edge: Starting with the 14.04 LTS development cycle, automatic full package import is performed from Debian unstable. This is due to deploying ProposedMigration in the Ubuntu archive.

Rinzwind
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