The latest version of Ubuntu 12.04 can be downloaded from Softpedia

Aug 8, 2014 06:50 GMT  ·  By

Canonical has just announced that Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS (Precise Pangolin) has been officially released for its Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core flavors.

Canonical has made an additional point release for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) and this means that this will also be the last update in the series. The distribution still has three years of support and it will receive security updates, but the kernel and other components won't be upgraded any longer.

“The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support. As with 12.04.4, 12.04.5 contains an updated kernel and X stack for new installations on x86 architectures.”

“As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS,” reads the announcement.

What exactly does this mean? The operating system remains pretty much the same, with the exception of a number of upgrades for various packages. The most important change is the adoption of a new Linux kernel from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, which ensures that the users of the older Ubuntu versions will be able to run it on newer hardware and they will get some extra features that usually accompany any new kernel.

Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS now uses a derivative of Linux kernel 3.13, which is maintained by a team from Canonical. That particular branch of the kernel reached EOL (end of life) a while ago, but the development has been adopted by Ubuntu developers and it will be maintained for a couple more years.

If you are a regular user of the Ubuntu 12.04 operating system, then you won’t have to do anything. Just update the operating system as usual and you will get the latest version installed. Keep in mind that this is a major kernel update and it will take a while to install. Make sure you restart your system after the update has been completed.

On the other hand, if you are still using the ancient Ubuntu 10.04 LTS version, you will be offered an automatic upgrade to 12.04.5 via Update Manager.

Check the official announcement for more details about this release. You can download the Ubuntu 12.04.5 ISO images right now from Softpedia.