Archive: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS on the desktop

This 2010 review records my first days with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, Lucid Lynx. It reflects the release's original support model, desktop applications, and my own expectations at the time. It is not a current Ubuntu recommendation.

What I was looking for

I wanted a desktop system that could serve a general user without losing the GNU/Linux and Debian principles I valued. I also wanted a release that would be practical for people who did not want to upgrade every six months.

Ubuntu 10.04 offered a stated three-year desktop support period and five-year server support period at the time of publication. I found its updated visual theme, software centre, and installation path easier to approach than earlier releases.

Features from that release

The review discussed Gwibber and Empathy for social and instant-message integration, the Me Menu, Ubuntu One storage, the Ubuntu Music Store, and the hardware requirements of the live CD and installed system. Those products, names, service limits, and compatibility claims belong to 2010.

My conclusion then was that the release felt coherent as a desktop environment: it offered an installation path, bundled applications, and a more approachable interface. That is an observation about a dated release, not a measure of the current platform.

For a new Linux desktop decision, compare current release support, hardware compatibility, package availability, security policy, and the workflow the machine needs to support.