End of Life for Ubuntu Desktop 8.04

13 May 2011

The desktop version of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS has officially reached its end of life. As of 12 May 2011, no new updates, including security updates and critical fixes, are available. While this is the case for the desktop, the server version of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS continues to be supported for another two years right through to May 2013.

Code named "Hardy Heron", version 8.04 of the Debian-derived Linux distribution was released on 24 April 2008. Hardy Heron users are advised to upgrade to a later release to continue receiving updates.

The latest stable release is Ubuntu 11.04 which is known as "Natty Narwhal. Despite 11.04's availability, the current Long Term Support (LTS) version is Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS "Lucid Lynx".

Users of 8.04 are unable to make the shift directly to "Natty Narwhal" as developers of the system have pointed out that they will have to upgrade to 10.04 LTS first.

Standard releases of Ubuntu are supported for 18 months of updates for both the desktop and server versions, while Long Term Support (LTS) versions of Ubuntu are supported for three years for the desktop releases and five years for server releases.

print this article