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Ubuntu version history

Wikimedia list article

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ1990191
Source-derived summary

Releases of Ubuntu—a Linux operating system mostly composed of free and open-source software—are made semiannually by Canonical Ltd using the year and month of the release as a version number. The first Ubuntu release, for example, was Ubuntu 4.10 and was released on 20 October 2004. Consequently, version numbers for future versions are provisional; if the release is delayed until a different month (or even year) than planned, the version number will change accordingly.

Releases are scheduled every April and October to incorporate new GNOME releases made every March and September. Free support is offered and includes security updates for "main" free software packaged. Every fourth release, scheduled for April of every even-numbered year, is designated as a long-term support (LTS) release, meaning it receives free support for five years. Non-LTS releases are designed as interim releases and receive free support for nine months. The Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM) service from the Ubuntu Pro subscription, which is free for personal use on up to five devices, extends long-term support to be ten-years long and include security updates for community-managed "universe" free software packages. The Legacy subscription add-on extends long-term support to fifteen years.

On 19 March 2013, the Ubuntu Technical Board reduced the support period for interim releases from eighteen months to nine.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ubuntu version history” as wikimedia list article. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2004, 2013—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Ubuntu, version and history can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as wikimedia list article. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1990191. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004 and 2013.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Ubuntu version history”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Ubuntu version history primary sources, Ubuntu version history archive and Ubuntu research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ubuntu version history”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Ubuntu version history” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.