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Ubuntu 24.04 LTS To Get 12 Years of Updates
(news.itsfoss.com)
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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To note: this appears to be a move from 5 years (standard, free) + 5 years (extended, paid) to 5+7. Users not paying Canonical aren't getting anything different as to with prior LTS releases.
Standard free support for 24.04 is still 2024-04 through 2029-06.
https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases
Isn't ubuntu pro free up to 5 devices
Free for personal use, so yes-ish. That'll certainly be a deal-breaker for some.
Realistically, people who are using it for personal use would probably be upgrading to the next LTS shortly after it's released (or in Ubuntu fashion, once the xxxx.yy.1 release is out). People who don't qualify to be using it for free anyway are more likely to be the ones keeping the same version for >5 years.