Long before its release, Canonical has announced that it is extending the time for which the desktop version of Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin, will be supported. Ubuntu 12.04 will be an LTS (Long Term Support) release; LTS releases currently see the support period raised from the normal 18 months for other releases to three years for the desktop edition and five years for the server edition. The company says it will, with the April 2012 release of 12.04, extend the desktop support and maintenance period from three to five years, bringing it in line with the server edition.
