The next edition of Ubuntu is right around the corner

Apr 21, 2015 14:01 GMT  ·  By

Canonical is preparing for the release of Ubuntu 15.04, the latest version in the Ubuntu family that will provide a unified experience across desktop, phone, cloud and the IoT ecosystem.

Most of the Ubuntu community knows that Ubuntu 15.04 is almost upon us, and they are preparing either to upgrade to install the new edition from scratch. It will be a very interesting release because it integrates some very new packages, such as systemd, but it will also streamline the desktop experience with a Unity update and various other improvements.

Canonical also underlines a few other less known information, like the fact that Ubuntu Make (former Ubuntu Developer Tools Centre) now provides support for 14 new platforms that include Android, Firefox developer edition, Stencyl, pycharm (professional, educational and community editions), webstorm, rubymine, phpstorm, eclipse, and many others.

Ubuntu 15.04 to integrate LibreOffice 4.4

One of the major features of Ubuntu 15.04 is the implementation of LibreOffice 4.4, which is considered to be the best release made so far for the office suite. Many businesses and users are using this office solution, and you can't get anything better that the 4.4x branch.

"LibreOffice 4.4 brings increased business productivity, including the addition of improved change tracking to Writer, enhanced mail merge performance and improved shapes that can now have fully formatted content with tables. Support for digitally signed PDF exports is a new addition with 15.04, as is support for connecting to Sharepoint and OneDrive," explained Canonical.

"Snappy" Ubuntu Core wants to be the future of the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things might sound like an abstract idea, but it's actually quite easy to grasp. More and more devices are connected online, and they need to be controlled or managed in some way. Ubuntu itself might prove too big a hammer for a nail so small, but this is why Canonical created Ubuntu Core, which is the smallest and most secure edition of Ubuntu, which can power stuff like powers drones, robots, network switches, mobile base stations, industrial gateways, IoT home hubs, you name it.

"This is an amazing platform for the new generation of cloud and device developers," said Dustin Kirkland, product manager for Ubuntu Core. "The combination of an open platform with an app store that works across a very wide range of devices, from tiny embedded boards to high-end switches and routers, has stimulated a rush of creativity in the maker and entrepreneur communities."

The Ubuntu Phone is already out there

Ubuntu for phones is already out into the wild and powers BQ Aquaris E4.5, not to mention the fact that it should also arrive on Meizu MX4. The development team is making the jump to Ubuntu 15.04 as the main base. It's not there yet, but Canonical has promised that a new major OTA update in the coming weeks will also take care of this aspect.

Ubuntu used to be just a desktop flavor and a server, but in just a few years it has become much more than that. Ubuntu is now present on the desktop, in the cloud, and on phones, so we can only imagine where it will be in the next five years.

Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) is expected to arrive on April 23, in just a couple of days.