The previous release of Ubuntu this year, version 8.04 - otherwise known as Hardy Heron - obviously has the jump on Intrepid Ibex in terms of existing installations.

Existing Ubuntu users must consider whether to remain on their current release, or whether they wish to install 8.10 either afresh or on top of their existing system.

Newcomers to Ubuntu also face a decision: ordinarily it'd be a no-brainer to go with the newest version, but Ubuntu 8.04 was dubbed a "LTS" or "long time support" release by Canonical. This means Ubuntu's team guarantee support for the product for several years. This might be a deciding factor for some.

The question must be asked then - what is different in Intrepid Ibex? What do you gain from loading it on over merely upgrading Hardy Heron as much as possible?

To nut this out I set up two virtual machines using Sun's VirtualBox. On one I installed Hardy Heron and Intrepid Ibex on the other. I used all the default settings, except for the appropriate time zone. You can see a screenshot of them both running on a MacBook Pro below.

Next, I used Update Manager to bring both systems right up to date. There were a small number of Intrepid Ibex patches and a whopping 333 patches for Hardy Heron.

So, what's different? Please read on!

(Click for a larger image)

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