Natty Narwhal, The First Ubuntu Desktop Release To Include Unity, Nears End of Life

It’s that time again. As we come closer to a new release of 12.10, an older version of Ubuntu will lose its official support. Kate Stewart the Ubuntu Release Manager for Canonical reminded us that Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal is nearing End of Life.

“Ubuntu announced its 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) release almost 18 months ago, on April 28, 2011.  As with the earlier releases, Ubuntu committed to ongoing security and critical fixes for a period of 18 months. The support period is now nearing its end and Ubuntu 11.04 will reach end of life on Sunday, October 28.  At that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 11.04.”

Unity
Ubuntu 11.04 was released on April 28, 2011 and was the first Desktop release of Ubuntu to include the new Unity user interface. The design, implementation, and limitations of Unity was a large change that brought the expected curiosity and criticisms of many users. As Unity evolved, so did its users perceptions and acceptance, and the release of 12.10 will undoubtedly build upon those perceptions.

Natty Narwhal also included new features and updated packages like X.org 1.10.1 and Mesa 7.10.2. It also included Firefox 4.0 as the standard web browser and introduced the ability from the Ubuntu Software Center to rate & review installed applications, a feature I now enjoy and take for granted. Remembering the past and how much Ubuntu has changed in such a short amount of time is similar to imagining the future, and if you ask me the future of Ubuntu is prosperous. What do you think? Leave your comments below as im interested in your thoughts.

Farewell Natty Narwhal.