Should I choose 10.04 LTS or 10.10? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What's the difference between a Long Term Support Release and a Normal Release?
I'm new to Ubuntu (and Linux) but I want to give it a go. I've spent a few evenings trying to get 10.10 to run but I think my nVidia 8400 GS is causing trouble; only recovery mode with failsafeX gets me to the desktop (low-res but seems to be fully functional otherwise).
Given that the xx.04 vesions are long-term support, I'm wondering whether it would be smarter for me to use that. I don't need to be on the cutting edge - I prefer to have a system that just works, long-term. Later I hope to move my media center and wife's netbook over too.
Question:
Why should I (not?) choose the 10.04 LTS version over the newest 10.10 version?
You said so yourself:
I don't need to be on the cutting edge - I prefer to have a system that just works, long-term.
In my humble opinion, Ubuntu 10.10 is an amazing release with a lot of cool stuff planned for 11.04 next, however, it also makes a lot more sense to go from LTS to LTS. What works for you in 10.04 will always work for you until the end of life. Stay will 10.04 until your curiosity overwhelms or you have a particular feature you know you need from a newer release.
Welcome to Ubuntu the OS and it's underlying community! First off 10.10 isn't cutting edge - it's a bonafide release. Cutting edge would be running the current Alpha which is 11.04. You can find out more with What's the difference between a Long Term Support Release and a Normal Release?.
Ubuntu does a really good job of keeping all it's "supported" releases up-to-date. 10.04 will simply be supported longer for security updates than 10.10 - However, for all intents and purposes 10.10 is the current release. 10.04 is the current LTS, and 11.04 is the current Alpha (soon beta, then sometime in April current). The way I look at releases. If I'm installing Ubuntu on a computer I always reach for current unless this is a server or a machine that needs to remain stable due to it's functionality. Normal desktop/laptop machines though - current. The upgrade process from Release to Release point has become very streamlined.
Personally, I run at least one machine with LTS only - I like to think of it as my fallback. I rarely do any hardware modifications to it and I always need it to "just work". It also negates the task of needing to perform upgrades on it every 6 months.
However, I don't think using 10.04 is going to address your video issue. In fact I think that's entirely independent of what version you're using and may merit a new question in order to address that concern.