Today, Canonical announced the release of the latest version of their Ubuntu operating system, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS “Focal Fossa.” Ubuntu is a popular and well-known Linux operating system (OS) originally forked off of Debian. Mark Shuttleworth founded Canonical sixteen years ago in 2004. Canonical focuses on developing and providing support services for Ubuntu in addition to supporting open-source software projects.
Today, Canonical announced the release of the latest version of their Ubuntu operating system, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS “Focal Fossa.” Ubuntu is a popular and well-known Linux operating system (OS) originally forked off of Debian. Mark Shuttleworth founded Canonical sixteen years ago in 2004. Canonical focuses on developing and providing support services for Ubuntu in addition to supporting open-source software projects.
Ubuntu names their versions by the year, and month the version was released initially. So, 20.04 “Focal Fossa” is not the twentieth version, but the thirty-second. Canonical traditionally has a major release twice a year. Usually, in April and October, so this release is right on schedule. This naming scheme is perfectly reasonable and not at all confusing, especially for software developers who have never encountered any problems caused by using shortened forms of dates. The LTS in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS “Focal Fossa” stands for Long-Term Support. Since this is an LTS release, it will get at least five years of support, unlike most versions that only get nine months of free support.
Like other Ubuntu releases, this one comes with the latest version of GNOME (3.36) and X. You can see the default background above.
Linux users are well accustomed to managing applications and installations from the command line. If you were to ask them, many of them would probably tell you that they prefer it that way. Ubuntu 20.04 continues to support traditional Linux command line install tools, but also adds a graphical user interface in the Snap Store. Behind the scenes, the Snap Store is still accessing the Ubuntu Software store. This will make it easier to browse for new applications and help ease the transition for new IT team members who aren’t yet familiar with the full power and flexibility that command line controls offer.
Continuing the close relationship between IBM and Canonical, IBM LinuxONE and IBM Z provide day-one support for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Customers who want to can immediately order these appliances with the latest version of Ubuntu already installed. Other hardware vendors, like Dell, HP, and Lenovo, also have appliances with the latest Ubuntu version available.
Ubuntu 20.04 includes several security improvements. This newest release introduces Fast ID Online (FIDO) for universal multi-factor and passwordless authentication. It also adds native support for AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization with accelerated memory encryption. Naturally, 20.04 will continue to enable shielded VM hardening by default in Google cloud, like previous LTS versions of Ubuntu. Aiming to provide a great out-of-the-box secure tunnel on Ubuntu, Canonical is including Wireguard with the new version. Wireguard is a VPN program that defaults to using modern cryptographic standards to protect data in transit. While VPNs (virtual private networks) aren’t just a security feature, they are often used that way.
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