Just trying to get a feel for the Release Cycle.

[grafiksinc]

Hello All,
From what I read it seems Peppermint has something done to it annually, I know it uses the (LTS) versions of Ubuntu. -- Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint_Linux_OS

Coming from the Mint world I normally stuck with the (LTS) version for about 5 years at a time, or unless there was a real need to upgrade.

My questions are what is the trend for most Peppermint folk.
1. Do you upgrade when the upgrade is available or do you stick to a specific version for awhile?
2. What is the common  recommendation?

Thanks!

[mac]

Peppermint releases new versions roughly every twelve months (usually around June).  The new versions will include what the development team considers to be improvements to the OS which are frequently adopted from user input.  While Peppermint would obviously recommend the latest release, upgrading to the latest and greatest is simply a matter of personal preference. 

Many, and maybe most, forum users follow the release cycle, but there are a lot of users who do not.  There are people here using PeppermintOS 6 or even PeppermintOS 5. Being LTS, older versions enjoy upstream support for five years.  Using any release beyond it's upstream support life is not recommended because of security issues. 

So, I would suggest that you at least take a look at new releases via live session.  If you like the new release then save all your important stuff and install the new version.  Ideally, if you have the HD space, keep your current version and install the new version, as well.  That way you can kick the tires a while and take your time moving things over.  If you like what you already have and want to keep it then you can certainly do so.   It's Linux, after all, and is all about choice.     

cheers
mac

[PCNetSpec]

Maybe this will clarify

Peppermint has always released annually, and early on this worked out fine because we originally only (officially) supported one release until the next .. this worked because no matter which upstream version we were based on also had a minimum of a year of upstream support.

Then Ubuntu switched to 9 months support for non-LTS releases.

So now (like Mint) we ONLY base on LTS , but update the kernel via the HWE:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/RollingLTSEnablementStack

So....

Peppermint 7 is based on 16.04 LTS
Peppermint 8 will (likely) be based on 16.04 LTS but with the kernel from the HWE (whatever that is at the time)
Peppermint 9 will (likely) be based on 16.04 LTS but with the even later kernel (on the iso image) from the HWE
Peppermint 10 will (likely) be based on 18.04 LTS

It also helps that Ubuntu have now made the HWE stack rolling, so Peppermint 8 and 9 will get rolling HWE updates right up until 18.04/Peppermint 10

So Peppermint (which release annually) now only switches base completely when a new upstream LTS is released, but the interim Peppermint versions still get newer kernels and graphics stacks via the HWE

Did that make sense ?

[mac]

Maybe THIS will clarify the clarification