Ubuntu 14.10 'Utopic Unicorn' Released, Available for Download: What's New, and How to Upgrade from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS?
A screenshot of the new Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn. Wikimedia Commons

The latest Ubuntu 14.10 'Utopic Unicorn' release is now available for download officially and the desktop OS promises multiple enhancements with the latest release.

You can download the desktop OS from Canonical and the newest release also brings with it various security fixes, along with new enhancements.

Click here to navigate to Canonical now and download Ubuntu 14.10 Desktop operating system.

New enhancements in the latest release (for general desktop users)

  • Ubuntu 14.10 utilises the 3.16 kernel which offers better support for Power8 and ARM 64 architectures.
  • 3.16 kernel also supports Intel's Haswell, Broadwell, Merrifield and the yet-to-be-released Cherryview processors.
  • The kernel also supports the Radeon H.264 video encoder, by virtue of which users get to enjoy a comparatively improved audio experience.
  • Ubuntu 14.10 also brings along performance improvements in suspend/resume times; in the multimedia scheme of things.
  • Users of Ubuntu 14.10 get to watch Netflix within Chrome, by virtue of which movies/videos can be directly streamed to the Ubuntu desktop.
  • 'IPP Everywhere' support for printers, using which Ubuntu will automatically detect and connect to both USB printers and printers connected to a particular network, without users having to install external drivers/software.
  • Applications on Ubuntu, including LibreOffice, Firefox, Chromium and Rhythmbox, have received updates to latest versions.
  • Ubuntu 14.10 automatically downloads and installs latest Android Toolkits and integrates these with the launcher in a single command.

"The continued development and quality of Ubuntu on the desktop is creating more demand from government, education, business, developers and consumers alike. Downloads of Ubuntu are consistently strong and we are experiencing rapid growth of our OEM business," stated Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical, during the release of Ubuntu 14.10.

ISO image files of Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn are also available for download at:

https://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/14.10/ (Ubuntu Desktop and Server)
http://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/14.10/release/ (Ubuntu Cloud Server)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/14.10/ (Ubuntu Netboot)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/releases/14.10/release/ (Ubuntu Core)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/14.10/release/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/14.10/release/ (Lubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/14.10/release/ (Ubuntu Studio)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-gnome/releases/14.10/release/ (Ubuntu GNOME)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntukylin/releases/14.10/release/ (UbuntuKylin)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/14.10/release/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/14.10/release/(Mythbuntu)

How to upgrade from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

To upgrade on a desktop system:

  • Press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager" (without the quotes) into the command box.
  • Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '14.10' is available.
  • Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.

To upgrade on a server system:

  • Install the update-manager-core package if it is not already installed.
  • Launch the upgrade tool with the command sudo do-release-upgrade.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions.