Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Long Term Support), codenamed "Jammy Jellyfish," is Ubuntu's latest version that won't break every six months. Released on April 21, 2022, this is what you install when you need Linux to just work for years without constant maintenance hell.
You get 5 years of security patches until April 2027. After that, either upgrade or pay for Ubuntu Pro if you want to keep sleeping at night instead of patching servers. Ubuntu Pro costs $25/year per machine - pocket change for enterprise, soul-crushing for homelab.
The base system runs Linux kernel 5.15 LTS - rock solid but getting old. The current 22.04.5 LTS release bumped to kernel 6.8 for newer hardware support. Good news: your Bluetooth finally works on modern Intel chips. Bad news: something else probably broke.
Architecture and Platform Support
Ubuntu 22.04 runs on whatever you've got lying around:
- amd64 (64-bit Intel/AMD) - What 99% of people actually use
- arm64 (64-bit ARM) - Raspberry Pi 4 and those fancy ARM servers if you're feeling adventurous
- armhf (32-bit ARM) - Your old Pi 3 that's still chugging along
- ppc64el (64-bit Power) - If your company has IBM money
- riscv64 (64-bit RISC-V) - For the 12 people building RISC-V systems
- s390x (64-bit Mainframe) - If you work somewhere that still runs IBM Z mainframes (my condolences)
Basically, if it's got a CPU and some RAM, Ubuntu probably runs on it. Check the hardware certification database first to avoid WiFi driver hell.
Desktop Environment and User Experience
The desktop comes with GNOME 42 - it's actually pretty decent:
- Better screenshot tools - Finally works without needing third-party apps
- Accent colors - You can change the ugly orange theme (thank fuck)
- Dock improvements - It floats now and doesn't suck as much
- Hot corners - For when you want to accidentally trigger Activities overview every time you move your mouse
- Wayland by default - Works great until you need screen sharing, then you're back to X11
Fair warning: NVIDIA users get X11 because Wayland on NVIDIA is still a shitshow in 2025. Also, they changed the logo because apparently the old one wasn't minimalist enough.
