Kubuntu & Xubuntu 12.10 upgrade from 12.04?

Just wanted to throw a quick note here after testing Kubuntu and Xubuntu 12.10 for a few days now. My original plan was to put together a review, but after using them I have noticed so little change from the previous LTE release that I am not sure I would have enough to talk about.

In both cases, all we are seeing are DM updates for the most part. Yes, Xubuntu does include some improvements to LightDM and a few Look&Feel (welcome) changes, but the biggest thing in both cases is a rebase to the latest KDE SC and XFCE versions.

Kubuntu 12.04 allows users to upgrade to KDE SC 4.9 through its Kubuntu backports (which are packaged and updated extremely well and fast) and there are similar workarounds in Xubuntu should a user absolutely need the latest from XFCE. The same applies to applications, thanks to the abundance of PPAs in the Ubuntu universe. Long story short, there is nothing in either case that should lure anybody away from the safety and stability of an LTS release, at least not in my opinion.

In all honesty, after all the news about Blue Systems hiring employees to work on Kubuntu, I was expecting 12.10 to be a big jump in every sense, specially around every area specific to the distro (LightDM by default and an official theme, updated splash screen, more significant Muon updates and features, etc.) Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, so much so that I will be waiting to next release cycle to decide whether I jump off the LTS wagon.

NOTE: For those not using Xubuntu and Kubuntu, or using older versions, I would recommend the installation of the 12.04 LTE release. 12.10 is by no means a bad release in either case, but I think its LTE counterpart is more worth it.