In the future Ubuntu Mate will have support for 5 years?
Thanks and greetings to all.
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Just for the LTS releases, so 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, …
Thanks for responding.
The current LTS version only has support for three years like the rest of Ubuntu flavors. My question is if you will have support for 5 years in the future.
https://www.ubuntu.com/info/release-end-of-life
a little over 2 years for hardware&maintenance then maintenance only for the remainder of the five. If I am reading that right
But if I do not misunderstand, that works for Ubuntu, not for Ubuntu Mate or Xubuntu, Kubuntu or Lubuntu
Ubuntu mate team will give updates for 3 years for the LTS then you will get update only from canonical (for the last 2 years)
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Thanks if that is clear, but I insist in a future the support will be 5 years?
Please see this post from the project leader earlier this year:
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Topic closed. Thank for the link.
I guess that the workaround to get your computer to behave as if there was a 5-year support to any Ubuntu-Mate distribution is, by the time of the 3-year deadline, to update your software sources:
from http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/ppa/ubuntu [name of current distrib.] main
to http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/ppa/ubuntu [name of new distrib.] main
But please correct me if I am wrong.
Nope, that wouldn't work I'm afraid - that's essentially upgrading all of bionic (18.04) packages to focal (20.04) but in a very dirty way.
Run this command and you'll see a package support summary:
20.04:
ubuntu-security-status
19.10 and prior:
ubuntu-support-status
Essentially your system is mixed with packages from different sources - main, universe, community, multiverse. The ones in main (Ubuntu) are covered for 5 years, and the rest for 3 years. PPAs do not count.
Not sure what happened to ubuntu-support-status but that command use to break down which packages were "community" (which cover MATE).
You may find your installation has a higher coverage of main packages with 5 year support.
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OK @lah7, thanks for your answer.
Then, is there a repository that would contain exclusively the specific ubuntu-mate-desktop packages?
What I am looking for here is a 5-year support for the whole system, instead a 5-year for ubuntu on one side and a 3 year for the mate-desktop on the other side. My only concern is the perspective of an incompatibility between an non-updated Mate and an updated Ubuntu beyond the 3-year period -- for the new 20.04 release.
But (A) maybe having only 3 years for mate itself is not an issue, is it?
Or (B) I should go for a classic Ubuntu installation, and complement it with an ubuntu-mate-desktop package, as suggested here https://itsfoss.com/install-mate-desktop-ubuntu/ ?
What would you say:
A?
B?
Something else?
3 vs 5 years shouldn't really be seen as an issue. 
MATE desktop (especially in an LTS) is unlikely to see major changes for the duration of its release cycle despite new MATE versions coming out. For an LTS, it's more about keeping these versions stable, secure and bug free, rather than introduce new features.
Updates must go through a SRU process and get peer reviewed. For sure, Ubuntu MATE doesn't have the resources to actively maintain older versions beyond 3 years plus existing releases at a time.
The problem is not where the packages are, but rather what package(s). Your (B) option would result in the same situation, but will end up with duplicates of Ubuntu (GNOME) and MATE programs.
It can already happen during the 3 year period - as an example, the lockscreen in 18.04 can by bypassed by power cycling the monitor on some systems. There has been a SRU update, but it was rejected (due to lack of testing) despite being fixed for over a year.
The opposite can happen too. 
In 3+ years, there could be newer software that can't be easily installed because the required packages need versions newer then what the LTS provides. Snap packages tries to address that issue.
As an example, 16.04 LTS shipped MATE 1.12. There was a "semi-official optional" PPA that provided MATE 1.14 and then 1.16, but not 1.18 or beyond because the underlying technology drastically changed (GTK2 → GTK3) that's just incompatible with 16.04.
My advise is to stick with the latest LTS every 2-3 years if stability is a must. The first or second point release is usually a good time (18.04.4 → 20.04.1) to avoid any early regressions.
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Many thanks for your detailed answer, and for your advice to wait for point release n°1 or 2.
Solution B is indeed bad. I gave it a try, everything is slow, obviously it is problematic.
Yes stability is my priority, and what I look for when updates are released is bug fixes, not new features (the very reason for which I had preferred Mate over standard Ubuntu since 12.04).
I do not know if the same is true for other Mate users.
If 3-year of support is enough to get a bug-free Mate, fine with me.
Just to let you know, if I had to pay a (small) fee to get an extended support, I would go for it 
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Ubuntu Mate deserves to have 5 years support,such as Mint for their LTS releases.MInt Sinnamon,Mate,XFCE are supported until 2025...