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A disappointing trend has become clear to Linux users in recent years. Whenever Canonical offers a new Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS) release, it tends to be conservative in nature. (See our Ubuntu 14.04 review, which earned a "Missing the boat on big changes" headline.) Apparently no one wants to try to support a brand new, potentially buggy piece of code for half a decade.

The last few Ubuntu releases haven't been LTS rollouts, yet Vivid Vervet (15.04) and Wily Werewolf (15.10) also short-changed users in the way of new features. So when Canonical officially released the latest Ubuntu LTS version (Ubuntu 16.04 or Xenial Xerus) this spring, similar expectations loomed. Frankly, this could potentially be the most boring Ubuntu release to date.

Thankfully, perception hasn't matched reality this time around for Ubuntu users. Ubuntu 16.04 is in fact the most exciting release Canonical has put out in recent memory. And after using it for the last few weeks, this may even be the best release Canonical has presented to date.

The Shoreline Amphitheatre, the new location of Google I/O 2016. It's right in Google's backyard. (credit: Shoreline Amphitheatre)

With Google I/O starting tomorrow, we're resurfacing our recent preview so you know what to expect.

Google I/O is Google's annual launch party where the company shows off its biggest products and teaches developers how to be a part of the Google ecosystem. The event takes place from May 18 to 20 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.

Google I/O this year is definitely weird. It's in an all-new location, and the big news that we would expect to happen at I/O—a new version of Android—has already been released. As a result, there is really nothing that we would put at a 100 percent lock for I/O—we just aren't sure what Google is going to do. The schedule gives us some vague idea of what we can expect to see, but since Google likes to avoid spoiling its announcements, the schedule isn't always a comprehensive list until after the opening-day keynote. While we aren't making guaranteed predictions, we can at least offer a list of possibilities based on projects we know are in the works at Google HQ.