Ubuntu 18.04 project image upgrade

The CoCalc service provides and extensive collection of software packages. The underlying "image" for each project is based on Linux (Ubuntu).

Up until Summer 2018, that release was from 2016 (16.04, "xenial") with many small incremental updates. That became quite "dusty" and we decided to switched to 18.04, nickname "bionic", which is a more recent release from 2018. This is a major update and despite our best efforts to offer the same overall set of solutions for everyone, there are a couple of subtle differences.

Overall, you can expect these updates of our more frequently used software packages:

• Python 3 in Ubuntu is currently at version 3.6
• Sage: pushed to 8.3
• R: 3.4.4 and we'll soon upgrade to 3.5

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Switch project image

Most importantly, we do offer a way to dial back this upgrade via the project settings. At the bottom of the project control box, you can select the "old" image to work in the previous environment. This setting is just for that particular project. Keep in mind that we're only continue upgrading the newer "default" image. You can also opt in to follow us on our most recent "experimental" image bringing you our newest updates a bit earlier.