Just got idea from this(may not be related though) question however.
Are the ISO images from the official site updated with updates in Core Ubuntu system , like Kernel Updates , desktop Environment Updates(unity), i mean Updates of BASE system including X-org, Office suite, Package Manager , Update manager or Gnome Base Modules, those released in update Branches like precise-Updates branch.
The reason i am asking this is , if i download the ISO image of Ubuntu 12.04 Say after two or three months from release , i have to do an update of approximately 200~300 MB's size.
So why are these ISO images not updated to recent updates, i am aware that all of the components are not updated at the same time , but let's say after One month from actual release ( Both LTS and normal releases), the updated components can be added to form a Updated ISO in regular intervals, which provides new users to use latest versions and features with improved stability and less bandwidth Consumption.
I am not mentioning the idea of comparison to Rolling Release , or External PPA's added updates , and neither Netinstal but the ISO of updated Packages .This can be provided as optional download.
Since my question is within the boundary of Official updates releases so stability could not be the reason. I guess there are custom packagers out there , but having an official option would be better.
It helps in distributing Newest ISO OS which impresses a lot new users , since it makes availability of newer features and a faster system ofcourse. Another reason of asking this is here.
Edit: Since almost all new (Desktop) users download the Default ISO's having one or few issue , which may have been corrected in following updates. But most of new laptop users i encountered gave up because of it , so should i suggest ,for laptop not listed on Certified H/W list , to try daily Builds , if needed.
Updates are incorporated at some point for LTS Releases. They are called maintenance (or point) releases and add one more number after the version, for example last maintenance release for Lucid is 10.04.4.
The first maintenance release is usually done three months after the official release, and another one is made each six months until a new LTS is release. So there are four maintenance releases for each LTS.
Normal releases don't get maintenance releases.
Mark's blog post announcing them.
The official CD/DVD images offered for download are not regularly updated, although they are updated occasionally on LTS releases. For example, Lucid's images were last updated in February 2012 (and are called 10.04.4 - the fourth update to Lucid's ISOs).
These images are "stable" in the sense that they represent an unchanging fixed point in time, which has its benefits as you know. In order to get updated packages and security updates, it is necessary to update from a mirror after installing from the CD. The download size of these will vary according to time, and to which repositories you enable.
However, despite this is such a thing as daily builds of the installation CDs. Because they are daily, they can change from day to day - a minor or temporary problem can appear one week and be gone the next. As such these are not "stable" in the sense that they can change daily, even though they may be "stable" in the sense that they are generated from a "stable" version of Ubuntu.
To keep the ISO images as stable as possible the Ubuntu team updates them every 6 months for LTS releases, and never for other releases. I understand exactly what you mean, but us poor people with slow/expensive internet just have to live with it, I guess. Look for an unmetered mirror for updates, perhaps: mirror.aarnet.edu.au for Bigpond in Australia.
The trouble with updating them often is that often you can break parts without realising it; they put the ISO through a pretty thorough testing effort before release. Between releases they feel the effort is better spent on new development, and not QA.