LTS on Desktop Often an Illusion

Frequently, 3rd party bianaries like Real Player aren't made available for 
older releases.  Then other applications, require updates to libraries, 
whilst other old 'frozen' versions won't work with those same libraries.

Then if you actually try to run very old, web browsers and such, you'll 
find they don't work on a lot of sites, which don't stick to the HTML  
basics.

There just hasn't been the stable conditions, to make feature frozen 
software + security patches, a useful choice, unless you could freeze the 
whole environment;  a practical impossibility with Internet access 
required.

Perhaps it's time FOSS copied M$ and gave an "illusion of stability".    
Rather than highlighting incrementing version numbers and scary sounding 
changes to attract new installs. Concentrate instead on building a large 
core software base where it "should just work".
  
Most updates that break things by introducing bugs, rapidly get re-issued.  
Where applications have relied on bugs, or stop working with new versions 
for unclear reasons patches become available soon enough, due to need for 
installs on new systems.

So IMO Debian style release labels, depending on level of 
radicalism/conservatism required of the installation, seem to have a lot 
going for it.  What's needed is a "should work" preview level with easy to 
back out changes, that gives upstream ISV's and distro's time to iron out 
problems caused by updates, so work is not disrupted.

Really what commercial users want, is stuff that works, that costs minimal  
maintenance time.  Where bureaucratic certifications are needed, requiring  
no-changes to the system, what is the "support" actually meant to achieve?
Adminstering "unsupported" frozen systems, due to OS Vendor / Hardware 
manufacturer losing interest, is often much easier than where they're 
pressuring you into upgrades through hardware updates, and almost 
compatible software changes.

Supporting multiple releases is hard and a major PITA, with FOSS 
everything important could run at the same level, because there's not 
license issues, so by choosing Release cycles, we actually throw away one 
of the main benefits.  Progress is simpler and less painful via many small 
steps.