[Lykathea]

Can someone explain to me or give me a link to somewhere which explains what Ubuntu is, what it is for and what benefits it has. Also, can people give me there personal opinion on Ubuntu? Thanks.

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Homepage - http://www.ubuntu.com/
I've used Ubuntu for a few years on and off now. In my opinion, it is one of the better Linux distros (short for distributions) out there, and is quickly becoming one of the most popular, especially for new users of Linux. There are different versions of Ubuntu for various purposes. Ubuntu itself uses the gnome interface and Kubuntu uses the KDE interface, which some say is more like the Windows interface, although I found both easy to use when I first started exploring with Linux. Xubuntu is the Xfce version for less modern computers. Finally, there is Edubuntu for schools.

Ubuntu is an Operating System like Windows XP, Windows Vista, or MacOS, except that it is free. You can download it for free here, although it is around 700 MB. They will even ship you CDs for free, which I took advantage of to spread Ubuntu to some of my friends at school.

The benefits IMO is that you get an Operating System, Office Suite (OpenOffice, free, also free for Windows), and can have quite a few other software programs for free that you can download.

Some of the complaints you will hear about Linux include the lack of drivers for some hardware, the difficulty of learning it, and the lack of popular games. But, Ubuntu allows me to connect to an old wireless router I have where Vista won't (still working on it ), and the problem is getting better, although I will admit that not all hardware is supported. Ubuntu is a very easy distribution to install. When I first installed it, it was in text-only, but was still easy. Now, you download or order a CD that lets you see what it is like, and you install it in just a few steps very easily. There aren't as many popular games like Doom or Far Cry for Linux, but there are a ton of free games and 3rd party applications that can sometimes allow you to play games and use software designed for Windows.

Edited by ditto, 15 June 2007 - 09:54 AM.
fixed bb code

[Pi rules]

Homepage - http://www.ubuntu.com/
I've used Ubuntu for a few years on and off now. In my opinion, it is one of the better Linux distros (short for distributions) out there, and is quickly becoming one of the most popular, especially for new users of Linux. There are different versions of Ubuntu for various purposes. Ubuntu itself uses the gnome interface and Kubuntu uses the KDE interface, which some say is more like the Windows interface, although I found both easy to use when I first started exploring with Linux. Xubuntu is the Xfce version for less modern computers. Finally, there is Edubuntu for schools.

Ubuntu is an Operating System like Windows XP, Windows Vista, or MacOS, except that it is free. You can download it for free here, although it is around 700 MB. They will even ship you CDs for free, which I took advantage of to spread Ubuntu to some of my friends at school.

The benefits IMO is that you get an Operating System, Office Suite (OpenOffice, free, also free for Windows), and can have quite a few other software programs for free that you can download.

Some of the complaints you will hear about Linux include the lack of drivers for some hardware, the difficulty of learning it, and the lack of popular games. But, Ubuntu allows me to connect to an old wireless router I have where Vista won't (still working on it ), and the problem is getting better, although I will admit that not all hardware is supported. Ubuntu is a very easy distribution to install. When I first installed it, it was in text-only, but was still easy. Now, you download or order a CD that lets you see what it is like, and you install it in just a few steps very easily. There aren't as many popular games like Doom or Far Cry for Linux, but there are a ton of free games and 3rd party applications that can sometimes allow you to play games and use software designed for Windows.

Edited by ditto, 15 June 2007 - 09:54 AM.
fixed bb code

[Troy]

My personal opinion on any linux distro (since you asked) is that if you don't NEED windows, why bother paying for it? As Pi rules has said, Ubuntu comes with heaps of programs already installed, ready to go. I use XP as I like to play games, but if I didn't play games, I wouldn't bother with it at all. At the moment, I have my computers dual boot - that is, I have two operating systems on each of my computers, so I can choose when I start the computer whether I want to access Windows or Linux.

At the moment, I have one computer which runs Windows XP and SimplyMEPIS 6.5, which is a different distro from Ubuntu. My other computer is dual booting with Windows XP and PCLinuxOS 2007, which is a different distro again. Both of these distros are free and have similar features to a linux noob like myself I usually like to have my computers dual booting because if ever (more like WHEN!) Windows stuffs up/doesn't want to start/generally throw tantrums, the linux distros are available to me to check the internet for solutions etc...

I did have Ubuntu on my computer for a long time, previously, and the only reason I'm not running it now is simply because I'm checking out these distros. I have to admit, Ubuntu is probably the simplest to understand, followed by PCLinuxOS 2007, and simplyMEPIS 6.5 close behind.

Also, don't be confused about games: There are heaps of free games available with linux distros, like card games and some other ones I haven't looked too deeply at... But if you want to go to the shop and buy the latest 3D shooter or something, then linux is not going to float that boat...

[Pi rules]

One more thing I forgot to mention is virtual machines. What I've done is used VMWare Server (free) which allows you, if your PC has the power, to install operating systems virtually. So, I boot my PC into XP then can open VMWare and open one of at least 10 distros I have installed on there and delegate a certain amount of my memory (usually around 512 MB) for it to use, along with one core of my dual core CPU. It's slower than dual-booting, but lets me use Linux and Windows at the same time if I wish.

[I.D.S. Administrator]

Can someone explain to me or give me a link to somewhere which explains what Ubuntu is, what it is for and what benefits it has. Also, can people give me there personal opinion on Ubuntu? Thanks.

Xubuntu is okay, but then again, I am looking into something that is even lighter on system resources.

[mpfeif101]

Another great feature Ubuntu has is the Live CD. If you download or request an Ubuntu CD, you can pop it in your drive, boot to it, run Ubuntu and play around with it all from the CD, without ever installing it to your hard drive. It's a great way to test to see if you actually like it

[stettybet0]

There aren't as many popular games like Doom or Far Cry for Linux

Actually, Far Cry has a Linux dedicated server, and it can work pretty well with Cedega, and Doom is no harder to get running in Linux than it is in Windows XP. For both Linux and Windows XP, you just need a DOS emulator to play Doom. Perhaps better examples should have been chosen? I can bet that you are going to have a hard time playing Vista-only games, like Halo 2, on Linux.

And as for what mpfeif said: yes, the live CD is great, though you should be aware that it runs much slower than once you actually install ubuntu, especially if your computer is barely above the system requirements. So, don't let that scare you away, because once you install it, things speed up a lot!

Edited by stettybet0, 06 July 2007 - 09:06 AM.

[trucker]

Hi i just put in fisty fawn ubuntu' 7.4 and i like it alot its a bit diff from windows so it takes alittle getting used to. my computer seems to run faster and i dont need firewall or antivirus with it i checked out just fine at shields up on firewall test another thing i like is spellcheck it seems to be on anything i type chat and all. some thing im not sure about are getting my wireless nic to work but other then that life is good so far. you can run it live from disk or install a duel boot sys. be carefull there i goofed and lost windows when i did it. but really didnt care it was a new install. good luck and enjoy it... oh i wont be going back to windows ubumtu looks good to me

[The Matt]

Ubuntu is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution, based on Debian GNU/Linux but with a stronger focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation. Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd, owned by South African Mark Shuttleworth; the name of the distribution comes from the African concept of ubuntu which may be rendered roughly as "humanity toward others", though other meanings have been suggested.

The most recent version, Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), was released on April 19, 2007. Version 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) is scheduled for release on October 18, 2007. Ubuntu aims to use only free software to provide an up-to-date yet stable operating system for the average user.

Kubuntu and Xubuntu are official subprojects of the Ubuntu project, aiming to bring the KDE and Xfce desktop environments to the Ubuntu core. Edubuntu is an official subproject "designed for school environments, and should be equally suitable for kids to use at home."

Ubuntu's first release was on October 20, 2004, which began by making a temporary fork of the Debian GNU/Linux project. This was done so that a new version of Ubuntu could be released every six months, resulting in a more frequently updated system. Ubuntu releases always include the most recent GNOME release, and are scheduled to be released about a month after GNOME. In contrast with previous general-purpose forks of Debian—such as MEPIS, Xandros, Linspire, Progeny and Libranet, many of which relied on closed-source add-ons as part of their business model—Ubuntu has stayed closer to Debian's philosophy and uses free (libre) software most of the time.

Ubuntu packages have generally been based on packages from Debian's unstable branch: both distributions use Debian's deb package format and APT/Synaptic to manage installed packages. Ubuntu has contributed all changes directly and immediately back to Debian, rather than announcing them only at release time, although Debian and Ubuntu packages are not necessarily 'binary compatible' with each other. Many Ubuntu developers are also maintainers of key packages within Debian itself. However, Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, criticised Ubuntu for incompatibilities between its packages and those of Debian, saying that Ubuntu had diverged too far from Debian Sarge to remain compatible.

There are plans for a branch codenamed Grumpy Groundhog. It will be a permanently unstable development and testing branch, pulling the source directly out of the revision control of the various programs and applications that are shipped as part of Ubuntu. This will allow power users and upstream developers to test up-to-the-minute versions of individual programs as they would appear if packaged for the distribution today, without needing to build packages themselves; it will be able to provide early warning of build failures on various architectures. It is intended that Grumpy Groundhog should merge with Debian Unstable every six months. Grumpy Groundhog has not been made available to the public yet.

Ubuntu is currently funded by Canonical Ltd. On July 8, 2005, Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical Ltd announced the creation of the Ubuntu Foundation and provided an initial funding of US$10 million. The purpose of the foundation is to ensure the support and development for all future versions of Ubuntu, but as of 2006, the foundation remains dormant. Mark Shuttleworth describes the foundation as an emergency fund in case Canonical's involvement ends.

On 1 May 2007, Dell announced they would sell desktops and laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed and on 24 May 2007 these computers went on sale. They also stated that customers would be able to buy support for Ubuntu through Dell, with the support coming from Canonical. On 1 June 2007, PC Club followed suit and began sale of their Enpower Essence desktop,[citation needed] which is their first system to include Linux since their controversial temporary inclusion of Linspire (then LindowsOS) in late 2003.

Ubuntu focuses on usability, including the widespread use of the sudo tool for administrative tasks. The Ubiquity installer (previously called Espresso) included in the LiveCD version of the "Dapper" release allows installing Ubuntu to the hard disk from within the Live CD environment without the need for restarting the computer. Ubuntu furthermore emphasises accessibility and internationalization, to reach as many people as possible. As of version 5.04, UTF-8 is the default character encoding. The default appearance of the user interface in the current version is called Human and is characterised by shades of brown and orange.

Besides standard system tools and other small applications, Ubuntu comes with the pre-installed software OpenOffice.org, the internet browser Firefox, and the raster graphics editor GIMP. Several lightweight card and puzzle games are included.

Ubuntu offers a full feature set that works straight from the standard install, but nonetheless fits on a single CD. The live CD allows users to see whether their hardware is compatible before installation to the hard disk. The live CD is then used to install Ubuntu. CDs are mailed free to anyone who requests them, and CD images are available for download. Ubuntu requires 256 megabytes of RAM, and, when installed to the hard disk, needs three gigabytes of hard-disk space. An alternate install disc using the standard debian-installer in text mode is available for download only, and is aimed at people with lower system specifications, computer dealers selling pre-installed systems, and for complex partitioning including the use of LVM or RAID.

With the release of Ubuntu 7.04 in April 2007, the Ubuntu installation process changed slightly. It now supports migration from Windows. The new migration tool imports Windows users' bookmarks, desktop background (wallpaper), and settings for immediate use in the Ubuntu installation (not the live CD).

The Official Home Page of Ubuntu Linux

The Matt

Edited by The Matt, 19 July 2007 - 12:38 PM.

[stettybet0]

The Matt, I commend you on your cut-and-paste-from-Wikipedia skills.

Also, you should be aware that plagiarism is illegal, and a lawsuit could be filed against you on the grounds of copyright infringement by the Wikimedia Foundation, if they so choose.

Edited by stettybet0, 19 July 2007 - 12:29 PM.

[The Matt]

The Matt, I commend you on your cut-and-paste-from-Wikipedia skills.

Umm... I didnt copy that at all i typed it..... i read it on there and then typed it on here...

The Matt

[stettybet0]

Well, that proves you have pretty good typing and proofreading skills, as I don't see a single error in there. However, it also might mean you are a little thick, as you included "[citation needed]", which I strongly doubt really adds useful information.

Or you could just be lying, which could be expected from someone who breaks the law.

[The Matt]

I read a lot of the stuff on wikipedia and some stuff on other sites and put them together........

[stettybet0]

Except for the fact that the exact same words are on Wikipedia, in that order.

And yes, I do see you editing your post. You do know that it timestamps when you edit right? Coincidentally, it was just after I claimed you plagiarized!

Edited by stettybet0, 19 July 2007 - 12:40 PM.

[silverbeard]

http://www.ubuntu.com/legal


"Copyright

The website HTML, text, images audio, video, software or other content that is made available on this website are the property of someone - the author in the case of content produced elsewhere and reproduced here with permission, or Canonical or its content suppliers. Before you use this content in some way please take care to ensure that you have the relevant rights and permissions from the copyright holder.

You are welcome to display on your computer, download and print pages from this website provided the content is only used for personal, educational and non-commercial use. You must retain copyright and other notices on any copies or printouts you make. Certain of the materials available on this site are "open source" materials subject to the GNU General Public License ("GPL") or other open source license and are so marked - use of those materials is governed by the individual applicable license."

It has been acceptable to quote copyrighted matterials "used for personal, educational and non-commercial use". This is part of the Spirit of OSS and would seriously handicap our educators if this were not the case.