Ubuntu (IPA: [uːˈbuːntuː] in English, [ùɓúntú] in Zulu) is a computer operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. Its name comes from the Zulu word "ubuntu", translated as "humanity to others", describing the ubuntu philosophy: "I am what I am because of who we all are", a positive aspect of community. Ubuntu's goals include providing an up-to-date, stable operating system for the average user, with a strong focus on usability and ease of installation. Ubuntu has been rated as the most popular Linux distribution for the desktop, claiming approximately 30% of desktop Linux installations in 2007.
Ubuntu is composed of free and open source software distributed under various licenses, especially the GNU General Public License (GPL) which means that users are free to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Ubuntu is sponsored by the UK based company Canonical Ltd., owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Instead of selling Ubuntu for profit, Canonical creates revenue by selling technical support. By keeping Ubuntu free and open source, Canonical is able to take advantage of the talents of outside developers in Ubuntu's constituent components without developing the entire operating system itself.
Canonical endorses and provides support for four additional Ubuntu-based distributions: Kubuntu and Xubuntu, which use KDE and Xfce, respectively, as a desktop environment, replacing the default GNOME system used by Ubuntu; Edubuntu, a subproject and add-on for Ubuntu, designed for school environments and home use; and Ubuntu JeOS (pronounced "Juice"), a stripped-down version of Ubuntu, optimized for virtual appliances.
Canonical releases new versions of Ubuntu every six months and supports Ubuntu for eighteen months by submitting security fixes, patches to critical bugs and including minor updates to programs. LTS (Long Term Support) releases, which occur every two years, are supported for three years on the desktop and five years for servers. The current version of Ubuntu, Intrepid Ibex, was released on October 30, 2008, and the upcoming version, Jaunty Jackalope, will be released in April, 2009. The version after Jaunty will be Karmic Koala, which will possess several advanced features like Amazon EC2.
Features
Ubuntu focuses on usability, including the widespread use of the sudo tool for administrative tasks.[28] The Ubiquity installer allows installing Ubuntu to the hard disk from within the Live CD environment without the need for restarting the computer prior to installation. Ubuntu also emphasizes accessibility and internationalization, to reach as many people as possible. Beginning with 5.04, UTF-8 became the default character encoding, which allows for support of a variety of non-Roman scripts. The default appearance of the user interface in the current version is called Human and is characterized by shades of brown and orange.
The most recent version of Ubuntu comes installed with a wide range of software including an older version of the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, the internet browser Firefox, the instant messenger Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim), the BitTorrent client Transmission, and the raster graphics editor GIMP. Several lightweight card, puzzle, and board games are pre-installed, such as Sudoku and chess. Ubuntu has all networking ports closed by default for added security; its firewall offers fine-grained control of incoming and outgoing connections. GNOME 2.22—the default desktop environment of Ubuntu 8.04—offers support for 46 languages. There are numerous ways to install Ubuntu, outlined below.
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