Ubuntu (Linux distribution)

Un article de Vev.

Modèle:Infobox OS Ubuntu (Modèle:IPA2 in English<ref>http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/faq</ref>, Modèle:IPA2 in Zulu) is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. Ubuntu aims to use only free software to provide an up-to-date yet stable operating system for the average user, and features a strong focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation at the expense of platform diversity. Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd, owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. The name of the distribution comes from the southern African concept of ubuntu which may be rendered roughly as "humanity toward others", "we are people because of other people", or "I am who I am because of who we all are," though other meanings have been suggested.<ref> Ubuntu's African Roots

. Retrieved on 2007-06-06. </ref>

Kubuntu and Xubuntu are official subprojects of the Ubuntu project, aiming to bring the KDE and Xfce desktop environments, respectively, to the Ubuntu core. Edubuntu is an official subproject designed for school environments, and should be equally suitable for children to use at home.<ref> Edubuntu - Frequently asked questions

. Retrieved on 2006-07-15. </ref> Gobuntu is an official subproject that is aimed at adhering strictly to the Free Software Foundation's Four Freedoms.<ref> Gobuntu - What is Gobuntu

. Retrieved on 2007-10-26. </ref> The newest official subproject is JeOS. Ubuntu JeOS (pronounced "Juice") is an efficient variant of the popular desktop and server operating system, configured specifically for virtual appliances.

Ubuntu releases new versions every six months, and supports those releases for 18 months with daily security fixes and patches to critical bugs. There are also Long Term Support (LTS) releases, which have three years support for the desktop version and five years for the server version. The most recent LTS version, Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake), was released on June 1 2006 (updated to Ubuntu 6.06.1 on August 10 2006); the next LTS version will be 8.04 (Hardy Heron), scheduled for release in April 2008. The most recent version, Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon), was released on 18 October 2007.

History and development process

Ubuntu's first release was on October 20, 2004, which began by making a temporary fork of the Debian GNU/Linux project.<ref name=history> ubuntu/history "The Ubuntu Story"

. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. </ref> This was done so that a new version of Ubuntu could be released every six months<ref>Time Based Releases</ref>, 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.<ref>Releases</ref> In contrast with previous general-purpose forks of Debian—such as MEPIS, Xandros, Linspire, Progeny and Libranet, many of which relied on proprietary and 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.<ref> ubuntu/philosophy

. Retrieved on 2006-04-25. </ref>

The Ubuntu logo and typography has remained the same since that first release. The hand-drawn<ref>Anyone know what font the Ubuntu Logo uses?</ref>, lower case OpenType font used is called Ubuntu-Title and was created by Andy Fitzsimon.<ref name=ubuntutitle>UbuntuTitle</ref> The font is distributed under the Lesser General Public License and use with logos derived from the Ubuntu logo is encouraged.<ref name=ubuntutitle /> The font is available as a package for Ubuntu.<ref name=ubuntutitle />

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 cooperates with Debian - to some extent pushing changes back to Debian,<ref name=history> ubuntu/relationship "Website does not reference Debian visibly"

. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. </ref> although there has been criticism that this is not happening enough<ref name=forking> Ubuntu vs. Debian, reprise

. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. </ref> and Debian and Ubuntu packages are not necessarily 'binary compatible' with each other.<ref> Mark Shuttleworth on binary compatibility

. Retrieved on 2006-04-25. </ref> Many Ubuntu developers are also maintainers of key packages within Debian itself. However, Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, criticized Ubuntu for incompatibilities between its packages and those of Debian, saying that Ubuntu had diverged too far from Debian Sarge to remain compatible.<ref name=forking />

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.<ref> GrumpyGroundhog specification

. Retrieved on 2006-06-29. </ref> It is intended that Grumpy Groundhog should merge with Debian Unstable every six months.<ref> MarkShuttleworth - Ubuntu Wiki

. Retrieved on 2006-07-13. </ref> 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.^{[citation needed]} Mark Shuttleworth describes the foundation as an emergency fund in case Canonical's involvement ends.<ref> Announcing Launch of ($10m) Ubuntu Foundation

 (2005-07-08)
   

. Retrieved on 2007-04-21. </ref>

On 1 May 2007, Dell announced they would sell desktops and laptops with Ubuntu installed and on 24 May 2007 these computers went on sale in the United States.<ref> Ubuntu Customers

. Retrieved on 2007-05-26. </ref> They also stated that customers would be able to buy support for Ubuntu through Dell, with the support coming from Canonical. On 8 August 2007 these computers went on sale in the UK, France and Germany as well.<ref> Dell's Blog

. Retrieved on 2007-08-30. </ref> In October, Tesco followed in Dell's footsteps and started to sell desktop computers with Ubuntu 6.06 LTS pre-installed on them <ref> Tesco Shipping Desktops with Ubuntu - eSys

.</ref> <ref> Tesco Shipping Desktops with Ubuntu - eSys ePC

.</ref>. However unlike Dell, they do not offer Canonical's support program. Select Dell machines now include Ubuntu 7.10 with DVD playback using LinDVD software.<ref>http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7924076658.html</ref>

During July 2007 at Ubuntu Live 2007, Mark Shuttleworth announced that Ubuntu 8.04 (out April 200Image:Cool.gif would be the next LTS (Long Term Support) release. He also added that Canonical is committed to releasing a new LTS version every two years.

Features

Ubuntu focuses on usability,<ref> About Ubuntu

. Retrieved on 2006-04-25. </ref> including the widespread use of the sudo tool for administrative tasks.<ref> RootSudo - Ubuntu Wiki

. Retrieved on 2006-04-25. </ref> The Ubiquity installer<ref> Screenshots of Ubiquity's KDE frontend

. Retrieved on 2006-05-03. </ref> allows installing Ubuntu to the hard disk from within the Live CD environment without the need for restarting the computer prior to installation. Ubuntu furthermore emphasizes 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 characterized by shades of brown and orange.

Besides standard system tools and other small applications, Ubuntu comes installed with the following software: the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, the Internet browser Firefox, the instant messenger Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim), and the raster graphics editor GIMP. Several lightweight card and puzzle games are pre-installed, including Sudoku and Chess. Ubuntu has all ports closed by default adding to security, although some people choose to run a firewall in order to keep tabs of incoming and outgoing connections.

Ubuntu offers a fully featured set of applications that work 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.<ref name=livecdinstall> Installing Ubuntu from the Live CD

. Retrieved on 2006-07-08. </ref> CDs are mailed free to anyone who requests them, and CD images are available for download. The Ubuntu live CD requires 256 megabytes of RAM, and once installed on the hard disk, Ubuntu needs four gigabytes of hard-disk space.<ref name=hwreq> Ubuntu 6.06 Release Notes: Hardware Requirements

. Retrieved on 2006-07-08. </ref> 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 systems already installed with Ubuntu, and for complex partitioning including the use of LVM.<ref> Ubuntu 6.06 LTS: Download

. Retrieved on 2006-07-30. </ref>

With the release of Ubuntu 7.04 in April 2007, the Ubuntu installation process changed slightly. It now supports migration from Windows.<ref> Ubuntu 7.04 Adds a Migration Tool

. Retrieved on 2006-06-27. </ref> The new migration tool imports Windows users' bookmarks, desktop background (wallpaper), and settings for immediate use in the Ubuntu installation.

For Ubuntu there are tools available to create a specific installation CD/DVD. With Wubi, it is possible to install Ubuntu on a Windows partition. It also makes use of the migration tool which imports Windows users' configurations.

Multilingual

Since Ubuntu uses GNOME, the language of the GUI can set up in different languages.

Package classification and support

Ubuntu divides all software into four components,<ref> ubuntu/components

. Retrieved on 2006-03-16. </ref> to reflect differences in licensing and level of support available. Packages are assigned to components as follows:

"Free" software here includes only that which meets the Ubuntu license requirements,<ref> ubuntu/licensing

. Retrieved on 2006-06-29. </ref> which correspond roughly to the Debian Free Software Guidelines. There is one caveat for Main however; it "also may contain binary firmware and selected fonts (which are used by free components of Main) that cannot be modified without permission from their authors" so long as their "redistribution is unencumbered."

Non-free software is usually unsupported (Multiverse), but some exceptions (Restricted) are made for very important non-free software, such as non-free device drivers, without which users might be prevented from running Ubuntu on their system, particularly binary-only graphics card drivers. The level of support is more limited than for main, since the developers may not have access to the source code.

It is intended that Main and Restricted should contain all software needed for a general-use Linux system. Alternative programs for the same tasks and programs for specialised applications are placed in Universe and Multiverse.

Beyond the official repositories is Ubuntu Backports,<ref> UbuntuBackports

. Retrieved on 2006-03-16. </ref> which is an officially recognized project to backport newer versions of certain software that are available only in unstable versions of Ubuntu. The repository is not comprehensive; it mostly consists of user-requested packages, which are approved if they meet quality guidelines.

Availability of proprietary software

Modèle:Further Ubuntu has a certification system for third party software.<ref> partners/certification/software

. Retrieved on 2006-03-16. </ref> Ubuntu-certified proprietary software should work well in Ubuntu. However, many programs familiar to users of non-free operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, are incompatible and are not Ubuntu-certified. Some proprietary software that does not limit distribution is included in Ubuntu's multiverse component.

Some examples of software not distributed by Ubuntu include:

• Software that enables the playback of region-locked video DVDs, due to the questionable legal status of the Libdvdcss open-source DVD-decoding library in some parts of the world. (Note: the library is needed even when watching a DVD in the target region.)
• Some popular proprietary web-browser plugins, such as Adobe's (formerly Macromedia's) Shockwave (there is no Linux version) and Flash. (One workaround to the specific prohibition against redistribution in the Flash EULA is the multiverse package "flashplugin-nonfree" which automatically downloads the Linux Flash plugin directly from Adobe's site and then installs it.)

Releases

Each release has both a code name and a version number. The version number is based on the year and month of release. For example, the very first release of Ubuntu 4.10 was released on October 20, 2004.<ref>Modèle:Cite mailing list</ref>

 (2005-04-08)
   

 (2007-04-12)
   

  Milestone ubuntu-8.04 for Ubuntu due 2008-04-24 

 

Releases are timed to be approximately one month after GNOME releases, which are in turn about one month after releases of X.org. Consequently, every Ubuntu release comes with a newer version of both GNOME and X.

Release 6.06—and recently 8.04—have been labeled as a Long Term Support (LTS), to indicate that it will be supported with updates for three years on the desktop and five years on the server, with paid technical support available from Canonical Ltd.<ref name="lts"> Announcing Beta release of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS

. Retrieved on 2006-04-26. </ref>

ShipIt

Canonical offers Ubuntu installation CDs at no cost, including postage paid for destinations anywhere in the world, via a service called ShipIt<ref name=ubushipi> Shipit - free shipment of Ubuntu CDs

. Retrieved on 2006-04-26. </ref>: after a request for CDs is made at shipit.ubuntu.com and approved, disks are sent to the user's postal address in the mail without charge. Delivery is estimated at six to ten weeks<ref name=shipit-faq> ShipIt Questions

. Retrieved on 2007-12-11. </ref>.

All Ubuntu releases, except for 6.10 (which immediately followed a LTS release (6.06) and had less development time as a result; 6.06 was offered in its place), have been available via ShipIt. As of December 2007, the most recent release available for order via ShipIt is 7.10

Variants

Modèle:Further There are several variants besides Ubuntu, both official and unofficial. Of the official variants, Kubuntu<ref name=kubushipi> Shipit - free shipment of Kubuntu CDs

. Retrieved on 2006-06-21. </ref> and Edubuntu<ref name=edushipi> Shipit - free shipment of Edubuntu CDs

. Retrieved on 2006-06-21. </ref> are also available free of charge via mail order through Ubuntu's ShipIt service, but Xubuntu is not.<ref>No shipit for xubuntu</ref> These Ubuntu variants simply install a set of packages different from the original Ubuntu, but since they draw additional packages and updates from the same repositories as Ubuntu, all of the same software is available for each of them. These different versions correspond to development efforts run by largely separate groups of people who try to bring different functionalities to the distribution. The official sister distributions are:<ref> Other Ubuntus

. Retrieved on 2007-06-07. </ref>

• Edubuntu, a distribution designed for classrooms using GNOME
• Gobuntu, a free software distribution
• Kubuntu, a desktop distribution using KDE rather than GNOME
• Xubuntu, a "lightweight" distribution based on the Xfce desktop environment instead of GNOME
• Ubuntu Studio, a multimedia-creation flavor of Ubuntu.
• Ubuntu JeOS (pronounced as juice), "an efficient variant [...] configured specifically for virtual appliances"<ref> Ubuntu JeOS 7.10 released

.</ref>

Unofficial variants and derivatives are not controlled or guided by Canonical and are generally forks with different goals in mind.

System requirements

The most recent stable version of Ubuntu is officially supported for the Intel x86 and AMD64 architectures in the Desktop release and for the Intel x86, AMD64 and SPARC architectures in the Server release.<ref>http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.04/</ref><ref>Ubuntu to Support Sun 'Niagara' Platform</ref>

There are also unsupported ports for the PowerPC (note however that prior to version 7.04, Ubuntu officially supported the PowerPC architecture),<ref> Technical Board Decision - February 2007

.</ref>IA-64 (Itanium) and the PlayStation 3.<ref>Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)</ref>

For older computers which do not meet the system requirements listed below, there is also Xubuntu, based on Xfce, which requires roughly half of the RAM and disk space.

Server Edition

While it is possible to install the Server release on a "legacy machine" (e.g. a 75 MHz Pentium with 32 MB of RAM),<ref>Installation/LowMemorySystems</ref> the "minimum requirements"<ref name="SystemRequirements">Ubuntu System Requirements</ref> for good performance are:

• 300 MHz x86 processor
• 64 MB of RAM <ref name="ServerGuide710">[1]</ref>
• 500MB of disk space <ref name="ServerGuide710" />
• VGA graphics card capable of 640x480 resolution
• CD-ROM drive

Desktop Edition

For the Desktop release, the "recommended minimum requirements"<ref name="SystemRequirements"/> for good performance are:

• 500 MHz x86 processor
• 384 MB of system memory (RAM)
• 8 GB of disk space (although only 4 GB are required)<ref>Ubuntu Desktop Edition</ref>
• Graphics card capable of 1024x768 resolution
• Sound card (optional)
• A network or Internet connection

Install and Live CDs

For the Desktop release, there are two different types of install CD offered:<ref>http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.10/</ref>

• Desktop CD (a Live CD)

"The desktop CD allows you to try Ubuntu without changing your computer at all, and at your option to install it permanently later. This type of CD is what most people will want to use. You will need at least 320MB of RAM to install from this CD."

• Alternate Install CD

"The alternate install CD allows you to perform certain specialist installations of Ubuntu. It provides for the following situations: creating pre-configured OEM systems; setting up automated deployments; upgrading from older installations without network access; LVM and/or RAID partitioning; installs on systems with less than about 320MB of RAM (although note that low-memory systems may not be able to run a full desktop environment reasonably). It can also install on systems with a graphics environment not suitable to Ubuntu (which needs to be changed later) i.e. virtual PC"

• Server CD

"The Server Install CD allows you to install Ubuntu permanently on a computer for use as a server. It will not install a graphical user interface."

Response

Ubuntu's popularity has climbed steadily since its 2004 release. It is currently the second most viewed Linux distribution on Distrowatch.com[2], and was the most accessed on the site in 2005<ref>DistroWatch 2005</ref> and 2006.<ref>DistroWatch</ref> This popularity is borne out by a rise in Google searches for "Ubuntu" since 2004 as compared to a shrinking or plateauing number for terms related to other major desktop Linux distributions such as "Fedora", "Debian" or "SUSE" over the same period<ref>Google Trends, comparing Fedora|RHEL|Red Hat, Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE|OpenSUSE, Mandrake|Mandriva</ref>. In a 2007 survey of 38,500 visitors on DesktopLinux.com, Ubuntu was the most popular distribution with 30.3 percent of respondents using it.[3]

Ubuntu was awarded the Reader Award for best Linux distribution at the 2005 LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in London.<ref> LinuxWorld Expo UK 2005

 (PDF)

 

. Retrieved on 2006-05-09. </ref> It has been favorably reviewed in online and print publications.<ref> Ubuntu - A New Approach to Desktop Linux

. Retrieved on 2006-05-09. </ref><ref> Linux in Government: Linux Desktop Reviews, Part 6 - Ubuntu

. Retrieved on 2006-05-09. </ref><ref>«  »</ref> Ubuntu won InfoWorld's 2007 Bossie Award for Best Open Source Client OS.<ref>Best of open source in platforms and middleware</ref>

Mark Shuttleworth indicates that there were at least 8 million Ubuntu users at the end of 2006.<ref>Linux: Ubuntu Founder On Desktop Innovation</ref>

References

• What is it About Ubuntu? - by Sal Cangeloso, XYZ Computing, Monday, December 5, 2005, retrieved December 21, 2005
• Once I have installed Ubuntu, will I be able to upgrade to the next release? by Viktorija, April 10, 2005, retrieved December 21, 2005.
• Ubuntu & You, Part 1: Trying Today's Most Popular Linux Distribution by Thomas Pletcher, CommunityMX, August 15, 2005, retrieved December 21, 2005
• Restricted Formats last edited 2005-12-16 02:24:00 by RichRudnick, Ubuntu Wiki, retrieved December 21, 2005
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• The Official Ubuntu Book

</div>

See also

Modèle:Portal

• List of Ubuntu-based distributions
• List of Linux distributions
• Comparison of Linux distributions
• System 76

External links

• Official website of Ubuntu
• Ubuntu Forums - Official web forums
• [Ubuntu Catégorie Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Linux/Distributions/Debian/Flavours/Ubuntu/] de l’annuaire dmoz.
• Modèle:Distrowatch
• Interview with Mark Shuttleworth about Ubuntu
• Mark Shuttleworth explains the Top Ten Reasons Why Ubuntu Is Best for Enterprise Use (CIO.com article)
• Ubuntu Tips - A site maintaining a collection of tips and tricks for Ubuntu
• Ubuntu Server 7.10 Howto - How to turn a legacy PC into a Web server running Ubuntu Server 7.10

Modèle:Linux-distro Modèle:Ubuntu-distro

Modèle:DEFAULTSORT:UbuntuModèle:Link FA Modèle:Link FA Modèle:Link FA af:Ubuntu Linux als:Ubuntu Linux ar:أوبونتو ast:Ubuntu bn:উবুন্টু (লিনাক্স ডিস্ট্রিবিউশন) zh-min-nan:Ubuntu bs:Ubuntu (Linux distribucija) bg:Ubuntu Linux ca:Ubuntu cv:Ubuntu cs:Ubuntu da:Ubuntu de:Ubuntu et:Ubuntu el:Ubuntu es:Ubuntu (distribución Linux) eo:Ubuntu linukso eu:Ubuntu Linux fa:لینوکس اوبونتو fr:Ubuntu fy:Ubuntu Linux ga:Ubuntu gl:Ubuntu zh-classical:Ubuntu ko:우분투 (리눅스 배포판) hr:Ubuntu id:Ubuntu is:Ubuntu it:Ubuntu he:אובונטו לינוקס kn:ಉಬುಂಟು csb:Ubuntu Linux ku:Ubuntu GNU/Linux lv:Ubuntu Linux lt:Ubuntu hu:Ubuntu (Linux-disztribúció) nl:Ubuntu (Linuxdistributie) ne:उबुन्टु ja:Ubuntu no:Ubuntu nn:Ubuntu Linux oc:Ubuntu uz:Ubuntu (Linux distributivi) nds:Ubuntu pl:Ubuntu (dystrybucja Linuksa) pt:Ubuntu Linux ro:Ubuntu ru:Ubuntu Linux si:උබුන්ටු (ලිනක්ස් බෙදා හැරීම) simple:Ubuntu sk:Ubuntu sl:Ubuntu sr:Ubuntu sh:Ubuntu (Linux distribucija) fi:Ubuntu sv:Ubuntu ta:உபுண்டு லினக்ஸ் th:อูบุนตู vi:Ubuntu tr:Ubuntu uk:Ubuntu Linux zh:Ubuntu