UBUNTU - The basis

OS Ubuntu
Last Change : Feb 18 2010

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Ubuntu, the new linux pearl.

The Ubuntu linux distribution is derived from the Debian Linux. This is in fact a very reliable Linux distribution which is made for beginners as well as experts and can be installed as desktop or server.

The first Ubuntu release was provided at the end of 2004 and quickly attracted people because of its simplicity of install and use, the quality of the services provided and the power coming from the Debian architecture. The regular releases provided as well as security or package updates are other strong points of Ubuntu.

Installing Ubuntu is extremely easy. With only one free of charge CD, you can install Ubuntu and its graphical interface. Furthermore, a lot of different hardware are natively correctly recognized. It's good to know that you can even use the Ubuntu CD as a LiveCD. In this case, you will be able to use Ubuntu without install it on the hard drive. It can be very useful if you want to test the hardware compatibility before installing Ubuntu.

logo ubuntu A specific capability of Ubuntu is the possibility to enter commands which need root rights from a normal user with the sudo command.

Ubuntu was founded and is still funded by Mark Shuttleworth's private company. Although it is a private company, Ubuntu still respects the open source concepts. It is very similar with its Ubuntu Philosophy to the Debian freedom philosophy. For the little story, Mark Shuttleworth made a fortune at the end of the 90's and bought a $20 million flight ticket to the international orbital station in 2002, making him the second space tourist in history.

With the increasing popularity of Ubuntu, particularly in the desktop environment, it will be interesting to see in the near future whether the new Ubuntu users will all come from other Linux distributions or will a significant number of them come from the Windows environment. In other words, will Ubuntu be able to break a little the Microsoft hegemony?

We hope that in the future, Ubuntu will not diverge too much from the Debian system and thus that it will be still possible to use the huge Debian documentation for Ubuntu.

Check the Ubuntu website for information concerning the Debian and Ubuntu relationship.
For more details about Ubuntu, have a look at the Ubuntu Wikipedia page.

Below are the different Ubuntu versions since its creation:

2004 - October
2005 - April
2005 - October
2006 - June
2006 - October
2007 - April
2007 - October
2008 - April
2008 - October
2009 - April
2009 - October 4.10
5.04
5.10
6.06
6.10
7.04
7.10
8.04
8.10
9.04
9.10 Warty Warthog
Hoary Hedgehog
Breezy Badger
Dapper Drake
Edgy Eft
Feisty Fawn
Gutsy Gibbon
Hardy Heron
Intrepid Ibex
Jaunty Jackalope
Karmic Koala

To check your Ubuntu version, read the /etc/lsb-release file:

#cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=7.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=feisty
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 7.04"

To check your Linux kernel version, use the following command:

#uname -r
2.6.22-10-generic