Ubuntu (IPA pronunciation /ùbúntú/) 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.

Ubuntu’s first release was on October 20, 2004, which began by making a temporary fork of the Debian Linux project.

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 characterized 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.

“Free” software here includes only that which meets the Ubuntu license requirements, 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.”)

Take a quick look :

Website: http://www.ubuntu.com/
Company/developer: Canonical Ltd./Ubuntu Foundation
OS family: Linux
Source model: Free and Open Source Software
Latest stable release: 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) / April 19, 2007
Latest unstable release: 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) / October 18, 2007
Update method: APT, Synaptic
Package manager: dpkg
Supported platforms: i386, AMD64, PowerPC, PlayStation, UltraSPARC
Kernel type: Monolithic kernel
Default user interface: GNOME Graphical User Interface

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