When looking into a new operating system most of us first look at the practical application and usability of the system, if we’re still interested we usually look for support and reviews. Once we have determined that this new OS seems reasonable and we have a simple grasp of how to use it some of us actually look into the history. So let us do exactly that. Let’s look into the Operating System that is what some would consider the first modern competitor to MS Windows and Apple OS. Let us look to Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an Operating System that can be used on most current PC or Mac desktops, laptops, netbooks and servers. The name is from South Africa and stands for “humanity towards others” or “a person is a person through other people” which is representative of its open-source community based ideology. In short, Ubuntu is a Linux interface wrapped around a UNIX core. Without getting into too many specifics Ubuntu is a “flavor” of Linux that has been developed based off of the Debian Linux model and adheres to UNIX standards.
When thinking about practicality many have been turned off by UNIX and Linux releases by the limited graphical user interface or “GUI”. Most users want to be able to “just turn it on and make it work”. Ubuntu is one of the many flavors of Linux that is making major headway moving towards a much more accessible and enjoyable desktop interaction than was previously associated with Linux. Ubuntu has a classic desktop environment which utilizes many of the best features of any Mac or Windows desktop environment. Typically, the idea was that Linux was only for geeks or techy nerds. The power of Linux was also its most imposing feature. The command line based systems offer tremendous amounts usability, security and control over GUI systems, but they require a level of patience have a learning curve. The truth is that with Ubuntu the average Mac or PC user can do fine due to the blending of both command line and GUI.
As far as the usability we tend to look at applications and support. Granted, with the vast majority of software and support being open-source and community based there will be many programs, such as video games and 3D animation software, that won’t run straight out of the box. The upside of the open-source movement is that any question out there is only a few forum trips away. For any program out there that you currently pay for or pirate from the bay, there is already another program out there for free. The ideology of open-source development is that once a product is out there and free to use and tweak it will continue to grow and evolve with the needs and use of community. This provides fertile ground for community help in the way of support from forums, help articles and tutorials on everything from downloading programs and opening files to kernel scripting. As well, intrinsic in the ideology of open-source software is the tenet that the community will determine how the software improves and not the commercial enterprise.
Last, when looking into the history of Ubuntu it is important to keep in mind the open-source community that were just discussing. Ubuntu was derived from a previous Linux distribution known as Debian and has been widely accepted and appreciated due in part to the great care it has taken not only to make the distribution free, powerful and secure, but also to making Ubuntu extremely user friendly and enjoyable to use. The focus of Ubuntu has always been usability and security. The core of Ubuntu is that of an OS created in 1964 called Unix, which was then modified by a guy named Linus Torvalds and thus became Linux, which in turn joined the Free-Software movement and has been the basis for a multitude of operating systems since then. Ubuntu just came out to be the favorite at the moment. You should really check it out some time. Really, you should. Plus you can even keep the OS you have installed now. It’s called dual booting, now get out there and try something new today.
