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SAINT PETERSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS them. prof. M.A. Bonch-Bruevich
Faculty of evening and distance learning
Coursework on the topic
Operating system Ubuntu
Completed:
Matuzov Alexander Vladimirovich
St. Petersburg
Ubuntu. The history of development
Ubuntu (Zulu "humanity") is a distribution that uses the Linux kernel and is based on the Debian distribution. The main developer and sponsor is Canonical. Currently, the project is actively developed and supported by the free community.
The usual new version of the distribution comes out every 6 months and is supported by security updates for 18 months, and the LTS version (from the English Long Term Support - "long-term support"), which comes out every 2 years, is supported for 3 years (server version - in over 5 years).
Ubuntu comes with a selection software for servers and workstations. Using a CD-, DVD- or USB flash drive, it is installed on desktop personal computers c using LiveCD, LiveUSB or text installer. The LiveDVD version contains several great opportunities- starting from installation not only in graphical, but also in text modes, booting in system recovery mode and ending with full localization and large quantity packages on disk.
Main characteristics
Developer - Canonical Ltd.
OS family - Linux
Based on - Debian
Latest Version - 14.04 (Utopic Unicorn) - April 10, 2014
Supported languages - various, including Russian
Kernel Type - Modular Linux Kernel
Interface - Unity
Status - Active
Story
The history of Ubuntu dates back to April 2004. But before talking about Ubuntu itself, it is worth mentioning some of the key figures and events that preceded its appearance.
Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Rimchard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur and the second space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and, as of 2010, leads the development of the operating system ubuntu linux.
He currently lives on the Isle of Man, has South African citizenship and British citizenship.
Born - September 18, 1973. Founded the second largest certificate authority on the entire Internet, second only to Verising. In December 1999, he sold Thawte to Verising for, according to him, $580 million.
In 2001, Shuttleworth founded the Shuttleworth Foundation (TSF), a non-profit organization based in South Africa. The Foundation was founded to finance, develop and implement innovations in the field of education.
Shuttleworth achieved worldwide fame on April 25, 2002, becoming the second commercial spaceflight participant. He went into space aboard Soyuz TM-34, paying Space Adventures nearly $20 million for the trip.
Shuttleworth spent 2 days in the Soyuz rocket and 8 days on the International Space Station, where he took part in experiments on the study of AIDS and the genome. In early May 2002, Mark Shuttleworth returned to Earth.
Shuttleworth was a big fan of the Debian project. However, there were many things about Debian that didn't fit with his vision of the ideal OS. For some time, Shuttleworth considered becoming a Debian project leader to reform the project from within. A little later it became clear that the best solution is not to work within the Debian project, which in many situations has had good reasons to stay on the path it has evolved. Instead, Mark decided to build new project, which would work in symbiosis with Debian, to create a new one, the best system GNU/Linux.
To start this project, in April 2004, Shuttleworth invited a dozen or so Debian developers he knew personally to his London apartment. It was at this meeting that the foundation of the Ubuntu project was laid. During the meeting, the team that eventually grew into the core Ubuntu Developers, made a list of ideas that she would like to see in her ideal OS. This list is now familiar to most Ubuntu users:
Predictable and frequent release cycles;
Emphasis on localization and accessibility;
Emphasis on ease of use and user friendliness;
Emphasis on use Python language as the only programming language with which the entire system can be built and extended;
A community-driven approach that has already worked with existing open projects and a method by which development teams could bring their work back on the fly;
A new set of tools built around the distribution development process that would allow developers to interact with an ecosystem of different projects and that would allow them to receive maximum return from users.
There was a clear understanding within the group that actions were more important than words, so there were no public statements or press releases. Instead, the group set themselves a deadline of 6 months. Shuttleworth agreed to fund the work and pay the developers full time.
Creation of Canonical
Shuttleworth wanted to collect some the best people to work with global open source communities. Instead of moving every worker to one location or office, Shuttleworth decided to combine them into a "virtual company". Although this solution had obvious disadvantages in the form of high latency and low bandwidth connections, different time zones and much more, it also promised benefits in the specific context of the project. Everyone in the company could use IRC, mailing list and a variety of online communications in order to do their job. In its first year, the most office-like space was Shuttleworth's personal apartment in London. Over time, the company grew and became known as Canonical. The name was a tribute to optimism - to become the canonical support site for free software, Ubuntu in particular.
Development
Ubuntu was originally created on October 20, 2004 as a temporary fork of Debian with the goal of regularly releasing a new version of the distribution every six months. Unlike other general purpose offshoots of Debian (Xandros), Canonical has remained close to the Debian philosophy and includes mostly free software in Ubuntu instead of relying in part on non-free add-ons.
Peculiarities
Ubuntu is focused on convenience and ease of use. It includes the widespread use of the sudo utility, which allows users to perform administrative tasks without starting a potentially dangerous root session.
Ubuntu is based on the GNOME desktop system, which is designed to provide a free, simple and intuitive interface, offering a full range of modern desktop applications. In addition to the applications included with GNOME, Ubuntu comes with additional software, including OpenOffice.org, the Mozilla Firefox web browser.
Version 6.06 and later combine the LiveCD and installation CD into one CD. This disk loads a full desktop, allowing users to see if their hardware is supported and experiment with available applications, and then install Ubuntu on your hard drive using the Ubiquity graphical installer. The installation process saves documents created on the "live" desktop. There is also alternative installation, using debian-installer, for people who understand the system at a deeper level. The distribution kit includes a program for creating a bootable LiveUSB based on USB flash disk, which has all the features of LiveCD and installation CD.
Releases
The original name of the Ubuntu project was no-name-yet.com.
A new version of the system is released every six months, in April and October. The first part of the version number (before the dot) corresponds to the last two digits of the year, the second part - serial number month of release. For example, Ubuntu 4.10 means it was released in October 2004.
Release codenames are chosen so that the first letter of the new title is next in alphabetical order to the first letter of the previous one. This makes it easier to recognize version numbers from a codename.
The release date for the new version is calculated to be approximately one month after the release of the new version of GNOME and X11. Usually, every new version of Ubuntu contains the latest version of GNOME and X.org (a free and open source implementation of the X Window System server).
In future releases, one of the planned changes is to change the default desktop shell from GNOME Shell to Unity, but Jono Bacon, Canonical Community Manager, said developers will continue to support and contribute to GNOME development. Standard player Rhythmbox will be replaced by Banshee. office suite OpenOffice.org will be replaced by LibreOffice.
Linux distributions based on Ubuntu
Under the Ubuntu branding guidelines, Canonical recognizes 2 flavors of distributions based on Ubuntu:
Ubuntu Derivative Distribution: A distribution that differs markedly from Ubuntu. Of these, only distributions that have received the status of officially supported by Canonical are supported. For other distributions, Canonical makes no commitment and does not guarantee compatibility with Ubuntu.
Ubuntu build (Ubuntu Remix): a distribution based on Ubuntu and not significantly different from it. Differences may relate to the set of programs installed by default, settings, etc. Mandatory conditions to obtain the build status are ensuring full compatibility with Ubuntu, using official packages located in the Ubuntu repository, the non-commercial nature of the distribution, etc. Assemblies always have the word Ubuntu in the name, clarify the purpose of the assembly and the word Remix.
Examples:
Kubuntu- Ubuntu distribution with a worker KDE table default. Officially supported by Canonical.
Ubuntu Russian Remix - A build made for convenient use Ubuntu on office and home computers in Russia.
Sabily - The distribution is aimed at the Muslim part of Ubuntu users, as it contains a lot of specific software for the life of Muslims right out of the box and other features, such as sound, wallpaper, theme.
Notable facts of implementation and use
In 2007, the French Parliament refused Windows usage XP and switched to using Ubuntu. In 2008, a decision was also announced to systematically transfer more than 70,000 French police computers to Ubuntu.
At Google, employees use an OS called Goobuntu as their workspace, a modified distribution.
Ubuntu is used as the main operating system on the servers of the Wikipedia project.
Windows 7 vs Ubuntu 10.4
Desktop
Contains 4 elements:
1. Start button. In the lower left corner is the Start button. After clicking on it, a menu of the same name opens, allowing you to select and run the desired program.
2. Taskbar. Located along the bottom edge of the desktop. It contains all the files and programs that the user is currently working with, as well as icons for quick access to the most commonly used programs (on the left) and status indicators for some programs and processes (on the right).
3. Shopping cart. This icon resembles a small trash can and represents special place, which is placed recently deleted files, which makes it easy to restore any of them if necessary.
4. Gadgets. These items are optional and can be removed from the desktop if desired. Windows 7 includes a number of customizable mini-applications (gadgets) whose icons and windows are pinned to the desktop in their designated area.
The main menu consists of 3 items:
5. Applications (Applications) - contains a list of programs installed on the computer, sorted by type.
6. Places (Transition) - designed to work with files and directories. It contains links to directories, icons of connected devices and other elements.
7. System (System) - contains various programs system management, divided into 2 categories and help.
Next to the main menu are buttons for quick launch, then - the system tray, where the icons of some applications are located, by default - the indicator of the current layout and the Internet connection management snail.
Between the clock and three is the notification applet. It is needed in order to track various events and show information about them to the user (sound control icon).
The applet on which your login is written allows you to manage your status in various Internet services. The shutdown icon is needed to manage the session with the computer.
Bottom panel: in the left corner, the button for minimizing all open windows, followed by a list of all running applications. In the right corner - the applet for switching desktops (of which there are 4) and the button to open the basket.
Software
Gnome Commander for Ubuntu - replacement Total Commander for Windows
Surely a great many people when working in Windows already has been using for many years file manager Total Commander. On the this moment a good option for Ubuntu is Gnome Commander. Lightweight in every sense, swings and works quickly.
Sylpheed mail client instead Outlook Express(and similar)
Built into Ubuntu mail program Evolution is designed for very patient and diligent people. Heavy, clumsy and not without quirks. Therefore, it is better to use Sylpheed. Works with lightning speed, as befits a self-respecting simple program.
What replaces Excel in Ubuntu
First, Gnimeric. Second, OpenOffice.org Spreadsheets. Documents created in Excel open without problems. And vice versa. Gnimeric is a simpler program, but faster. Usually included in distributions that are remakes of Ubuntu for not very powerful computers.
What replaces Word in Ubuntu
First, AbiWord. Fast and lightweight application. But it is better to use in lightweight or not so new versions of Ubuntu. Second, the OpenOffice.org Text Editor. Or, as the English original calls it, OpenOffice.org Writer. The quirks of the program boil down to the fact that in order to insert page numbers, you must first create a header for them, and then perform the above action into it. In newer versions, spelling dictionaries are added as normal add-ons. Otherwise, the differences from Word are insignificant. AT given time included with Ubuntu.
Notepad analogue
Files in the "plain text" format (with the extension .txt) in Windows open in Notepad. Convenient program. But Gedit in Ubuntu is just as good.
How to burn laser discs
For burning CDs and DVDs, Ubuntu has Brazero. Simple, you can understand the interface very easily and quickly. What do you need ordinary user? Insert a disc into the drive and write some data to it. Or burn out of the image. Or create a traditional music CD-audio. All this can be done in Brazero.
Presentations
Of course, OpenOffice.org Presentations. However, if you entered the menu section with office programs, then they probably already found it without a hint.
Video editors
First of all, the Pitivi editor included with Ubuntu. Is analogue of Windows movie maker. Well, for simple cutting and transcoding of video - Avidemux GTK + (namely, the version of GTK +, classic). However, to call this program simple somehow even embarrassing, because it has a lot of opportunities. At least, no less than the notorious VirtualDub application for Windows (there is also an Avidemux variant for this OS).
Audio editors
We continue to list software that has versions for both Windows and Ubuntu. For editing audio files, seasoned people recommend Audacity. Edit, mix, add effects, clean up noise. If you are an aspiring DJ then this is for you.
Raster graphic editors
There is no Linux version of Photoshop, it is a commercial (and very expensive) program. But for home users, GIMP is fine. (There's also a version for Windows, by the way, if you want to check it out before switching to Ubuntu.) That is, if you don't run a photo studio or do professional photo editing, then GIMP will suffice. Moreover, the program is actively developing and gradually pulling itself up to Photoshop in terms of functionality.
Editor for vector graphics
operating system ubuntu distribution
Everything is simple here: Coral Draw in Ubuntu is replaced by Inkscape(also has a version for Windows). If you have worked in Corel Draw, then switching to Inkscape will not be difficult for you. Soon you won't even notice the difference.
prospects
Ubuntu founder Mark Shumtleworth believes that Linux will the best foundation for new mobile platforms. Canonical itself is working on a project called Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded, which plans to create Ubuntu version to work on "mobile Internet devices".
Bibliography
1 ) Benjamin Mako hill and others. Ubuntu Linux: The Official Tutorial = The Official Ubuntu Book. - M.: Triumph, 2008. - 384 p.
2 ) http://en. wikipedia.org/ wiki/ ubuntu
3 ) http://ubuntologia.ru/
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How does this operating system differ from the generally accepted and well-known Windows?
Here are the main differences and advantages of Ubuntu:
Free.
"Ubuntu will always and everywhere be distributed free of charge, including corporate versions and security updates. "So says its creator Mark Shuttleworth, and the founder of Canonical. Previously, Mark was the developer of another Linux project called Debian, which is considered very stable among Linuxoids. It is on Debian that Ubuntu is based. Nowadays, almost every user personal computer Windows is installed. And if we take users from the CIS, then those who bought a license for the system from Microsoft can be counted on the fingers, figuratively of course. It follows from this that all the rest are, in fact, thieves. And using Ubuntu, you absolutely legally use this "OS".
Safety.
You can forget like a nightmare about viruses. There are viruses for Linux systems, but their number is negligible. AT recent times, many Windows users, are blocked by computers as a result of hitting HDD ransomware virus. In the warning text on the monitor, you are asked to pay a certain amount for visiting not very good sites (examples of blockers below).
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Hardware support.
In almost 90% of cases, after installing Ubuntu on your computer or laptop, you immediately have a network working, sound, screen resolution of the right size, Wi-Fi, printers, etc. working. The system itself, without your help, downloads the necessary drivers from its server (repository).
Although there are some Problems .
Ready to work immediately after installation.
Immediately after installing Windows, your system may not have sound or video, may not open PDF files, DOC, DjVu, etc., you will not be able to open 7ZIP, RAR, ZIP archives due to the lack of the necessary codecs and programs. But in the case of Ubuntu, all these files and archives work out of the box. The operating system is ready to work with audio-video files, common archives, text documents, etc. immediately after installation.
Stability.
Unlike Windows, Ubuntu and other systems based on Linux kernels, work much more stable. There are no such cases when a hung program can "put down" the entire system. If the program freezes, then you simply "kill" it and continue to work on. Usually Ubuntu can work for months without reboots, and no "brakes" or "freezes" are observed.
Ability to run the application from Windows.
There is a program called Wine as part of Ubuntu. This is a kind of program that serves as an interlayer between Linux and win-applications. A kind of environment emulator for programs and games from the Windows world. There is an official website of the Wine project, where there are statistics of games and applications that have been, or with difficulty, installed in Ubuntu. These applications are divided into categories. The Platinum and Gold categories indicate games and programs that have been installed and work without problems. What is called "Install and work".
Read more.
There is also a PlayOnLinux program that uses the aforementioned Wine, and with its help you can install a huge variety of programs, and most importantly games. This program is more suitable for a beginner in Ubuntu. It is enough to download the game, from the program list to the hard one, and then it's a matter of technology. The list of games is very large.
Ubuntu Application Center.
This is a repository of programs and libraries, which are divided into categories for convenience (Internet, Office, Audio-video, System, Games, etc.) and number several tens of thousands. By choosing desired program and entering just your personal password, you can install the program without any problems. While in Windows, you need to click on the OK button or Next several times.
Many programs you have used on Windows also work well on Ubuntu. Here you will find Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Skype, Audacity, Blender, GIMP, Inkscape, VLC, FileZilla, LibreOffice and etc.
Security of all your data.
In Windows, all your program settings, browser bookmarks, the My Documents folder are located on the C drive. Many users are very fond of storing documents, photos, music, etc. on the Desktop, which by the way is also located on drive C. After a system crash, or a crash after a power outage, due to viruses, Windows usually refuses to boot, which means that you need to install the system from scratch. This means that all your data that was on the Desktop and in other folders on drive C will be lost.
In Ubuntu, this does not threaten you. Why? Because the settings of all programs, browser bookmarks, all folders, such as: My Documents, Music, Photos, and the Desktop, are NOT ON THE SYSTEM PARTITION OF THE DISK! (Although you first need to correctly partition the disk). This means that even after full reinstallation systems, all your important, and not so files, will remain safe and sound.
Large range of system appearance.
You have the opportunity to change the appearance of the system (desktop environment) to your liking. Currently, Ubuntu uses its proprietary graphical environment, Unity. But there are distributions in the Ubuntu family that use a different graphical environment (LXDE, KDE, Gnome, Xfce). You can change the appearance of Ubuntu yourself by downloading and installing the desired shell, or by installing any build from the Ubuntu family (Kubuntu-uses KDE, Lubuntu-uses LXDE, Xubuntu-uses Xfce, Ubuntu Gnome-uses Gnome, or install Linux distribution Mint, which is based on Ubuntu and uses Mate, Cinamon, KDE, etc.)
Ubuntu - Humanity
In Ubuntu, you can do everything that you did before in Windows:
- listen to music
- watch films
- download files from torrent trackers
- do video editing
- create slideshow
- edit spreadsheets, text files and presentations
- process audio and video files
- encode video files to popular formats (avi, dvd, mkv, mp4)
- encode audio files to popular formats (mp3, audio cd, ogg, wav, flac)
- surf the Internet (Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium, Opera...)
- process and catalog your photos
- work with websites
- send and receive email
- chat with friends on skype
- run many Windows applications
- record desktop and take screenshots
- work with archives
- full support for ISO images
- burn CD/DVD discs
- capture video footage from cameras
- and much more
Many Windows users still naively believe that Linux is only for programmers and system administrators. This is an erroneous misconception. Ubuntu Linux has been out of the role for a long time catching up, but most likely in the role of an ideal system that adopted the best moments from the operating room macOS systems X, from the well-known Apple company, which is still considered reference system from all existing ones. Recent benchmarks comparing performance between macOS and Ubuntu have made Ubuntu the winner in this debate.
Canonical and its unchanging leader Mark Shuttleworth created an operating system that, of all Linux distributions, has stepped far and made a huge contribution to the popularization of Linux. From 2014 there will be a version of Ubuntu for tablets, as well as for mobile phones. Canonical is the only company that produces operating systems based on the Linux kernel for computers, laptops, tablets, mobile devices, as well as SMART TV.
Ubuntu games
Until recently, it was believed that games for Linux systems do not exist, and if they do, then this is a parody of games. But the situation is changing dramatically and very quickly. New game clientSteam for Linux, by Valve. One of the developers of this company stated that new Windows 8 failed miserably as a gaming system. In this dispute, Ubuntu 13.04 looks much more preferable than the craft from Microsoft. Therefore, it was decided to create a game client for Linux. Many games have already been ported for this environment, and work is just beginning. Therefore, it is already safe to say that Ubuntu is becoming a gaming platform.
The following games are already available:
- Serious Sam 3: BFE,
- Trine 2 Amnesia: The Dark Descent,
- Steel Storm, Solar 2,
- Crusader Kings II,
- half life 2,
- Team Fortress 2,
- Left 4 Dead 2,
- counterstrike,
- Counter Strike: Source,
- Counter Strike: Condition Zero,
- portal,
- Day of Defeat: Source,
- postal,
- postal 2,
- Bastion,
- Day of Defeat,
- X3: Terran Conflict,
- Anomaly: Warzone Earth,
- Penumbra Overture,
- X3: Albion Prelude,
- Cogs, Expeditions: Conquistador,
- killing floor,
- Champions of Regnum
And this is not the whole list of supported games. At the moment, and this is at the beginning of August 2013, there are more than 140 games on the list for Linux. This list is constantly updated.
The entire list of games for Steam can be viewed
Half Life 2
The history of Ubuntu dates back to April 2004.
But before talking about Ubuntu itself, it is worth mentioning some of the key figures and events that preceded its appearance.
No Ubuntu story is complete without the story of its founder, Mark Shuttleworth.
Mark Shuttleworth was born in 1973 in the city of Wellcome, Free State, South Africa. He attended the reputable Diocesan College and received a doctorate in finance and information systems at the University of Cape Town.
During this period, Mark was passionate about computers and became active participant communities open source. By at least indirectly, he was involved in the Apache and Debian projects, and was the first person to upload Apache web server, probably the most important server application for the GNU/Linux platform, to the Debian project archives.
Seeing the possibilities and potential of the internet, Shuttleworth founded a certificate authority and internet security company called Thawte in his garage. In a few years, he has grown Thawte into the second largest certificate authority on the entire Internet, second only to security whale Verisign.
By the way, Thawte products and services were built and maintained by free software. In December 1999, Shuttleworth sold Thawte to Verisign for an undisclosed sum that was rumored to be in the hundreds of millions of US dollars.
With such a fortune at a young age, Shuttleworth could have enjoyed a comfortable life. But instead, he decided to realize his cherished dream - to go on a space journey.
After paying roughly $20 million to the Russian space program and devoting about a year to training, including learning the Russian language and training in Star City, Shuttleworth fulfilled his dream as a civilian cosmonaut aboard the Russian Soyuz TM-34.
Shuttleworth spent 2 days in the Soyuz rocket and 8 days on the International Space Station, where he took part in experiments on the study of AIDS and the genome. In early May 2002, Mark Shuttleworth returned to Earth.
In addition to space exploration and pleasure trips to Antarctica, Shuttleworth has played an active role as a philanthropist and venture capitalist. In 2001, Shuttleworth founded the Shuttleworth Foundation (TSF), a non-profit organization based in South Africa. The Foundation was founded to finance, develop and implement innovations in the field of education. Of course, free software was also used as a means by which TSF tried to achieve its goals. Through these projects, the organization has become one of the most prominent proponents of open source software in South Africa and the world.
In the field of venture capital, Shuttleworth has promoted research, development and entrepreneurship in South Africa with strategic injections Money into startups through a new venture capital firm called HBD, which stands for Here Be Dragons. During this period, Shuttleworth was busy brainstorming for his next major project, which would eventually become Ubuntu.
There was no shortage of projects that tried to combine GNU, Linux, and other bits of open source and free software into a neat, workable, and user-friendly shell. Mark Shuttleworth, like most people, believed that the philosophical and pragmatic benefits of free software would set the course for future success. However, none of the existing proposals were particularly impressive. Something was missing in each of them. Shuttleworth saw potential in this.
Shuttleworth, like many other techies, was a big fan of the Debian project. However, there were many things about Debian that didn't fit with his vision of the ideal OS. For some time, Shuttleworth considered becoming a Debian project leader to reform the project from within. A little later, it became clear that the best solution was not to work inside the Debian project, which in many situations had good reasons to stay on the path it developed. Instead, Mark decided to build a new project that would work in symbiosis with Debian to create a new, better GNU/Linux system.
To start this project, in April 2004, Shuttleworth invited a dozen or so Debian developers he knew personally to his London apartment. It was at this meeting that the foundation of the Ubuntu project was laid. During the meeting, the team that eventually grew into the core of Ubuntu developers came up with a list of ideas they would like to see in their ideal OS. This list is now familiar to most Ubuntu users:
- Predictable and frequent release cycles;
- Emphasis on localization and accessibility;
- Emphasis on ease of use and user friendliness;
- Emphasis on using the Python language as the only programming language with which the entire system can be built and extended;
- A community-driven approach that already worked with existing open source projects and a method by which development teams could bring their work back on the go;
- A new set of tools built around the distribution's development process, which would allow developers to interact with the ecosystem of various projects and which would allow them to get the most out of users.
There was a clear understanding within the group that actions were more important than words, so there were no public statements or press releases. Instead, the group set themselves a deadline of 6 months. Shuttleworth agreed to fund the work and pay the developers full time. After six months, they will announce the project and present the first fruits of their work. They also made a list of goals that they would like to achieve within a set time frame and appointed responsible persons.
What does "ubuntu" mean?
The Warthogs, as they called themselves, were a great team, with a clear set of goals and ideas on how to achieve most of them. On the other hand, the team did not have a name for their project. Shuttleworth strongly insisted on calling the project "Ubuntu".
Ubuntu is a concept and term from several South African languages, including Zulu and Xhosa. The definition of "ubuntu" is difficult to translate into Russian, but in in general terms it means "humanity towards others" or "I am because we are". Some describe ubuntu as "belief in a universal force that binds all of humanity".
Ubuntu turned out to be a term that succinctly expressed where the project came from, where it is going and how it plans to do it. The name was perfect and it finally stuck.
Creation of Canonical
In order to pay core developers to work on Ubuntu, Shuttleworth needed to start a company. He wanted to bring together some of the best people to work with the global open source communities. These communities do not know national and geographical boundaries. Instead of moving every worker to one location or office, Shuttleworth decided to combine them into a "virtual company". While this solution had obvious disadvantages in terms of high latency and low bandwidth connections, different time zones, and more, it also promised benefits in the specific context of the project. The distributed nature of the workforce meant that new company can hire individuals without requiring them to move to new country. Everyone in the company could use IRC, mailing lists, and a variety of online communications to get their work done. In its first year, the most office-like space was Shuttleworth's personal apartment in London.
Over time, the company grew and became known as Canonical. The name was a nod to optimistic predictions to become the canonical support site for free software, Ubuntu in particular. And it's also a common word in programmer slang. It is important to note that, unlike a monopoly, being canonical does not mean having an exclusive right to something. Other companies will support Ubuntu and develop operating systems based on it. But as long as Canonical does a good job, its role will remain central.
A person who first heard the name Ubuntu will quite logically ask the question: "What is it?" Ubuntu Linux is a free operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux.How does this operating system differ from the generally accepted and well-known Windows?
Here are the main differences and advantages of Ubuntu:
Free.
"Ubuntu will be distributed free of charge anytime, anywhere, including corporate editions and security updates." So says its creator Mark Shuttleworth, and founder of Canonical. Previously, Mark was the developer of another Linux project called Debian, which is considered very stable among Linux users. Ubuntu is based on Debian. Nowadays, almost every user of a personal computer has Windows installed. And if we take users from the CIS, then those who bought a license for the system from Microsoft can be counted on the fingers, figuratively of course. It follows from this that all the rest are, in fact, thieves. And using Ubuntu, you absolutely legally use this "OS".
Safety.
You can forget like a nightmare about viruses. There are viruses for Linux systems, but their number is negligible. Recently, many Windows users have been subjected to computer lockdown as a result of a ransomware virus getting onto their hard drive. In the warning text on the monitor, you are asked to pay a certain amount for visiting not very good sites (examples of blockers below).
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Hardware support.
In almost 90% of cases, after installing Ubuntu on your computer or laptop, you immediately have a network working, sound, screen resolution of the right size, Wi-Fi, printers, etc. working. The system itself, without your help, downloads the necessary drivers from its server ().
Although there are some .
Ready to work immediately after installation.
Immediately after installing Windows, sound may not work and video may not be played on your system, PDF, DOC, DjVu files, etc. may not open, you will not be able to open 7ZIP, RAR, ZIP archives, due to the lack of the necessary codecs and programs. But in the case of Ubuntu, all these files and archives work out of the box. The operating system is ready to work with audio-video files, common archives, text documents, etc. immediately after installation.
Stability.
Unlike Windows, Ubuntu and other systems based on the Linux kernel are much more stable. There are no such cases when a hung program can "put down" the entire system. If the program freezes, then you simply "kill" it and continue to work on. Usually Ubuntu can work for months without reboots, and no "brakes" or "freezes" are observed.
Ability to run the application from Windows.
There is a program called Wine as part of Ubuntu. This is a kind of program that serves as an interlayer between Linux and win-applications. A kind of environment emulator for programs and games from the Windows world. There is an official website of the Wine project, where there are statistics of games and applications that have been, or with difficulty, installed in Ubuntu. These applications are divided into categories. The Platinum and Gold categories indicate games and programs that have been installed and work without problems. What is called "Install and work".
Read more.
There is also a PlayOnLinux program that uses the aforementioned Wine, and with its help you can install a huge variety of programs, and most importantly games. This program is more suitable for a beginner in Ubuntu. It is enough to download the game, from the program list to the hard one, and then it's a matter of technology. The list of games is very large.
Ubuntu Application Center.
This is a repository of programs and libraries, which are divided into categories for convenience (Internet, Office, Audio-video, System, Games, etc.) and number several tens of thousands. By selecting the desired program and entering just your personal password, you can install the program without any problems. While in Windows, you need to click on the OK button or Next several times.
Many programs you have used on Windows also work well on Ubuntu. Here you will find Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Skype, Audacity, Blender, GIMP, Inkscape, VLC, FileZilla, LibreOffice and etc.
Security of all your data.
In Windows, all your program settings, browser bookmarks, the My Documents folder are located on the C drive. Many users are very fond of storing documents, photos, music, etc. on the Desktop, which by the way is also located on drive C. After a system crash, or a crash after a power outage, due to viruses, Windows usually refuses to boot, which means that you need to install the system from scratch. This means that all your data that was on the Desktop and in other folders on drive C will be lost.
In Ubuntu, this does not threaten you. Why? Because the settings of all programs, browser bookmarks, all folders, such as: My Documents, Music, Photos, and the Desktop, are NOT ON THE SYSTEM PARTITION OF THE DISK! (Although you first need to correctly partition the disk). And this suggests that even after a complete reinstallation of the system, all your important, and not very files, will remain safe and sound.
Large range of system appearance.
You have the opportunity to change the appearance of the system (desktop environment) to your liking. Currently, Ubuntu uses its proprietary graphical environment, Unity. But there are distributions in the Ubuntu family that use a different graphical environment (LXDE, KDE, Gnome, Xfce). You can change the appearance of Ubuntu yourself by downloading and installing the desired shell, or by installing any assembly from the Ubuntu family (Kubuntu-uses KDE, Lubuntu-uses LXDE, Xubuntu-uses Xfce, Ubuntu Gnome-uses Gnome, or install the distro Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu and uses Mate, Cinamon, KDE, etc.)
Ubuntu - Humanity
In Ubuntu, you can do everything that you did before in Windows:
- listen to music
- watch films
- download files from torrent trackers
- do video editing
- create slideshow
- edit spreadsheets, text files and presentations
- process audio and video files
- encode video files to popular formats (avi, dvd, mkv, mp4)
- encode audio files to popular formats (mp3, audio cd, ogg, wav, flac)
- surf the Internet (Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium, Opera...)
- process and catalog your photos
- work with websites
- send and receive email
- chat with friends on skype
- run many Windows applications
- record desktop and take screenshots
- work with archives
- full support for ISO images
- burn CD/DVD discs
- capture video footage from cameras
- and much more
Many Windows users still naively believe that Linux is only for programmers and system administrators. This is an erroneous misconception. Ubuntu Linux has been out of the role for a long time catching up, but most likely in the role of an ideal system that adopted the best moments from the MacOS X operating system, from the well-known Apple company, which is still considered the reference system of all existing ones. Recent benchmarks comparing performance between macOS and Ubuntu have made Ubuntu the winner in this debate.
Canonical and its unchanging leader Mark Shuttleworth created an operating system that, of all Linux distributions, has stepped far and made a huge contribution to the popularization of Linux. From 2014 there will be a version of Ubuntu for tablets, as well as for mobile phones. Canonical is the only company that produces operating systems based on the Linux kernel for computers, laptops, tablets, mobile devices, and SMART TV.
Ubuntu games
Until recently, it was believed that games for Linux systems do not exist, and if they do, then this is a parody of games. But the situation is changing dramatically and very quickly. New game clientSteam for Linux, by Valve. One of the developers of this company said that the new Windows 8 failed miserably as a gaming system. In this dispute, Ubuntu 13.04 looks much more preferable than the craft from Microsoft. Therefore, it was decided to create a game client for Linux. Many games have already been ported for this environment, and work is just beginning. Therefore, it is already safe to say that Ubuntu is becoming a gaming platform.
The following games are already available:
- Serious Sam 3: BFE,
- Trine 2, Amnesia: The Dark Descent,
- Steel Storm, Solar 2,
- Crusader Kings II,
- half life 2,
- Team Fortress 2,
- Left 4 Dead 2,
- counterstrike,
- Counter Strike: Source,
- Counter Strike: Condition Zero,
- portal,
- Day of Defeat: Source,
- postal,
- postal 2,
- Bastion,
- Day of Defeat,
- X3: Terran Conflict,
- Anomaly: Warzone Earth,
- Penumbra Overture,
- X3: Albion Prelude,
- Cogs, Expeditions: Conquistador,
- killing floor,
- Champions of Regnum
And this is not the whole list of supported games. At the moment, and this is at the beginning of August 2013, there are more than 140 games on the list for Linux. This list is constantly updated.
The entire list of games for Steam can be viewed
Half Life 2
