Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution. It is named after the Southern African ethical ideology Ubuntu (philosophy) ("humanity towards others") and is distributed as free and open source software with additional proprietary software available. Ubuntu provides an up-to-date, stable operating system for the average user, with a strong focus on usability and ease of installation.

Ubuntu is composed of multiple software packages, of which the vast majority are distributed under a free software license also known as open source. The main license used is the GNU General Public License which, along with the GNU Lesser General Public License (GNU LGPL), explicitly declares that users are free to run, copy, distribute, study, change, develop and improve the software. Ubuntu is sponsored by the UK-based company Canonical Ltd., owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. By keeping Ubuntu free and open source, Canonical is able to utilize the talents of community developers in Ubuntu's constituent components. Instead of selling Ubuntu for profit, Canonical creates revenue by selling technical support and from creating several services tied to Ubuntu.

Canonical endorses and provides support for three additional Ubuntu-derived operating systems: Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Ubuntu Server Edition. There are several other derivative operating systems including local language and hardware-specific versions.

Canonical releases new versions of Ubuntu every six months and supports Ubuntu for eighteen months by providing security fixes, patches to critical bugs and minor updates to programs. LTS (Long Term Support) versions, which are released every two years, are supported for three years on the desktop and five years for servers. The 12th release of Ubuntu, 10.04 Lucid Lynx]}, was released on April 29, 2010. [[Maverick Meerkat 10.10 released was on 10 October 2010. It is 13th release of Ubuntu. It is supported until April 2012 10.10.

History and development proces
Ubuntu is a fork of the Debian project's code base. The original aim was to release a new version of Ubuntu every six months, resulting in a more frequently updated system. Ubuntu's first release was on October 20, 2004.

The New York Times reported in January 2009 that Ubuntu had over ten million users. In June 2009 ZDNet reported, "Worldwide, there are 13 million active Ubuntu users with use growing faster than any other distribution.

On 4 March 2010 Ubuntu, announced a new style for Ubuntu with the theme "Light" with the release of Lucid Lynx 10.04 LTS on 29 April 2010 and it will define the look and feel for several years. Ubuntu says that "Light" defines the new design's goal to conserve a users resources.

Distribution
Ubuntu Server An official derivative made for use in servers. Ubuntu Server handles mail, controls printers, acts as a file server, can host LAMP and more.

Kubuntu. An official derivative of Ubuntu using KDE instead of the GNOME which is used by default in Ubuntu.

Xubuntu. An official derivative of Ubuntu using Xfce. Xubuntu is intended for use on less-powerful computers or those who seek a highly efficient desktop environment on faster systems, and uses mostly GTK+ applications. Lubuntu. Lubuntu is a project that is intended to lead to an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system that is "lighter, less resource hungry and more energy-efficient", using the LXDE desktop environment.

Edubuntu. A complete Linux-based operating system targeted for primary and secondary education. It is freely available with community based support. The Edubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Edubuntu Manifesto: that software, especially for education, should be available free of charge and that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities. Since version 8.04, Edubuntu has now been named Ubuntu Education Edition and has been made as an add-on for the Ubuntu operating system.

List of Ubuntu releases
Colors: salmon for past releases, green for current releases, blue for planned releases.

Colors: salmon for past releases, green for current releases, blue for planned releases.