UBUNTU Gives FREE!
A Linux for Human Beings
The Ubuntu project is entirely committed to the principles of free software development; people are encouraged to use free software, improve it, and pass it on.
"Free software" doesn't mean that you shouldn't have to pay for it (although Ubuntu is committed to being free of charge as well). It means that you should be able to use the software in any way you wish: the code that makes up free software is available for anyone to download, change, fix, and use in any way. Alongside ideological benefits, this freedom also has technical advantages: when programs are developed, the hard work of others can be used and built upon. With non-free software, this cannot happen and when programs are developed, they have to start from scratch. For this reason the development of free software is fast, efficient and exciting!
You can find out more about free software and the ideological and
technical philosophy behind it at the GNU website.
THE DIFFERENCES
There are many different operating systems based on Linux: Debian, SuSE, Gentoo, Red Hat, and Mandriva are examples. Ubuntu is yet another contender in what is already a highly competitive world. So what makes
Ubuntu different?
Based on Debian, one of the most widely acclaimed, technologically advanced, and well-supported
distributions, Ubuntu aims to create a distribution that provides an up-to-date and coherent Linux system for desktop and server computing. Ubuntu includes a number of carefully selected packages from the Debian distribution and retains its powerful package management system which allows easy installation and clean removal of programs. Unlike most distributions that ship with a large amount of software that may or may not be of use, Ubuntu's list of packages is reduced to a number of important applications of high quality.
By focusing on quality, Ubuntu produces a robust and feature-rich computing environment that is suitable for
use in both home and commercial environments. The project takes the time required to focus on finer
details and is able to release a version featuring the latest and greatest of today's software once every 6 months. Ubuntu is available in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, and will run on most modern computers. It is also available for the Sun UltraSPARC and Amazon EC2 architectures.
THE DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT
The desktop is what you see after you log in to your computer and what you use to manage and run applications. The default desktop environment for Ubuntu is GNOME, a leading UNIX and Linux desktop suite and development platform.
You can optionally install the KDE and Xfce desktop environments, which have their own distinctive look and feel. KDE and Xfce are made available in Ubuntu by the Kubuntu and Xubuntu projects respectively. You can even install a KDE-only or Xfce-only version of Ubuntu if you wish.