[TriLUG] Ubuntu: whats all the fuss?

[Daniel T. Chen]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Mike A. Salim wrote:
> Can someone point me to some specific advantages of Ubuntu over any
> other distro, Debian or not?  How is it better than regular Debian
> (cosmetics and catchy name aside).  Why would I choose Ubuntu over
> Centos?  Or Vista for that matter (gasp!)  I just want to understand
> what the fuss is all about in a broad minded fashion.

Disclaimer: I am a volunteer Ubuntu developer.

I've always mused that there are many roads leading back to the One True
Debian. Ubuntu differentiates itself from its parent distribution by
focusing on a freely modifiable and redistributable single-disc
operating environment that is strong localized and
disability-independent. Yes, other distros do that, too. You can achieve
what Ubuntu provides by default with some tweaking in other distros --
that's the beauty of FLOSS.

Ubuntu, like many distros, has a friendly, thriving community base that
drives its development. Users and developers write specifications
targeted for the developers summit held at the beginning of each 6-month
development cycle (implying a biannual release cycle, April and
October), and users and developers implement the ones that are approved
and prioritized.

As many responses have alluded to, Ubuntu's goal is to provide a usable
desktop experience out of the box. We've had to reconsider what it means
to "do stuff by default" -- i.e., be a little more flexible regarding
non-Free (in the Debian sense) software that drives things like graphics
and network cards.

Ubuntu also provides at least eighteen months of free security support
(in addition to non-invasive, "eyeballable" non-security updates) for
the 'main' and 'restricted' components. The Long Term Support (LTS)
releases, the most recent of which is Dapper/6.06, is guaranteed three
years of free security (and non-invasive, eyeballable non-security)
updates for the desktop and five years of the same for the server.

Perhaps no less important is the fact that there is one person, Mark
Shuttleworth, who drives the development. In the face of anarchy, Mark
sets our goals. For instance, he didn't like the Beta artwork. It was
removed for the release candidate. Newer (reformed/improved) artwork
finally got his approval and will be in the final release. And of
course, the community can override Mark.

- From my perspective, what makes Ubuntu exciting is the opportunity to
extend it -- one of Mark's primary objectives. Ubuntu is a base -- make
it what you want. And it has been and will continue to be done: KDE
instead of GNOME (Kubuntu), Xfce instead of GNOME (Xubuntu), Fluxbuntu
(fluxbox instead of GNOME), embedded environment instead of GNOME
(mubuntu), audio/video/multimedia (UbuntuStudio), vulnerability
assessment and diagnostics (nubuntu)... What differs is the set of
default packages on the single disc.

Most importantly, using Ubuntu means you determine how you use software.

Thanks,
- --
Daniel T. Chen            crimsun at ubuntu.com
GPG key:  0xC88ABDA3
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFFORRAe9GwFciKvaMRArqnAJwLbqbok8pswyiX19o7XUrq7xnY7QCgxpsB
04wk8dNzu7ZH368Br7j7TC4=
=RmDc
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----