Most Common Distribution of Linux

Today,
Most Linux distributions are used by millions of People,s in the world.
There are some differences in Most of the Distributions(Versions).(Flavours).
So the Most Common Used Distributions are :

Linux Fedora



Linux Ubuntu


These Distributions are Used Widely..and their Content is Available Widely on the Web.
So those who are new to linux Operating System would use these Distributions first.
Enjoy.

History of Linux Mandriva

Mandriva Linux (result of fusion of the French distribution Mandrakelinux orMandrake Linux and the Brazilian distribution Conectiva Linux) is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager. The product lifetime of Mandriva Linux releases is 18 months for base updates (Linux,system software, etc.) and 12 months for desktop updates (window managers,desktop environments, web browsers, etc.). Server products receive full updates for at least 5 years after their release.[4]
History
The first release was based on Red Hat Linux (version 5.1) and K Desktop Environment 1 in July 1998. It has since moved away from Red Hat's distribution and has become a completely separate distribution in its own right. Mandriva now includes a number of original tools, mostly to ease system configuration. Mandriva Linux was the brainchild of Gaël Duval, who wanted to focus on ease of use for new users.
Name changes
From its inception until the release of version 8.0, Mandrake named its flagship distributionLinux-Mandrake. From version 8.1 to 9.2 the distribution name was reversed and calledMandrake Linux.
In February 2004 MandrakeSoft lost a court case against Hearst Corporation, owners of King Features Syndicate. Hearst contended that MandrakeSoft infringed upon King Features'trademarked character Mandrake the Magician. As a precaution, MandrakeSoft renamed its products by removing the space between the brand name and the product name and changing the first letter of the product name to lower case, thus creating one word. Starting from version 10.0, Mandrake Linux became known as Mandrakelinux, and its logo changed accordingly. Similarly, MandrakeMove became Mandrakemove.
In April 2005 Mandrakesoft announced the corporate acquisition of Conectiva, a Brazilian based company that produced a Linux distribution for Portuguese-speaking (Brazil) and Spanish-speaking Latin America. As a result of this acquisition and the legal dispute with Hearst Corporation, Mandrakesoft announced that the company was changing its name to Mandriva, and that their linux distribution Mandrake Linuxwould henceforward be know as Mandriva Linux.[5]
Features
The major features of Mandriva Linux are:
Installation, control and administration
Mandriva Linux contains the Mandriva Control Center, which eases configuration of some settings. It has many programs known as Drakes or Draks, collectively named drakxtools, to configure many different settings. Examples include MouseDrake to set up a mouse, DiskDrake to set up disk partitions and drakconnect to set up a network connection. They are written using GTK+ and Perl, and most of them can run in both graphical and text mode using the ncurses interface.
Desktops
The latest version of Mandriva Linux, 2011.0 officially supports only KDE Plasma Desktop, whereas other desktop environments are available but not supported. Older Mandriva versions used Plasma Desktop as standard but others such as GNOME were also officially supported.
Themes
A unique theme provides consistency between applications and desktop environments. Galaxy debuted in version 9.1 and Galaxy II appeared in 10.0. A variant of Galaxy is "Galaxy Squared", which uses square window buttons rather than round ones. A new default theme named "Ia Ora" was introduced with the release of Mandriva Linux 2007, but "Galaxy" remains available as an option for those who prefer it.
Package manager

 


Rpmdrake, Mandriva's graphical package manager
Mandriva Linux uses a package manager called urpmi, which functions as a wrapper to the RPMpackage management system. It is similar to apt-get or Yellow dog Updater, Modified in that it allows seamless installation of a given software package by automatically installing the other packages needed. It is also media-transparent due to its ability to retrieve packages from various media, including network/Internet, CD/DVD and local disk. Urpmi also has an easy-to-use graphical front-end called rpmdrake, which is integrated into the Mandriva Control Center.
Remote sources for urpmi / rpmdrake can be added during the installation of recent Mandriva Linux versions. After installation, they can be added through an option in the Software Sources Manager, or by using console commands generated either manually or by one of several helper sites such as Easy URPMI. This functionality allows the user to choose some or all of the various software repositories available for their version of Mandriva Linux and can greatly expand the amount of software that the user can install through the urpmi system. Instructions on adding repositories and installing software can be found on the Mandriva Wiki.
Live USB
A Live USB of Mandriva Linux can be created manually or with UNetbootin.[6]
Availability
Mandriva provides multiple editions of Linux. Some are freely-distributable, while others are sold online and via a network of authorized resellers.
Versions
Since 2007, Mandriva is released on a 6-month fixed-release cycle, similar to Ubuntu and Fedora. In 2011 the release model was changed towards a yearly cycle.
Latest version
The latest stable version is Mandriva Linux 2011 ("Hydrogen"). It was released on August 28, 2011.[7]
Development version
The development tree of Mandriva Linux has always been known as Cooker.[8] This tree is directly released as a new stable version.
Other Systems





Many Operating Systems like Mandriva include Ubuntu, Fedora and many more, each filled with many features.
Table of versions
Year Number Name
1998 5.1 Venice
1998 5.2 Leeloo
1999 5.3 Festen
1999 6.0 Venus
1999 6.1 Helios
2000 7.0 Air
2000 7.1 Helium
2000 7.2 Odyssey (called Ulysses during beta)
2001 8.0 Traktopel
2001 8.1 Vitamin
2002 8.2 Bluebird
2002 9.0 Dolphin
2003 9.1 Bamboo
2003 9.2 FiveStar
2004 10.0 Community and Official
2004 10.1 Community
2004 10.1 Official
2005 10.2 Limited Edition 2005
2005 2006.0 Mandriva Linux 2006
2006 2007 Mandriva Linux 2007
2007 2007.1 Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring
2007 2008.0 Mandriva Linux 2008
2008 2008.1 Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring
2008 2009.0 Mandriva Linux 2009
2009 2009.1 Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring
2009 2010.0 Mandriva Linux 2010
2010 2010.1 Mandriva Linux 2010 Spring
2010 2010.2 Mandriva Linux 2010.2
2011 2011 Hydrogen
[edit]Editions



Each release of Mandriva Linux is split into several different editions. Each edition is derived from the same master tree, most of which is available on the public mirrors: all free / open source software, and all non-free software which is under a license that allows unrestricted distribution to the general public, is available from the public mirrors. Only commercial software under a license that does not allow unrestricted distribution to the general public (but for which Mandriva has negotiated an agreement to distribute it with paid copies) is not available from public mirrors.
Current


Mandriva Linux Free
Mandriva Linux Free is a 'traditional' distribution (i.e. one that comes with a dedicated installer,[9] named DrakX, which is first used to install the distribution to the hard disk of the computer before it is run). It is 'free' in both senses: it consists entirely of free and open-source software, and it is made available for public download at no charge. It is usually available in CD (three or four discs) and DVD editions for x8632- and 64-bit CPU architectures. It is aimed at users to whom software freedom is important, and also at users who prefer a traditional installer to the installable live CD system used by One. The package selection is tailored towards regular desktop use. It consists of a subset of packages from the 'main' and 'contrib' sections of the master tree.
Mandriva Linux One



Mandriva Linux One's Live CD
Mandriva Linux One is free to download. It is a hybrid, being both a Live CD and an installer (with an installation wizard that includes disk partitioning tools).
Several Mandriva Linux One versions were provided for each Mandriva Linux release preceding Mandriva 2008. Users could choose between different languages, select either the KDE or GNOME desktops and include or exclude non-free (as in speech) software. (It is not possible to fit both KDE and GNOME desktops, or more than a few languages, on a single live CD.) The 'lead' version is the KDE version ith non-free software included. The One images consist of a subset of packages from the 'main', 'contrib' and 'non-free' sections of the master tree, with the documentation files stripped from the packages to save space.
Mandriva Linux One 2008 has a smaller range of versions. There are KDE and GNOME versions with the default set of languages. There are also two KDE versions with alternative sets of languages. All versions include non-free software.


Mandriva Linux Powerpack
Mandriva Linux Powerpack is a 'traditional' distribution (in other words, one that comes with a dedicated installer, DrakX, which is first used to install the distribution to the hard disk of the computer before it is run). It is the main commercial edition of Mandriva Linux, and as such, requires payment for its use. It contains several non-free packages intended to add value for the end user, including non-free drivers like the NVIDIA and ATI graphics card drivers, non-free firmware for wireless chips and modems, some browser plugins such as Java and Flash, and some full applications such as Cedega, Adobe Reader and RealPlayer. It is sold directly from the Mandriva Store website and through authorized resellers. It is also made available via a subscription service, which allows unlimited downloads of Powerpack editions for the last few Mandriva releases for a set yearly fee. It consists of a subset of packages from the 'main', 'contrib', 'non-free' and 'restricted' sections of the master tree.
In Mandriva Linux 2008, the Discovery and Powerpack+ editions have been merged into Powerpack, which will become Mandriva's only commercial offering. Users will be able to choose between a novice-friendly Discovery-like setup or an installation process and desktop aimed at power users.
Discontinued





Mandriva Linux Discovery
Mandriva Linux Discovery was a commercial distribution aimed at first-time and novice Linux users. It was sold via the Mandriva Store website and authorized resellers, or could be downloaded by some subscribers to the Mandriva Club. Mandriva Linux 2008 does not include a Discovery edition, having added optional novice-friendly features to the Powerpack edition.
In releases prior to Mandriva Linux 2007, Discovery was a 'traditional' distribution built on the DrakX installer. In Mandriva Linux 2007 and 2007 Spring, Discovery is a hybrid "Live DVD" which can be booted without installation or installed to hard disk in the traditional manner.
Discovery was a DVD rather than a CD, allowing all languages to be provided on one disc. It consisted of a subset of packages from the 'main', 'contrib', 'non-free' and 'non-free-restricted' sections of the master tree. The package selection was tailored towards novice desktop users. A theme chosen to be appealing to novice users was used, and the 'simplified' menu layout in which applications are described rather than named and not all applications are included was the default (for all other editions, the default menu layout was the 'traditional' layout, where all graphical applications installed on the system were included and were listed by name).







Mandriva Linux Powerpack+
Mandriva Linux Powerpack+ was a version of Powerpack with additional packages, mostly commercial software. Like Powerpack, it was sold directly from the Mandriva Store website and through authorized resellers; it was also a free download for Mandriva Club members of the Gold level and above. Powerpack+ was aimed at SOHO (small office / home office) users, with the expectation that it could be used to run a small home or office server machine as well as desktop and development workstations. The package selection was tailored with this in mind, including a wide range of server packages. It consisted of a subset of packages from the 'main', 'contrib', 'non-free' and 'restricted' sections of the master tree.
Mandriva 2008 no longer includes a Powerpack+ edition; instead, the Powerpack edition includes all the available packages.
Derivatives
Derivatives are distributions that are based on Mandriva Linux, some by Mandriva itself, others by independent projects. Some maintain compatibility with Mandriva Linux, so that installing a Mandriva Linux RPM also works on the offspring.
Current



Mandriva Flash
Mandriva Flash is a pre-installed Mandriva Linux distribution on a 8 GB USB key.[10] The user can choose how much space is used for system files and how much is reserved for user files. An earlier version of Mandriva Flash was 4 GB and before that 2 GB in size with fixed ratios. It can be booted directly from the key on systems that support booting from USB devices, or from a 'kickstart' CD (the image for the CD is provided with the Flash) on systems that do not. Flash runs faster than live CDs due to the relative speed of flash memory, and the read/write nature of the medium allows users to save files, configuration options and even to install new packages.
Mandriva Corporate Server
Mandriva Corporate Server is a distribution specifically tailored for enterprise-level general purpose server usage. Development is started from the basis of a previous Mandriva Linux release, with the package selection altered, important packages updated, certain extra configuration tools and applications added, and some extra support for enterprise-level hardware. The maintenance lifetime of each release is five years. The current release of Corporate Server is 4.0.



Mandriva Corporate Desktop
Mandriva Corporate Desktop is the desktop counterpart to Corporate Server. Again it is based on a Mandriva Linux release with enterprise-specific modifications and a five-year maintenance lifetime. The current release of Corporate Desktop is 4.0.
Multi Network Firewall
Linux Mandrake 7.2 had a version tailored specifically for use as a firewall, known as Single Network Firewall (SNF). Its successor, based on Mandrake 8.2, was titled Multi Network Firewall (MNF). The third iteration is named MNF 2 and is based upon Mandrakelinux 10.0.
These firewall distributions are designed to provide security for computer networks, and can be administered remotely via a browser-based interface or Secure Shell. MNF 2 is now counted as part of the Corporate product line and can only be bought, with support, from Mandriva.





GlobeTrotter
GlobeTrotter is a LaCie mobile USB drive loaded with a specific version of Mandriva Linux. Like Move, it can boot most PCs into Linux without installing first. The 40 GB hard drive makes it a convenient way to carry a Linux workstation around. GlobeTrotter was launched in August 2003 and could be ordered through Mandriva's online store.
Gaming Edition
Mandrake Linux 8.1 had a Gaming Edition, which was a game oriented Linux distribution. It had a port of The Sims using the TransgamingWineX technology.
CLIC
CLIC (aka Cluster LInux pour le Calcul) is a dedicated version of Mandrakelinux created by MandrakeSoft specifically for clustering environments. It was sponsored by the RNTL, other partners were ID-IMAG, Groupe Bull and Mandrakesoft. This project's aim was to produce a HPC Linux Distribution for 32- and 64-bit processors.
The objective of project CLIC was to allow the realization of large scientific computers while being based on free software. The objective consists of the realization a Linux distribution for clusters of machines, meeting the needs for deployment, administration and programming of clusters within the framework of exploitation for intensive calculation.
It features an automated installation of a full cluster using the Ka tools, urpmi and the clusterscripts.
This project was finished on 1 December 2003 and Mandrakesoft decided to continue that project with a product called Mandrake Linux Clustering. This product included Drakcluster (GUI) for improved usability. It was dedicated to the HPC market but it could also be used (with some modifications) to all kinds of clusters (such as High Availability, applicative or grid). It features parallel commands (bash, copying tools), deployment (disks), software upgrade/downgrade (urpmi parallel), monitoring (ganglia), etc. Clustering was available on x86 and x86-64 architectures.





Mandrake Move
A LiveMove is the set formed by a Live CD and a bootfloppy or USB flash drive.
Mandrake Move was a Mandriva product that benefits from a Mandrake Linux Live CD which doesn't need to be installed to run on a computer, and a USB key that automatically records bootloader, hardware configuration and personal data.
The first version of Mandrake Move was released in December 2003 (but only distributed to customers in January 2004, due to production delays). It brought two main innovations compared to competitors:
ability to eject the cdrom if the machine has 256 MB of RAM or more (Knoppix also can, but needs to copy the whole cdrom into RAM, therefore needs a machine with 1 GB of RAM or more), and continue to operate in a "downgraded" mode allowing only to play multimedia files
transparent save of any user modification of his/her own files and system configuration files, if operated with a USB key
The second version, now simply called Move, was released in October 2004. Hardware support and stability have seen much improvement. Move is now superseded by Mandriva One and Mandriva Flash.

History of Suse Linux

SUSE is the oldest existing commercial distribution of Linux. The company was founded in 1992 near Nuremberg in Germany. The first release of a Linux distribution by SUSE was early in 1994.


SUSE is a German acronym for Software und System Entwicklung or Software and System Development (not a terribly original or gripping name for a software company). However, the full name is never used; the company has been known as SUSE since the earliest days. More accurately, the company has been known as S.u.S.E., then as SuSE, and now SUSE as the marketing people gradually got to work on the corporate image of the company.





The company was founded on September 2, 1992. The founders were Roland Dyroff, Thomas Fehr, Burchard Steinbild, and Hubert Mantel, all in their mid-twenties at the time. Three of the founders were still at University studying mathematics: Thomas Fehr had already graduated and was working as a software engineer. The original intention was that the company would do consulting work and software development for clients; according to Hubert Mantel’s account, this did not work out very well as work was in short supply, and after a while the group had the idea of distributing Linux. Initially the company distributed a version of Linux called SLS (Soft Landing Systems). Later they switched to Slackware, producing a German-language version in cooperation with Slackware’s founder, Patrick Volkerding.





According to the recollections of Bodo Bauer (one of the very earliest SUSE employees), the SUSE people decided that rather than constantly fixing bugs in Slackware before shipping their translated and enhanced version, it would be better to produce their own distribution. They also felt the lack of a good installation and configuration tool in Slackware. The result was that SUSE took Florian LaRoche’s Jurix distribution as a starting point and began to develop YaST. (Florian also joined the SUSE team.) The first true SUSE distribution was released in May 1996 and was numbered 4.2 (an intentional reference to the use of the number 42 in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams).





At the time that early versions of Red Hat (and Red Hat clones) were ubiquitous in the United States, SUSE Linux gained popularity in Europe. SUSE became a worldwide
company with the establishment of offices in the United States (1997) and in the United Kingdom (1999).


SUSE never attempted an IPO, although there were rumors that this would happen at one stage. Instead, the company went through a number of rounds of funding from venture capitalist and industry sources. Over-optimism and too rapid an expansion led to a point in 2001 when the company was forced to downsize significantly to survive. After that time, stricter financial discipline, the release of the enterprise versions, and the growing uptake of Linux by business put the company on a sound footing. With the takeover by Novell in 2003, the investors recouped their investment, while the market’s approval became very clear in the dramatic and sustained rise in Novell’s stock following the announcement.







Originally SUSE provided one product (simply known as S.u.S.E. Linux), which was released about three times a year and was available for the x86 platform only. The current SUSE Professional is the direct descendant of this, and the current version number of 10.0 is one of a series that goes back to the original 4.2. In 2000, the SUSE offering was split into Professional and Personal versions, and versions for other hardware platforms (Alpha, Sparc, and PPC) were released.





The following year, SUSE released the Enterprise Server 7 version, and in due course, versions of Enterprise Server for IA64 (Itanium), PPC (intended for the IBM iSeries and pSeries), S/390, and zSeries were released. SUSE developed powerful tools to aid in the process of porting Linux to other platforms, and there was close collaboration with IBM in the production of versions for the PPC-based iSeries and pSeries and for the S/390 and zSeries mainframes. SUSE also worked with AMD on the development of a version for the Hammer chip (now known as the Opteron and Athlon 64).





The story goes that an entire distribution for this architecture was completed and tested using emulation before AMD had any hardware to offer; when the first machine arrived at SUSE from AMD, the installation CD booted and installed flawlessly. SUSE uses a system known as AutoBuild that takes the same source code for all packages and builds the distribution for all platforms from it. This ensures a high degree of compatibility between versions on different platforms and is one of the key advantages of the SUSE Enterprise Server.





SUSE also released a series of mail server products leading up to the SUSE Linux OpenExchange Server 4, a mail and groupware server allowing integration with popular desktop clients, including Outlook and, hence, becoming a competitor to Microsoft Exchange Server. OpenExchange was developed jointly by SUSE and Netline, who wrote the groupware element. This has now been released as a separate product under the GPL, and can be run on other Linux versions as well as SUSE. Enterprise Server 7 was succeeded by Enterprise Server 8 (available on x86, IA64, AMD64, iSeries, pSeries, and zSeries) in November 2002.





Prior to the release of Enterprise Server 8 (in November 2002), the UnitedLinux consortium was established, with SUSE, Connectiva, Turbolinux, and SCO as members. UnitedLinux was an agreed core, developed by SUSE for enterprise distributions to be issued by the other vendors in the consortium. Following the defection of SCO from the Linux community and its extraordinary decision to take legal actions against IBM and Linux distributors and users, the UnitedLinux consortium lost its importance and is now only of historical interest.





Enterprise Server 8 was followed by Enterprise Server 9 in August 2004, continuing a pattern of Enterprise releases separated by less than two years. These releases overlap each other in time: the full life cycle of each enterprise release is five years from initial release until the final end of support and maintenance, which means that at any one time there are two fully supported versions of the Enterprise Server, one of which is approaching its end of life. The next version in the Enterprise Server line is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2006. March 2005 saw the release of the Novell Open Enterprise Server (based on SLES 9), marking the fulfillment of Novell’s intention of integrating its NetWare product with Linux: the Open Enterprise Server makes NetWare’s core functionality a service running on Linux rather than an operating system in itself and provides versions of Novell’s directory services and management software on top of this platform.





In the early days, SUSE appeared to be simply one of a large number of Linux distributions. However, unlike many of the other distributions, SUSE had a developer team of real quality and strength in numbers. This fact was not lost on IBM when they increasingly cooperated with SUSE in development work for their high-end platforms, and it gradually became apparent that there were really only two Linux companies that really mattered—namely, SUSE and Red Hat.





Historically, however, there were some differences between the two companies’ philosophies. Both Red Hat and SUSE provided boxed versions of their consumer version for sale. Red Hat offered ISO images identical to the CDs in the boxed product for download; SUSE did not, but allowed an FTP installation. SUSE somewhat controversially placed a licensing restriction on the redistribution of the YaST installation and administration tool; while the source remained open, it was not permissible to redistribute YaST on media offered for sale. This prevented a proliferation of SUSE clones in the way that there were numerous Linux distributions “based on Red Hat.”
Since the takeover of SUSE by Novell, however, the YaST license has been changed to the GPL, and more recently ISO images have been made available by FTP. Both these changes can be seen as signs of Novell’s confidence in SUSE’s leading place in the Linux market.







SUSE made a clearer distinction between the company’s enterprise and consumer versions than Red Hat did. Red Hat was already offering commercial software maintenance and support system on its boxed product (Red Hat 7.x, 8.x, and so on) when it introduced its enterprise versions (Advanced Server and Enterprise Server). Its subsequent withdrawal of all support for the boxed versions was something of a PR disaster for Red Hat and left many commercial users feeling very dissatisfied and looking for other options. A considerable proportion of these users migrated at that time to SUSE.

History of Red-Hat Releases.

RedHat is the most known and biggest company in the world whose business is entirely based on Linux. It's the first distribution maker that has quoted its shares at Nasdaq and one of the not so many companies that has built a successful Linux business model.
Originally founded by Marc Ewing, it was purchased in 1995 by Bob Young's ACC Bookstores. During the following years, version after version, it has gained a reputation of distro good for servers (even if by far not the best one, according to purists) with easy installation and configuration tools.

The first public release of Red Hat Linux (version 1.0) is dated 1994, after the older historic distro as Slackware, but still largely before the big Linux boost of the following years.

Chronology of Red Hat releases

RedHat 1.0 (Mother's Day), November 3, 1994

RedHat 1.1 (Mother's Day+0.1), August 1, 1995

RedHat 2.0, September 20, 1995

RedHat 2.1, November 23, 1995

RedHat 3.0.3 (Picasso), May 1, 1996

RedHat 4.0 (Colgate), October 8, 1996

RedHat 4.1 (Vanderbilt), February 3, 1997

RedHat 4.2 (Biltmore), May 19, 1997

RedHat 5.0 (Hurricane), December 1, 1997

RedHat 5.1 (Manhattan), May 22, 1998

RedHat 5.2 (Apollo), November 2, 1998

RedHat 6.0 (Hedwig), April 26, 1999

RedHat 6.1 (Cartman), October 4, 1999

RedHat 6.2 (Zoot), April 3, 2000

RedHat 7 (Guinness), September 25, 2000 

RedHat 7.1 (Seawolf), April 16, 2001

RedHat 7.2 (Enigma), October 22, 2001

RedHat 7.3 (Valhalla), May 6, 2002

RedHat Enterprise Edition 2.1 AS (Pensacola), May 6 2002

RedHat 8.0 (Psyche), September 30, 2002

RedHat 9 (Shrike), March 31, 2003

History Of Linux Ubuntu. 

Ubuntu Linux is one of a number of different flavors of the Linux operating system. The various different brands of Linux are generally known as Linux Distributions (usually shortened to Linux Distros by Linux experts). In terms of the history of Linux, Ubuntu is something of a newcomer. In the relatively short period of time that it has been available, however, Ubuntu has rapidly gained the respect of both experienced and novice Linux users throughout the world.

What Exactly is Linux?

Linux is an operating system in much the same way that Windows is an operating system (and there any similarities between Linux and Windows end). The term operating system is used to describe the software which acts as a layer between the hardware in a computer and the applications that we all run on a daily basis. When programmers write applications, they interface with the operating system to perform such tasks as writing files to the hard disk drive and displaying information on the screen.

Without an operating system, every programmer would have to write code to directly access the hardware of the system. In addition, the programmer would have to be able to support every single piece of hardware ever created to be sure the application would work on every possible hardware configuration. Because the operating system handles all of this hardware complexity, application development becomes a much easier task. Linux is just one of a number of different operating systems available today.

Who Created Linux?

The origins of Linux can be traced back to the work of two people. At the heart of the Linux operating system is something called the kernel. This is the core set of functions necessary for the operating system to function. The kernel manages the system’s resources and handles communication between the hardware and the applications. The Linux kernel was developed by Linus Torvalds who needed an operating system but didn’t want to have to buy one. When he had finished the first version of the kernel he released under an open sourcelicense that enabled anyone to download the source code and freely use and modify it without having to pay Linus any money.

Around the same time Richard Stallman at the Free Software Foundation, a strong advocate of free and open source software, was working on an open source operating system of his own. Rather than focusing initially on the kernel, Stallman decided to begin by developing all the tools, utilities and compilers necessary to use and maintain an operating system. By the time he had finished developing this infrastructure it seemed like the obvious solution was to combine his work with the kernel Linus had written to create a full operating system. This combination became known as GNU/Linux. Purists insist that Linux always be referred to as GNU/Linux (in fact Richard Stallman refuses to give press interviews to any publication which fails to refer to Linux as GNU/Linux). This is not unreasonable given that the GNU tools developed by the Free Software Foundation make up a significant and vital part of GNU/Linux. Unfortunately, most people and publications simply refer to Linux as Linux and this will probably always continue to be the case.

The History of Ubuntu

As mentioned previously, Ubuntu is one of a number of Linux distributions. The source code that makes up the Ubuntu Linux distribution originates from another, much older Linux distribution known as Debian (so called because it was started by two people named Debra and Ian). Debian is still a widely respected operating system but came under criticism for infrequent updates and less than user friendly installation and maintenance (though these areas have shown improvement recently).

A South African internet mogul (who made his fortune selling his company to VeriSign for around $500 million) decided it was time for a more user friendly Linux. He took the Debian distribution and worked to make it a more human friendly distribution which he called Ubuntu. He subsequently formed a company called Canonical Ltd to promote and provide support for Ubuntu Linux. In addition Shuttleworth has formed and funded (to the tune of $10 million) a foundation to guarantee the future of Ubuntu.

The rest, as they say, is history. Ubuntu has since gone from strength to strength. Dell and other hardware vendors now ship computers pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux and Ubuntu usually tops the chart at DistroWatch.com (a web site which tracks the popularity of the various Linux distributions).

If you are new to Linux, or already use Linux and want to try a different Linux distro it is unlikely you will find a better option than Ubuntu Linux.

What does the word “Ubuntu” Mean?

The word “Ubuntu” is an ancient Zulu and Xhosa word which means “humanity to others”. Ubuntu also means “I am what I am because of who we all are”. It was chosen because these sentiments precisely describe the spirit of the Ubuntu Linux distribution.

Naming convention

Ubuntu releases are also given code names, using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter (e.g. Dapper Drake). With the exception of the first two releases, code names are in alphabetical order, allowing a quick determination of which release is newer. Commonly, Ubuntu releases are often referred to using only the adjective portion of the code name (e.g. Dapper).

Version History

Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog)

Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog)

Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog), released on 20 October 2004, was Canonical’s first release of Ubuntu, building upon Debian GNU/Linux with plans for a new release every six months and eighteen months of support thereafter. Ubuntu 4.10′s support ended on 30 April 2006. Ubuntu 4.10 was the first version of Ubuntu to offer ShipIt services, allowing users to order free install CDs.

Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)

Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)

Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog), released on 8 April 2005, was Canonical’s second release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 5.04′s support ended on 31 October 2006. Ubuntu 5.04 added many new features including an update manager, upgrade notifier, readahead and grepmap, suspend, hibernate and standby support, dynamic frequency scaling for processors, ubuntu hardware database, Kickstart installation, and APT authentication. Ubuntu 5.04 allowed installation from USB devices. Ubuntu 5.04 used UTF-8 by default.

Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)

Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)

Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger), released on 12 October 2005, was Canonical’s third release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 5.10′s support ended on 13 April 2007. Ubuntu 5.10 added several new features including a graphical bootloader (Usplash), an Add/Remove Applications tool, a menu editor (alacarte), an easy language selector, logical volume management support, full Hewlett-Packard printer support, OEM installer support, a new Ubuntu logo in the top-left, and Launchpad integration for bug reporting and software development.

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake)

Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake)

Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake), released on 1 June 2006, was Canonical’s fourth release, and the first Long Term Support (LTS) release. Ubuntu 6.06 was released behind schedule, having been intended as 6.04. Development was not complete in April 2006 and Mark Shuttleworth approved slipping the release date to June, making it 6.06 instead.

Ubuntu 6.06′s support ended on 14 July 2009 for desktops and will end in June 2011 for servers. Ubuntu 6.06 included several new features, including having the Live CD and Install CD merged onto one disc, a graphical installer on Live CD (Ubiquity), Usplash on shutdown as well as startup, a network manager for easy switching of multiple wired and wireless connections, Humanlooks theme implemented using Tango guidelines, based on Clearlooks and featuring orange colors instead of brown, and GDebi graphical installer for package files. Ubuntu 6.06 did not include a means to install from a USB device, but did for the first time allow installation directly onto removable USB devices.

Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft), released on 26 October 2006, was Canonical’s fifth release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 6.10′s support ended on 25 April 2008. Ubuntu 6.10 added several new features including a heavily modified Human theme, Upstart init daemon, automated crash reports (Apport), Tomboy note taking application, and F-Spot photo manager. EasyUbuntu, a third party program designed to make Ubuntu easier to use, was included in Ubuntu 6.10 as a meta-package.

Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)

Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)

Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), released on 19 April 2007, was Canonical’s sixth release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 7.04′s support ended on 19 October 2008. Ubuntu 7.04 included several new features, among them a migration assistant to help former Microsoft Windows users transition to Ubuntu, support for Kernel-based Virtual Machine, assisted codec and restricted drivers installation including Adobe Flash, Java, MP3 support, easier installation ofNvidia and ATI drivers, Compiz desktop effects, support for Wi-Fi Protected Access, the addition of Sudoku andchess, a disk usage analyzer (baobab), GNOME Control Center, and Zeroconf support for many devices. Ubuntu 7.04 dropped support for PowerPCarchitecture.

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon), released on 18 October 2007, was Canonical’s seventh release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 7.10′s support ended on 18 April 2009. Ubuntu 7.10 included several new features, among themAppArmor security framework, fast desktop search, a Firefox plug-in manager (Ubufox), a graphical configuration tool for X.Org, full NTFS support (read/write) via NTFS-3G, and a revamped printing system with PDF printing by default. Compiz Fusion was enabled as default in Ubuntu 7.10 and Fast user switching was added.

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron)

Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)

Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron), released on 24 April 2008, was Canonical’s eighth release of Ubuntu and the second Long Term Support (LTS) release. Ubuntu 8.04′s support will end in April 2011 for desktops and in April 2013 for servers. Ubuntu 8.04 included several new features, among them Tracker desktop search integration, Brasero disk burner, Transmission BitTorrent client, Vinagre VNC client, system sound throughPulseAudio, and Active Directory authentication and login using Likewise Open. In addition Ubuntu 8.04 included updates for better Tango compliance, various Compiz usability improvements, automatic grabbing and releasing of the mouse cursor when running on a VMware virtual machine, and an easier method to remove Ubuntu. Ubuntu 8.04 was the first version of Ubuntu to include the Wubi installer on the Live CD that allows Ubuntu to be installed as a single file on a Windows hard drive without the need to repartition the disk.

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex). The default wallpaper depicts an Ibex, with its large curved horns.

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex), released on 30 October 2008, was Canonical’s ninth release of Ubuntu. Support ended on 30 April 2010.Ubuntu 8.10 introduced several new features including improvements to mobile computing and desktop scalability, increased flexibility for Internet connectivity, an Ubuntu Live USB creator and a guest account, which allowed others to use a computer allowing very limited user rights (e.g. accessing the Internet, using software and checking e-mail). The guest account had its own home folder and nothing done on it was stored permanently on the computer’s hard disk. Intrepid Ibex also included an encrypted private directory for users, the inclusion of Dynamic Kernel Module Support, a tool that allows kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when new kernels are released and support for creating USB flash drive images.

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope), released on 23 April 2009, was Canonical’s tenth release of Ubuntu and was supported until 23 October 2010. New features included faster boot time, integration of web services and applications into the desktop interface. It had a new usplash screen, a new login screen and also support for bothWacom (hotplugging) and netbooks. It also included a new notification system, Notify OSD, and themes. It marked the first time that all of Ubuntu’s core development moved to the Bazaar distributed revision controlsystem.

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)

Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala), released on 29 October 2009, was Canonical’s 11th release of Ubuntu. It will be supported until April 2011.

In an announcement to the community on 20 February 2009, Mark Shuttleworth explained that 9.10 would focus on improvements in cloud computing on the server using Eucalyptus, further improvements in boot speed as well as development on the Netbook Remix.

The initial announcement of version 9.10 indicated that this release might include a new theme, however the project was moved forward to 10.04, and only minor revisions were made to the default theme. Other graphical improvements included a new set of boot up and shutdown splash screens, a new login screen that transitions seamlessly into the desktop and greatly improved performance on Intel graphics chipsets.

In June 2009 Canonical created the One Hundred Paper Cuts project, focusing developers to fix minor usability issues. A paper cut is defined as: “a trivially fixable usability bug that the average user would encounter on his/her first day of using a brand new installation of the latest version of Ubuntu Desktop Edition.”

The desktop installation of Ubuntu 9.10 replaced Pidgin with Empathy Instant Messenger as its default instant messaging client. The default filesystem is ext4, and the Ubuntu One client, which interfaces with Canonical’s new online storage system, is installed by default. It also debuted a new application called the Ubuntu Software Center that unifies package management. Canonical intends for this application to replace Add/Remove Programs (gnome-app-install) in 9.10 and possibly Synaptic, Software Sources, Gdebi and Update Manager in Ubuntu 10.04. Karmic Koala also includes a slideshow during the installation process (through ubiquity-slideshow) that highlights applications and features in Ubuntu.

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)

Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) was first announced at the Atlanta Linux Fest by Shuttleworth on 19 September 2009, and was released on 29 April 2010. It is Canonical’s 12th release of Ubuntu. Support for Ubuntu 10.04 will be provided by Canonical until April 2013 for the desktop version and April 2015 for the server version. The same dates apply to Kubuntu 10.04, which is built on KDE.

The new release includes, among other things, improved support for Nvidia proprietary graphics drivers, while switching to the open source Nvidia graphics driver, nouveau, by default. Plymouth was also introduced allowing boot animations.

GIMP was removed from the Lucid installation CD due to its professional-grade complexity and its file size. F-Spot provides normal user level graphics editing capabilities and GIMP remains available for download in the repositories.

The distribution emphasizes the new importance of web services and social networking with integrated interfaces for posting to sites like Facebook and Twitter, complementing the IM and email integration already in Ubuntu.

On 4 March 2010 it was announced that Lucid Lynx would feature a new theme, including new logos, taking Ubuntu’s new paradigm into account:

The new style in Ubuntu is inspired by the idea of “Light”.We’re drawn to Light because it denotes both warmth and clarity, and intrigued by the idea that “light” is a good value in software. Good software is “light” in the sense that it uses your resources efficiently, runs quickly, and can easily be reshaped as needed. Ubuntu represents a break with the bloatware of proprietary operating systems and an opportunity to delight to those who use computers for work and play. More and more of our communications are powered by light, and in future, our processing power will depend on our ability to work with light, too. 

Visually, light is beautiful, light is ethereal, light brings clarity and comfort.

Historical perspective: From 2004–2010, the theme in Ubuntu was “Human”. Our tagline was “Linux for Human Beings” and we used a palette reflective of the full range of humanity. Our focus as a project was bringing Linux from the data center into the lives of our friends and global family.

Critical responses to the new theme have been mixed. Ars Technica’s Ryan Paul said “The new themes and updated color palette are nice improvement for Ubuntu… After testing the new theme for several hours, I feel like it’s a step forward, but it still falls a bit short of my expectations.” Paul also noted that the most controversial aspect of the new design amongst users has been the placement of the window control buttons on the left instead of the right side of the windows. TechSource’s Jun Auza expressed concern that the new theme is too close to that used by Apple’s Mac OS X: “I think Ubuntu is having an identity crisis right now and should seriously consider changing several things in terms of look and feel to avoid being branded as a Mac OS X rip-off, or worse, get sued by Apple.” Auza also summarized Ubuntu user feedback: “I believe the fans are divided right now. Some have learned to love the brown color scheme since it uniquely represents Ubuntu, while others wanted change.”

The first point release, 10.04.1, was released on 17 August 2010 and the second one, 10.04.2 is scheduled for 27 January 2011.

Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)

Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)

The naming of Ubuntu 10.10 was announced by Mark Shuttleworth on 2 April 2010, along with the release’s goals of improving the netbook experience and a server focus on hybrid cloud computing. Ubuntu 10.10 was released on 10 October 2010 (10.10.10) at around 10:10 UTC. It is Canonical’s 13th release of Ubuntu. New features included the new Unity interface for the Netbook Edition, a new default photo manager, Shotwell, replacing F-Spot and an official Ubuntu font used by default. Maverick Meerkat 10.10 will be supported until April 2012.

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal)

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal)

The naming of Ubuntu 11.04 was announced on 17 August 2010 by Mark Shuttleworth. Its release is planned for 28 April 2011. Ubuntu Desktop will use theUnity user interface instead of GNOME Shell as default. The move to Unity is controversial as GNOME developers fear it will fracture the community and marginalize GNOME Shell.

Ubuntu 11.04 will use Banshee as the default music player, replacing Rhythmbox. Other new applications will include Mozilla Firefox 4 and LibreOffice, which will likely replace OpenOffice.org.

Starting with Ubuntu 11.04 the Ubuntu Netbook Edition has been merged into the desktop edition.

Version end of life

After each version of Ubuntu has reached its end-of-life time, its repositories are removed from the main Ubuntu servers and consequently the mirrors. Older versions of Ubuntu repositories can be found at old-releases.ubuntu.com.