[To anyone who wants to print this to hand to someone be my guest, please leave my name on the bottom though ]

What is Ubuntu? Ubuntu ( [oo-boon-too] in Zulu) is a free GNU/Linux Debian based operating system sponsored by Canonical, owned by Mark Shuttleworth. Ubuntu aims to be a very user friendly, stable and up-to-date desktop and server operating system. Ubuntu means in Zulu “I am what I am because of what we all are.” This goes along with the Ubuntu philosophy that software should be free, and open to share with other people. The first release of Ubuntu was in 2004. named Warty Warthog 4.10, the most current release is Gutsy Gibbon 7.10. The next long term supported version of Ubuntu will be Hardy Heron 8.04, coming out in April 2008. which will be supported for three years desktop, and server edition for five years.

Advantages

• Free – Ubuntu is free and always will be free. You get free updates when they’re new updates, and free releases every six months. Ubuntu also comes with OpenOffice which is a free office suit, which contains a word processor, spread sheet, database, and presentation.

• Security – Ubuntu is very secure, there are very little viruses made for Ubuntu/Linux, because Ubuntu is built off the strong Linux platform and the popularity of Windows. Over 95% of the world uses Windows so most viruses are made for Windows.

• Community – The Ubuntu community is very friendly and helpful. You can get involved in the community by joining a LoCo team near you, or signing up in the Ubuntu Forums.

• Simple – Ubuntu is designed to be very simple and uses the Gnome desktop environment which is feature rich and simple.

• Easy – Ubuntu is quite easy to use compared to other Linux distributions which is a common misconception that Linux is hard. The developers of Ubuntu work hard to make Ubuntu easy to use for nontechnical users.

• Customization – In Ubuntu you have the freedom to change the entire look of your desktop. You can make Ubuntu look like Windows Xp, Vista or even Mac OS X.

• LiveCD – Ubuntu allows you to test your hardware before you install Ubuntu. Simply put the CD in the CD-drive and boot the CD-drive, if this does not happen automatically hit F12 every few seconds to select your CD-drive. You will boot into a fully working desktop if your hardware is compatible with Ubuntu.

Disadvantages

• Learning Curve – There is a huge learning curve between Windows and Linux. It has been described as learning a new language. Windows and Linux are two completely different systems, so it might be hard at first, but things are simple once you learn.

• Gaming – Ubuntu is on the Linux platform which is different of Windows. This means most games for Windows will not work under Ubuntu. Sometimes you can get games to work under Wine, a Windows emulator for Linux, which allows you to install some Windows programs. There is also Cedega which is not free software but will allow you to play your Windows games on Linux; Cedega is not affiliated with Ubuntu.

• Hardware – Linux is not as popular as a operating system, this means that not every piece of hardware is supported for Linux. More Hardware companies are acknowledging that they’re products are not being bought by Linux users simply because Linux is not supported, and business is being lost. Hardware and computer vendors like Dell and HP are very well supported.

Where to get Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is down-loadable free from www.ubuntu.com or have a free CD Shipped to you with free postage. There is a downside to getting the free CD shipped through the shipit service, it may take a few weeks for you to receive the CD. Once you download Ubuntu burn the ISO file to a CD using software that is capable of burning Image files to CDs.

- Chris Talley