Excuse me for saying that, but I'm sure that, reading the headline of this article, the smart guy would respond with a summary like "uuuuuh, uuuuu an operating system... no... a distribution". And yes, well, I would be partly right, but things need to be qualified and clarified a bit-quite a lot. The name of Ubunlog comes from uniting Ubuntu and Blog in one word, and in this article we are going to explain what is ubuntu.
For starters, I don't know where to start. And it is that the word "ubuntu" is not something that Mark Shuttleworth or his marketing team invented; already existed before. Therefore, I have to decide whether to start with the original word or with what has made it famous, which is the software. Since this is a technology blog, we will begin by explaining what all Linux users know to a greater or lesser extent.
What is Ubuntu: talking about software
In the Linux community, there is a debate about what is a distribution and what is an operating system. When we say Linux, unless we are referring to the kernel, what we really mean is GNU/Linux, but so that no one criticizes me, and taking advantage of the fame of artificial intelligence, I have asked a very popular... What is the difference between distribution and operating system when we talk about Linux? The answer she has given me is:
A Linux distribution is a Linux-based operating system with added tools and software. A Linux operating system is the kernel of the system, which contains the basic code for the computer to function. The distributions use the Linux kernel as a base, but add other tools and software to make the system easier to use. These additional tools include hardware drivers, user interfaces, text editors, media player programs, and more. The distributions also include tools for system administration, such as package managers.
From the above, we understand that the protagonist of this article is a Linux-based operating system, but perhaps this is not enough to understand what it is. The operating system is the foundation of a distribution, and therefore Ubuntu is both the main edition with GNOME desktop as well as Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Unity and Ubuntu Kylin, which are the official flavors.
They are also Ubuntu other distributions, such as Linux Mint or elementary OS. That is, the operating system is Ubuntu, and the distribution is completed with the software used by each of them. In the official flavors, Ubuntu + GNOME, Plasma/Frameworks/KDE Gear, LXQt, Xfce, Budgie, MATE, Plasma+metapackage for content creators, Ukui, Unity or whatever the distro includes.
clearing things up
Let's take Ubuntu Desktop (GNOME, the main one) as an example. It's a Linux distribution developed by Canonical in 2004, one of the most popular in part because of its ease of use. Ubuntu Server is the preferred option for managing servers.
And what is a distribution? An operating system with additions that facilitate its use developed from the Linux kernel, created by Linus Torvalds, who started it as a final project in which the intention was to launch an operating system that could run on any computer. Linux is UNIX-like, and its name is simply Linus ending with X (for UNIX). Linux distributions are usually open source.
And if you still don't understand it, let's think about the following: the operating system is what is created above the kernel and is below the graphic. The "peeled" operating system, which in English is referred to as "barebone", would run in the terminal, in a real one, not in the graphical tools that we use that are actually a "terminal emulator". I think that explained like this it is better understood why Kubuntu or Linux Mint are Ubuntu: they are Ubuntu on the inside or what is not seen and something else on the outside or what is seen.
Ubuntu as a distribution
Ubuntu as a distribution is Ubuntu Desktop and uses GNOME graphical environment and software by default. The "desktop" is usually omitted because it is the main version. As for the software you use, we have a few things like:
- GNOME: the graphic environment and applications. It uses a customized version of GNOME, with the panel on the left reaching from part to part (so in 2023) and other tweaks. It's not the purest GNOME out there.
- Some GNOME apps, like the text editor or the calendar.
- Ubuntu Software: The software store from which, in theory, everything should be installed. It's a fork from GNOME software, in part designed to prioritize Canonical's Snap packages.
- LibreOffice as an office suite, although it is not included if the "minimal" installation is done.
- Firefox as the default browser and Thunderbird as the default mail client.
- Rhytmbox as a music app.
- Wayland by default, when the graphics card is supported.
official flavors
In addition to the main version, we have:
- Kubuntu. It is the official version with the desktop (Plasma) and KDE software. It is an option designed to be easy to use, customizable and fluid. Part of its ease of use is due to the fact that it has similarities with the Windows that we all know from the 1995 version, with a start panel of the same type.
- Xubuntu. It is a flavor that was originally designed with computers with limited resources in mind. It uses the XFCE desktop, highly customizable and theoretically lighter than GNOME and Plasma.
- Lubuntu. It is another flavor that is dedicated to teams with few resources. The difference with Xubuntu is on your desktop: Lubuntu uses LXQt, with a Windows-like panel and lighter than Xfce, but less customizable.
- Ubuntu MATE. The current Ubuntu MATE is the old Ubuntu. That is to say, it was created by Martin Wimpress for users dissatisfied with Unity when Canonical changed the desktop in 2010. Seeing that it attracted users, it became an official flavor, and unites the best of classic Ubuntu with new technologies.
- Ubuntu Studio. It is the version of Ubuntu designed for content creators. Depending on which year we catch him, he's used either Xfce or Plasma, but what he always includes are multimedia software metapackages like GIMP, Blender, InkScape, Krita, or Ardor.
- Ubuntu Budgie. It's a flavor that's basically like a GNOME who likes makeup. Much of the innards of Ubuntu Budgie are shared with that of the main flavor, but it has its own theme and a more stylized design.
- Ubuntu Unity. When Canonical moved to Unity, they stayed with it for years until they decided to abandon it, at which point they went back to GNOME. Years later, a young developer set out to resurrect it, did a good job, and came back as an official flavor. Unity looks like the more modern GNOME, but uses the Dash instead of the dock and a few other tweaks.
- Ubuntu Kylin. It is a flavor that is mainly intended for the Chinese public, and uses the Ukui graphical environment.
logo and animals
The Ubuntu logo is the famous friend circle. Seen from above, you can only see three balls and an incomplete circle, but those balls are actually heads and the circle would be the arms of three friends.
As for the animals, all versions of Ubuntu since the first one in 2004 have used a name of an african animal or found on the mainland.
The philosophy
This part may be the least interesting for Linux users, but it is the root of everything. ubuntu is a philosophy, a global ethical standard that was born in South Africa, the country of origin of Mark Shuttleworth. That ethic is focused on the loyalty of people and our relationships. The word comes from Zulu and Xhosa, and is a traditional African staple.
The meaning can vary, and depending on the context and who uses it, it can refer to:
- Humanity towards other people. In fact, there have been and are desktop themes that are called "Humanity", and they do so because it is one of the meanings of the word.
- If everyone wins, you win. This meaning could be seen as "karma" in other philosophies or religions.
- We were because we are.
- A person who becomes human because of other people.
- I am what I am based on what all people are.
- Belief is a universal link of sharing that connects with all humanity (share, connect… the circle of friends or CoF).
- Humility.
- Empathy.
- I am because we are, and since we are, then I am.
- We are, therefore I am, and since I am, then we are.
- The common good is one's own good (from my point of view, another way of looking at karma).
Desmond Tutu defined it this way:
A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, supports others, does not feel threatened when others are capable and good at something, because they are sure of themselves, knowing that they belong to a great whole, that they it decreases when other people are humiliated or belittled, when others are tortured or oppressed.
Whichever definition is chosen, or viewed as a whole, Ubuntu is humanity, it is sharing, it is the common good. It's a philosophy, a thought and/or a feeling, and Shuttleworth and company thought it was a good idea to use that word to name the system they were going to launch.