history of ubuntu

source : wikipedia

Ubuntu ( IPA pronunciation: /u'buntu/) is a widely used Linux distribution predominantly targeted at personal computers. Based on Debian GNU/Linux, Ubuntu concentrates on usability, regular releases, ease of installation, and freedom from legal restrictions. Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd., a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth.
The name of the distribution comes from the Zulu and Xhosa concept of ubuntu, and can be roughly defined as, "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity". Ubuntu’s slogan – “Linux for Human Beings”, encapsulates one of its main goals – making Linux more available and easy to use.
The most recent version, Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), was released on April 19, 2007. Version 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) is scheduled for release on October 18, 2007.
History and development
Originally referred to as no-name-yet.com, Ubuntu's first release on October 20, 2004 (version 4.10, following the "Y.MM" standard) began as a temporary fork of Debian GNU/Linux, with the aim of drawing from Debian's code regularly in order to allow for a new version of Ubuntu to be released every six months, in step with the six month GNOME release cycle. In contrast to other general-purpose forks of Debian such as Xandros, Linspire and Libranet, Canonical remains close to Debian's philosophy with Ubuntu and uses predominantly free software rather than making the inclusion of proprietary applications part of their business model.
Ubuntu uses Debian's Advanced Packaging Tool to manage installed packages. Ubuntu packages are generally based on packages from Debian's unstable repository; however, they are not always compatible with each other. Several Ubuntu developers are also maintainers of packages within Debian's repositories, and Ubuntu changes are contributed back to Debian as they are made, rather than being announced only at release time. Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, criticised Ubuntu in April 2005 for incompatibilities between its packages and those of Debian sarge, saying that Ubuntu had diverged too far to remain compatible.
Bugs in Ubuntu are tracked through the Launchpad web interface, which integrates with the Bazaar version control system in a similar way to SourceForge's integration with CVS.
Ubuntu is currently funded by Mark Shuttleworth through Canonical Ltd. On July 8, 2005, Canonical announced the creation of the Ubuntu Foundation and provided an initial funding of US$10 million. The purpose of the foundation is to ensure the support and development for all future versions of Ubuntu, but as of 2006, the foundation remains dormant. Shuttleworth describes the foundation as an emergency fund should Canonical's involvement end.
On May 1, 2007 Dell announced it would sell desktops and laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed. It also stated that customers would be able to buy support for Ubuntu through Dell, the support coming from Canonical.
Features
Usability
Ubuntu uses GNOME as its default desktop environment, intended to provide a free, simple and intuitive interface. Whilst offering a full range of desktop applications including OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox and GIMP, it aims to avoid overlap in its default feature set rather than providing many different variants of similar packages.
After the initial Ubuntu installation, the user is greeted by a default desktop with no desktop icons and an orange-brown user interface, unusual in an operating system as nearly all others use blue as their default colour. Applications are located under the 'Applications menu', a desktop launcher menu in the top-left corner. Open windows can be viewed on the taskbar along the bottom of the screen. Ubuntu is available in over 40 languages, and also allows users to submit additional translations using the Rosetta Translation tool.
Ubuntu's focus on usability includes the widespread use of the sudo tool, which allows users to carry out administrative tasks without initiating a potentially unsafe superuser session.



Originally referred to as no-name-yet.com, Ubuntu's first release on October 20, 2004 (version 4.10, following the "Y.MM" standard) began as a temporary fork of Debian GNU/Linux, with the aim of drawing from Debian's code regularly in order to allow for a new version of Ubuntu to be released every six months, in step with the six month GNOME release cycle. In contrast to other general-purpose forks of Debian such as Xandros, Linspire and Libranet, Canonical remains close to Debian's philosophy with Ubuntu and uses predominantly free software rather than making the inclusion of proprietary applications part of their business model.
Ubuntu uses Debian's Advanced Packaging Tool to manage installed packages. Ubuntu packages are generally based on packages from Debian's unstable repository; however, they are not always compatible with each other. Several Ubuntu developers are also maintainers of packages within Debian's repositories, and Ubuntu changes are contributed back to Debian as they are made, rather than being announced only at release time. Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, criticised Ubuntu in April 2005 for incompatibilities between its packages and those of Debian sarge, saying that Ubuntu had diverged too far to remain compatible.
Bugs in Ubuntu are tracked through the Launchpad web interface, which integrates with the Bazaar version control system in a similar way to SourceForge's integration with CVS.
Ubuntu is currently funded by Mark Shuttleworth through Canonical Ltd. On July 8, 2005, Canonical announced the creation of the Ubuntu Foundation and provided an initial funding of US$10 million. The purpose of the foundation is to ensure the support and development for all future versions of Ubuntu, but as of 2006, the foundation remains dormant. Shuttleworth describes the foundation as an emergency fund should Canonical's involvement end.
On May 1, 2007 Dell announced it would sell desktops and laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed. It also stated that customers would be able to buy support for Ubuntu through Dell, the support coming from Canonical.
Features
Usability
Ubuntu uses GNOME as its default desktop environment, intended to provide a free, simple and intuitive interface. Whilst offering a full range of desktop applications including OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox and GIMP, it aims to avoid overlap in its default feature set rather than providing many different variants of similar packages.
After the initial Ubuntu installation, the user is greeted by a default desktop with no desktop icons and an orange-brown user interface, unusual in an operating system as nearly all others use blue as their default colour. Applications are located under the 'Applications menu', a desktop launcher menu in the top-left corner. Open windows can be viewed on the taskbar along the bottom of the screen. Ubuntu is available in over 40 languages, and also allows users to submit additional translations using the Rosetta Translation tool.
Ubuntu's focus on usability includes the widespread use of the sudo tool, which allows users to carry out administrative tasks without initiating a potentially unsafe superuser session.