Introducing...

Ubuntu
A GNU/Linux Operating System: Past, Present and Future

Benjamin Mako Hill

mako@canonical.com

Ubuntu

http://www.ubuntulinux.org

Canonical Ltd.

http://www.canonical.com

Ubuntu Timeline

April 2004: Developers Brainstorm

September 15: Preview Release

October 20: 4.10 (Warty Warthog) Release

Debian Overview

Debian contains what is approaching 15,000 packages (and growing by 5 each day)

Debian involves the work of 1,000 official developers and many others

Debian includes the work of many companies and organizations

Debian is 100% free software

Things Debian Does Well

There are some things Debian does very well:

Supporting many packages

Involving a huge volunteer base

Strong commitment to Free Software philosophy

Excellent package management tools: apt-get, synaptic, etc.

Consistent and enforced policy

Things Debian Doesn't Do Quite As Well

Releasing

Being easy to use (especially the installer)

Consistent desktop installer

Responsibility (in the corporate or institutional sense)

Before Ubuntu There Was Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a Zulu word meaning humanity toward others or:

The belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.

Meanwhile...

(My Boss is a Cosmonaut)

Ubuntu is Born

Ubuntu In a Nutshell

Based of Debian unstable (sid)

Frequent, predictable releases

GNOME Desktop

We give back to Debian as we go (not only at release time)

Strong commitment to Free Software philosophy, localization, and accessibility

Releases

Ubuntu Releases Debian Every Six Months

Based on Debian unstable

Released twice a year, every 6 months.

Eighteen months of support for each release

Easily upgradeable

Usability

Simple installer

GNOME

Consistency + Simplicity

Emphasis on the Desktop

Corporate/Institutional Accountability

Canonical Ltd. offers services and support

Balancing Big and Small

“If you can't beat them, join them!”

You can't be bigger than Debian.

2,000 Supported Packages

Everything else in Debian in universe

Working on a multiverse for a few packages that aren't even in Debian!

Philosophy

Ubuntu participates in the Debian Community and borrows the Community Model. We believe that:

Every computer user should have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, share, change and improve their software for any purpose, without paying licensing fees.

Every computer user should be able to use their software in the language of their choice.

Every computer user should be given every opportunity to use software, even if they work under a disability.

More About Debian and Ubuntu

There are other aspects of Debian we like to keep (and help Debian improve):

Policy

Package management tools

More!

Other Areas We Focus

GNOME

Python

Security

A Fork?

Not your average fork:

Many patches back to Debian

Canonical hires many Debian Developers

We realize we depend on Debian

Release 4.10 (Warty Warthog)

Includes:

Gnome 2.8 (the day it released)

Firefox

Evolution 2.0

Openoffice 1.1.2

XFree86 4.3 + Extra Hardware

Released for the following architectures:

i386

AMD64

PowerPC

The Future

Our next release (due in April) is Hoary Hedgehog will include:

X.Org (already available)

Kickstart Compatibility

Language Packs

Loads more

Judge us by our code and our actions.

Try Ubuntu

Download Ubuntu:

http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download

Order gratis pressed CDs shipped to you:

http://shipit.ubuntulinux.org

2004-06-03T08:52:33