NAME: S.

ABINAYA

ROLL NO: 13N103

CLASS: IV B.Tech(IT A)
 OPERATING SYSTEM

An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer

hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs.
All computer programs, excluding firmware, require an operating system to function.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also
include accounting software for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and
other resources.
For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system
acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware, although the application
code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS
function or is interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a
computer – from cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers.
The dominant desktop operating system is Microsoft Windows with a market share of around
82%. OS X by Apple Inc. is in second place (9.8%), and Linux is in third position (1.5%). In
the mobile (smartphone and tablet combined) sector, based on Strategy Analytics Q3 2016
data, Android by Google is dominant with 87.5 percent or growth by 10.3 percent in one year
and iOS by Apple is placed second with 12.1 percent or decrease by 5.2 percent in one year,
while other operating systems amount to just 0.3 percent. Linux is dominant in the server and
supercomputing sectors. Other specialized classes of operating systems, such as embedded and
real-time systems, exist for many applications.
TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEM:
 Single- and multi-tasking
 Single- and multi-user
 Distributed
 Templated
 Embedded
 Real-time
 Library

COMMONLY USED OPERATING SYSTEMS:

UBUNTU
Ubuntu is based on a version of the Linux operating system known as Debian GNU/Linux. Its
main benefit is that it's free and open source. This means users can alter the code as they see fit.
Ubuntu also stands out because it's updated once every six months, unlike other open source
programs that have no strict upgrade schedule. Most Ubuntu-compatible software is also free and
available in on-line software "repositories." Users can try Ubuntu on their PC using the
program's "Live CD" mode. This allows you to run the system without actually installing it on
your computer. Because Ubuntu programs are less ubiquitous than those for more well-known
systems, users may need to do some research before finding the software solutions they need.

ANDROID
Android is a "mobile" operating system maintained by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of
companies and organizations that contribute to the system's development under the management
of Google Inc. The system is an "open standard," meaning that an entire community of
developers can alter the software, not just Google. Android comes pre-installed on smartphones
and tablet PCs for which it was designed. As of the date of publication, all four major
smartphone carriers -- Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T -- have Android devices available.
A variety of manufacturers also make Android-compatible devices. One of the main benefits of
the system's open source status is that developers can create different versions of its basic
programs, allowing users greater freedom to customize their mobile devices.
MAC OS X
While a version of Mac OS X comes pre-installed on all Apple Macintosh computers, users must
pay if they wish to use newer versions when they become available. The system is not open
source, so only Apple developers have the ability to legitimately make alterations or
improvements to its code. It differs from other computer operating systems in that it only works
on Apple computers. Its key feature is its usability. The most recent version as of the date of
publication includes a "resume" feature that re-opens applications in the same state they were in
when you last closed them. It also includes a "Mission Control" feature, which allows you to see
all of your open files at a glance.
IOS
IOS is Apple's mobile operating system. It runs on the company's iPod, iPhone and iPad devices.
Like Mac OS X, it can only be used on Apple's mobile devices. One advantage of iOS is that
more applications are available for it than for any other mobile operating system. As of summer
2011, it has approximately 400,000 to Android's 300,000. This increases the chances that users
will find the type of app they're looking for. The system's key features include multitasking
support, which allows users to run multiple apps simultaneously, and FaceTime, a video chat
program that comes pre-installed on iOS devices.

WINDOWS
Windows is an operating system owned and operated by Microsoft. It differs from open source
systems in that only Microsoft has the ability to make changes to the code. However, it also
differs from Mac OS X in that it can be installed on a variety of different computers from a host
of competing manufacturers, offering the user more freedom of choice when it comes to
hardware. According to Net Market Share, Windows is the most widely used operating system.
The latest version as of the date of publication includes touchscreen support, which combines the
usability of a touchscreen tablet with the power of a desktop computer. It also features "Play To"
and "Remote Media Streaming," which allow you to play media from your computer on other
devices in its vicinity and to access your media when you're away from your computer

UBUNTU

Ubuntu (/ʊˈbuːntʊ/ uu-BOON-tuu) is a Debian-based Linux operating system for personal

computers, tablets and smartphones, where Ubuntu Touch edition is used; and also runs network
servers, usually with the Ubuntu Server edition, either on physical or virtual servers (such as
on mainframes) and/or with containers, that is with enterprise-class features; runs on the most
popular architectures, including server-class ARM-based.
Ubuntu is published by Canonical Ltd, who offer commercial support. It is based on free
software and named after the Southern African philosophy of ubuntu (literally, 'human-ness'),
which Canonical Ltd. suggests can be loosely translated as "humanity to others" or "I am what I
am because of who we all are". It uses Unity as its default user interface for the desktop.
Ubuntu is the most popular operating system running in hosted environments, so–called
"clouds", as it is the most popular server Linux distribution.
Development of Ubuntu is led by UK-based Canonical Ltd., a company of South African
entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical generates revenue through the sale of technical
support and other services related to Ubuntu. The Ubuntu project is publicly committed to the
principles of open-source software development; people are encouraged to use free software,
study how it works, improve upon it, and distribute it.
FEATURES
A default installation of Ubuntu contains a wide range of software that
includes LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Transmission, and several lightweight games such
as Sudokuand chess. Many additional software packages are accessible from the built in Ubuntu
Software Center as well as any other APT-based package management tool. Many additional
software packages, such as Evolution, GIMP, Pidgin, and Synaptic, that are no longer installed
by default, are still accessible in the repositories, installable with the built in Ubuntu Software
Center; or by any other APT-based package management tool.
Ubuntu operates under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and all of the application
software installed by default is free software. In addition, Ubuntu installs some hardware drivers
that are available only in binary format, but such packages are clearly marked in the restricted
component.
SECURITY
Ubuntu's goal is to be secure "out-of-the box". By default, the user's programs run with low
privileges and cannot corrupt the operating system or other users' files. For increased security,
the sudo tool is used to assign temporary privileges for performing administrative tasks, which
allows the root account to remain locked and helps prevent inexperienced users from
inadvertently making catastrophic system changes or opening security holes. PolicyKit is also
being widely implemented into the desktop to further harden the system. Most network ports are
closed by default to prevent hacking. A built-in firewall allows end-users who install network
servers to control access. A GUI (GUI for Uncomplicated Firewall) is available to configure it.
Ubuntu compiles its packages using GCC features such as PIE and buffer overflow
protection to harden its software. These extra features greatly increase security at the
performance expense of 1% in 32-bit and 0.01% in 64-bit.
Ubuntu also supports full disk encryption as well as encryption of the home and Private
directories.
INSTALLATION

Ubuntu running on the Nexus S, a smartphone that ran Android prior to Ubuntu
The system requirements vary among Ubuntu products. For the Ubuntu desktop release 16.04
LTS, a PC with at least 2 GHz dual core processor, 2 GB of RAM and 25 GB of free disk space
is recommended. For less powerful computers, there are other Ubuntu distributions such
as Lubuntu and Xubuntu. Since version 12.04, Ubuntu supports the ARM architecture. Ubuntu is
also available on Power, older PowerPC architecture was at one point unofficial supported, and
now newer Power ArchitectureCPUs (POWER8) are supported.
Live images are the typical way for users to assess and subsequently install Ubuntu. These can
be downloaded as a disk image (.iso) and subsequently burnt to a DVD and booted, or run
via UNetbootin directly from a USB drive (making, respectively, a live DVD or live
USBmedium). Running Ubuntu in this way is typically slower than running it from a hard drive,
but does not alter the computer unless specifically instructed by the user. If the user chooses to
boot the live image rather than execute an installer at boot time, there is still the option to then
use an installer called Ubiquity to install Ubuntu once booted into the live environment. Disk
images of all current and past versions are available for download at the Ubuntu web
site. Various third-party programs such as remastersys and Reconstructor are available to create
customized copies of the Ubuntu Live DVDs (or CDs). "Minimal CDs" are available (for server
use) that fit on a CD.
Additionally, USB flash drive installations can be used to boot Ubuntu and Kubuntu in a way
that allows permanent saving of user settings and portability of the USB-installed system
between physical machines (however, the computers' BIOS must support booting from USB). In
newer versions of Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Live USB creator can be used to install Ubuntu on a USB
drive (with or without a live CD or DVD). Creating a bootable USB drive with persistence is as
simple as dragging a slider to determine how much space to reserve for persistence; for this,
Ubuntu employs casper.
The desktop edition can also be installed using the Netboot image (a.k.a. netboot tarball) which
uses the debian-installer and allows certain specialist installations of Ubuntu: setting up
automated deployments, upgrading from older installations without network
access, LVM and/or RAID partitioning, installs on systems with less than about 256 MB of
RAM (although low-memory systems may not be able to run a full desktop environment
reasonably).
PACKAGE CLASSIFICATION AND SUPPORT
Ubuntu divides most software into four domains to reflect differences in licensing and the degree
of support available. Some unsupported applications receive updates from community members,
but not from Canonical Ltd.
Free software Non-free software
Canonical supported software domains Main Restricted
Unsupported Universe Multiverse

Free software includes software that has met the Ubuntu licensing requirements, which roughly
correspond to the Debian Free Software Guidelines. Exceptions, however,
include firmware and fonts, in the Main category, because although they are not allowed to be
modified, their distribution is otherwise unencumbered.
Non-free software is usually unsupported (Multiverse), but some exceptions (Restricted) are
made for important non-free software. Supported non-free software includes device drivers that
can be used to run Ubuntu on some current hardware, such as binary-only graphics card drivers.
The level of support in the Restricted category is more limited than that of Main, because the
developers may not have access to the source code. It is intended that Main and Restricted
should contain all software needed for a complete desktop environment. Alternative programs
for the same tasks and programs for specialized applications are placed in the Universe and
Multiverse categories.
In addition to the above, in which the software does not receive new features after an initial
release, Ubuntu Backports is an officially recognized repository for backporting newer software
from later versions of Ubuntu. The repository is not comprehensive; it consists primarily of user-
requested packages, which are approved if they meet quality guidelines. Backports receives no
support at all from Canonical, and is entirely community-maintained.
The -updates repository provides stable release updates (SRU) of Ubuntu and are generally
installed through update-manager. Each release is given its own -updates repository (e.g.
intrepid-updates). The repository is supported by Canonical Ltd. for packages in main and
restricted, and by the community for packages in universe and multiverse. All updates to the
repository must meet certain requirements and go through the -proposed repository before being
made available to the public. Updates are scheduled to be available until the end of life for the
release.
In addition to the -updates repository, the unstable -proposed repository contains uploads which
must be confirmed before being copied into -updates. All updates must go through this process to
ensure that the patch does truly fix the bug and there is no risk of regression. Updates in -
proposed are confirmed by either Canonical or members of the community.
Canonical's partner repository lets vendors of proprietary software deliver their products to
Ubuntu users at no cost through the same familiar tools for installing and upgrading
software. The software in the partner repository is officially supported with security and other
important updates by its respective vendors. Canonical supports the packaging of the software
for Ubuntu and provides guidance to vendors. The partner repository is disabled by default and
can be enabled by the user. Some popular products distributed via the partner repository as of 28
April 2013 are Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Reader and Skype.
THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE
Ubuntu has a certification system for third-party software. Some third-party software that does
not limit distribution is included in Ubuntu's multiverse component. The package ubuntu-
restricted-extras additionally contains software that may be legally restricted, including support
for MP3 and DVD playback, Microsoft TrueType core fonts, Sun's Java runtime
environment, Adobe's Flash Player plugin, many common audio/video codecs, and unrar, an
unarchiver for files compressed in the RAR file format.
Additionally, third-party application suites are available for purchase through Ubuntu
Software, including many games such as Braid and Oil Rush, software for DVD playback and
media codecs. More games are available through Steam.
RELEASES

Version Code name Release date Supported until

12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin 2012-04-26 2017-04-26

12.10 Quantal Quetzal 2012-10-18 2014-05-16

13.04 Raring Ringtail 2013-04-25 2014-01-27[20]

13.10 Saucy Salamander 2013-10-17 2014-07-17

14.04 LTS[70] Trusty Tahr 2014-04-17 2019-04

14.10 Utopic Unicorn[71] 2014-10-23[72] 2015-07-23

15.04 Vivid Vervet[73] 2015-04-23 2016-02-04

15.10 Wily Werewolf[74] 2015-10-22[75] 2016-07-28[76]

16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus[77] 2016-04-21[78] 2021-04

16.10 Yakkety Yak[79] 2016-10-13[80] 2017-07[81]

17.04 Zesty Zapus 2017-04 2018-01

Old version
 Older version, still supported

Latest version

Future release

Each Ubuntu release has a version number that consists of the year and month number of the
release. For example, the first release was Ubuntu 4.10 as it was released on 20 October 2004.
Version numbers for future versions are provisional; if the release is delayed the version number
changes accordingly.
Ubuntu releases are also given alliterative code names, using an adjective and an animal (e.g.,
"Trusty Tahr" and "Precise Pangolin"). With the exception of the first two releases, code names
are in alphabetical order, allowing a quick determination of which release is newer. "We might
skip a few letters, and we'll have to wrap eventually" says Mark Shuttleworth while describing
the naming scheme. Commonly, Ubuntu releases are referred to using only the adjective portion
of the code name; for example, the 14.04 LTS release is commonly known as "Trusty".
Releases are timed to be approximately one month after GNOME releases (which in turn are
about one month after releases of X.org). As a result, every Ubuntu release was introduced with
an updated version of both GNOME and X. After major releases, the Ubuntu Developer Summit
(UDS) is held, at which the Ubuntu community sets the development direction for the next cycle.
The latest such event, as of June 2016, was held 5–7 May 2015, after Ubuntu 15.04 and planning
15.10.
Upgrades from one LTS release to the next LTS release (e.g. Ubuntu 14.04 LTS to Ubuntu 16.04
LTS) are supported, while upgrades from non-LTS have only supported upgrade to the next
release, regardless of its LTS status (e.g. Ubuntu 15.10 to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS).
Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat), was released on 10 October 2010 (10–10–10). This departed
from the traditional schedule of releasing at the end of October in order to get "the perfect 10",
[86]
and makes a playful reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, since, in binary,
101010 equals decimal 42, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and
Everything" within the series.
Ubuntu 14.04.1 and all later releases require a 2 GB or larger installation medium. Server
releases still fit on CDs.
VARIANTS

Ubuntu family tree

The variant officially recommended for most users, and officially supported by Canonical, is
Ubuntu Desktop (formally named as Ubuntu Desktop Edition, and simply called Ubuntu),
designed for desktop and laptop PCs using Unity Desktop interface (earlier versions used
GNOME).[90] A number of other variants are distinguished simply by each featuring a different
desktop environment. The following are not commercially supported by Canonical:[54]

 Ubuntu GNOME (with the GNOME desktop environment),

 Ubuntu MATE (with the MATE desktop environment),
 Kubuntu (with KDE Plasma Workspaces),
 Lubuntu (with LXDE), and
 Xubuntu (with Xfce).
LXDE[91] and Xfce[92] are sometimes recommended for use with older PCs that may have less
memory and processing power available.
Besides Ubuntu Desktop, there are several other official Ubuntu editions, which are created and
maintained by Canonical and the Ubuntu community and receive full support from Canonical, its
partners and the Community. They include the following:[93][94]

 Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix, was a release meant for business users that came with
special enterprise software including Adobe Flash, Canonical Landscape, OpenJDK 6
and VMware View, while removing social networking and file sharing applications, games
and development/sysadmin tools. The goal of the Business Desktop Remix was not to copy
other enterprise-oriented distributions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but to make it,
according to Mark Shuttleworth's blog, "easier for institutional users to evaluate Ubuntu
Desktop for their specific needs".
 Ubuntu TV, labeled "TV for human beings" by Canonical Ltd., was introduced at the
2012 Consumer Electronics Show by Canonical's marketing executive John D.
Bernard. Created for smart TVs, Ubuntu TV aimed to provide access to popular Internet
services and stream content to mobile devices running Android, iOS and
Ubuntu. Launchpad.net Ubuntu TV code repository has not shown any actual development
activity since December 2011.
There are more Ubuntu variants (or derivatives) based on the official Ubuntu editions. These
install a default set of packages that differ from the official Ubuntu distributions.
The variants recognized by Canonical as contributing significantly towards the Ubuntu project
(but not commercially supported) are the following:

 Edubuntu, a subproject and add-on for Ubuntu, designed for school environments and home
users.
 Mythbuntu, designed for creating a home theater PC with MythTV and uses the Xfce
desktop environment.
 Ubuntu Studio, a distribution made for professional video and audio editing, comes with
higher-end free editing software.

By Precise Pangolin (12.04), Kubuntu is a community-supported variant of the Ubuntu distribution which uses the KDE
Plasma Workspaces.

There are many more variants, created and maintained by individuals and organizations outside
of Canonical, and they are self-governed projects that work more or less closely with the Ubuntu
community.
Chinese derivative Ubuntu Kylin[edit]
Since Ubuntu 10.10, a Chinese-language version of Ubuntu Desktop called "Ubuntu Chinese
Edition" (later Ubuntu Kylin), had been released alongside the various other editions, up to and
including 12.04. However, in 2013, Canonical reached an agreement with the Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China to make Ubuntu the new
basis of the Kylin operating system (that had used FreeBSD) starting with Raring Ringtail
(version 13.04). The first version of Ubuntu Kylin was released on 25 April 2013.
UBUNTU SERVER

A screenshot of the Ubuntu 12.04Server installation boot menu

Ubuntu has a server edition that uses the same APT repositories as the Ubuntu Desktop Edition.
The differences between them are the absence of an X Window environment in a default
installation of the server edition (although one can easily be installed, including Unity, GNOME,
KDE or Xfce), and some alterations to the installation process. The server edition uses a screen-
mode, character-based interface for the installation, instead of a graphical installation process.
This enables installation on machines with a serial or "dumb terminal" interface without graphics
support.
Since version 10.10, the server edition (like the desktop version) supports hardware
virtualization and can be run in a virtual machine, either inside a host operating system or in
a hypervisor, such as VMware ESXi, Oracle, Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, QEMU,
a Kernel-based Virtual Machine, or any other IBM PC compatible emulator or virtualizer.
Ubuntu 7.10 and later turn on the AppArmorsecurity module for the Linux kernel by default on
key software packages, and the firewall is extended to common services used by the operating
system.

 Has minimum requirements of: 512 MB RAM, 1 GHz CPU, and 1 GB disk space (1.75 GB
for all features to be installed)
 Runs on all major architectures – x86, x86-64, ARM v7, ARM64, POWER8 and IBM
System z mainframes via LinuxONE. SPARC is no longer commercially supported.
 Supports ZFS, a file system with snapshot capabilities, since Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (with FUSE,
not as a regular kernel module).

 Has LXD, a hypervisor to manage LXC Linux containers

 Includes the first production release of DPDK for line-speed kernel networking
 Uses Linux 4.4 kernel and systemd service manager
 Is certified as a guest on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Joyent, IBM and HP Cloud
It has up-to-date versions of key server software pre-installed, including: Tomcat (v8),
PostgreSQL (v9.5), Docker v(1.10), Puppet (v3.8.5), Qemu (v2.5), Libvirt (v1.3.1), LXC (v2.0),
and MySQL (v5.6).
UBUNTU TOUCH
Ubuntu Touch is an alternate version of Ubuntu developed for smartphones and tablets which
was announced on 2 January 2013. Ubuntu Touch was released to manufacturing on 16
September 2014.[110] The first device to run it was the Galaxy Nexus.[111] A concept for a
smartphone running Ubuntu for Phones was published[when?] on Ubuntu's official channel
on YouTube.[112] The platform allows developing one app with two interfaces: a smartphone UI,
and, when docked, a desktop UI; a demo version for higher-end Ubuntu smartphones was shown
that could run a full Ubuntu desktop when connected to a monitor and keyboard, which was to
ship as Ubuntu for Android. Ubuntu for Tablets was previewed at 19 February 2013. According
to the keynote video, an Ubuntu Phone will be able to connect to a tablet, which will then utilize
a tablet interface; plugging a keyboard and mouse into the tablet will transform the phone into a
desktop; and plugging a television monitor into the phone will bring up the Ubuntu TV interface.
On 6 February 2015, the first smartphone running Ubuntu Touch pre-installed was announced.
The BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition features a 4.5-inch (110 mm) qHD display, a
1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, and 1 GB of RAM. It is currently priced at €169.90,
while the 5-inch Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition is available for €199.90.
CLOUD COMPUTING

Eucalyptus interface
Cloud Ubuntu Orange Box

Ubuntu offers Ubuntu Cloud Images which are pre-installed disk images that have been
customized by Ubuntu engineering to run on cloud-platforms such as Amazon EC2, OpenStack,
Microsoft Windows and LXC. Ubuntu is also prevalent on VPS platforms such as DigitalOcean.
Ubuntu 11.04 added support for OpenStack, with Eucalyptus to OpenStack migration tools
added by Canonical in Ubuntu Server 11.10. Ubuntu 11.10 added focus on OpenStack as the
Ubuntu's preferred IaaS offering though Eucalyptus is also supported. Another major focus
is Canonical Juju for provisioning, deploying, hosting, managing, and orchestrating enterprise
data center infrastructure services, by, with, and for the Ubuntu Server.
ADOPTION AND RECEPTION
INSTALLED BASE
Because of a lack of registration, any number provided for Ubuntu usage can only be
estimated. In 2015, Canonical's Ubuntu Insights page stated "Ubuntu now has over 40 million
desktop users and counting".
W3Techs Web Technology Surveys estimated in September 2016 that:

 Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution for running Web servers on, used by 34.1% of
"all the websites" they analyze. Linux distributions are used a little more than Microsoft
Windows for websites based on W3Techs numbers, and only Ubuntu and Debian (which
Ubuntu is based on, with the same package manager and thus administered the same way)
make up 65% of all Linux distributions for web serving use; Ubuntu got more popular than
Debian (for such server use), in May 2016.
 Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution among the top 1000 sites and gains around
500 of the top 10 million websites per day.
 Ubuntu is used by 12.4% of all websites analyzed, growing from less than 7% in October
2012.
W3Techs analyzes the top 10 million websites only. It considers Linux as a subcategory
of Unix and estimated in the same month that 66.7% of the analyzed websites use Unix, under
that broad definition.
According to TheCloudMarket.com, Ubuntu is on at least 57% of the images it scanned on
Amazon EC2 (and Windows at 7.8%).
Wikimedia Foundation data (based on user agent) for September 2013 shows that Ubuntu
generated the most page requests to Wikimedia sites, including Wikipedia, among recognizable
Linux distributions.
LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENTS
The city of Munich, Germany, has forked Kubuntu 10.04 LTS and created LiMux for use on the
city's computers. After originally planning to migrate 12,000 desktop computer to LiMux, it was
announced in December 2013 that the project had completed successfully with the migration of
14,800 out of 15,500 desktop computers. In March 2012, the government of Iceland launched a
project to get all public institutions using free and open-source software. Already several
government agencies and schools have adopted Ubuntu. The government cited cost savings as a
big factor for the decision, and also stated that open source software avoids vendor lock-in. A 12-
month project was launched to migrate the biggest public institutions in Iceland to open-source,
and help ease the migration for others. Incumbent US president Barack Obama's
successful campaign for re-election in 2012, used Ubuntu in its IT department. In August 2014,
the city of Turin, Italy, announced the migration from Windows XP to Ubuntu for its 8,300
desktop computers used by the municipality, becoming the first city in Italy to adopt Ubuntu.
CRITICAL RECEPTION
Ubuntu was awarded the Reader Award for best Linux distribution at the 2005 LinuxWorld
Conference and Expo in London, received favorable reviews in online and print
publications, and has won InfoWorld's 2007 Bossie Award for Best Open Source Client OS. In
early 2008 PC World named Ubuntu the "best all-around Linux distribution available today",
though it criticized the lack of an integrated desktop effects manager. Chris DiBona, the program
manager for open-source software at Google, said "I think Ubuntu has captured people's
imaginations around the Linux desktop," and "If there is a hope for the Linux desktop, it would
be them". As of January 2009, almost half of Google's 20,000 employees used Goobuntu, a
proprietary, slightly modified version of Ubuntu. In 2012, ZDNet reported that Ubuntu was still
Google's desktop of choice. In March 2016, Matt Hartley picked a list of best Linux distributions
for Datamation; he chose Ubuntu as number one.
In 2008, Jamie Hyneman, co-host of the American television series Mythbusters, advocated
Linux (giving the example of Ubuntu) as a solution to software bloat. Other celebrity users of
Ubuntu include science fiction writer Cory Doctorow and actor Stephen Fry.
In March 2013, Canonical announced that it had decided to develop Mir, reversing an earlier
plan to move to Wayland as the primary Ubuntu display server and causing widespread objection
from the open source desktop community. X.Org contributor Daniel Stone opined: "I'm just
irritated that this means more work for us, more work for upstream developers, more work for
toolkits, more work for hardware vendors....". In September 2013, an Intel developer removed
XMir support from their video driver and wrote "We do not condone or support Canonical in the
course of action they have chosen, and will not carry XMir patches upstream".
In January 2014, the UK's authority for computer security, CESG, reported that Ubuntu 12.04
LTS was "the only operating system that passes as many as 9 out of 12 requirements without any
significant risks".
Ubuntu's developers acknowledged battery life problems from version 10.04 and sought to solve
the issues of power consumption in the 12.04 LTS release. The 14.04 release improved the
situation, but still lagged other operating systems in the battery life metric.
AMAZON CONTROVERSY
One of the new features of Unity in Ubuntu 12.10 was the shopping lens—Amazon search
results displayed in the Unity dash. It was alternately described as the "Amazon
controversy", "privacy fiasco" and "spyware".
From October 2012, it sent the user's queries through a secure HTTPS connection from the home
lens to productsearch.ubuntu.com, which then polled Amazon.com to find relevant products;
Amazon then sent product images directly to the user's computer through HTTP. If the user
clicked on one of these results and then bought something, Canonical got a small fraction of the
sale.
In 2012, many reviewers criticized it: as the home lens is the normal means to search for content
on the local machine, reviewers were concerned about the disclosure of queries that were
intended to be local, creating a privacy problem. As the feature is active by default instead of
opt-in, many users could be unaware of it.
Some users chose to turn it off or to remove the feature using a patch. An April 2014 article by
Scott Gilbertson stated that the online search components of Ubuntu could be turned off with a
couple of clicks in version 14.04.
For the move, it was awarded the 2013 Austria Big Brother Award.
Since Ubuntu 16.04, the setting is off by default.
HARDWARE VENDOR SUPPORT
Ubuntu works closely with OEMs to jointly make Ubuntu available on a wide range of
devices. A number of vendors offer computers with Ubuntu pre-installed,
including Dell, Hasee, Sharp Corporation, and Cirrus7. Specifically, Dell offers the XPS 13
laptop, Developer Edition with Ubuntu pre-installed. Together, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and ASUS
offer over 200 desktop and close to 500 laptop PCs preloaded with Ubuntu. Certified OEM
images are also available for Ubuntu Advantage customers. System76, WeWi and Tesco.
System76 PCs are sold exclusively with Ubuntu. Dell and System76 customers are able to
choose between 30-day, three-month, and yearly Ubuntu support plans through Canonical. Dell
computers (running Ubuntu 10.04) include extra support for ATI Video Graphics, Dell
Wireless, Fingerprint Readers, HDMI, Bluetooth, DVD playback (using LinDVD),
and MP3/WMA/WMV. Asus is also selling some Eee PCs with Ubuntu pre-installed and
announced "many more" models running Ubuntu for 2011. Vodafone has made available a
notebook for the South-African market called "Webbook".
Dell sells computers (initially Inspiron 14R and 15R laptops) pre-loaded with Ubuntu in India
and China, with 850 and 350 retail outlets respectively.[201][202] Starting in 2013, Alienware began
offering its X51 model gaming desktop pre-installed with Ubuntu at a lower price than if it were
pre-installed with Windows.
While Linux already works in IBM's mainframe system (zLinux), IBM in collaboration with
Canonical (and SUSE; "Linux Foundation will form a new Open Mainframe Project")
announced Ubuntu support for their z/Architecture (IBM claims their latest system, IBM
zEnterprise System, version z13 is the most powerful computer in the world; it is the largest
computer by transistor count) for the first time, at the time of their "biggest code drop"
("LinuxOne") in Linux history.
In early 2015, Intel launched the Intel Compute Stick small form factor computer available
preloaded with Ubuntu or Windows operating systems.
WINDOWS SUBSYSTEM
In March 2016, Microsoft announced that they would support the Ubuntu userland on top of
the Windows 10 kernel by implementing the Linux system calls as a subsystem. The focus lies
on command-line tools like Bash and is therefore primarily directed towards developers.