So what is Ubuntu?
It is a computer operating system that is based on Linux. It is open source (meaning that it is able to be changed and improved by the users through its source code) and is free. The name came from a South African phrase ‘humanity towards others’ translated as Ubuntu.
Ubuntu strictly adheres to the open source philosophy and it will remain 100% free.
What is it for?
It is for personal computers and there is also a server version, but today we’ll only discuss the personal variant. Overall there are about 12 million people who use Ubuntu on their personal computers and it is the 4th most popular web server.
Who sponsors it?
Mark Shuttleworth (a South African entrepreneur) owns Canonical Ltd. and sponsors Ubuntu. He makes money by selling the technical support and any other services related to Ubuntu.
Can my computer handle it?
Ubuntu supports both 32 and 64 bit architectures but you also need to ensure that your computer meets the minimum requirements to run this operating system.
For your desktop or laptop you must have:
Processor: 1GHz
Memory (or RAM): 384 MiB
Free space on your hard drive: 5 GB
So why do people use Ubuntu?
Ya this is a free operating system, but what really does it offer? With any purchased computer or laptop you get an operating system, so how is Ubuntu different?
Well, for starters it’s an open source software. This means it is completely customizable and you can change it however you like. Even if you aren’t some elite coder or programmer there are a lot of people out there who have created unique and completely awesome add ons for Ubuntu! You can check out some of the more popular Ubuntu downloads to see some of the fantastic features that it can integrate into your desktop operating system. Go here to look at top 10 Ubuntu downloads: http://lifehacker.com/5227309/top-10-ubuntu-downloads
On top of that, it’s free! Windows operating systems often get updated, leaving you in the dust without the fancy new gizmos so you are forced to either purchase the new upgrade or find an alternate means of obtaining that new OS.
Ubuntu is a fantastic open source operating system for personal and business use. It has changed significantly after the launch of Ubuntu 11.XX. The latest edition is Ubuntu 11.10 which is worth trying.