Ubuntu is a Linux distribution derived from Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in several editions: Desktop, Server, and Core for Internet of Things devices and robots. The operating system is developed by the British company Canonical and a community of other developers, following a meritocratic governance model.
Like other Linux distributions, all editions can be run on a dedicated computer or in a virtual machine. Ubuntu upgrades are released every six months, with long-term support (LTS) releases every two years. Canonical provides security updates and support for each Ubuntu release, starting on the release date until the release reaches its designated end-of-life (EOL) date. Canonical generates revenue through the sale of premium services related to Ubuntu software and donations from people who download Ubuntu directly.
Ubuntu is named after the Nguni philosophy of Ubuntu, "humanity to others" which translates to "I am what I am because of who we all are". Since its initial release in 2004, Ubuntu has become one of the most popular general-purpose Linux distributions and is supported by large online communities such as Ask Ubuntu. Several community editions of Ubuntu also exist. It is also popular for cloud computing, with support for OpenStack.
Ubuntu is built on the architecture and infrastructure of Debian, which includes the Linux server, desktop, and discontinued versions of the phone and tablet operating system. Ubuntu releases predictable updates every six months, and each release receives nine months of free support (eighteen months before 13.04) with security fixes, high-impact fixes, and low-risk fixes, which are of significant benefit. The first release was in October 2004.
Ubuntu is currently sponsored by Canonical Ltd. On July 8, 2005, Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical announced the creation of the Ubuntu Foundation and provided an initial grant of US$10 million. The purpose of the foundation is to ensure support and development for all future versions of Ubuntu. Mark Shuttleworth describes the foundation's goal as ensuring the continuity of the Ubuntu project.
On March 12, 2009, Ubuntu announced developer support for third-party cloud management platforms, such as those used at Amazon EC2.
In 2011, Ubuntu's default desktop was changed from GNOME 2 to the internal Unity instead of GNOME 3. After nearly 6.5 years, the default desktop was changed back to GNOME 3 in 2017 with the release of version 17.10.
Ubuntu, since 16.04.5, requires 2 GB or more of installation media. The last Ubuntu release available on CD was at least 18.04.
32-bit x86 processors are supported up to Ubuntu 18.04. It was decided to support “legacy software”, i.e. select 32-bit i386 packages, for Ubuntu 19.10 (since it is no longer supported) and 20.04 LTS.
On August 9, 2024, Ubuntu announced a policy change to always use the latest upstream code of the Linux kernel at the time of each Ubuntu release, even if the kernel code does not have a stable release yet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu