Ubuntu

Ubuntu Logo.

Ubuntu is a Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution aimed at being friendly to users new to GNU+Linux. Ubuntu is the most widely used GNU/Linux operating system in the world, and is widely regarded as being the easiest to configure and use. Sadly Ubuntu ships with the plague that is Unity, along with Amazon Spyware built right into the search tool. Luckily all of this can be painlessly removed, and you can be left with an easy to use operating system that respects (most) of your freedom, and isn't impossible to use or maintain.

It's worth noting that some may like Unity, and it is a usable interface. However, it has been met with a lot of negativity. It's worth giving it a try to see if you like it.

Getting Ubuntu

Ubuntu comes in several different versions, each featuring its own desktop environment. The main one, comes with Unity, while others offer KDE (Kubuntu), XFCE (Xubuntu), and LXDE (Lubuntu).

The current version is 14.04, which can be downloaded here.

Version numbers and LTS

Every two years, Canonical releases an LTS version of their OS. It is intended to be very stable, and is supported for five years. The downside is that versions of packages and the kernel may be too outdated for many.

Non-LTS versions are released every six months. They are the cutting-edge versions with new, but relatively stable packages. This ensures that new hardware will be supported and later versions of packages will be available. However, each version is only supported for 18 months.

Controversy

Canonical, the company supporting Ubuntu, are criticized for their lack of contribution to upstream. They often fork software and change it to fit their system.

Richard Stallman has also criticized Ubuntu, considering it malware.

Removing Amazon Spyware from Unity

sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping

For newer Versions of Ubuntu the Website fixubuntu.com holds a copy-paste-script to remove any add-ware from Ubuntu. This is not necessary with versions of ubuntu lower than 12.10. 12.04 LTS is safe. As of january 2014 it is:

V=`/usr/bin/lsb_release -rs`; if [ $V \< 12.10 ]; then echo "Good news! Your version of Ubuntu doesn't invade your privacy."; else  gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses remote-content-search none; if [ $V \< 13.10 ]; then sudo apt-get remove -y unity-lens-shopping;  else gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Lenses disabled-scopes "['more_suggestions-amazon.scope', 'more_suggestions-u1ms.scope', 'more_suggestions-populartracks.scope', 'music-musicstore.scope', 'more_suggestions-ebay.scope', 'more_suggestions-ubuntushop.scope', 'more_suggestions-skimlinks.scope']"; fi; if ! grep -q productsearch.ubuntu.com /etc/hosts; then echo -e "\n127.0.0.1 productsearch.ubuntu.com" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts >/dev/null; fi; echo "All done. Enjoy your privacy."; fi

Replacing Unity

Purging Unity from 12.04.3 LTS

To install the Cinnamon Desktop Environment (A GNOME 3 Fork):

   $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable
   $ sudo apt-get update
   $ sudo apt-get install cinnamon