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. 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; the user can be left with an easy-to-use operating system that respects (most) of its freedom, and is not impossible to use or maintain.

Unity, Ubuntu's default interface, is also notable for its design philosophy, which has sparked criticism. It should be known that Unity is merely another window manager, and that this default can be changed with ease.

Getting Ubuntu

Ubuntu comes in several different versions, each featuring its own desktop environment. The main release comes with Unity, while KDE, XFCE, MATE, LXDE and Gnome are offered by Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Lubuntu, and Ubuntu GNOME respectively. Ubuntu Studio exists for audio, video and graphics creation. Ubuntu Kylin is a chinese variant. Mythbuntu is for MythTV setups. Edubuntu is a partner project of Ubuntu meant for classroom use.

The current version is 15.04, which can be downloaded here.

Version numbers and LTS

Every two years, Canonical releases a Long-Term Support (LTS) version of their OS. It is intended to be very stable, and is supported for five years. As a result, however, package versions are often outdated.

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, is criticized for its 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. ^{[Citation needed]}

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