What is Ubuntu used for?
Ubuntu Introduction
Ubuntu is a free and open-source distribution of Linux. It is an OS for cloud computing to support Open Stack. Ubuntu is integrated by the Canonical Community and it’s freely available. Canonical Ltd. is also liable for the Ubuntu funding.
Ubuntu is published every 6 months. Also, free support is present for 9 months for every publication and LTS published every 2 years. The initial publication of Ubuntu was in 2004 October. Three Ubuntu editions are Core Edition, Server Edition, and Desktop Edition.
It is designed for network servers, smartphones, and computers. The system is integrated by a UK-based enterprise which is known as Canonical Ltd. Every principle used for developing the Ubuntu software is based on open-source software development principles.
Ubuntu Features
Below are a few of the important Ubuntu features:
- The desktop release of Ubuntu supports every basic software on Windows like VLC, Chrome, Firefox, etc.
- It supports OfficeSuite which is known as LibreOffice.
- Ubuntu contains an in-built email application which is known as Thunderbird which provides the user access to email like Hotmail, Gmail, exchange, etc.
- Also, there are many applications for managing videos and they permit the users for sharing videos as well.
- The free application’s host is also available for users for viewing and editing photos.
- It is easy to search content in Ubuntu using the smart searching feature.
- The best aspect is that it is a free OS and is backed by a large open-source community.
Ubuntu Specifications
The following are the most important uses of Ubuntu:
Privacy
Ubuntu offers a better option for security and privacy as compared to Windows. The best benefit of having Ubuntu is that we can inherit the needed privacy and extra security without having any solution from a third party. Hacking and several other attack risks can be decreased by having this distribution.
Free
The downloading and installation process of Ubuntu is freely available and costs only at the time of installing it. Anyone can just download it through the internet or can make an ISO bootable disk and then the environment is set to run. Anyone can recover low performance, unused, or any old computer system without any finance using Ubuntu. Troubleshooting also doesn’t lead to any penny, anyone can do this using the Linux environment.
Also, it contains its Office Suite which is known as LibreOffice. It prevents our expenses by not letting us buy costly licensed suites like MS Office and many others.
Working with Hard Drive Partitions
Linux Gparted and live CD enables for diving the hard disk into many partitions. This aspect is applicable if our system is a triple or dual boot. The partition is otherwise useful in migration for a solid-state drive or many spacious drives. Data wiping can be easily implemented in Ubuntu apart from it.
Free Applications
Ubuntu offers various free applications to disclose the world of enjoyment, refreshments, and opportunities. Below are some free applications available in Ubuntu:
- Spotify: Spotify is used for listening to songs at no cost. Also, it permits the creation of playlists and favorite song albums.
- Skype: Skype is used for voice and video high-quality calls and instant messaging.
- VLC: VLC is an individual media player which is compatible with several media file formats.
- Slack: Slack is an application for teamwork and it enables a single place for getting work implemented smoothly and easily.
- Firefox: It is a fast browser along with better performance and is 30% lighter as compared to the Chrome browser.
- PyCharm: It is an interesting IDE for programming that contains every essential tool for Python coding with exciting in-app aspects.
- Atom: It is a text editor for the latest generation along with several aspects of managing every kind of document’s format.
- Telegram: It is an application of mobile synchronized desktop for secure and faster messaging.
Accessibility
Another good aspect of Ubuntu is that it is easily accessible. The users can easily operate with several PHP CMS like WordPress, Magneto, Laravel, and many more. Python can be easily done in Ubuntu apart from Java, Ruby, and PHP. User experience is a great desktop design while using Ubuntu that’s quite efficient and easy to use.
User Friendly
Similar to the Windows operating system, Ubuntu is also easy to use. There is a popular myth about Ubuntu is that it is integrated for coders and developers only. But the real fact is that Ubuntu is a good desktop operating system and could be used by any normal computer user.
As an operating system made for getting beginners on Linux, Ubuntu does a good job of doing the same. It includes a shallow learning curve while it significantly looks different from macOS and Windows. Ubuntu utilizes GNOME, one of the most famous Desktop Environments in the world of Linux. GNOME is where we and our computers interact in a visually appealing and intuitive manner.
- Although, GNOME isn’t the only desktop environment that we can get from Ubuntu.
- Ubuntu provides several variants that are known as “flavors” that port with other DEs like Xfce, MATE, LXQt, and KDE.
- It provides newbies so much flexibility to experience and try different desktop environments and settle with anyone they like the most which make Ubuntu more flexible.
- With GNOME, Vanilla Ubuntu would generally be enough for a winner.
- If we have an old system that struggles to execute the latest applications, however, we may wish to try out Xubuntu, Lubuntu, or Ubuntu MATE.
No Need for Antivirus
The risk of having malware or virus is minimal that decreases the anti-virus software cost. Also, anti-virus is a cause for the slowdown of our computer system and badly affects the performance. It may also lead the system to not efficiently function. Anti-virus also inherits a lot of space in the system apart from this problem. But each of these problems and risks can be avoided in an affordable way with Ubuntu.
Home Automation
Little knowledge of a mini-computer (like Raspberry Pi) and Linux is all for creating small gadgets of Home Automation. One hold or press or click enables several systems and devices of our house to automatically run without human intervention.
Free Games
The compatibility layer, which is commonly called WINE, is the most famous program used for running Windows-based applications and games on Linux-based OSes. From the distribution, several games are open-source and so don’t need any additional cost for installing into the system.
No need for Pirated Software
As mentioned, it’s free. Also, it contains several free software installed with the system. Although, a few Windows-based programs need alternate options like a virtual machine as it makes compatibility problems in Linux-based servers. It provides access to software (official), not only prevents bugs and provides security, but it saves money as well that’s going to be spent on buying pirated software.
PC Performance
System performance depends on what type of usage is. For instance, if the system is utilized for designing, coding, testing problems, business purposes, or for only simply utilization of a computer system, it’s recommended. A few causes behind it are that Ubuntu boots quickly as compared to Windows, provides several IDEs free of cost, and gets less affected. Otherwise, Mac and Windows are way ahead as compared to Ubuntu if gaming aim is considered.
Free Upgrades
Every upgrade offered by Ubuntu is freely available and they are published every 6 months. Automatically, upgrades are installed but only with the permission of the user and users are attentive to installing. The user doesn’t require to bother redoing it or losing data while installing. Distribution is itself able of managing the system well.
Security and Privacy
We may have heard people saying that Linux operating system is more secure than others, but they are referring to its lack of Linux-targetted viruses and open-source nature. The source code is open for everyone to make changes or add code when we say that software or operating system is open source. Several developers and people work together for fixing security loopholes and issues.
Also, Ubuntu can collect our hardware information (GPU, CPU, RAM), usage data, and location data. However, we can opt-out at the time of the installation process or within the setting when the installation is done.
Apps and Software
Most famous applications available on macOS and Windows like Spotify, VSCode, Slack, Chrome, etc are available on Ubuntu as well. The operating system ships with a store which is known as ‘Ubuntu Software’ which permits us to install and search applications with some clicks. Even if we do not find our favorite applications, we may stumble under their alternatives that we may like more in the end.
One of the disadvantages of using Ubuntu is that it only permits us for installing applications in Snap form. The installations of Snap have their benefits, but they turn out to be slow and need bigger storage space than normal application installs. Some users of Linux refused to execute Ubuntu because of this.
But we are not limited to using Snaps only. Most of the famous applications that are present in Linux provide an installation file, i.e., DEB. Assume a DEB file is the same as an EXE file in Windows or an AppImage file in macOS.
Lightweight Flavors
The flavors of Ubuntu such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu, and Ubuntu MATE are very lightweight OSes. If we have an old computer system lying across collecting dust that cannot manage the latest Windows version, we can install the Ubuntu MATE version.
GNOME is a more heavy and modern Desktop Environment than the rest. Hence, it requires more RAM to smoothly work. It requires at least 2GB RAM to execute without any interruption, while the flavors mentioned above require around 1GB.
High customization
Ubuntu provides freedom for customizing our system. If we do not like any specific desktop environment, we can substitute it with a new one. In case, we find a desktop environment unpleasant, we can feel free for experiencing some new ones. These features are naturally acquired by Ubuntu Linux making it the best choice for regular use. We can also try out many tools such as Compiz and make our Ubuntu experience more interesting.
Some things that Ubuntu OS does better than Windows OS
Updates
We get a pop-up promoting us for updating Windows just as we sit down for working on our Windows PC. We must restart the system after the update manager has installed the bigger files required. Although, Microsoft determined that Windows 10 will decide for us, randomly restarting our computer when we least expect it.
We open our favorite software and other pop-ups appear, prompting us for updating the software before we can use it just as we have received backup and running. The situation appears because makeovers and Windows separately manage application updates and operating system.
Ubuntu takes a distinct approach. Updates and installations are handled by repositories. Rather than downloading the software from the website of the developer, the repositories include the software packaged for our Ubuntu edition. The software updater can alert us of pending updates with these repositories.
System Resources
Ubuntu operating system is the best option for reviving previous hardware. If our system is feeling sluggish and we do not wish to upgrade to any new machine, then installing Linux might be the solution.
Microsoft Windows 10 operating system is feature-packed, but we probably do not use or need every functionality baked within the software. Although, the capability is there, it consumes resources from our primary tasks.
Ubuntu is not just a lightweight distribution of Linux that can provide our old PC a new life, but it’s among the most famous and stable. We can either select minimal or standard setups at the time of the installation process, further decreasing the resource and size requirement.
Customization
Microsoft decreases the amount of customization we can do with the operating system. On the other hand, Windows 10 is one of the most customizable releases yet, it is still nowhere across the levels seen in Ubuntu. If we have used or seen previous Ubuntu versions, we might be put off by a now-dated appearance.
Recent releases have fortunately brought the computer up to the latest standards. If the appearance of the default Ubuntu setup still does not work for us, there are so many ways for making our Linux desktop appear fantastic. And, if we miss the Windows feel, we can even create a Linux appearance like Windows 10.
Live Environment
If we have not used Windows and decide we wish to give it a try, we need to commit for installing it on our machine beforehand. It can cause issues like data loss if we later determine we do not like Windows. It is not the case in Ubuntu operating system.
In Ubuntu, we can burn an image to a CD and boot it up from our media. It is a fully working release of the OS which means we can try all Ubuntu aspects without needing to commit for installing it on our hard drive.