Why I Still Think Ubuntu Is the Best Linux Distro in 2024

Ubuntu 18 04.6 LTS Bionic Beaver

Download Ubuntu Desktop and replace your current operating system. It’s easy to install in place of Windows, or run Ubuntu alongside it. Here is where the Ubuntu developers discuss new features and progress updates and share tutorials and advice for community members who wish to get involved.

During the installation type step, you may find that you are unable to proceed with the installation without first deactivating Windows Bitlocker. Type Y, then press ENTER to confirm to finish the update process. Press CTRL+ALT+T to bring up a Terminal window (or click the terminal icon in the sidebar). This is then followed by the login screen, where you can enter your username and password. Clicking Next will take you to a summary of your installation configuration to give you a chance to confirm your setup before clicking Install.

This model has proven effective over the years, with the most prominent representative being Red Hat with their RHEL. Then, the revenue is plowed back into the ongoing distribution development. These days, Ubuntu stands out as one of the most popular and user-friendly options available.

The Universe is a community-maintained repository that houses a vast collection of free and open-source software. While not officially supported by Canonical, these packages meet Ubuntu’s standards and are generally considered safe. DEB packages are the traditional packaging format in Debian-based distributions, including Ubuntu. They are archives that contain the compiled binaries, configuration files, and information about dependencies required for the software to run correctly.

For this tutorial, we’ll use balenaEtcher, as it runs on Linux, Windows and Mac OS. Choose the version that corresponds to your current operating system, download and install the tool. To install Ubuntu Desktop, you need to write your downloaded ISO to a USB stick to create the installation media. This is not the same as copying the ISO, and requires some bespoke software.

Select your location and timezone from the map screen and click Continue. This information will be detected automatically if you are connected to the internet. If this is the case you will get a prompt to disable BitLocker in Windows before restarting the Ubuntu installer. And then presented with the option to select any accessibility settings your require. The following distributions have not been categorized under the preceding sections.

What’s Ubuntu, and how is it different from Linux?

Every two years, one of these builds is designated a Long Term Support (LTS) release. LTS releases are supported for five years and are considered enterprise-grade. The other releases—the interim builds—are for those who want to have the latest release of Ubuntu and the newest selection of applications, and for whom stability is of secondary importance.

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Linux distributions are usually free and open source, and many are great alternatives to popular operating systems like Windows and macOS. Sven Bauduin has been designing and implementing computer systems for around 20 years and reports on almost all relevant IT topics. His main topics are current hardware such as processors, mainboards, RAM and graphics cards, but also operating systems and application software, Linux and open source. For less experienced users who do not necessarily need the latest software packages, we recommend the LTS version.

At the heart of Ubuntu Desktop is the GNOME desktop environment, known for its simplicity and elegance. It offers a clean and intuitive user interface that is easy to navigate for users of all levels of expertise. The company is the primary developer and sponsor of Ubuntu, investing resources to maintain, secure, and update the operating system. This means that Canonical employs a team of developers who contribute to the core of Ubuntu and work on various aspects of the system, from the kernel to the user interface. Ubuntu addresses this scalability issue by offering a heavily customized version of GNOME that adapts effectively across both small laptops and large desktop monitors. They reintroduce desktop icons, easing the transition for users coming from Windows or macOS environments.

You can also run Ubuntu from a USB to try it without installing. Whether you need a POWER, IBMz (s390x), ARM, an obsolete release or a previous LTS point release with its original stack, you can find them in past releases. Ubuntu Core is a strictly confined and immutable Ubuntu with optimised size, performance and security for edge systems.

Install Ubuntu Desktop

There’s been Ubuntu Linux some confusion around the new features in kernel 5.11. It just means that between the seventh final release candidate and the release build, there were very few commits. So there was very little last-minute code-churn, which is a good thing. To be fair to Canonical, the interim builds are always pretty stable.