History and Development Process
Ubuntu is a fork of the Debian project's codebase. The original aim of the Ubuntu developers was to create an easy-to-use Linux desktop with new releases scheduled on a predictable six-month basis, resulting in a frequently updated system.
Ubuntu's first release was on 20 October 2004. Since then, Canonical has released new versions of Ubuntu every six months with commitment to support each release for eighteen months by providing security fixes, patches to critical bugs and minor updates to programs. It was decided that every fourth release, issued on a two-year basis, would receive long-term support (LTS). LTS releases were traditionally supported for three years on the desktop and five years on the server. However with the release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, desktop support for LTS releases was extended to five years (for example, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is scheduled to be supported until April 2017). Support was extended to better accommodate business and corporate IT users of Ubuntu who operate on longer release cycles and are more conscious of the costs associated with frequent software upgrades. LTS releases get point releases to ensure that they work on newer hardware. The LTS releases can get LTS release upgrades with the first point versions. The 12.04 LTS release for instance gets the release upgrade with the 12.04.1 point release.
Ubuntu packages are based on packages from Debian's unstable branch: both distributions use Debian's deb package format and package management tools (APT and Ubuntu Software Center). Debian and Ubuntu packages are not necessarily binary compatible with each other, however, and sometimes .deb packages may need to be rebuilt from source to be used in Ubuntu. Many Ubuntu developers are also maintainers of key packages within Debian. Ubuntu cooperates with Debian by pushing changes back to Debian, although there has been criticism that this does not happen often enough. In the past, Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, has expressed concern about Ubuntu packages potentially diverging too far from Debian to remain compatible. Before release, packages are imported from Debian Unstable continuously and merged with Ubuntu-specific modifications. A month before release, imports are frozen, and packagers then work to ensure that the frozen features interoperate well together.
Ubuntu is currently funded by Canonical Ltd. On 8 July 2005, Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical Ltd. announced the creation of the Ubuntu Foundation and provided an initial funding of US$10 million. The purpose of the foundation is to ensure the support and development for all future versions of Ubuntu. Mark Shuttleworth describes the foundation as an "emergency fund" (in case Canonical's involvement ends).
On 12 March 2009, Ubuntu announced developer support for 3rd party cloud management platforms, such as for those used at Amazon EC2.
The latest release is Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal), released on 18 October 2012.
Mark Shuttleworth announced on 31 October 2011 that Ubuntu's support for smartphones, tablets, TVs and smart screens is scheduled to be added by Ubuntu 14.04. On 9 January 2012, Canonical announced Ubuntu TV at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Read more about this topic: Ubuntu (operating System)
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