Ubuntu (operating System) - Variants

Variants

See also: List of Ubuntu-based Linux distributions

Official Ubuntu editions, which are created and maintained by Canonical and the Ubuntu community and receive full support from Canonical, its partners and the Community, are the following:

• Ubuntu Desktop, designed for desktop and laptop PCs. (Formerly there was also Ubuntu Netbook Edition, designed for netbooks and other ultra-portables with screens up to 10", but it was discontinued as its user interface and functionality was integrated into the desktop edition.) The desktop edition can be also installed using the alternative install CD which uses the debian-installer and allows performing certain specialist installations of Ubuntu: setting up automated deployments, upgrading from older installations without network access, LVM and/or RAID partitioning, installs on systems with less than about 256 MB of RAM (although low-memory systems may not be able to run a full desktop environment reasonably).
• Ubuntu Server, made for use in servers. The server install CD allows the user to install Ubuntu permanently on a computer for use as a server. It does not install a graphical user interface.
• Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix, a release meant for business users that comes with special enterprise software including Adobe Flash, Canonical Landscape, OpenJDK 6 and VMware View, while removing social networking and file sharing applications, games and development/sysadmin tools. The goal of the Business Desktop Remix is not to copy other enterprise-oriented distributions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but to make it, according to Mark Shuttleworth's blog, "easier for institutional users to evaluate Ubuntu Desktop for their specific needs."

• Ubuntu TV, labeled "TV for human beings" by Canonical, was introduced at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. Created for SmartTVs, Ubuntu TV provides access to popular Internet services and stream content to mobile devices running Android, iOS and Ubuntu.
• Ubuntu for Android, variant of Ubuntu designed to run on Android phones. It is expected to come pre-loaded on several phones. Ubuntu for Android is expected to be shown at Mobile World Congress 2012.

There are many Ubuntu variants (or derivatives) based on the official Ubuntu editions. These Ubuntu variants install a set of packages that differ from the official Ubuntu distributions.

The variants recognized by Canonical as contributing significantly towards the Ubuntu project are the following:

• Edubuntu, a GNOME-based subproject and add-on for Ubuntu, designed for school environments and home users.
• Kubuntu, a desktop distribution using the KDE Plasma Workspaces desktop environment.
• Lubuntu, a lightweight distribution using the LXDE desktop environment.
• Mythbuntu, designed for creating a home theater PC with MythTV and uses the Xfce desktop environment.
• Ubuntu Studio, a distribution made for professional video and audio editing, comes with higher-end free editing software.
• Xubuntu, a distribution based on the Xfce desktop environment, designed to run more efficiently on low-specification computers.

Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Studio, and Xubuntu are not commercially supported by Canonical.

Other variants are created and maintained by individuals and organizations outside of Canonical, and they are self-governed projects that work more or less closely with the Ubuntu community.