Ubuntu has become the most popular Linux distribution, with polls putting it as high as 60% of the linux marketshare – and the hottest linux community since 2005. But what makes it so popular?
In this article, we’re going to look at the top reasons behind Ubuntu’s success and discuss what’s next for the linux community.
Availability
The principle is simple: the lower the barrier of entry, the more users you’ve got. Ubuntu is very easy and convenient to get:
- Shipit: Sends you free CD’s via mail.
- Downloads: Both torrent and FTP, with mirrors around the world, extremely fast – in my case over 1Mbit/second. You are presented with an .ISO file that can be easily transferred to a CD.
- Pre-loaded on PC’s – installed on compatible hardware, the best choice for non-technical people, available from Dell and others.
Reliability
Ubuntu is backed by Canonical, a company who’s primary focus is to promote its use. They made possible:
- Sustained development schedule
- Fast updates
- Organized and unified community
Canonical can afford promoting Ubuntu by cashing in on Professional Support services, and their whole business objective is making it as popular as possible.
Community
Unity was something a lot of Linux fans were waiting for, and were quick to adopt Ubuntu. By the time of their third release, they had thousands people on the bandwagon – and a tight knit community.
- Forums: Thousands of tutorials, help topics and discussions, virtually anything you need can be found on the Ubuntu Forums.
- Bug Tracker: The Bug Tracker is super-easy to use and lots of people contribute by finding and reporting bugs; coders with some free time often create ad-hoc scripts to fix problems. Some even contribute with drivers.
- Blogs: A lot of geeks, just like you and me, took matters into their own hands and started publishing for Ubuntu users – insights into features, tutorials and reviews; creating massive exposure.
Something I missed I my analysis, eloquently expressed by weizbox in the comments:
Advertising, clearly. The distro itself doesn’t really separate itself much from the other major desktop distros in terms of hardware compatibility or special features, since all the major desktop distros all are essentially build on the same packages, just perhaps different versions depending on the release. Occasionally there will be some differences, like with the new BBC plugin (which others would have more easily at this point if it weren’t for the Ubuntu devs using apt code instead of a standard, like PackageKit) and the new Guest account (previously, only a ~3-click process).
Another interesting point of view from Darkhacker:
- Releases: The release schedule is predictable and releases are made often.
- Software: Ubuntu comes with very sane defaults and I don’t need to remove a ton of packages or spend all day downloading more packages to get my desktop the way I like it. They have also found a good balance between stable and up-to-date software. Fedora can be a little too bleeding edge at times and other distros are behind the times.
- APT: I just like APT better. I’ve always used Debian based distros.
- Single CD: One of my dislikes about Suse and Fedora is it comes on like 5 CDs. Yes I could get the DVD or I could just download a portion of the CDs but that’s really retarded to me. It’s wasting bandwidth on packages I’ll never want or need. Plus, some older computers only have a CD drive (no DVD) and it’s easier to handle a single disk.
- Support: 18 months for regular releases and 36 months for LTS. It’s nice knowing that I’m not rushed to upgrade.
- Popular: Sort of a chicken-and-egg scenario but I started using Ubuntu because I saw it was number one on Distrowatch. That creates a great community and means that I’ll get a well tested distro with lots of community support.
- Company Backing: We can sit around the camp fire and talk about “power to the people”, but I really like company backing. If a company (in this case Canonical) is backing a distro, I have more faith in the quality of maintenance (releasing security updates for all packages, reliable update servers, etc) than if It’s being run by a couple guys in their spare time. Who knows if they’ll continue to support it. What if they miss a security update for a package in their repos?
Yes I know that a few other distros meet some of these criteria, but Ubuntu hits them all.
And from MaxMWood:
Lets just make it clear that it’s popular only within Linux distros. Nothing else.
What’s next?
In the light of recent events, both from Apple and Microsoft, how would you see the future of linux? Will Windows 7 be a flop, will it generate a massive wave of switchers the open source community was waiting for?
I think the progress will be incremental – and the principles and ideas behind the open source philosophy will ultimately make the difference.
What made you switch to Ubuntu?
I love your desktop background – can I find it on the net anywhere? Cheers.
The reason I switched to Ubuntu was because I was sick of Windows running slow for no reason – and there was NO WAY I could find out why. Linux is totally transparent, I can find out EXACTLY what it is doing all the time, I have total control over my computer.
To be honest I have no idea why I switched to Ubuntu, or why I got interested in Linux at all. I can’t see there being any wave of switchers to any OS happening unless Microsoft or Apple were to completely collapse (not going to happen), change will happen slowly, I have almost everyone in my close family on Ubuntu and its about 50% Linux users at my university course because we’re actively encouraged to switch. I see a very gradual change, mostly from word of mouth, but its probably better that way, as most people are still not ready for Linux (or Linux is still not ready for most people).
@Jon: I’m looking for that one myself, this is from Flickr user Sumlaris here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/guillermolla/472471208/.
Advertising, clearly. [...Included in article, thanks weizbox]
The ‘Availability’ section tells us it’s popular because Ubuntu is being preloaded on computers… but that’s only because it was somewhat popular to begin with. Using the result of it being popular to say that’s a reason WHY its popular is somewhat invalid. I can’t believe sources to download was used as a reason… as if you can’t find almost any other distro on an ftp, torrent, usenet, etc. The Ship-It idea could help spread the software to people with slow connection, making Ubuntu popular via means of acquisition, but won’t help in the distro popularity by what it can do post-install.
‘Reliability’
Almost any distro updates packages quickly (in fact this can’t be said ab out Ubuntu as much since they didn’t even include OOo3 in the latest release). Every project has a schedule, so that could be said for anyone. And yes, one good (and bad) thing about Ubuntu is that it stays on time for the release (most of the time)… but this also means a lot of things are rushed out with bugs (as we’ve already seen with 8.10) and with older software, like using OOo2. I have yet to see a mainstream distro not have an ‘Organized and unified community’. Everyone is there for a reason to begin, to be a part of and help progress the distro.
‘Community’
Oh, wasn’t this listed under ‘Reliability’? Forums, Bug Trackers, Blogs… what distro doesn’t have these?
Still waiting for a reason… why didn’t you give any? Are the reasons why Ubuntu is popular the same reasons as any other distros… is that what your trying to get it?
// I do not imply that I know everything, I simply laid out some reasons why I think Ubuntu is popular; I really appreciate that your comments are well-written and have some valid arguments – I only wonder why are you so hostile towards all my articles.//
Thanks – I found it (amongst some other really great wallpapers):
http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/details/1232/lazy_days_ii.html
@Jon: Thanks for sharing!
Great post!
Jon hit it on the head when he mentioned transparency.
As someone who has been using Linux since about 2003, my experiences might be a bit skewed by lack of knowledge, but I recently have been dealing with clients who use Vista and it seems extremely unwieldy and intimidating by comparison to Ubuntu, SuSE, Fedora or any flavour of Linux or even BSD that I have tried. In Linux, I know that everything is either a file or a folder and that common problems are easily solved through rudimentary means (such as removing a .conf file or preferences folder in your home directory). However in Windows, it seems to me that solving common problems could mean monkeying with the registry and possibly b0rking my OS altogether, it could mean reinstalling software entirely, it could mean any number of extreme measures. To me, solving problems in Windows has always been somewhat like killing a mouse with a tactical nuclear device.
Again, I will say that as I HAVE had more experience using and administering Linux/Unix systems, my opinions may be a bit skewed. Though even listening to many of my Windows Server sysadmin friends and their horror stories of malfunctioning Exchange servers and Domain Controllers, Server 2003 RASes that choke on connections from Vista/Server 2008 client machines, or botched SharePoint installations, my first thought is always, “wow, see now here’s how he could have done this on Linux…”
Ubuntu is popular because it has financial backing and relatively deep pockets and was initially commited to desktop and newbie friendly. Back when Ubuntu was introduced, the number one linux on distrowatch was Mandrake/Mandriva which was also focused on desktop and newbie friendly. But MAndrake/Mandriva was in the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its future seemed uncertain and it also was aggressively trying to get users to pay for a subscription to its club.
Ubuntu by contrast was willing to send you a copy of linux free via ship it, and Shuttleworth’s celebrity and financial backing insured that those wanting to try linux for the first time would find Ubuntu the obvious choice
Great comments guys, thanks for sharing!
Wow…You’ve put a lot of in-depth research into this extensive article, dude
@Joe the Plumber: Sarcasm is the mark of an intelligent person.
I think this topic is a dead horse now by now.
@Stefan Neagu: No offense, I just hope you meditate from my comment so the overall quality of your articles improve. There are so many blogs out there…Most blog posts are short with little content, poor or no analysis, no new information…After reading a blog article, the reader shouldn’t wonder “Where’s the meat?!”
@Joe the Plumber: This post was more on the ‘crowd sourcing’ – I had the ideea for the article, just couldn’t find that magic bit of substance. I appreciate your comment!
@Stefan Neagu: Ok, I can understand that. You have a recent web site. I dugg you. One has to give others a chance. Best of luck
Ubuntu is popular because it is newbie-friendly. The “switchers” that the Linux crowd want so much are newbies. Ubuntu just understands its userbase.
@pyotr: Well, since they use the same gnome and kde, I can’t really see why they would be more user friendly than let’s say Fedora.
for those of you still looking for the picture for the desktop, i found it here.
http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/details/1232/lazy_days_ii.html
the image title is lazy days on InterfaceLIFT.com
Thanks Mark!
My first Linux distro was Ubuntu late last year, and it is still my main and favorite distro. I consider myself as a Linux newbie, a non technical person, who is a command line idiot, definitely not a power user who tweaks his OS like mad.
After being introduced to Linux world by Ubuntu, I tried a few different distros such as Fedora, SuseLinux, and PCLinuxOS.
Comparing to the few distros above, Ubuntu is not the easiest distro to use for a new Linux user (PCLinuxOS won in this category), nor it is pretty (would rank it last out of the box, at most a tie with Fedora), and it is definately not as cutting edge as Fedora. However, what makes Ubuntu stands out from the rest in my humble opinion is the community built around the OS.
A lot of information can be found on the web ranging from fans’ blogs, community wiki, and last but not least the friendly Ubuntu forums. Many of these sites have very high quality articles who do not assume the readers to be power users and gave tremendous amount of hand holding. The Ubuntu forum is amazing, a stupid question which might attract response like RTFM on other forums will have friendly replies within minutes. This is something that really sets it apart from other distros, and makes new switchers stay.
Comparing to other distros, I can find solutions from the web and forums more easily, and also the solutions are more newbie friendly. A Linux distro can be newbie friendly, and installs everything out of the box, however, without strong community support and encouragement, the desire and fire to switch from another platform will die very fast.
I switched to Ubuntu because Windows gave me too many headaches. I had registry problems, spyware problems — it was just too slow. Ubuntu seems to be much faster than my XP was. My daughter had multiple problems with Vista, so I switched her to Ubuntu and now she can access her wireless network. My brother got the infamous b.s.o.d. on his XP so I switched him to Ubuntu. I have switched six of my family members to Ubuntu and they are all happy with it.
Be very careful about using Linux and the GPL. Understand what you are getting yourself into.
The GPL EULA is designed to take all your work and public domain it. This might be fine for you, but I have bills to pay and I also like to eat once in a while.
I have a "test computer" in the basement. It's connected via a wired LAN with our Ubuntu and Windows home office computers and printer upstairs. It's quite up-to-date and 64 bit capable. I've tried all sorts of OS's on it. The Gold Standard OS is, and remains Hardy Heron (Gnome) 32 bit. It has no bugs or software shortages at all!
Other OS's have trouble with installation, screen resolution, finding our network printer, LAN connection, Java and Flash issues and ridiculous package management issues. These are real, basic, screw ups that make me hesitant to recommend anything but Ubuntu.
Thru the years I've come to really value the Ubuntu Online Community. They're a thousand times more useful than anything available for Windows. It's an extremely powerful and efficient tool!
As for Ubuntu's widely unpopular default appearance: It's an easy two minute job to make it look like Windows 2000 with a picture of your dog as desktop wallpaper!
Please donate your old boxes to a church-group or some needy student in these hard times! To comply with the law, and with Microsoft's leasing policy, you can now replace Microsoft OS with the free (download from the net) Ubuntu OS, which can be set to erase the hard drive of all traces of the “illegal to give away ” Microsoft system and your private information, before donation! Now, explain to your lucky recipient that all the manuals they will ever need are available for free on the internet! Just ask for them in Google! OpenOffice, which is installed already is plenty adequate for homework assignments and with a little exploring, everything else can work well too! Happy computing!
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Yes, I'm always refer other to Ubuntu if they want to quite Windows or think about a fresh air