Ubuntu – A free desktop alternative

Ubuntu is described as ‘Linux for human beings’ – the name is an ancient African word, meaning ‘humanity to others’, and also ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. As you might expect from this, Ubuntu is big on sharing: it is, and will remain, free of charge (although support can be bought), and comes in regular six-monthly updates under the guidance of charismatic South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, who also has the distinction of being the first African citizen in space.

Full review on ZDnet.

Ubuntu is very impressive, especially considering the compactness of the distribution, the fact that it’s free, and the availability of a Live CD that can show off its functions conveniently.

The selection and integration of applications is good, and the update scheme works well. Connecting to Microsoft Exchange and networked printers is easy, too, so we think this distro should be fine in a business situation (Blog’s note: Google are using it in their offices).

Some critics, searching desperately for something bad to say about Ubuntu, resort to carping about the default colour scheme, which is distinctly brown. However, it’s easy enough to change to one of half-a-dozen pre-designed themes, or to create your own.