Ubuntu Linux Review
I use Ubuntu Linux both client side (for personal use) and server side (in my organization). I find the operating system very …
Overview
What is Ubuntu?
Ubuntu Linux is a Linux-based operating system for personal computers, tablets and smartphones. There is also a Server version which is used on physical or virtual servers in the data center.
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What is Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is an open-source operating system developed by Canonical Ltd. According to the vendor, it aims to provide a secure, reliable, and customizable platform for desktops, servers, and cloud computing. It is said to be suitable for businesses of all sizes and widely used by IT professionals, software developers, system administrators, educational institutions, and researchers. With its comprehensive application suite, multi-language support, and highly customizable interface, Ubuntu is said to cater to the diverse needs of various professions and industries, including IT, software development, education, and research.
Key Features
Secure Operating System: According to the vendor, Ubuntu is known for its robust security features, including a built-in firewall and virus protection software. It offers long-term support releases with five years of security patches and updates, ensuring ongoing protection against emerging threats.
Open Source Software: The vendor states that Ubuntu is an open-source operating system, freely available for download, use, and sharing. It fosters transparency, customization, and continuous improvement through community contributions, making it a collaborative platform.
Comprehensive Application Suite: Ubuntu comes pre-installed with a wide range of essential applications, including an office suite, web browsers, email clients, and media players. Users can access thousands of additional applications through the Ubuntu Software Centre, expanding the system's functionality.
Multi-Language Support: According to the vendor, Ubuntu is fully translated into over 50 languages, promoting inclusivity and global reach. It includes essential assistive technologies to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities, enabling users to work and collaborate in their preferred language.
Highly Customizable Interface: Ubuntu offers a visually appealing interface that can be tailored to individual preferences. Users can choose from various themes, wallpapers, and desktop environments, and it supports high-definition displays, touchscreen capabilities, and touchpad gestures.
Wide Hardware Compatibility: Canonical collaborates with major hardware manufacturers to ensure compatibility with a wide range of laptops, workstations, and servers. Ubuntu is certified to work out-of-the-box with various hardware configurations, providing a reliable and hassle-free experience.
Cloud and Server Capabilities: Ubuntu is widely used in data centers and cloud environments, powering servers and virtual machines. It is claimed to be the most popular operating system in the cloud, offering scalability and flexibility for cloud-native applications and large-scale server deployments.
Internet of Things (IoT) Support: Ubuntu provides Ubuntu Core, an optimized version for IoT devices. It is fully containerized, has a low footprint, and supports advanced security features. Ubuntu Core is widely used in various IoT applications, including robotics, smart homes, and gateways.
Livepatch Service: Ubuntu Pro includes the Livepatch service, which eliminates the need for unplanned maintenance windows by patching the Linux kernel while the system runs. It reduces downtime and ensures continuous service with automatic kernel security hotfixes without rebooting.
Expanded Security Maintenance (ESM): Ubuntu offers security maintenance for the entire collection of software packages shipped with Ubuntu, providing continuous vulnerability management for critical, high, and medium CVEs. It includes security updates and kernel livepatching for high and critical CVEs, offering 10 years of security coverage for Ubuntu LTS releases.
Ubuntu Technical Details
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Ubuntu Linux is a Linux-based operating system for personal computers, tablets and smartphones. There is also a Server version which is used on physical or virtual servers in the data center.
Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.6.
The most common users of Ubuntu are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Ubuntu Linux is a versatile operating system that has found its place in a wide range of industries and applications. Organizations across various sectors rely on Ubuntu for their internal applications, hosting servers, local development workstations, and virtual machines. The platform provides a consistent and efficient platform for development and IT departments, ensuring seamless deployment and maintenance of workstations and servers. Additionally, Ubuntu's popularity extends to data science projects, where it serves as an ideal choice for web app deployment.
Many users appreciate Ubuntu's maturity and robust community support, making it their preferred operating system for Machine Learning Engineering needs. Ubuntu's extensive support for Machine Learning packages further solidifies its position as the go-to solution for organizations requiring such capabilities. Moreover, Ubuntu finds application in specific system requirements in clouds and proof-of-concept projects, where it is used in virtual machines and servers.
Ubuntu's appeal transcends organizational needs as well. Many professionals and employees prefer Ubuntu over other operating systems for work purposes, allowing them to have a diverse fleet of devices for testing and bug isolation. Engineers benefit from Ubuntu's streamlined automated deployment capabilities for applications and client apps. Furthermore, Ubuntu shines when it comes to serving as web servers, database servers, and various other servers within organizations.
Ubuntu Linux stands out as a stable platform with strong community support, making it the main driver for desktops in many scenarios. Its popularity is rooted in providing a reliable base with long-term support releases, accessibility for new users, easy package management, and a dedicated user base. The advantages of Ubuntu extend beyond desktop use; it is commonly chosen as an operating system for web servers in the Amazon cloud and virtualized instances in corporate networks.
The versatility of Ubuntu Linux becomes evident when considering its varied applications across multiple industries. It is leveraged as the primary operating system for multimedia rooms to manage AV materials and handle streaming video or television recording. Additionally, Ubuntu finds purpose in open-source solutions, security purposes, and other appropriate Linux situations. Telephony platforms also benefit from Ubuntu's dependable platform, which facilitates the rapid deployment of telephony integrations and web apps while ensuring granular security access to telephony components.
Educational and research institutions embrace Ubuntu Linux for its compatibility with artificial intelligence, programming, robotics, and embedded systems. Furthermore, it is utilized effectively in high-stakes testing, finance, and software development sectors due to its intuitive interface and ease of learning. Ubuntu's lightweight nature, wide software and hardware support, and a large user base make it a preferred choice in various sectors, including high-stakes testing, finance, and software development.
In addition to its wide range of applications, Ubuntu Linux has proven to be a cost-effective solution for both desktop and laptop usage. It offers superior performance and compatibility with Windows and Mac OS, making it an attractive option for individuals seeking an alternative operating system. Ubuntu's lightweight nature allows it to breathe new life into older hardware by providing a modern interface, improved responsiveness, and access to open-source applications.
Notably, Ubuntu Linux serves as a reliable and affordable server platform for businesses. It is commonly used for running important software packages, such as web servers, VPN servers, file servers, and other server appliances. Its stability and modern software versions make it an ideal choice for organizations in need of dependable setup and maintenance.
Ubuntu Linux also thrives in the field of software development. It is widely utilized by developers for various tasks ranging from individual application development to test and production servers. With its developer-friendly features and intuitive interface, Ubuntu simplifies the development process and meets the requirements of software developers effectively.
Moreover, Ubuntu Linux finds application in specific use cases such as multi-tier backup implementations, web server testing, network monitoring, wikis, hosting websites, VPN servers, and more. Its robust capabilities make it an indispensable tool for researchers engaged in computationally intensive work.
Overall, Ubuntu Linux continues to gain popularity due to its versatility across multiple industries and its ability to solve various computing needs. With its stable platform, strong community support, wide range of applications, and cost-effectiveness, Ubuntu offers users a reliable operating system that enhances productivity and extends the lifespan of devices.
Efficient and Resourceful: Users have consistently praised Ubuntu Linux for its efficiency and resourcefulness, allowing them to extend the life of aging hardware and meet smaller demands such as word processing and web browsing. Several users have stated that Ubuntu has helped them save money by eliminating the need for expensive hardware upgrades.
Large Support Community: The vast user base of Ubuntu has resulted in a large support community that is easily accessible. Many users appreciate the convenience of being able to gather information and find solutions to their requirements through web searches. This active support community has been a valuable resource for troubleshooting issues and finding answers quickly.
Stability and Reliability: Ubuntu Linux is highly regarded for its stability and reliability, with many users noting that they rarely encounter bugs or issues. This consistent performance has provided peace of mind to users, particularly those working on professional projects that require a stable environment.
Confusing User Interface: Many users have expressed frustration with the confusing user interface of Ubuntu Linux, stating that it makes tasks cumbersome and difficult to navigate. The lack of intuitive design and inconsistent placement of settings and options have been major pain points for users.
Challenging App Store Search Function: Numerous users have mentioned that the app store search function in Ubuntu barely works, making it extremely challenging to find and install desired software. Users often struggle with inaccurate search results or an inability to locate specific applications, resulting in a frustrating experience.
Lack of Support for Popular Middleware like cPanel: Some users consider the absence of support for popular middleware like cPanel as a drawback. This limitation restricts their ability to easily manage websites or servers using familiar tools, forcing them to explore alternative solutions or adapt to different interfaces.
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Reviews
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January 17, 2024
Ubuntu Linux Review
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I use Ubuntu Linux both client side (for personal use) and server side (in my organization). I find the operating system very user-friendly and in some way comparable to a Windows operating system on the graphical side. For ealry Linux beginners it is a great alternative, as it offers a well-structured GUI as well as a fully-customizable Command Terminal. It is stable and uses apt as a packet manager (since it's a Debian-based distribution).
- Graphics
- Commands
- Stability
- update management
- customization
- product serving
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
As a software solution developer and provider firm, when we initially tried to switch our major workload to Linux, there were a lot of options available, but as per the need, we wanted a system which was lightweight, have wide software and hardware support and also a good user base. After a lot of research, we settled for Ubuntu, which I would say, was our best choice so far.
It's still very good, have support for many languages and also Web Development, right out of the box, which makes it so much better, plus it's also understandable and easy to work with for the user, who's using Linux for the first time. Till today, I'll recommend Ubuntu to someone without thinking twice.
It's still very good, have support for many languages and also Web Development, right out of the box, which makes it so much better, plus it's also understandable and easy to work with for the user, who's using Linux for the first time. Till today, I'll recommend Ubuntu to someone without thinking twice.
- Management of Resources
- Security of the Systems
- Stable and reliable system
- Not so buggy
- Works across all configurations.
- More software support
- Better hardware support
- Better UI
November 18, 2022
Ubuntu, the better operative system.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Linux is the better operative system for use in applications of artificial intelligence, programming, robotics, embedded systems, and other educational and research topics. It has any issues when used on laptops that have hardware components so recently, this is because the operating system doesn't have native drivers.
- Boost the old devices can be laptops and desktops.
- Improves the speed of communication through distributed computing.
- Robotics
- University education
- Software development
- Not very useful for specific programs (Labview, Proteus)
- Some drivers do not exist in Linux.
January 02, 2022
My Review
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Possible alternative for CentOS Distribution.
- Virtualization
- Stability
- Support
- Patch Management
- Upgrade Experience
- User Desktop Experience
- Cloud Services
June 10, 2021
Ubuntu Linux - simple because it simply works
We are using it specifically for test automation of front and backend systems. I'm using it by harnessing an AWS AMI to spin up EC2 instances dynamically for test running. So, Ubuntu [Linux] is just a headless way for me to deploy dependencies to the image and then execute the automated tests.
- Fast
- Lightweight
- Easy
- Great Support
- File management is clunky
- Side dock is odd
- Launcher is a weird combination of functionalities
May 21, 2021
Most intuitive and easy to use Linux Distro
We need a Linux based OS for our Machine Learning Engineering needs and Ubuntu is one of the most mature ones out there. Also, it is supported by our IT, hence we use that. For our organization, it is important that the OS has wide community support. Ubuntu supports almost all of the Machine Learning packages that we may need and is therefore the perfect OS for us.
- Intuitive GUI.
- Good community support.
- Free and Open Source.
- App store search barely works.
- Popular middleware such as cPanel not supported.
- There is no support for using wireless headphones with microphone i.e. either the headphone or the microphone works at a time.
May 12, 2021
Ubuntu Pros and Cons
In most of our virtual machines and servers we generally use Ubuntu Linux to address specific system requirements for clouds as well to carry out various POCs running in the organization. Various clients associated with our company prefer Ubuntu as their OS to work on. Our own organisation's cloud based applications are deployed on Ubuntu servers as well.
- Ease of use and flexibility.
- Safe to work with.
- Ease of availability of Debian packages to support its functionality.
- Community support.
- GUI not supportive as Windows.
- No dedicated support to contact through if any client needs it.
- Not much suitable for beginners to use.
May 10, 2021
Power User OS
Ubuntu Linux is used by employees in the organization who have elected to use it over the standard issue Macbooks. It allows us to have a more diverse fleet of devices for different use cases, which is especially useful when testing different platforms to isolate bugs. Users may also have a personal preference for the features provided by Ubuntu over MacOS.
- It's amazingly customizable, from the skin to low-level utilites.
- Ubuntu provides long term support for the OS, allowing a device to be more stable long term.
- Ubuntu isn't as locked down as a basic consumer-level OS.
- Driver support for some specialized hardware can be spotty.
- Some default UI choices are clunky
- Doesn't support certain apps well, even with emulation
May 03, 2021
Open source and highly customizable
The whole engineering team at my organization uses Ubuntu Linux. We use it for automated deployments of our applications. All our client apps are currently live on Ubuntu machines.
It addresses many problems that come with a windows machine. Ubuntu Linux comes with many inline software and thus saves time to install everything.
It addresses many problems that come with a windows machine. Ubuntu Linux comes with many inline software and thus saves time to install everything.
- First and foremost Ubuntu is free. It's perfect for small startups like the company I work for where software cost is limited
- It is completely customizable meaning each Ubuntu environment can have its own set of installs with any configuration that can be easily personalized
- Ubuntu is developer friendly. We use Python and virtual environment, nothing needs to be installed. It has in-built support for most programming languages and any additional software update or install is also very simple.
- Ubuntu is very secure and doesn't need any antivirus software
- Ubuntu doesn't have good support for new games. It's graphic quality is not that great.
- Ubuntu needs to be installed manually. One needs to have good knowledge of how to run installs and basic Linux commands to install Ubuntu. It doesn't come pre installed in existing PCs and laptops
- There's no driver support and you can't play Mp3 audio files as it is on Ubuntu. You need to install additional software
For software development, we use Ubuntu Linux, which helps us create new features, solve bugs, etc.
- Very fast when you need to do experiments
- Lightweight
- User friendly when you have little knowledge of how to use the terminal
- Open source
- It crashes sometimes, so it could be made more robust
- Sometime difficult while installing software
- Brightness problem in Ubuntu Linux 20.10
May 02, 2021
Ubuntu Linux, a developer's love!
Ubuntu Linux serves the following purposes for us:
- It is used on our deployment servers and the severs are used as OSS in multiple departments for deployment.
- It is used by employees on an individual level for development of applications, as it speeds up the process.
- It is also used as distro for WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) on individual workstations in case the VM option is not suitable.
- Process in Ubuntu Linux can be controlled, customized, and monitored so it's easy for expert developers.
- It is fast and easily scalable if used in conjunction with Docker, so applications that are deployed run fast and are easily scalable.
- It is open source, so errors are easily addressed and resolved quickly by a huge community of developers.
- Lots of customization brings complexity with it, so it is hard to ramp up with it. A built-in starter kit should be available for the users when installed.
- Not as much support for apps as Windows, so its reach should be widened.
- Debian Linux is better than Ubuntu Linux in terms of stability.
April 13, 2021
Ubuntu as a developer
Ubuntu Linux is our promoted OS within our company for developers. Although there are some exceptions, most of our work collaboration tools, IDE-s, and extensions are used on Linux, and due to our client's environments we advice our employees to know at least some fundamental Linux basics to be able to provide support when needed. Linux is the most used OS therefore, and my choice of OS as a personal preference as well as professional work environment.
- Lightweight OS
- Wide support from the community
- Excellent control over my platform
- Best monolithic kernel for programming
- Updates between LTS versions could be better
- Newcomers might find learning curve a bit steep
April 13, 2021
Used Ubuntu for nine years, highly recommended.
Ubuntu [Linux] runs a number of servers we use, though it isn't used directly by my department. However, I have been using Ubuntu at home exclusively since I got sick of formatting my Windows XP laptop every few months to keep it performing well. I have never looked back. Contrary to somewhat popular belief, once installed, it's just as easy to use as Windows. And by that I mean it's easier to use than Windows.
- PACKAGE MANAGEMENT. You can update everything - OS installed software, you name it with either a few clicks in a GUI or a single command.
- No bloatware.
- No need for antivirus software.
- Certainly the price is right.
- My 83 year old grandmother has been using it - and because of this I rarely need to provide tech support. But I still visit my grandmother.
- You can choose from a variety of user interfaces or rock it in the terminal.
- Generally speaking, Ubuntu is as polished an OS as any you might pay for.
- I'm not a fan of GNOME, and I realize that this is highly subjective. Unity was much more polished than GNOME. If you want / need to customize GNOME at all it relies on third party extensions, many of which are poorly maintained and/or break whenever GNOME updates. Ditch GNOME and bring back UNITY please.
April 13, 2021
Ubuntu - An elegant Operating System, easy to install and use, extremely secure and customizable!
The Ubuntu Linux I use is actually its variant with KDE, Kubuntu. I use it in the company for any job, but mainly in geoprocessing and consulting on Web Apps. The main problem that Ubuntu [Linux] solves in my organization is financial - the fact that I can use an operating system of excellent quality, solidity and security without paying for it.
- Ease of updating the system and the applications installed on it.
- Variety of high quality applications available, mostly open source and free software.
- Great security, which allows tranquility in the use of professional projects, even the most sensitive ones.
- Thousands of sites on the Internet with tutorials, problem solving (even the most unusual and specific) and technical analysis that turn intensive use into a truly fluid and pleasurable experience.
- More agreements with large companies and governments to publicize the system.
- More hardware options (mainly notebooks and smartphones) with the system pre-installed at the factory.
- Greater support for anti-software piracy laws.
April 08, 2021
Smooth, reliable operating system
My organization uses Ubuntu Linux for three distinct purposes:
We also need server software that is both easy to set up and maintain and that is, above all, reliable. Many forms of Linux serve here, but using Ubuntu for both front-facing software and server software cuts down on maintenance time and training.
Because we mostly operating in environments with tight budgets, including volunteer organizations, we tend to buy used computers, most of which are a few generations behind the latest models. Linux generally allows us to use computers that could not handle Windows installations necessary for the job. In a few cases, albeit not with Ubuntu Linux, we are running machines that were designed for Windows XP.
- as a reliable, affordable alternative to other operating systems for users' computers.
- as a server for running the principal software package used in the business.
- as part of a strategy to extend the service life of computers we use.
We also need server software that is both easy to set up and maintain and that is, above all, reliable. Many forms of Linux serve here, but using Ubuntu for both front-facing software and server software cuts down on maintenance time and training.
Because we mostly operating in environments with tight budgets, including volunteer organizations, we tend to buy used computers, most of which are a few generations behind the latest models. Linux generally allows us to use computers that could not handle Windows installations necessary for the job. In a few cases, albeit not with Ubuntu Linux, we are running machines that were designed for Windows XP.
- Ubuntu Linux allows interfaces on desktop machines that are relatively easy for former Windows users to adapt to.
- Ubuntu allows smooth updates, usually with little down time.
- The user base for Ubuntu is large, which means help is easy to find.
- The repository system could be a little better, as some of the software needed is not easily available there.
- Ubuntu sometimes does not play nicely or easily with some modern firmwares.
- Some people report slow responses with newer versions of Ubuntu, although we have not experienced any.
We utilize Ubuntu [Linux] daily for management of our local and cloud infrastructure. We deploy Ubuntu into cloud instances from multiple providers, and use it run our networks, applications, and services for our clients. We also frequently deploy an Ubuntu Server virtual machine for our clients to use as an on premises backup target.
- Deep development community ensuring maximum compatibility.
- Abundant user community that provides excellent support.
- Best implementation of Debian-based Linux that we've used.
- Frequently breaking changes are introduced with major revisions of the OS. We stick with the LTS branch to mitigate that.
- Managing multiple servers can become cumbersome without paid solutions.
April 22, 2020
Good all-around server OS with a solid feature set.
We used Ubuntu as the primary operating system for all our servers. We deployed approximately 50 Virtual Machines across our virtualization strategy and used about 95% Ubuntu virtual machines. It was fairly light weight but also very well supported across the server community. Furthermore, all those in charge with administering the servers were fairly well versed in Ubuntu or Ubuntu-similar distributions.
- Lightweight for server contexts
- Frequent updates
- Long Term Support reduces administrative overhead
- Image files can be a bit large
- Desktop UI is quite ugly
- Has a bit of bloat, not a minimal distribution
We use Ubuntu Linux in our organization for webservers, database servers, and various other servers.
It is our Linux distribution of choice. It helps us provide unix-like services with business support available. We are able to be confident that any packages we need will be available in repositories, and installing software is truly simple using the apt system. Online help is easy to find as it is such a popular distribution as well.
- Updating is really easy and straightforward, especially for LTS releases.
- Package availability is second to none.
- Unified patch management still is a challenge. Landscape is just not as polished as we would like.
- Not every appliance is built upon Ubuntu, so we have some variance in our OS environment.
January 16, 2020
An operating system that fulfills all of your needs
All of the thousands of systems (that include dockers, virtual machines and bare-metal servers) that we have in the company currently are powered by Ubuntu OS. This is just our department. If you scale the same to our organization that includes easily a couple of thousands of server machines. A million Ubuntu dockers are spawned every single day. So the business problem that is addressed is that Ubuntu is in the casual market, unlike other Linux distributions. You can easily customize it to meet your needs. It is extremely lightweight and super fast.
- Super fast!
- Open-source.
- It is heavily funded by Amazon, hence Amazon tends to have all user information.
- Desktop optimizations are required.
December 23, 2019
Ubuntu the first step to an Open Source work space
We are using Ubuntu Linux as our main driver for our desktops. We moved away from Windows machines and generally moved to the Open Source space. It is a stable platform with a strong community supporting it. We managed to keep laptops in use that otherwise would have been deemed not fit for purpose.
- The Community support is great, we rarely get into a problem we can't resolve with a quick internet search.
- Ubuntu has great driver support helping with the performance of the devices used.
- If you are still using Microsoft product you can struggle as they do not run natively, there are plenty of alternatives.
- Adobe doesn't provide native support for Linux either, alternatives are a must.
October 23, 2019
Your Developers Will Love Ubuntu
As we seek to shift our development environment from Windows to Linux, we sought to find a Linux distribution that offered a strong user base, accessibility for new users to Linux, easy package management, and long term support releases. We found all of the above in Ubuntu, and we were able to move to our .net Core development to Linux.
- Ubuntu has an active user base around its distribution, making it easy to find support for issues without ever needed to contact formal support.
- Ubuntu package management makes it easy to keep packages up to date even across a large number of dependencies. Rarely do I encounter issues in updating packages.
- Ubuntu offers an accessible user interface that provides some interface familiarity for users coming from other operating systems. Users feel comfortable navigating the interface with similar experiences to what they are familiar with.
- Ubuntu offers several flavors of desktop management - Gnome, XFCE, and KDE. While this offering of choice is probably a benefit, it makes it difficult to standardize amongst developers who all have strong opinions as to which deployment is "the best."
- Like other Linux distributions, graphics support for bleeding-edge graphics cards can be a challenge, with support not always offered for the latest and greatest cards. Often this support is rectified over time, but that can be a challenge in rolling out to machines with varying hardware configurations.
- Earlier, I talked about how Ubuntu offers many analog operations to other operating systems to promote ease of learning for those migrating. However, as of 19.04, Ubuntu didn't offer native drag and drop operations on the Gnome desktop. This was frustrating for some users trying to learn the new interface. I'm hoping the recently released 19.10 release will address this.
Ubuntu is being rolled out in our organization as the go-to development environment due to the ease of use of the APT package manager and the stability of the LTS releases. We find that it constantly gets updates and that support is widely available on the internet for all of the applications that we use to produce our products.
- Great package support.
- Stable.
- Support for the OS is easy to find online.
- Proprietary drivers can be troublesome at times.
- The APT repository is not always up to date with the latest packages.
- Packages are sometimes hard to find in the APT repos.
July 05, 2019
Ubuntu Linux, A Great Server OS
We use Ubuntu for a number of tasks. Currently, we used it to run BIND DNS servers, Unified controllers, network monitoring, and our web file-box system. Previously we have also used it for wikis, hosting websites, and VPN servers. Since it is a well established and maintained distro of Linux, there doesn't seem to be an end to the services that could be run on top of it. It is based on Debian which is my preferred sub-system.
- Package management
- Compatibility
- Customization
- Quality of updates
- Ease of use
- Learning curve
June 19, 2019
Our solution for mid-range desktops , high-performance video editing, on-premise servers, and the cloud.
Ubuntu Linux fills many needs for us. In the Amazon cloud, it is our web server OS. On our corporate network, we run many virtualized Ubuntu Server instances to provide shared file storage, DHCP, DNS, and the internal intranet web server. Our multimedia room runs on Ubuntu Desktop to manage our library of AV materials, handle streaming video, and record over-the-air television. We have several workstations that run Ubuntu Desktop. In some cases, we dual-boot Ubuntu on older MacBook Pros because it runs faster. We have some video-editing workstations that use open-source software, and we find those applications perform much better under Ubuntu than Windows or MacOS.
- Widespread support among vendors. It's one of the most widely used Linux distributions.
- Hardware drivers are available for the majority of our devices.
- Multiple supported desktop flavors are available: Gnome, XFCE, KDE, etc.
- We find it extremely reliable as a desktop and server OS. We seldom need to reboot.
- Older NVidia cards have poor hardware support.
- Older Broadcom Wi-Fi drivers are unreliable.
- High DPI monitor support is improving but needs more work.
- Font rendering can be improved, particularly sub-pixel hinting on LCD displays
June 05, 2019
Ubuntu Linux - the best Linux distribution
For any situation where a Linux solution is appropriate we use Ubuntu Linux. This includes many open source solutions, the Apache web server, security purposes such as IDS (Intrusion Detection System), and many other uses where we find Ubuntu Linux to be a perfect fit.
- Ubuntu Linux is one of the most user-friendly, and admin friendly Linux distributions available. Most things can be done form the provided GUI tools without needing to use the command line. It works well for those more familiar with Windows too.
- For things that Linux traditionally does well, such as Web Servers, PHP, firewalls, etc., Ubuntu Linux is a perfect choice. It is easy to set up and secure by default.
- There are several distributions of Ubuntu Linux that are specialized for specific tasks, so you can choose the version that is most suited. For example, There is the standard Ubuntu Desktop release, Ubuntu Server (without the x-windows gui) for server tasks. There are at least two "lite" releases, Lubuntu and Xubuntu which are lite on system resources for older PC's. There are releases that use different desktop software for a different look and feel. There is even a release tailored toward multi-media creation (Ubuntu Studio). All of these still use the same Ubuntu base and share many of the same tools and utilities.
- There is a bit of a learning curve (although not severe) for those who are more familiar with Windows. While Ubuntu Linux does provide many admin programs and utilities, there are still things that need to be done from a command line, and by editing configuration files. You will find however that this is actually a very efficient way to get things done.
- You can integrate into a Windows-based network, and be able to access shared folders and Windows Network drives. There is some set up required, however.