We all know the history of Linux, which has brought a massive change in the tech world. Linux as a kernel got success as it is open source. This open source system has given birth to many distro or distributions, which helped to take this kernel to the vertex of success. Among all those Distros, Ubuntu Linux rules the distro world.
20 October is the birthday of this incredible distro. It is an excellent day of celebration for Ubuntu Linux lovers. On this day we will try to tell people some of the interesting facts about it. It is also for showing respect to the inventor Mark Shuttleworth, who is also a South African astronaut.
Today, Ubuntu Linux is stepping on its 15th year. We are very excited to celebrate this 15th Birthday of Ubuntu. We all from the UbuntuPIT wishes a very successful future for this lovely distro so that it can dominate the way it is doing now. Happy Birthday, Ubuntu Linux!
Interesting Facts about Ubuntu Linux
In this article, I shall take endeavor to highlight a list of interesting facts about Ubuntu Linux. These facts will help the newcomer to know more and increase interest in them to learn more about this Ubuntu distro.
1. The Distro Name is a Philosophy
“I am what I am because of who we all are” is a philosophy of Africa. It is the meaning of Ubuntu. This distro was declared with a hope to make a bond of sharing where all of humanity gets connected. This connection philosophy is otherwise the true meaning of it.
2. The Logo Express the Philosophy
The Logo of Ubuntu Linux is a circle which is broken in three places and has three more loops around the bigger circle having equal distances. If you look closely, then you can understand that these are three different person icon holding each other’s hands and made a circle. It expresses the connectivity and sharing of everyone the way the philosophy means.
3. More Than 75 Active Distros: Distrowatch
We all know about the popular website named Distrowatch, which provides all valid and updated important news related to Linux. According to it, there are more than 75 distro or distributions based on Ubuntu Linux, which is also called Ubuntu derivatives. But you must not forget that Ubuntu is also a derivative of the Debian system.
4. Users from Various Languages
Ubuntu Linux has a variety of users in 10 different languages. Among them the percentage of users in English is 59%, Spanish is 7%, French and Portuguese both 4%, Chinese and German 4%, Russian 3%, Italian 2%, Polish 1%, 5% in other languages.
The rapid growth of users says that shortly, it will come across most of the people around the world. The percentage of users, according to language, may differ, but it is evident that it is going to every corner of the world.
5. Goobuntu is a Customized Ubuntu
Many of us have heard that the famous and tech giant Google has a very close relationship with Linux. What it that relation? Well, Goobuntu was once a Linux distro that was based on long term support of Ubuntu. Around 10K employees of Google had been using it for long.
Thomas Bushnell is the person who brought Goobuntu in front of everyone. However, he mentioned that it is just Goobuntu that was only a light skin over the original Ubuntu. The most important fact is, Goobuntu was never officially released. Again, Goobuntu is no more after 2018 as they have adopted gLinux, which is based on Debian.
6. Fastest Supercomputer is Ubuntu’s
The supercomputer is a familiar terminology for us. This giant machine has the capability of doing the job of a vast number of computers at the same time. Most of the influential countries around the world are owners of a supercomputer. Have we ever thought or asked ourselves who run those?
Well, the supercomputer family is dominated by Linux. Most of the supercomputers are run by different Distros based on Linux kernel. Thereby there is always a competition within the Distros to run the fastest supercomputer.
China owns the fastest supercomputer. Moreover, China has the highest number of supercomputers in the world. I have already mentioned that supercomputers are run by different Distros based on Linux kernel. However, among them, the fastest supercomputer is run by Ubuntu. The Chinese version Ubuntu runs this supercomputer.
7. Ubuntu Develops and Releases in Time
Once we start using something, it gives us different ideas and comes out with many problems. So, we always wait for improvement and solutions for it. Now in this era, we look for updates within a short time. We find out the problems too fast and look for something new writing a short time.
Ubuntu satisfies the users in this regard. Unlike others, Ubuntu follows a disciplined way of its new release. Their development procedure is also scheduled and maintained strictly. You will get one version with proper stability in April and another in October. So, you need to wait for six months only.
8. Maximum Share in Web Servers
Once we ask something from the internet using any browser, the browser shows all possible results within a short time. Who is showing those? Web servers are doing the work for us. Web servers are programs that use hypertext transfer protocol or in short HTTP.
We can easily understand how critical, sophisticated, and tight is the job of web servers. They need something which is very reliable and performs excellently. They also use different operating systems for doing this job. So, who is doing fine among them?
Web servers are very much fond of the Ubuntu system as they are more reliable than others. As a result, they have the most share in the web servers. The study says that the percentage of Ubuntu using servers to fuel up the web servers is more than 20%. This operating system is the most used operating system on web servers.
9. Ubuntu Saved 2M Euro
The French govt realized the blessing of Ubuntu, and they have decided to shift their 80K PCs from Windows to Ubuntu. It is an excellent achievement for Ubuntu. French govt claims that they could save 2M euro by migrating to Ubuntu.
After the migration, the commandant of La Gendarmerie, Jean-Pascal Chateau, said that they were not facing any technical issues before the migration. But, they had been facing a financial problem that was solved by saving 2M Euro with the movement.
10. It is Driving Google Car
What about a car that can drive by itself, take you to the destination that you ask? Yes, Google is giving you the technology of a vehicle where you can set your location by voice command. After that, you can start doing your work, like reading books or watching movies inside the car.
Reaching the destination is the job of Google. This is possible as there are many cameras with around 64 sets of laser beams, which makes an instant 3D map of the surroundings up to 200 meters. The software is so accurate that it can understand if a cyclist is waving the hand for a maneuver.
So, we can understand how sophisticated the software is. The good news is, this fantastic self-driving car is running stripped version Ubuntu. It also tells about the connection that google has with Ubuntu.
11. Your Uber Ride is Ubuntu Powered
We all are very much comfortable with the service of Uber. This is an American Multinational ridesharing company established in 2009. It has the service in 785 metropolitan cities around the world where it is used for ride-hailing, peer-to-peer, ride service hailing, bike-sharing, food delivery, etc.
Uber has made your journey easy as it offers an app where you can select your destination and choose a car. This app shows a lot of information on the map before and during the journey. Uber is using Ubuntu to run its system.
12. Most Popular OS for Public Clouds
There are three categories of clouds. Usually, we come across. They are a public cloud, a private could and a hybrid cloud. Among these, the public cloud is trendy. This is the platform or kind of cloud computing where resources provided by a service provider are available to the public over the internet.
Public cloud has different offers, which allows the public to access to the resources. These resources can be virtual machines or even storage capabilities. These become available to the public using pay-per-use, on-demand scheme, etc. types of subscriptions.
Ubuntu is working with significant cloud operators, and thereby they can easily optimize the kernel. The costing is also less with quick security updates. This thing has helped to take Ubuntu to the peak of popularity as an OS in public clouds.
13. Helps in Voting
EVM or Electronic Voting Machine is a device for casting a vote which removed the ballot system. It was first used in India in the year 1982.
Ubuntu is helping many governments in many ways. Among those, EVM or Electronic Voting Machine is significant. The use of EVM based on this distro is increasing rapidly. Slovakia, Philippines, and many other countries are using EVM based on Ubuntu.
14. Ubuntu Linux is with Children and Education
The distro developers have also thought about the education of people. As a result, some flavors are made for people who want to utilize desktop for schooling. Edubuntu is one of the flavors which is made for education users.
There is a total of six Distros so far, which are based on Ubuntu. Some of them are made for students, some are for teachers, and few of them are for scientific purposes. However, it can serve any purpose if modified as it is open source.
There are many non-profit organizations, mentionable are World Computer Exchange, Partimus who are distributing desktop among the children. However, they are distributing desktops that are used. Before giving those to the hand of the children, they are installing Ubuntu on those.
15. The Version Says About the Date of Release
We already know that ubuntu has a strict and disciplined rule of releasing. This releasing is within six months. Each release has got an elementary version number. Like Ubuntu 16.10 means the version which was released in October of 2016.
Ubuntu has got many interesting facts. Among those, the terminology of the versions is noticeable. There are two words for the name of one version. The first part starts with an adjective, followed by another word that refers to an animal that is on the way to becoming extinct. However, both the word begins with the same Letter.
Few More Interesting Facts (Bonus)
We have already covered 15 facts on the occasion of ubuntu’s 15th birthday. However, there are some more interesting facts about it which we could not stop to share with you. Thereby, here are more five exciting facts on Ubuntu Linux, which you should know.
16. Free in All Aspects
Being a derivative of Linux, Ubuntu is an open source distro, which is also free. The free word does not only refer to the costing free of the distro; instead, it refers to a free distro for all sides also. You can customize, modify, and add your creativity the way you want without any restriction.
17. Reached up to Billion Devices
Ubuntu has a tremendous success rate in terms of reaching people and devices. Canonical, the company behind this great distro, claims that the distro has reached more than a billion devices. These devices are successfully and smoothly running the distro.
Wrapping Up
So far, I have tried to tell some interesting facts about Ubuntu, where I have included the starting, rise, domination, and continuation of the future of the distro. I certainly believe that those who had less idea about Ubuntu will come to know the glory of it. This is an endeavor taken by Ubuntupit family to make this 15th birthday a remarkable one.
Ubuntu is an inspiration. Linus Torvalds created Linux, and Mark Shuttleworth has exploded the fame of Linux like an atomic bomb in the form of Ubuntu. I hope these facts could make you realize how famous it is. If you have more interesting facts about this distro, then please share it with us by commenting below.
Good article. I learnt a few more facts about Ubuntu, which I use.
I hope that Ubuntu touch overcomes it’s teething problems on linux smartphones, that would be awesome!