Browsing Persian translation

37.

There are many different operating systems based on Linux: Debian, SuSE, Gentoo, Red Hat, and Mandriva are examples. Ubuntu is yet another contender in what is already a highly competitive world. So what makes Ubuntu different?

38.

<ulink url="http://www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/debian"> Based on Debian</ulink>, one of the most widely acclaimed, technologically advanced, and well-supported distributions, Ubuntu aims to create a distribution that provides an up-to-date and coherent Linux system for desktop and server computing. Ubuntu includes a number of carefully selected packages from the Debian distribution and retains its powerful package management system which allows easy installation and clean removal of programs. Unlike most distributions that ship with a large amount of software that may or may not be of use, Ubuntu's list of packages is reduced to a number of important applications of high quality.

39.

By focusing on quality, Ubuntu produces a robust and feature-rich computing environment that is suitable for use in both home and commercial environments. The project takes the time required to focus on finer details and is able to release a version featuring the latest and greatest of today's software once every 6 months. Ubuntu is available in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, and will run on most modern computers. It is also available for the Sun UltraSPARC and Amazon EC2 architectures.

40.

The Desktop

41.

The desktop is what you see after you log in to your computer and what you use to manage and run applications. The default desktop environment for Ubuntu is <ulink url="http://www.gnome.org/">GNOME</ulink>, a leading UNIX and Linux desktop suite and development platform.

42.

You can optionally install the <ulink url="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</ulink> and <ulink url="http://www.xfce.org/">Xfce</ulink> desktop environments, which have their own distinctive look and feel. KDE and Xfce are made available in Ubuntu by the <ulink url="http://www.kubuntu.org">Kubuntu</ulink> and <ulink url="http://www.xubuntu.org">Xubuntu</ulink> projects respectively. You can even install a KDE-only or Xfce-only version of Ubuntu if you wish.

43.

Version and Release Numbers

44.

The Ubuntu version numbering scheme is based on the date we release a version of the distribution. The version number comes from the year and month of the release rather than reflecting the actual version of the software.

45.

Our first release (Warty Warthog) was in October 2004 so its version was 4.10. This version (Maverick Meerkat) was released in October 2010, so its version number is 10.10.

46.

Backing and Support