Repository

https://github.com/torvalds/linux

Introduction

With the previous post of this series I hope to have demystified what is Linux. You have learned a little bit about what is it, how it works, and it's history. Now, with the next posts, I hope to introduce you to specific versions of the system. I have had experiences with Linux as my operating system both for daily use and for development. Starting with online servers, as most servers run Linux for security, efficiency, and costs. Later I changed my main desktop from Windows to Linux and that is now my main OS.

Programmers are the ones that, from my experience, can benefit the most from such transition. After getting used to the "Unix like" filesystem, Windows looks like a mess! So much that, recently, a friend came to me asking for help with Windows. My friend wanted to start developing in Java, but couldn't get Java installed (I don't blame him, you'll see it is hard!). I have got my friend's computer to try to do it for him, I thought it would be easy. Turns out, Windows needs to configure lots of so-called "system variables" for everything you have to use the terminal for! I spent more time than I'd like to do so to install Java on his machine. On Linux, installing a new compiler is as simple as running one command! After almost one year using only "Unix like" systems, I got spoiled by the simplicity to just do things.

The simplicity of Linux, mainly for developers, is why I am making this series. People around me seem to have a wrong vision of the operating system. People seem to think Linux is "hard" to use, or have a steep learning curve. I have already recommended the OS to my friends but they always have an excuse such as "but I don't have time to learn how to use a new operating system". On this post, you will learn about a specific "flavor" of Linux. I thought of showing one flavor per post, and digging deep on the features that are attractive, or not, about them. I am starting with Ubuntu because I believe this is the one that might fit most people. I hope my posts, convince my friends to change to Linux, so I won't need to "tech support them" with their Windows (HAHA!)!

I will also share with you my experience with them. If you want to give Linux a try, take a look at what I have to show you. Follow my series and see what flavor fits you the most! I will try, to pinpoint the special characteristics of each one, and my experience with them. Some characteristics, like security, are common to all Linux flavors. Linux is clearly more secure than Windows. Still, it is worth noticing that some distributions have a greater focus on that matter than others.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the most popular distribution of Linux. This comes with the advantage of having a bigger community. A bigger community means:

• Whatever difficulty you may face down the line, chances are someone has posted a "how to fix it" somewhere on the internet!
• There are more people inspecting the code, finding bugs and vulnerabilities.
• More chances of it being compatible with your hardware (even if it requires a special setup).

Familiarity

If you are familiar with Windows, the Ubuntu desktop might look scary at a first glance:

I remember feeling a bit lost on my first minutes with Ubuntu. But then I realized it was not that different from what I was used to. The bar on the left behaves similarly to the bar on the bottom of Windows.

One difficulty people may find with Linux is "how do I install software?!". I must admit, some software may have an unintuitive install process. Because software in Linux is installed in "packages", the process is different from Windows. The installation of some software may even require the use of the command terminal. Luckily for us, Ubuntu comes with a software center, which is like an "App Store". Most of the software, even for programming, I can find in there.

Security

A key advantage of Ubuntu is their emphasis on security. In their own words "Ubuntu has been built on a foundation of enterprise-grade, industry-leading security practices.". That can be seen on the web, where most servers run Ubuntu, again, both for efficiency, security, and of course, costs. I have run Ubuntu on my servers online, including my witness node! I have never had issues regarding security breaches. Talking about servers, if you had one, you probably have seen weird Chinese IPs spamming password to try to breach into your system. I have seen that in all my server, and that is annoying. The Ubuntu firewall on my server was easy to set up, and got me rid of those weird IPs spamming me!

They even have a page dedicated only to show how security focused Ubuntu is:

Security, however, is not equal to privacy! On the security page above, if you search for the keyword "privacy", the only result you will find is a link to a privacy page. On the page dedicated to disclosing their privacy agreement, they make it clear that:

• They do collect information about you.
• They do store your information.
• They do use the information to "improve" their products".

Of course, on that page, they also make it clear that they are responsible for that information:

So, after seeing this, it is clear why Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution. Because they allow themselves to use your data, they can provide a better service than distributions that don't collect data. But that is the reason why I stopped using Ubuntu. Though they make it clear they are responsible with your data, it is still worse than not even collecting.

Ubuntu based systems

The last section might make some people worried. You need to understand that collecting data is not the end of the world. Personally, I trust Ubuntu/Canonical much more than I would trust Microsoft or Google! But still, I don't use Ubuntu because there are "copies".

To understand the copies, you'd probably want to read my previous post, where I explain the GNU/Linux license. But in short, the main terms of the license are:

• Any derivative product of a product under the GNU/Linux also has the same GNU/Linux license
• The final product if you create must have an open source code.
• The final user of the product can edit the code, personalize and redistribute their version, under the same license as your product.

Because of those three core terms, there are "copies" of Ubuntu with more privacy and possibly better security. Because anyone can inspect and change the code, some "copies" of Ubuntu don't collect any data at all! And there are no disadvantages to using them! Frequently, shortly after Ubuntu receives updates, the "copies" also do! And this is why I use one of those "copies" of Ubuntu. By using a system based on Ubuntu, that is not Ubuntu, I have:

• The same security as the core Ubuntu system.
• An interface that fits better my design tastes.
• More privacy.
• The same software and hardware compatibility as the main Ubuntu!

Of course, as I have said, the updates for the systems based on Ubuntu are fast, but not instantly. It may take a few days to weeks to receive a major update. If you are a system administrator, I'd recommend using the main Ubuntu system. If a major security flaw is discovered on Ubuntu, a few days can cost you a lot of money!

Should you try Ubuntu?

In short, yes, I think it is worth giving Ubuntu a try. From my own experience in the past, it is easy and fast to install. Ubuntu is also light, so, if you have a computer that no one uses laying around, why not install the OS on it? Try doing that, and see how well you get used to the environment. In the long term, I believe the security and efficiency will pay off. If you are a programmer, you might get used to it even faster. The terminal for Unix based systems (like Linux, Mac, and BSD) is very powerful. The power of the terminal is what actually got me hooked to Linux. Navigating through folders and doing commands is fast and efficient. Regular users might like how fast Ubuntu is, but programmers are the ones that can benefit the most.

Resources

The latest version of GNU GPL:
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html

Linux Foundation:
https://www.linuxfoundation.org

Ubuntu main website:
https://www.ubuntu.com

Ubuntu security page:
https://www.ubuntu.com/security

Ubuntu data privacy page:
https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/data-privacy

Beneficiaries

This post has as beneficiaries

• @utopian.pay with 5%
• @steempeak with 5%

using the SteemPeak beneficiary tool