What Is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Ubuntu is and always will be free of charge. You do not pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Ubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing.

We issue a new desktop and server release every six months. That means you'll always have the latest and greatest applications that the open source world has to offer.

Ubuntu is designed with security in mind. You get free security updates for at least 18 months on the desktop and server. With the Long Term Support (LTS) version you get three years support on the desktop, and five years on the server. There is no extra fee for the LTS version, we make our very best work available to everyone on the same free terms. Upgrades to new versions of Ubuntu are and always will be free of charge.

Everything you need comes on one CD, providing a complete working environment. Additional software is available online.

The graphical installer enables you to get up and running quickly and easily. A standard installation should take less than 25 minutes.

Once installed your system is immediately ready-to-use. On the desktop you have a full set of productivity, internet, drawing and graphics applications, and games.

On the server you get just what you need to get up and running and nothing you don't.

Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'Humanity to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

Ubuntu Desktop Edition

With Ubuntu Desktop Edition you can surf the web, read email, create documents and spreadsheets, edit images and much more. Ubuntu has a fast and easy graphical installer right on the Desktop CD. On a typical computer the installation should take you less than 25 minutes.

Desktop Tour

The fastest way to see Ubuntu is to take the tour

Desktop simplicity

When you start your system for the first time you'll see a desktop that is clean and tidy, no desktop icons, and a default theme that is easy on the eye.

Ubuntu 'Just Works'

We've done all the hard work for you. Once Ubuntu is installed, all the basics are in place so that your system will be immediately usable.

A complete office productivity suite

OpenOffice contains a user interface and feature set that is similar to other office suites, and includes all the key desktop applications you need, such as:

Word processor - for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.

Spreadsheet - a tool to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or charts.

Presentation - an easy, and powerful tool for creating effective multimedia presentations.

OpenOffice - A complete productivity suite

Word Processor has everything you would expect from a modern, fully equipped word processor or desktop publisher. It's simple enough for a quick memo, powerful enough to create complete books with contents, diagrams, indexes, etc. You're free to concentrate on your message - while Word Processor makes it look great. The Wizards feature takes all the hassle out of producing standard documents such as letters, faxes, agendas, minutes, or carrying out more complex tasks such as mail merges.

Spreadsheet is the programme you've always wanted. Newcomers find it intuitive and easy to learn; professional data miners and number crunchers will appreciate the comprehensive range of advanced functions. Of course, you are free to use your old Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, or save your work in Excel format for sending to people who still use Microsoft products. If all they want to see is your results, then use Portable Document Format (.pdf) - no need to buy any extra software.

Presentation is an outstanding tool for creating effective multimedia presentations. Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, and high-impact drawing tools. A complete range of views are supported: Drawing / Outline / Slides / Notes / Handouts to meet all the needs of presenters and audiences, plus an optional multi-pane view to put all the tools at your fingertips.

Integrated email and calendaring

Whether you need to simply check your email, create a calendar or search for a contact, Evolution can help you.

See your email the way you want it. Search Folders let you save intelligent searches which can display groups of email according to your specified criteria. Create Search Folders to combine mail from different mail accounts into a single view, quickly view all mail from your boss (or a particular friend).

Easy note-taking with Tomboy

Tomboy is a desktop note-taking application. It is simple and easy-to-use, but with potential to help you organise the ideas and information you deal with every day. Tomboy relates notes and ideas together. Using a wiki-like linking system, organising ideas is as simple as typing a name.

Safe, easy and tabbed web browsing

Firefox is a powerful, award-winning and standards compliant web browser. With tabbed browsing you'll be able to use one window to view all your web pages.

With Firefox you get inline spell check support in web forms, restore session that crashed, built in phishing detectors, better support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds, enhanced search engine management with built in OpenSearch support, and much more.

Easy editing and uploading of photos

F-spot enables you to import your photos from your hard drive, camera (including PTP type), or iPod, and supports 16 common files types, including JPEG, GIF, TIFF, RAW. Your photos can be tagged for searching and grouping. Other features include fullscreen and slideshow modes.

Editing photos in F-Spot is a breeze. Easily rotate, crop, resize, and adjust red eye and other colour settings with a few simple clicks, and versioning ensures your originals are never altered. You can also enter descriptions of photos that are saved in the actual file so other people and programmes will be able to see them, whether they use F-Spot or not.

Music and videos

Rhythmbox media player has a number of features that let you easily store, search and browse your music library and listen to internet radio. You can also view films, or videos, using Totem which features a play list, a full-screen mode, seek and volume controls and keyboard navigation.

You can download Ubuntu, or request a free CD from Canonical.

System Requirements

Ubuntu is available for PC, 64-Bit and Mac architectures. The Alternate installation CDs require at least 256 MB of RAM (the standard installation CD requires 384MB of RAM). Install requires at least 3 GB of disk space.

Edit and share files in other formats

Easily open, edit and share files with your friends that have Microsoft Office, Word Perfect, KOffice or StarOffice.

Quick and easy updates

The task bar contains an update area where we'll notify you when there are updates available for your system, from simple security fixes to a complete version upgrade. The update facility enables you to keep your system up-to-date with just a few clicks of your mouse.

A vast library of free software

Need more software? Simply choose from thousands of software packages in the Ubuntu catalogue, all available to download and install at the click of a button. And it's all completely free!

Help and support

You'll be able to find help using the desktop browser or online. If you have a question about using Ubuntu, you can bet someone else has already asked it. Our community has developed a range of documentation that may contain the answer to your question, or give you ideas about where to look.

This is also where you'll get access to free support from the Ubuntu community in the chat and mailing lists in many languages. Alternatively, you can purchase professional support from the Canonical Global Support Services Team, or local providers.

Ubuntu in your local language

Ubuntu aims to be usable by as many people as possible, which is why we include the very best localisation and accessibility infrastructure that the free software community has to offer.

System Requirements

Ubuntu is available for PC, 64-Bit PC and Intel based Mac architectures. At least 256 MB of RAM is required to run the alternate install CD (384MB of RAM is required to use the live CD based installer). Install requires at least 4 GB of disk space.