Brief: Confused between Ubuntu vs Xubuntu vs Lubuntu vs Kubuntu?? Want to know which Ubuntu flavor should you use? This beginners’ guide helps you to decide which Ubuntu should you choose. Xubuntu: Uses XFCE as the desktop environment XFCE is a fork of the old GNOME desktop, resembles GNOME 2 in appearance, aimed at being lightweight but still usable. Runs decently on. So, you have been reading about reasons to switch to Linux and the benefits of it and finally decided to give it a try. Good. Now, after further reading on the internet, knowing people’s view about which Linux is good for beginners, you decided to install Ubuntu. A fine wise decision. Perhaps at this point, you are wondering about which Ubuntu should you choose and how should you proceed with installing Ubuntu. Wait! Did I say ‘which Ubuntu’? If you are surprised with that expression, it means you need to know a little about Ubuntu before you go on to install Ubuntu. Why there are so many Ubuntu? Which Ubuntu should I choose?If you have been reading on the forums and blogs, you might have come across a few terms like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu etc. No, these are not nicknames that people gave to their Ubuntu. Let me tell you the reason behind ‘those Ubuntu’. These are various variants of Ubuntu that are categorized based on their specific usage or based on the desktop environment. When it comes to Linux, you have the ‘freedom’ to choose the ‘desktop environment’. A desktop environment is basically a bundle of components to provide common graphical user interface elements such as icons, toolbars, wallpapers, and desktop widgets. Most of the desktop environments have their own set of integrated applications and utilities so that users get a uniform feel while using the OS. Basically, it changes the looks of the operating systems you use and at times, the programs you use. Still not convinced? Let me give you a rather loose analogy. It’s like dressing up clothes. If you dress like a hippy, you’ll look like a hippy. If you have hippy hair, there is a uniform feel of being a hippy. So, what’s the advantage of using one desktop environment over other? In the previous analogy with clothes, if you wear skinny jeans, you might look smarter but you can’t run faster. There is a compromise, you see. Similarly, some desktop environments focus on utilizing the graphics but then they demand better hardware configuration. While some other desktop environments run better on low configuration computer but may not look that good. Picture courtesy: Tuttly What are the different kinds of Ubuntu available?In desktop Linux world, the desktop envirnment variants are also referred to as ‘flavors’. Below is the list of official Ubuntu flavors:
I specifically mentioned that these are the official flavors. These flavors are endorsed by Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company. They release a new version at the same time as the main Ubuntu Unity releases. Follow the same development cycle and release schedule. Since these are the official flavors, does it mean that there are other Ubuntu variants as well? Yes, but they are not associated with Canonical. They are created by hobbyist Ubuntu users who want to use some other desktop environments that are not supported officially by Ubuntu. You know, unlike Windows and Mac OS X, Linux users have the ‘freedom’ to use the system at will and try out new things. You can install various desktop environment on your Linux system, in parallel with the already installed default desktop environment. For example, if you are using Ubuntu Unity, you can install GNOME on Ubuntu and switch between the two desktop environments at will. You can install various desktop environments on your Linux system. Expert Linux users, out of hobby and curiosity, bring other desktop environments to Ubuntu (coding is involved here) and then other enthusiast Ubuntu users try them out (no coding required). If a desktop environment (say XYZ) can be installed this way, why would there be a new Ubuntu XYZ flavor? Because sometimes the desktop environments conflict with each other and you end up with a few missing icons, duplicate programs or a rather not so polished looking system. For this reason, a dedicated Ubuntu flavor is released so that users get the perfect experience of the selected desktop environment. So, which Ubuntu is best suited for me?That depends on your need. Let me list out the features and purposes of each official Ubuntu flavor and then you can decide which one is good for you. 1. Ubuntu or Ubuntu Default or Ubuntu GNOMEThis is the default Ubuntu version since 2017. A Mac OS X like interface (apologies to hardcore Ubuntu users). Google dorks list pdf. This is the main focus of Ubuntu team. You’ll find lots of support on the forums and most articles on various Ubuntu blogs are written around it. In short, more support and available resources for it. But GNOME requires above average hardware to function. It’s resource hungry. So if your system has RAM less than 4 GB, I don’t recommend it. You can watch this video review of Ubuntu 18.04 to know more about it: 2. KubuntuKubuntu is KDE version of Ubuntu. KDE Plasma desktop environment is known for the point-and-click configuration option. Plasma is modern and sleek looking. Lots of tweaks are available around the desktop like widgets, screenlets etc. If you like to customize desktop, this could be your choice. Kubuntu is fine for an average system. If your system has RAM over 2 GB, you should be fine with it. You can watch the video review of Kubuntu 18.04 on our YouTube channel to see it in action: Image courtesy: softwsp 3. XubuntuXubuntu uses Xfce desktop environment. It’s an old desktop environment and provides you basic desktop customization options. It might not be as good looking as Ubuntu Unity but it certainly doesn’t look too bad or too old. Moreover, it is suited for systems with low configuration. Even if you have a system of 1 GB RAM, it will be fine with Xubuntu. On the downside, you won’t get that modern a system. 4. LubuntuLike Xubuntu, Lubuntu also caters to the need of lower end system. It uses LXDE which is a lightweight, power efficient desktop environment. If you are coming from Windows XP, you’ll have a similar feel to it. Lubuntu is the lightest among them all. Even if you have a system with less than 1 GB RAM, Lubuntu will handle it. It manages power efficiently so your system doesn’t overheat that often. On the downside, I don’t think Lubuntu is a modern looking system. You’ll have to compromise on the looks here. 5. Ubuntu Unity aka Ubuntu 16.04Ubuntu Unity used to be the default interface till 2016. In 2017, Ubuntu dropped Unity as the default desktop in favor of GNOME. Unity is a beautiful desktop that requires decent hardware configuration. Unless you need to use Ubuntu 16.04 for specific reasons, I would advise sticking with the new default Ubuntu GNOME 18.04. 6. Ubuntu MATEUbuntu MATE uses MATE desktop environment which is forked from GNOME 2. Unlike the GNOME (version 3), GNOME 2 had a more traditional desktop approach. Many people did not like the new interface of GNOME 3 and this resulted in the birth of Mate desktop environment. If you have lower hardware configuration and you like more traditional desktop, you would like Ubuntu Mate. This video shows Ubuntu MATE 18.04 in action: 7. Ubuntu BudgieUbuntu Budgie is the latest official flavor of Ubuntu. As the name suggests, it uses Budgie as the desktop. Budgie desktop environment is developed by Solus Linux. Thanks to its modern and elegant looks, Budgie soon developed a good fan following. Budgie provides you a macOS like notification area and GNOME like side launcher. The overall UI is aesthetically pleasing. Go for it if you want a modern looking desktop. Here’s what it looks like: 8. Ubuntu KylinThis Ubuntu flavor is specifically focused on Chinese users. It provides support for Chinese language and few other things more suited for Chinese users. 9. EdubuntuEdubuntu is a shorter form of Education+Ubuntu. Basically, it’s a GNOME implementation with a focus on schools and educational institutes. It comes bundled with applications and games suitable for students. I won’t advise you to use Edubuntu for general purpose computing. It has a limited focus. You are better off with other Ubuntu variants. 10. Ubuntu StudioThough Ubuntu Studio uses Xfce desktop environment, it comes preinstalled with audio video tools. This Ubuntu variant caters the need of audio, video and graphics creators. If you are in the creative field, Ubuntu Studio could be of your interest. 11. MythbuntuMythbuntu is a minimal Ubuntu installation meant exclusively for MythTV. MythTV is an open source software for multimedia center and home theater PC. This is again, not suitable for general purpose computing. Avoid it. Which Ubuntu to choose and how?To sum up, as a normal desktop user, your focus should be on default Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate and Ubuntu Budgie. And based on YOUR preference, you can choose to install the one you like. If you are still confused about choosing Ubuntu flavor, I suggest to try them out. You can start by creating live USB of Ubuntu flavors one by one and then test them without even installing. I just chose my Ubuntu flavor but I cannot figure out which version to useThat’s another question that might trouble you. At the time of writing this article, you might find yourself wondering if you need to install Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, 17.10 or 18.04? Even more, you might be wondering what exactly are those numbers. To understand those versions, you need to know Ubuntu release cycle. An Ubuntu version number actually comprises of the year and the month in which it was released. So, when you see Ubuntu 16.04, you know that it was first released in April 2016. Ubuntu releases a new version every six months. And this happens in the month of April (04) and October (10). There are two types of releases:
Pros of a normal release are that you get the latest features, applications and the newest version of the various software. However, you’ll need to upgrade every nine months. For example, if you choose to install Ubuntu 17.04 (any flavor), it will not get any updates after Jan’18. This will leave your system unsecured. If you choose an LTS release (any flavor), you don’t need to worry about upgrading to a newer release every 9 months. However, it may take some time before you have the latest versions of some software. LTS releases are preferred for production system machines and this is why only the stable version of various programs are made available to them. At the time of writing this article, if you were wondering which Ubuntu version to choose, I suggest Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. You’ll be covered till 2023. Everything fine but should I go for 32 bit or 64 bit Ubuntu?At the end, you might ask if you need to install 32 bit or 64 bit Ubuntu? To that, my suggestion is to first identify if you have a 32-bit system or 64-bit system. You can use this trick in Windows to find that out.
Just to add, Google Chrome is not supported on 32 bit Linux. So choose wisely. Did you make your mind about which Ubuntu to install?I think I have provided enough to help you make up your mind on which Ubuntu should you choose to install. But if you still have questions or even suggestions, do let me know in the comment section below. I always like to read and answer the comments. One reason why Ubuntu has remained so popular for such a long time is the availability of several flavors of this open source Linux distribution based on the Debian architecture. In this article, we compare the original creation, Ubuntu, with the most popular Ubuntu flavor, Lubuntu, highlighting both their similarities and differences. An Ubuntu flavor is a variant of Ubuntu, which was initially released in 2004. There are currently ten Ubuntu flavors: Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Studio, Lubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, and Ubuntu Budgie. Even though all of the ten flavors share the same repository for downloading updates as well as the same base, they ship with different packages and target different use cases. But just because a piece of software isn’t present in one flavor doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to install the software from the included package management tools. In theory, you could start with just about any Ubuntu flavor and end up with an operating system precisely customized according to your needs. That said, it’s highly advisable to start with a flavor that’s already close to how you want your operating system to feel like and function, instead of spending hours and hours trying to change the default configuration. We have already established that Ubuntu and Lubuntu share the same core system components and repositories. So, what’s different? The default desktop environment and applications. As you may already know, a desktop environment (DE) consists of toolbars, icons, windows, widgets, and other graphical user interface (GUI) elements, providing the user with a way how to easily control programs, access files, and change various settings. Ubuntu’s DE is called GNOME 3, and it’s the latest version of the same free and open source desktop environment that shipped with the first release of Ubuntu, Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog). GNOME 3 does an excellent job when it comes to maximizing the vertical screen space thanks to its modern approach to user interface design. Its most characteristic feature is the combination of a vertical application switcher on the left side with a space-saving horizontal multipurpose top menu bar and a virtual desktop manager on the right side. According to GNOME 3 developers, this modern desktop environment was designed from the ground up to make common tasks simple and easy. It features the so-called Activities Overview, allowing you to view all open windows, launch applications, or check if you have a new message with a press of a button. Lubuntu, on the other hand, uses the LXDE desktop environment. LXDE stands for Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment, and it is an open source DE characterized by its low resource requirements and adherence to a desktop metaphor that is guaranteed to feel instantly familiar to all Windows users. LXDE comes with several lightweight alternatives to common applications, including a file manager (PCMan File Manager), terminal emulator (LXTerminal), desktop panel (LXPanel), or GTK+ theme switcher (LXAppearance), just to name a few. Because the LXDE desktop environment has such low resource requirements, it runs on just about any old or low-end computer with at least a 266 MHz processor, 128 MB of RAM, 3 GB of hard drive space, and basic graphics card. Ubuntu, on the other hand, requires at least a 2 GHz dual-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 25 GB of hard drive space, and VGA-capable graphics card with the minimum resolution of 1024 × 768 pixels. Lubuntu’s low resource requirements also mean that the operating system runs faster on newer computers. Modern web browsers such as Chrome and, to a lesser extent, Firefox are known for being notoriously hungry for memory. By choosing Lubuntu over Ubuntu, you will have more RAM left for applications. Because Lubuntu has virtually no visual effects to make tasks such as switching between applications more visually appealing, you may find it more responsive. Ubuntu’s GNOME 3 relies heavily on animations and other visual effects, and many Ubuntu users disable them right away with the GNOME Tweak Tool. Finally, Lubuntu is also suited for people who are used to the Windows operating system, especially Windows XP. Lubuntu mimics the look and feel of Windows XP quite closely, and so do many of the included applications. Summary:
Ubuntu is significantly more popular than any of its flavors. Consequently, its user base is larger and more active. If you visit a Linux discussion group and ask a question regarding Ubuntu, you will get an answer much quicker than if you were to ask the same question about Lubuntu. Despite being heavier on resources than the LXDE desktop environment, GNOME 3 is arguably one of the most visually appealing desktop environments out there, and it has many useful features that make things like finding documents or opening applications much faster. What’s more, GNOME 3 is optimized for HDPI displays, which is something LXDE struggles with. Because Ubuntu is the original from which all of its flavors originate, it’s the first to receive updates and bug fixes. Enterprise users can even pay for 24/7 phone and web commercial support through the Ubuntu Advantage program. Those who decide to participate in the program also get access to a landscape systems management tool, Canonical Livepatch Service, and Canonical Knowledge Base, IP legal assurance that provides indemnification against claims of intellectual property infringement, and other useful benefits. Summary: Cocaine detection titration methods.
Despite sharing the same base, Ubuntu and Lubuntu are two different operating systems, each with its own distinct look and feel. Lubuntu is a lightweight operating system that runs great on less powerful hardware, while Ubuntu is known for constantly pushing the Linux desktop in new, interesting directions.
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