With Ubuntu 8.04 now on the streets, it’s time to catch a breather and reflect on just why Ubuntu gets all the hype. Why is Ubuntu the hottest brand in Linuxdom at this time? Why is it the distro most frequently advocated? I posed these questions to readers and LUG members; here’s the feedback from real-life Linux users.

Linux at heart is the kernel, Torvalds’ creation. Then there’s a set of GNU and other free open source software that provides rich functionality. A graphical user interface – these days GNOME or KDE – gives a bit of polish, while an installer and package management tool help with adding and removing software. Although the latter two items may vary, fundamentally any Linux distro consists of pretty much the same things.

Or, so I thought. I heard rumblings about Ubuntu from all different areas. It gained momentum while I was looking the other way. Indeed, even as recently as last year I wrote stories for this column using Red Hat Linux commands and output to illustrate. I was surprised by the amount of feedback which criticised the choice to use Red Hat when Ubuntu was the bees knees.

Sure enough, Ubuntu didn’t seem to have a single bad review when I checked it out. It had gained a reputation for being dead easy to install and a doddle to maintain.

More Here