ubuntu linux
Ubuntu is an African word, with its origins in the Bantu languages, which represents a philisophical concept dealing with humanity and inter-personal relationships. While a specific definition is difficult to nail down, ubuntu loosely translates into english as "I am what I am because of who we all are" and represents the concept that the whole of a community is greater than the sum of its parts. Because of the nature of Linux and other open source software, Canonical found ubuntu to be a fitting name for their distribution of Linux which, in their words, "brings the spirit of ubuntu to the software world."
There is no question that, based on sheer number of users, Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system in use today. So is Windows a superior operating system? No. Their success is due to the fact that the folks at Microsoft are marketing geniuses and have managed (albeit through some shady techniques at times) to so successfully promote their operating system (OS) that many people do not even know that there are other choices!
screenshots
(click images to view larger screenshots in a new window)
The desktop, like everything else in ubuntu, is highly customizable. This screenshot is of my current ubuntu 8.04 desktop; the wallpaper was custom made using Gimp. The colorful stuff on the right is Conky which provides a lot of different and useful information which is updated on the fly.
Like everything else it can be customized as to how and what it displays. I use it to keep an eye on such things as: available memory, free space on the hard drive, CPU temperature, battery status on my laptop, and more. Even though I could get along without it, it just looks extrmemly cool if nothing else!
Cairo Dock, shown on the bottom of the screenshot, is a customizable annimated application launcher similar to the launcher on OS-X. There are quite a few different looks you can set for it and adding new launchers if quick and easy. The animated icons are really neat and it is extremely handy for keeping your desktop clean and still having access to frequently used applications. You can even have sub-docks for organization and I have it set to auto-hide when not needed. Simply placing the mouse pointer in a user defined area of the desktop makes it slide into view.
This is a closer view of the Cairo Dock application launcher. It also shows the graphics submenu expanded and gives a better view of the reflection effect on the plane beneath the icons. Still not near as good as seeing the animated effects in person, but this shot does give you a somewhat better idea of the look of Cairo Dock.
Although there are several such application launcher bars available for Linux, Cairo Dock is the best (at least in my opinion) based on the ease of use and awesome effects.
If you have 3D graphics capability (almost all computers in use today do), then you can enable some really awesome advanced desktop effects through the Linux composting manager known as Compiz. Ubuntu gives you the ability to have multiple desktops and, as such, to have different windows open on each of them. The ability to switch between multiple desktops is like having multiple monitors and is a great productivity booster.
Without a doubt, one of the most eye catching of the many 3D effects available with Linux is the cube. By enabling the cube in Compiz you can rotate a virtual 3 dimensional cube on the desktop to switch between workspaced -- or simply amaze anyone watching. You can even make the cube transparent and set a background "Sky-Dome" image. It is a truly awe inspiring sight to behold!
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