Ubuntu Linux has turned 20 years old!

On this bright day (October 20, 2004), a nice guy named Mark Shuttleworth thought that there were a huge number of Linux distributions in the world, but none of them worked as they should. None of them could be offered to users as a substitute for Windows, which had dominated the desktop operating system market. Something had to be done about this. He looked at all this mess and decided to create his 'Linux for people' that would 'just work,' and that could be downloaded and installed by any regular person on their PC instead of the familiar Windows system, which was and remains paid, proprietary, and filled with backdoors. And he did it! Mark gave us a simpler Linux, the first versions of which even an average person could install and configure for their needs. Many argue about which version of Ubuntu (and its derivatives, for example, Kubuntu) became a more complete replacement for Windows—some mention version 8.04, others 10.04 or 12.04.

Ubuntu became a window into the world of Linux for tens of millions of people who previously could not enter this world due to its complexity, confusion, lack of clarity, and simply unfriendly nature. Mark helped all these people take their first steps into Linux. Many stayed with this distribution, which became their main OS for work and entertainment. Some continued their journey and later switched to other distributions. Over time, Steam appeared in Ubuntu, and it became a fully-fledged gaming platform, becoming even closer and friendlier to ordinary users. Great popularity leads to a large number of new software—more and more people are choosing Ubuntu as their main OS, while Windows is gradually losing market share. The popularity of Linux (and, in particular, Ubuntu) has been greatly enhanced by new software distribution systems like Snap, Flatpak, and Appimage, which have brought a huge amount of new free and proprietary software to Linux.

There are many people who criticize Ubuntu and Mark Shuttleworth for various, sometimes less than perfect, decisions. But it's hard to dispute that thanks to Ubuntu, the popularity of Linux has grown exponentially, and today we can easily find top PCs and laptops with Linux pre-installed in stores. Could anyone have imagined 10 or 15 years ago that Linux would become the main OS for the world's most popular handheld console—Steam Deck? None of this would have happened if one cool guy hadn't taken his small first step.

20 Years with Ubuntu

Interview with the Founding Fathers

Interview with the Ubuntu Community

Source: linux.org.ru