2007-10-30 22:19:40 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
Download free from http://www.ubuntu.com/
The new version is Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon.
Installation of Ubuntu Linux 7.10 alias Gutsy Gibbon
10 easy steps to success
http://www.futuredesktop.com/
Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) Guide
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Gutsy
Dual-booting Windows and Linux the easy way (Linux.com videos)
http://www.linux.com/articles/114157
Installing Software in Ubuntu
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftware
How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu!
http://monkeyblog.org/ubuntu/installing/
Linux App Finder/All Applications
http://linuxappfinder.com/all
The Ubuntu Forum Community
http://ubuntuforums.org/
Support
http://www.ubuntu.com/support
Good luck.
2007-10-30 22:36:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's free to the extent you are willing to take responsibility for it. They make the distribution disks available so widely you can get them for free with a little effort, and make it easy to update it online without paying for it, but make support available for a small fee.
From the beginning Linux was is and has been a kernel making use of software tools put out by the GNU Software Foundation (which you can find out more about from the Free Software Foundation which I've linked to in sources). That's why you will find references to GNU/Linux and even people who say that that is the proper name for it (which in certain technical discussions it is). The Windowing system is based on X-Windows, which was developed by a consortium including IBM and MIT. The default desktop, Gnome, was developed by a group of Central Americans. What Canonical Software, Ltd. has done is taken another distribution, Debian, and in many cases paid people to develop tools which will help make the computing experience easier and more secure for people with no technical training. That's what Ubuntu is. I switched to Debian before I even tried it, I find Ubuntu annoying -- often -- but do not hesitate to recommend it and have a hard time describing my annoyances or how it differs to people with no technical training.
You don't necessarily have to go to Canonical for support: it's available in Ubuntu Forums all over the net, including in groups like Linuxquestions.org. But of course the difference is the support you get from Canonical will help pay to make Ubuntu better for users.
The key quote about free software -- I think it's Richard Stallman's -- is "Free as in Freedom, not free as in beer." Stallman is the programming genius who created the FSF and GNU tools. If you want to burn your own CDs, the cost of any distribution is the cost of burning it, but more to the point since even the core of the OS is from multiple vendors, you can customize it to an extent that a proprietary company (Certainly meaning Microsoft but also to some extent Apple) would label you a criminal for doing. If you run into trouble you can figure out how to solve it yourself, you can ask friends for help, or you can pay for help.
I hope this answer isn't intimidating. Ubuntu is great for Newbies. And it is a "real" Linux distribution which makes no compromises while being a good environment for non-specialists. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
2007-10-31 08:10:35 · answer #2 · answered by jplatt39 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All versions of Ubuntu are free. If there are any costs, then it is associated with postage + handling + the actual CD (if bought as a hard copy). It can be downloaded for free from their website.
2007-10-31 05:22:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ubuntu is free, my freind got it posted to his home free if I am right.
2007-10-31 05:27:28 · answer #4 · answered by Vishal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may have to pay someone for the disks and the effort of copying them / posting them to you... but the software IS free.
You can download for free as .iso images from www.canonical.com
2007-10-31 05:22:35 · answer #5 · answered by bambamitsdead 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋