Ubuntu was first launched in 2004, as a whole new way to present the power of Linux to the people around. Since then, Ubuntu has evolved a long way, and the evolution of Ubuntu across these years has not only made Ubuntu much more powerful but also a good choice of OS for many users around the world.
Being so popular among the masses, Ubuntu has successfully made its name in the history of Linux, and can be compared to an alternative for Windows to users. Though using Ubuntu for Windows users may prove a bit uneasy and uncomfortable, but still due to its enhanced and advanced features, Ubuntu is still taken as a great alternative for Windows to some extent.
But all these advancements didn’t happen in one day or one week or even one month. Evolution for Ubuntu took years of hard work from the Ubuntu community, to develop and make Ubuntu to what it is now. So, let’s have a close look at how Ubuntu evolved from a mere OS to a modern and powerful OS which lets us have a wonderful experience on Linux.
Evolution of Ubuntu – An Exciting Journey
2004
Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog)
Ubuntu 4.10 built on Debian, was the first release of Ubuntu from Canonical Ltd. This version of Ubuntu featured simple interface, while one can see the multiple desktop features in this version of Ubuntu too. Applications and the File Explorer was not much advanced, while at the same time Windows XP featured a much better Windows Explorer.
2005
Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)
Ubuntu 5.04 brought much advancement to the Ubuntu OS, with introducing features like Update Manager, Standby, Hibernate and Dynamic Frequency Scaling for processors, to improve performance. This version of Ubuntu allowed installation from USB Drives, making it really portable and easy to install, anywhere and anytime.
Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)
Ubuntu 5.10 was another version of Ubuntu released in the same year, but still brought yet better features than ever before. It featured a much more advanced File Browser, which made file browsing comfortable and easy in Ubuntu. Some of the major updates were, a graphical boot screen named USplash, full support for Hewlett-Packard printers, and an Add/Remove Applications tool.
2006
Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake)
Ubuntu 6.06 was another great release in the history of Ubuntu, bringing new changes such as merging of Live CD and Installation CD into a single CD, having a graphical loader named Ubiquity for installing Ubuntu, a yet better File Browser with advanced graphics, and implementing USplash on startup screen as well as shutdown screen. This version of Ubuntu was given LTS (Long Term Support) for updates and OS support.
Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)
Ubuntu 6.10 featured a heavily modified Human Theme with brighter orange colour, and some better graphics in the applications. It had Apport, the automatic crash reporting application, Tomboy, a note taking application and F-Spot photo manager. It also had EasyUbuntu, a third party that was designed to make Ubuntu easy to use.
2007
Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)
Ubuntu 7.04 featured brand new features like a great migration tool that would help users to migrate from Windows to Ubuntu, which made it easy to install Ubuntu for windows users. It also allowed installations of codec, Flash Player, Java and had easier installations of Nvidia and ATI graphics drivers. This version of Ubuntu also had support for playing .MP3 files which was really needed in Ubuntu. This release was a great step in evolution of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)
Ubuntu 7.10 introduced us with superb features like a fast desktop search, a great Firefox plugin manager named Ubifox, full support for NTFS file system, so that storing large files wouldn’t be a hassle anymore. The printing system had great changes, with the feature of printing as PDF by default, which made exporting and handling data much easier for business.
2008
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron)
Ubuntu 8.04 was the second release of Ubuntu which had LTS, and was a great step in the evolution for Ubuntu. This version of Ubuntu included several handy tools like Brasero disc burning utility, Transmission BitTorrent Client, and superb music through PulseAudio music system. This version of Ubuntu really made it easy to install Ubuntu inside windows like any other applications using Wubi installer, which could install Ubuntu on Windows without needing separate disk partition.
Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)
Ubuntu 8.10 had many new and much needed changes as compared to its other versions, such as better internet connectivity for improved browsing, better mobile computing and desktop scalability, and also allowed the creation of Ubuntu Live USB. It also featured a special Guest Account which had limited permissions for using the OS, and also everything that was stored using the guest account was cleared after use.
2009
Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)
Ubuntu 9.04 didn’t have much to impress, while some of its notable feature upgrades were faster boot time, integration of web applications and services into desktop and brand new USplash screen and a new notification system.
Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)
Ubuntu 9.10 had changes like addition of cloud computing which would be made possible using the Eucalyptus servers. Ubuntu One was installed by default in this version of Ubuntu. The theme was left nearly unchanged, with some minor changes in the theme and interface.
2010
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)
Ubuntu 10.04 focused on giving much attention to various web services and social networking by integrating them into Ubuntu, so that users can enjoy social networking in Ubuntu with absolute ease. The interface was also given a brand new look, and all new features. This version had Plymouth which shows up animations during booting.
Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)
Ubuntu 10.10 mainly focused on improving netbook experience with the Unity interface provided for the netbook edition. The default photo manager was replaced by Shotwell, and users can purchase applications from the Software Center, and some minor changes can be seen in the interface.
2011
Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal)
Ubuntu 11.04 used Unity as the default interface instead of its previous GNOME Shell, and as you can see, the sidebar containing your favourite apps peeks into the desktop for providing easy access to most applications. In this version Banshee replaced Rythmbox as the default music player. In spite of all this improvement, this version of Ubuntu was to some extent full of bugs, which needed a fix in the next version.
Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot)
Ubuntu 11.10 replaced GNOME Shell by Unity totally, and users were not able to use the GNOME shell in this version of Ubuntu by default, instead they were given a 2D version of Unity if their PC configuration were not up to the mark to run the default Unity. Changes in the interface include, more transparency and better controls, as you can see above, shortcuts, music, documents and more were available in a single area.
2012
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin)
Ubuntu 12.04 was a leap in the evolution of Ubuntu, with the brand new HUD (Head-Up-Display), which replaced the need of menus in the Unity interface. You can just type what you need to do, and the HUD will suggest you some ways that you need to do. For example, if you want to open a new tab, you can just write “new tab” and the HUD will show up results through which you can open a new tab easily. Unlike other LTS versions, this version made support last for 5 years instead of 3years, so that’s a great advantage of this version.
Ubuntu has made much advancement in these years and we hope that it will keep making great advancements and will always bring new reasons for people to fall in love with Ubuntu day by day. If you have any queries or views regarding this timeline of Ubuntu then do feel free to leave your comments below. So which version of Ubuntu are you using now?
Ubuntu Screenshots Source: en.wikipedia.org
Featured Image Source: luyan_bj
