Why use Ubuntu?

First up: Individuals.

The meaning and implications of “free” software.

Ubuntu is, in my opinion, already good enough to not have to compete on cost. So it is only a happy coincidence that it does: no license fees or distribution costs spells a cheaper computer, whether it is for yourself or your company. The word free in this context has another connotation though: it is free to use, and free to modify. Modifying Ubuntu and the majority of the software it runs is not just permitted, but encouraged. So if you’re an interested amateur or a professional with free time, you can do what you like with your operating system. If you’re just an end user this might not sound interesting, but the benefit for non-coders is simply that coders will usually share whatever they make in the same way that Linux itself is shared.
The outcome of this is that Ubuntu (and Linux in general) has thousands of applications, great and small, to handle virtually any task. Just a few examples are OpenOffice for your spreadsheets and word documents, Banshee to organise your music into a library and export it onto mp3 players, Firefox and Chrome for powerful, fast, secure browsers, and a lot more beside.

Setting it up, keeping it running:

Configuration is also simple: from the moment you hit “install” you use a functional but very pretty interface that hides everything you don’t need to look at. That’s a pretty broad category, because as you’d expect, it can work most things out by itself. All you need to do is make a few choices of applications to install and name a few users and you’re ready to go. Likewise, after installation, everything is covered: there are utilities for every task from networks to filesystems that let you look after your computer for you, while letting you play around and customise things your own way. Setting up networks, display settings, and all those little things that make your computer more enjoyable to use, can be considered trivial tasks.
There’s a little problem with this, though: this doesn’t “one-up” Windows or OSX on functionality, though: it attains parity, but without the price tag. The real advantages lie in Ubuntu’s package management system. Windows and OSX don’t have the same wealth of free applications, and they definitely don’t have the simple, elegant method of delivery that Ubuntu (and other Linux distributions) do.

Pierce de resistance: software, packages, and what might be thought of as “apps”...

There are several ways to use the package manager: if you’re from the early 90s and want to pretend you’re in a film with Jonny Lee Miller, you can use the command line, but if you’re from the 21st century, there are two main options: the first is synaptic, the second is the Ubuntu Software Center. Both perform the same job: installing things, and making sure that they work when they’re installed. The relatively minor difference is one is a little simpler, but one is a little more versatile.
The Ubuntu Software Center might seem a little familiar to those who have used the App Store for Android or iPhone: it is essentially the same thing, except for your computer. Software is categorised so it is easy to narrow down your search if you don’t know the exact name of an application you’re looking for. It’ll then download install your application and any other dependent applications, with a minimum of fuss and usually zero intervention. In short: if you can use the App Store for your iPhone, you can make the most of this.
Synaptic on the other hand is a little trickier: it works on roughly the same principle but is aimed more at power users and allows you more control over your packages: downgrading, accessing unstable developer packages, and so on. On the whole Synaptic is aimed more at power users and administrators, and provides an interface that balances flexibility with user friendliness.
Whether you use Synaptic or Ubuntu Software Center, your computer will always be updated automatically (though, being a polite operating system, Ubuntu usually asks you first). This keeps your computer secure, as you get security fixes within hours of their release, keeps software stable, as you get bugfixes within hours of release, and means your applications keep getting better, as, you guessed it, you get improvements within hours of release!
So that’s just a few of the many reasons to use Ubuntu: as a developer I find it lets me work in a pleasant environment while also letting me look underneath that nice environment at the beating heart of my system, at whatever level of depth I so choose. In the tech community however, there is a saying. The saying is “tl;dr”, which stands for “too long; didn’t read!”. So here’s the skinny:

• Ubuntu is Free and Open Source, and so has an enormous back-catalog of software to use at no cost.
• Ubuntu offers an experience on par (or superior to, in the author’s opinion!) with Windows and OSX while costing considerably less.
• Ubuntu’s software manager offers a way of finding and installing software that your mother could use.
• Ubuntu keeps your software up to date and keeps your computer secure and fast.

For Businesses!

The user case is covered above, but why should your business run Ubuntu? We’ve already covered the fact it is easily on par with Windows and OSX, the fact it is free, easy, and versatile. What we haven’t talked about yet is just how versatile it is.

Servers

Ubuntu isn’t just a desktop operating system, it can also be used as a server. It can serve your web pages, send your emails, run your databases and perform any other task a server might be asked to do. It is, however, a little harder to write about the distinct advantages of the server of Ubuntu, not because it lacks them, but because Linux server are and have been a standard for a considerable period of time: Ubuntu is one of the newer, shinier contenders in the Linux server arena, but variants such as Debian and RedHat (aka Fedora) and CentOS have been around for years. The majority of the world’s servers run some variant of Linux: any company from Google to your Internet Service Provider at home could be picked as an example, and with endorsements like Google, who needs to think twice?
The particular advantages of Ubuntu for a server are the ability to use applications such as Landscape, which allows for centralised administration of multiple machines, the availability of software (through the package manager described above) and support (one chat room dedicated to Ubuntu regularly has over 1500 users) which are both free and abundant, and the bottom-up configuration of the software itself.

Developers and customisation

This harks back to Free and Open source software again: when the source code for an application is available, that means we can build upon it ourselves. Windows and OSX are both proprietary (while OSX is based upon free software, the majority of the system itself is property of Apple and can’t be modified, which also holds true for the majority of OSX apps) where Linux isn’t.
So let’s say we have the majority of our needs fulfilled by a particular piece of software, but some functionality is lacking. There are a few things we can do:

• We could pay someone to write that software for us, release it into the community, and see if it will grow and be maintained by the community (which it often is).
• We could employ someone permanently to write the software and maintain it, as well as looking after our servers and providing support to the end users.
• We could see if someone else has already written the modification and made it available for everyone to use. The chances are if that’s the case, it can be installed through the package manager we talked about earlier!

This spells control, above all else: a huge outside vendor might not care about your concerns, but a company on a retainer or individual on the payroll has to. That means you get listened to, and it means problems are fixed sooner rather than later.

Security

Ubuntu is easy out of the box, but doesn’t have the same history of being flawed and insecure out of the box as other operating systems. This is a trait of most Linux distributions, but with the benefits which have already discussed, the general agreement is that Ubuntu is ahead of the pack due to its parity of security and advanced user features.

Lower barrier to entry

This is where we mention price. If you’re a small or medium business, you might want to keep your overheads down. Community support, no license fees, and a robust operating system all save money. That's all there is to it.
One thing people reading this might want to save is time, so here’s another brief summary:

• Linux is already the industry standard for servers, and for good reason. Ubuntu is one of many server distributions, but has a reputation for being shiny and pleasant to use.
• Cost: if product X costs £100 and is just as good as product Y, why spend more?
• Secure: you don’t lose your data or your sanity!

The Grand Finale: Governments!

Death and taxes

This might be construed as political. It shouldn’t be, though. Simply put, would you rather your tax money was spent on a license from a private company, or a developer whose work can be in the public domain and whose code contributions can be used by any business, anywhere? This is an investment opportunity that keeps on giving: software written once can reduce costs an infinite number of times, which engenders prosperity in an economy. A license amounts to a tax on computers, and without the need to pay a license, everyone benefits.
An example might be a piece of software (say, accounting software) that for instance, the French government wanted to be translated into French. If it is proprietary, it is a difficult and irritatingly long term process for all involved, but if it is open source, it can yield a real economic benefit, insofar as any French person or company can then use that software. Localisation is, in reality, a pretty trivial issue compared to most things, but the principle stands: functionality created once can be shared forever. Truly, the gift that keeps on giving: instead of replicating efforts, we replicate benefits.

But you forgot Ubuntu!

Settle down, settle down. I’m writing about Ubuntu first and foremost. With Ubuntu we have a large, established project already being carried forward by a huge community and an array of businesses and organisations who are invested in the software. So aside from the inherent power of Linux being customisable, auditable, and secure, it is actually usable by the average politician!

At DeepBlueSky both myself and Dan, our accounts manager, use Ubuntu on our home computers: the days of Linux being for specialists are over. Although that said, I like to think I’m a specialist. But it might be another story for Dan.