Xubuntu () is a

Canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...

-recognized, community-maintained derivative of the

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

. The name ''Xubuntu'' is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ''Xfce'' and ''Ubuntu'', as it uses the

Xfce Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Xfce aims to be fast and Lightweight software, lightweight whil ...

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphi ...

, instead of Ubuntu's customized

GNOME A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

desktop. Xubuntu seeks to provide "a light, stable and configurable desktop environment with conservative workflows" using Xfce components. Xubuntu is intended for both new and experienced Linux users. Rather than explicitly targeting low-powered machines, it attempts to provide "extra responsiveness and speed" on existing hardware.

History

Xubuntu was originally intended to be released at the same time as Ubuntu 5.10 ''Breezy Badger'', 13 October 2005, but the work was not complete by that date. Instead the Xubuntu name was used for the ''xubuntu-desktop'' metapackage available through the

Synaptic Package Manager Synaptic is a GTK-based graphical user interface designed for the APT package manager used by the Debian Linux distribution and its derivatives. Synaptic is usually used on systems based on deb packages but can also be used on systems based on ...

which installed the Xfce desktop. The first official Xubuntu release, led by Jani Monoses, appeared on 1 June 2006, as part of the Ubuntu 6.06 ''Dapper Drake'' line, which also included

Kubuntu Kubuntu ( ) is an official flavor of the Ubuntu operating system that uses the KDE Plasma Desktop Environment instead of the GNOME desktop environment. As part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu uses the same underlying systems. Kubuntu shares th ...

and

Edubuntu Edubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu (operating system), Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities. Features Edubuntu is based largely on the standard GNOME-based Ubuntu distribution ...

. Cody A.W. Somerville developed a comprehensive strategy for the Xubuntu project named the ''Xubuntu Strategy Document''. This document was approved by the Ubuntu Community Council in 2008. In November 2009, Cody A.W. Somerville stepped down as the project leader and made a call for nominations to help find a successor. Lionel Le Folgoc was confirmed by the Xubuntu community as the new project leader on 10 January 2010 and requested the formation of an official Xubuntu council. In the beginning of 2016, the Xubuntu team began the process to transition the project to become council run rather than having a single project leader. On 1 January 2017, an official post on the Xubuntu site's blog announced the official formation of the Xubuntu Council. The purpose of the council is not just to make decisions about the future of the project, but to make sure the direction of the project adheres to guidelines established in the Strategy Document.

Releases

Xubuntu 6.06 LTS

The first official stand-alone release of Xubuntu was version 6.06

long term support Long-term support (LTS) is a product lifecycle management policy in which a stable release of computer software is maintained for a longer period of time than the standard edition. The term is typically reserved for open-source software, where it ...

(LTS), which was made available on 1 June 2006. It was introduced with the statement: The version used

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a Free and open-source software, free and open source Unix-like kernel (operating system), kernel that is used in many computer systems worldwide. The kernel was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and was soon adopted as the k ...

2.6.15.7 and Xfce 4.4 beta 1. Applications included the

Thunar Thunar is a file manager for Linux and other Unix-like systems, initially written using the GTK+ 2 toolkit and later ported to the GTK+ 3 toolkit. It started to ship with Xfce in version 4.4 RC1 and later. Thunar is developed by Benedikt Meur ...

file manager, GDM desktop manager, Abiword word processor and

Gnumeric Gnumeric is a spreadsheet program that is part of the GNOME Free Software Desktop Project. Gnumeric version 1.0 was released on 31 December 2001. Gnumeric is distributed as free software under the GNU General Public License; it is intended to ...

spread sheet,

Evince Evince (), also known as GNOME Document Viewer, is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source document viewer supporting many document file formats including Portable Document Format, PDF, PostScript, DjVu, Tagged Image File Format ...

PDF document viewer, Xarchiver archive manager, Xfburn CD burner, Firefox 1.5.0.3 web browser, Thunderbird 1.5.0.2 email client and the

GDebi Debian () is a free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kernel, and is the basis of many o ...

package manager.

Xubuntu 6.10

Xubuntu 6.10 was released on 26 October 2006. This version used Xfce 4.4 beta 2 and included

Upstart Upstart or upstarts may refer to: * HMS ''Upstart'', a Royal Navy U-class submarine * Upstart (company), an online lending marketplace * Upstart (software), a process management daemon used in several operating systems. * Upstart (sculpture), a pub ...

, the Firefox 2.0 web browser, the

Gaim Pidgin (formerly named Gaim) is a free and open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple that has support for many instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to simultaneously log in to various s ...

2.0.0 beta 3.1 instant messaging client along with new versions of AbiWord and Gnumeric. The media player was gxine which replaced Xfmedia. The previous ''xffm4'' file manager was replaced by Thunar. It introduced redesigned artwork for the bootup splash screen, the login window and the desktop theme. The developers claimed that this version of Xubuntu could run on 64 MB of RAM, with 128 MB "strongly recommended".

Xubuntu 7.04

Xubuntu 7.04 was released on 19 April 2007. This release was based on Xfce 4.4. Michael Larabel of

Phoronix Phoronix Test Suite (PTS) is a free and open-source benchmark software for Linux and other operating systems. The Phoronix Test Suite, developed by Michael Larabel and Matthew Tippett, has been endorsed by sites such as Linux.com, LinuxPlanet ...

carried out detailed benchmark testing of betas for Ubuntu 7.04, Kubuntu 7.04 and Xubuntu 7.04 in February 2007 on two different computers, one with dual

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

Clovertown processors and the other with an

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

Sempron Sempron has been the marketing name used by AMD for several different budget desktop CPUs, using several different technologies and CPU socket formats. The Sempron replaced the AMD Duron processor and competed against Intel's Celeron#Celeron D (Pr ...

. After a series of gzip compression, LAME compilation, and LAME encoding tasks he concluded, "in these tests with the dual Clovertown setup we found the results to be indistinguishable. However, with the AMD Sempron, Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn Herd 4 had outperformed both Kubuntu and the lighter-weight Xubuntu. Granted on a slower system the lightweight Xubuntu should have a greater performance advantage".

Xubuntu 7.10

Xubuntu 7.10 was released on 18 October 2007. It was based upon Xfce, 4.4.1 and added updated translations along with a new theme, MurrinaStormCloud, using the Murrine Engine. Application updates included

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

2.2.0, (Gaim was renamed Pidgin) and

GIMP Gimp or GIMP may refer to: Clothing * Bondage suit, also called a gimp suit, a type of suit used in BDSM * Bondage mask, also called a gimp mask, often worn in conjunction with a gimp suit Embroidery and crafts * Gimp (thread), an ornamental tr ...

2.4. This Xubuntu version allowed the installation of Firefox extensions and plug-ins through the ''Add/Remove Software'' interface. The developers claimed that this version of Xubuntu could run on 64 MB of RAM, with 128 MB "strongly recommended".

Xubuntu 8.04 LTS

Xubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS) was made available on 24 April 2008. This version of Xubuntu used Xfce 4.4.2, Xorg 7.3 and Linux kernel 2.6.24. It introduced

PolicyKit Polkit (formerly PolicyKit) is a component for controlling system-wide privileges in Unix-like operating systems. It provides an organized way for non-privileged processes to communicate with privileged ones. Polkit allows a level of control of ...

for permissions control,

PulseAudio PulseAudio is a network-capable sound server program distributed via the freedesktop.org project. It runs mainly on Linux, including Windows Subsystem for Linux on Microsoft Windows and Termux on Android; various BSD distributions such as ...

and a new printing manager. It also introduced Wubi, that allowed Windows users to install Xubuntu as a program on Windows. Applications included were Firefox 3 Beta 5, Brasero CD/DVD burning application, Transmission BitTorrent client, Mousepad text editor, AbiWord word processor and Ristretto image viewer

Xubuntu 8.10

Xubuntu 8.10 was released on 30 October 2008. This version of Xubuntu brought a new version of Abiword, version 2.6.4, the ''Listen Multimedia Player'' and introduced the ''Catfish'' desktop search application. It used Linux kernel 2.6.27, X.Org 7.4. There was an installation option of an encrypted private directory using ecryptfs-utils. The Totem media player was included.

Xubuntu 9.04

Version 9.04 was released on 23 April 2009. The development team advertised this release as giving improved boot-up times, "benefiting from the Ubuntu core developer team's improvements to boot-time code, the Xubuntu 9.04 desktop boots more quickly than ever. This means you can spend less time waiting, and more time being productive with your Xubuntu desktop". Xubuntu 9.04 used Xfce 4.6, which included a new Xfce Settings Manager dialog, the new Xconf configuration system, an improved desktop menu and clock, new notifications, and remote file system application

Gigolo A gigolo ( ) is a male escort, call boy or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship. The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rat ...

. This release also brought all new artwork and incorporated the Murrina Storm Cloud GTK+ theme and a new XFWM4 window manager theme. 9.04 also introduced new versions of many applications, including the AbiWord word processor,

Brasero Brasero may refer to: *Brasero (heater), a heater or an oven *Brasero (software), CD/DVD-burning software for Linux See also *Bracero program {{disambig ;UberStudent, UberStudent Linux :A discontinued education-use derivative of Xubuntu LTS releases ;UserOS Ultra :A minimal Xubuntu variant was produced for Australia's ''PC User'' magazine. ;Voyager :A French distribution which comes with the Avant Window Navigator. ;ChaletOS :An English distribution similar to the Windows operating system in appearance.

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Free and open-source software, Linux 2006 software IA-32 Linux distributions Linux distributions Operating system distributions bootable from read-only media Ubuntu derivatives X86-64 Linux distributions Xfce