Google's desktop operating system of choice is Ubuntu Linux. San Diego, CA: Most Linux people know that Google uses Linux on its desktops as well as its servers. Some know that Ubuntu Linux
is Google's desktop of choice and that it's called Goobuntu. But almost
no one outside of Google knew exactly what was in it or what roles
Ubuntu Linux plays on Google's campus, until now.
Today, August 29th , Thomas Bushnell, the tech lead of the group that
manages and distributes Linux to Google's corporate desktops unveiled
Goobuntu from behind Google's curtain at LinuxCon, the Linux Foundation's annual North American technical conference, First things first, can you download Goobuntu to run it yourself? Well yes and no.
Bushnell explained that “Goobuntu is simply a light skin over
standard Ubuntu.” In particular, Google uses the latest long term
support (LTS) of Ubuntu. That means that if you download a copy of the latest version of Ubuntu, 12.04.1, you will, for most practical purposes, be running Goobuntu.
Google uses the LTS versions because the two-years between releases
is much more workable than the every six-month cycle of ordinary Ubuntu
releases. Besides, Google also tries to update and replace its hardware
every two-years so that syncs nicely as well.
Why Ubuntu, rather than say Macs or Windows? Well you can run those
too. Bushnell said, “Googlers [Google employees] are invited to use the
tools that work for them.. If Gmail doesn't want work for them, they can
use pine [an early Unix shell character-based e-mail client] that's
fine. People aren't required to use Ubuntu.” But, Goobuntu use is
encouraged and “All our development tools are for Ubuntu.”
Googlers must ask to use Windows because “Windows is harder because
it has 'special' security problems so it requires high-level permission
before someone can use it.” In addition, “Windows tools tend to be heavy
and inflexible.”
That said, Bushnell was asked why Ubuntu instead of say Fedora or openSUSE? He replied, “We chose Debian
because packages and apt [Debian's basic software package programs] are
light-years ahead of RPM (Red Had and SUSE's default package management
system.]” And, why Ubuntu over the other Debian-based Linux
distributions? “Because it's release cadence is awesome and Canonical [Ubuntu's parent company] offers good support.”
Yes, that's right. Google doesn't just use Ubuntu and contribute to its development, Google is a paying customer for Canonical's Ubuntu Advantage support program.
Chris Kenyon, who is Canonical's VP of Sales and Business Development,
and was present for Bushnell's talk confirmed this and added that
“Google is not our largest business desktop customer.”
So, what about the desktop itself? Is everyone required to use Unity, Ubuntu's popular but controversial desktop? Nope.
When asked about Unity use, Bushnell said, “Unity? Haters gonna hate.
Our desktop users are all over the map when it comes to their
interfaces. Some use GNOME, some use KDE, some use X-Window and X-Terms.
Some want Unity because it reminds them of the Mac. We see Mac lovers
moving to Unity.” There is no default Goobuntu interface.
What there is though is "tens-of-thousands of Goobuntu users. This
includes graphic designers, engineers, management, and sales people.
It's a very diverse community. Some, like Ken Thompson, helped create Unix and some don't know anything about computers except how to use their application.”
To manage all these Goobuntu desktops, Google uses apt and Puppet
desktop administration tools. This gives the Google desktop management
team the power to quickly control and manage their PCs. That's important
because, “A single reboot can cost us a million dollars per instance.”
That said, desktop problems , even on Linux, will happen. As Bushnell
said “Hope is not a strategy. Most people hope that things won't fail.
Hoping computers won't fail is bad You will die someday. Your PC will
crash someday. You have to design for failure.”
This is where Goobuntu's 'special sauce' appears. On Google's
desktops, “Active monitoring is absolutely critical. At Google we have
challenging demands, we're always pushing workstations to their limits,
and we work with rapidly moving development cycles.”
On top of this, Google has very strict security requirements. As
Bushnell observes, “Google is a target Everyone wants to hack us.” So
some programs that are part of the Ubuntu distribution are banned as
potential security risks. These include any program “that calls home” to
an outside server. On top of that Google uses its own proprietary
in-house user PC network authentication that Bushnell says is “pushing
the state of the art in network authentication, because we're such a
high profile security target.”
Put it all together: the need for top-of-the-line security, high-end
PC performance, and the flexibility to meet the desktop needs of both
genius developers and newly-hired sales representatives, and it's no
wonder that Google uses Ubuntu for its desktop operating system of
choice. To quote, Bushnell, “You'd be a fool to use anything but Linux.”
It is the mystery of mysteries, the one that ranks up there with the
Gordian Knot, crop circles, and how many licks does it take to get the
center of Tootsie Pop: what is the greatest Linux distro of all?
This is a question Linux.com has tackled before. The key, of course, is
understanding that the question itself is wrong: no matter what anyone
tells you, there is no One True Distro. The reality is more complex:
it's what you need that comes first, and what distro meets those needs
is the best one for you.
To help users discover the Linux distribution that's best for them, I
will definitively list the best distros for the various types of Linux
users to try, based on my own experiences and reviews. The use-case
categories will be:
Best Desktop Distribution
Best Laptop Distribution
Best Enterprise Desktop
Best Enterprise Server
Best LiveCD
Best Security-Enhanced Distribution
Best Multimedia Distribution
You may or may not agree with these assertions, and you are more than
welcome to chime in with your own opinions. No matter what you think,
though, the good news that by using Linux of any sort, you are already a
winner.
Best Linux Desktop Distribution
Let's get started right off the bat with the most contended category:
the best distribution to use for general desktop use. Over the years,
this title has gone to Ubuntu, then Fedora. This year, the pick is back
in the Ubuntu genus, though it's not something directly from Canonical.
For 2012, the pick for best Linux desktop falls on Linux Mint, specifically, Linux Mint 12 "Lisa."
Linux Mint is a downstream derivation of Ubuntu, which means, it you're
not familiar with the lingo of free and open source software, that the
code for Linux Mint is based on that found in Ubuntu. Linux Mint
developers then add their own take to the distribution.
The result is a smoothly polished distribution that features a lot of
power under the hood. Slightly less encumbered with Canonical's
corporate mission, Linux Mint has unabashedly and firmly planted its
metaphorical feet firmly on the Linux desktop, delivering a very
complete set of applications and device drivers in an interface that
unequivocally says "desktop."
Because of its close ties to Ubuntu – and Debian above that – Linux
Mint users have access to a huge range of applications, themes, and
widgets that make the Linux Mint desktop experience very compelling.
Best Linux Laptop Distribution
Laptop environments are not like desktop environments. Though some
laptops still remain clunky affairs with big screens that have keyboards
slapped on them, as Linux creator Linus Torvalds has publicly lamented, some laptops are gradually taking their cues from Apple Macbook Air line and are starting to conform to a sleeker aesthetic.
It is this environment that is well suited for the Linux distro with an interface that matches it: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.
The latest release of Ubuntu has kept up its superior laptop toolset,
with excellent power management and drivers. And, though you might find
it grating on a traditional desktop, there's no getting around the fact
that Ubuntu's Unity interface is perfect for a mobile device that needs
more streamlined usability.
As a laptop distribution, Ubuntu still reigns supreme.
Best Linux Enterprise Desktop
For the past two years, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop grabbed top honors for Best Linux Enterprise Desktop.
However, this year, the nod will have to go to Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6.
Why the switch? In the past, I have maintained that SLED maintained a
slight edge over RHELD because of the sweet capabilities of SUSE Studio
and the strong openSUSE community. But in the ensuing time, SUSE Linux
the company seems to be taking a much quieter approach on its market
advantages, while Red Hat is pushing into a lot of new territory within
the virtualization and cloud spaces.
It's premature to call the entire game to Red Hat, but it seems that
the SUSE Enterprise Linux line is starting to fall behind in what it can
offer to enterprise Linux customers, and in the enterprise it's all
about what the Linux vendor can do for you.
This year, that's going to Red Hat.
Best Linux Enterprise Server
For the past two years, this category has always comes down to two main contenders: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES).
This year, it wasn't event really close: it was RHEL 6 all the way.
The list is extensive why: while SUSE Linux has concentrated on making
improvements to the core SLES offering, Red hat has been doing that and pushing into all those new markets mentioned earlier.
In 2012, having a rich and stable presence in the cloud is
hyper-critical. You might think this is so much hype, but the truth is
that most enterprises are going to deploy in some sort of public,
private, or hybrid cloud. If not now, then soon. Until something better
comes along, it makes too much sense. RHEL 6 has this kind of cloud
presence, plus all of the ISV and tech support that they've led with for
years.
Best Linux LiveCD
These days, every Linux distro is really a LiveCD: you can stick the
physical CD or DVD for distribution in your optical drive, boot the
system, and run a full Linux distribution without actually installing
it.
But there is a class of distros, however, that are LiveCD only. These
distributions offer users utilities and tools for the specific purpose
of repairing existing Linux and Windows installations. These distros are
very useful to have regardless of what primary Linux distribution you
like to use, because in a crisis they are invaluable to own.
So what's the best one? Once again, it's going to be the king of them all: KNOPPIX.
This Debian-based LiveCD uses a lightweight LXDE interface to deliver a
very robust experience. In some ways, it's almost too robust to be a
fast LiveCD distro anymore, but it still delivers real power and speed
for now.
Best Linux Security-Enhanced Distribution
This year's decision on the best security-enhanced distro was indeed a tricky one. In the past, BackTrack Linux
usually one this one handily, but BackTrack Linux 5 R2 was recently
found to have a undiscovered zero-day vulnerability that rocked a lot of
security professional's expectations. [Update: The hole was actually in
wicd, which was shipped in BackTrack.]
The hole was closed, naturally, but the damage to BackTrack's rep was there, nonetheless.
It's time to shake off the hit: everything can get hit with something
like this, and the fact remains that despite the vulnerability,
BackTrack still offers the very best set of white-hat security tools to
examine your system or network for problems. Period.
Best Linux Multimedia Distribution
I am old enough to remember the days when I literally would have to
switch distros because of a lack of format support to play music or
movies. It was a real problem, once upon a time.
Now, though, those days are long gone, and multimedia consumers can use
any Linux distro without fear. But with the availability of
high-quality cameras and video recorders, Linux distributions need to
contain powerful tools for audio and video editing, not just
consumption.
For the third year in a row, the best distro in this class is still Ubuntu Studio.
For audio, video, and graphic production, it contains a very complete
set of tools, as well as format and codec support for a huge range of
multimedia formats.
Wrapping Up
These are just some of the options that are out there for Linux users.
Many detractors of Linux may proclaim that the diversity of Linux makes
it too complicated to learn, but with a little research and perhaps one
of these distributions as a starting point, you should find your own
Linux experience a rewarding one.
On this page you will find the best Linux distros for various purposes. We’ve taken the effort to categorize them and picked only those
we believe to be the best ones and which will most likely be useful to
you.
One of the most popular general-use distributions with one of the largest selections of software.
Based on: Debian Download | Full review
Fedora
The most cutting-edge general-use distribution on a 6-month release
cycle. It’s cutting edge in two ways: new versions of software, and it
uses new software before other distributions use them.
Based on: Itself; Originated from: Red Hat Download | Full review
openSUSE
A stable, general-use distribution for everyone that excels in
enterprise environments. openSUSE includes a few different defaults such
as it’s package manager and the KDE desktop environment
Based on: Itself; Originated from: Slackware Download | Full review
Debian
One of the most stable distributions in existence, with a large
selection of software. It is often used as the base of many other
distributions.
Based on: Itself Download | Full review
Linux Mint
A highly-customized distribution that includes many features
out-of-the-box that other distributions do not, including codecs. Linux
Mint has such a large following that it’s starting to look toward going
in its own direction.
Based on: Ubuntu, Debian Download | Full review
PCLinuxOS
Another general-use distribution that combines technologies from different distributions to present an overall great experience.
Originated from: Mandrake Linux Download
PinGuy OS
A general-use distribution that comes with a number of customizations to make an easier out-of-the-box experience.
Based on: Ubuntu Download | Full review
Slackware
One of the oldest living distributions, Slackware allows plenty of
configuration and is a great general-use distribution. It requires some
knowledge of Linux and isn’t recommended for new users.
Based on: Itself; Originiated from: Itself Download
Gentoo
A general-purpose distribution that is centered around
machine-specific optimization. Until recently, all software was compiled
on the system rather than installing binaries. Not recommended for new
users.
Based on: Itself Download
Hybryde Evolution
An Ubuntu-based distribution which lets you switch between desktop environments without restarting.
Based on: Ubuntu Download
A minimal rolling-release general-use distribution where you install
only what you want or need. It’s highly cutting-edge and there are no
default installations. Most customizations are done manually in text
files.
Based on: Itself; Originated from: Itself Download | Full review
Puppy Linux
A very small distribution that uses an extremely low amount of
resources. Great for older systems or those that need every drop of
power for their tasks.
Based on: Itself; Originated from: Itself; Compatible with: Slackware, Ubuntu, others with Woof tool Download | Full review
Bodhi Linux
A great lightweight alternative for systems that can’t run other
desktop environments. Still very functional and relatively elegant.
Based on: Ubuntu Download | Full review
Tiny Core
An extremely minimal distro which you can build up yourself. Download
A commercial solution from Red Hat for a great enterprise system,
both desktop and server. Costs of the distribution come from support
packages.
Based on: Fedora; Originated from: Itself Download
SUSE Enterprise Linux
One of two preferred enterprise systems for most Linux
administrators. SUSE includes plenty of tools to make the admin’s job a
lot easier.
Based on: openSUSE Download
A distribution aimed for use on netbooks and working with different cloud services. Who needs ChromeOS?
Based on: Ubuntu Download | Full review
ArtistX
A specialized distribution that includes virtually every single
multimedia application for Linux that you can think of. Great for work
on images, sounds, and videos.
Based on: Ubuntu Download
GParted
A distribution made especially for partitioning hard drives. The
distribution comes as a LiveCD only and contains only the GParted
partitioning software and a console.
Based on: Debian Download | Full review
Parted Magic
A distribution aimed specifically at partitioning your hard drives,
but includes plenty of other features that make it more of a rescue disc
than a lone partitioning tool. Download
Backtrack Linux
A fantastic distribution that is specialized for network penetration
testing and security auditing. It includes all kinds of software and
needed patches to do the job.
Based on: Ubuntu; Originated from: Whoppix Download
A very beautiful general-use distribution that mimics the look, feel, and functionality of Apple’s Mac OS X.
Based on: Ubuntu, Debian (soon) Download
ZorinOS
A general-use distribution that mimics the look, feel, and
functionality of Windows. This is geared for those who prefer the
Windows interface or need an easier way to transition from Windows to
Linux.
Based on: Ubuntu Download | Full review
Now that Rhythmbox is once again the default music player in Ubuntu,
AskUbuntu moderator fossfreedom has created a PPA for various Rhythmbox
plugins that many Ubuntu users might find useful. Among the plugins
included are: Equalizer, Jump-to-Playing, Tray Icon, Microblogger,
Tablature plugin, JumpToWindow and more.
Currently, there
are 12 plugins available in this PPA and they have been tested on
Rhythmbox 2.96 which is available in the official Ubuntu 12.04
repositories. Initially, some didn't work with Rhythmbox 2.97 from the main WebUpd8 PPA but after some recent updates, all the plugins worked just fine in my short test.
To add the PPA (for Ubuntu 12.04), use the following commands:
Then, to install all the available plugins, use the command below:
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-complete
You can also install the plugins individually:
- Equalizer: add a 10-band equalizer to Rhythmbox.
Installation:
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-equalizer
- Last.fm:
adds love/ban last.fm buttons and synchronizes playcount (it can only
retrieve the playcount) and loved tracks(adds 5 stars to the track if
it's marked as loved). The sync occurs only when playing a song and it
needs to be enabled from the plugin preferences.
- Tray Icon:
control Rhythmbox via a notification icon (like in previous Rhythmbox
versions), useful for desktop environments that don't have a media
player menu / Ubuntu indicator support. If you want to use this in
Unity, you'll have to whitelist the systray.
Installation:
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-tray-icon
- JumpToWindow: a Rhythmbox plugin that adds a feature similar to Winamp's "Jump to file", which includes the ability to enqueue a song.
The plugin interface doesn't come with a GUI to configure the keyboard
shortcut used to trigger JumpToWindow, so to set a keyboard shortcut, go
to System > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts and add the following command under "Custom Shortcuts" (and there, also set the shortcut, like CTRL + J for instance):
/usr/lib/rhythmbox/plugins/JumpToWindow/src/activate.py
In the JumpToWindow, you can use the
space bar to start playing a song, ALT + Enter to enqueue, Enter to play
and hide the window and escape to hide the window.
- Tabulature: Find and display the guitar tablature of the current playing song from tab websites.
Installation:
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-tabguitar
- lLyrics: an alternative lyrics plugin, useful if the default lyrics plugin doesn't work for you.
Installation:
sudo apt-get install rhythmbox-plugin-llyric
Countdown Playlist: a plugin to create playlists based on some keywords you set, for the duration you define:
