Ubuntu OS- The Free World

Ubuntu 

- Ubuntu is a Linux-based Operating System
 - It is Most Popular Linux Distribution.
 - It is open sourced

* Cost free

* Non-proprietary

- Strong focus on

* Usability

* Easy to installation

* One user (initially? you can add more users later)

* One password

* One application per task

* One CD for the entire operating system

- Origin

* Ubuntu is an ancient African concept meaning ?humanity toward others?

* It is developed under Debian Project.(Largest Linux software development community)

* Sponsored by Canonical Ltd.

* Owned by South African billionaire Mark  Shuttle worth

Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support.

The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.
Ubuntu operating system powers millions of desktop PCs, laptops and servers around the world. Ubuntu works with our existing PC files, printers, cameras, music players and smartphones - and it comes with thousands of free apps.

User Interface

The simplicity of Ubuntu's stylish, intuitive interface is very enjoying.Its have more than 20 desktop environments. Like: Unity, KDE, Gnome-shell, Enlightenment, Cinnamon, QTile etc.

Web Apps

If you use web applications like Facebook, Gmail or Flickr, you?re in for a treat. You can now pin them to the Launcher on the Ubuntu desktop and launch them with a single click. No more starting a browser, clicking on a bookmark and then logging in. Just go straight into the app, as if it was installed on your computer.

Online search

The Dash has always let you search your computer for your files, photos and videos. Now it does more than just search your computer - it can search your online accounts too. So, once you?ve saved the login details in the ?Online Accounts? function, you can expect to see your Flickr photos, Google Drive documents and more in your search results, alongside the files on your computer.

Dash previews

Ubuntu aims to take the effort out of everything. With Ubuntu 12.10, you can preview your search results in the Dash to see more options, without having to open more windows. Preview an album in the Ubuntu One Music Store and you?ll get the option to play tracks straight from the preview. And when you preview an app in the Ubuntu Software Centre, you can install it with just one more click.

Features

Ubuntu gives us a new operating system every six months, great compatibility with other providers, security we can count on and the freedom to share it with anyone we like.

- Ubuntu is free and always will be free.
- No key codes, activation, registration.
- It contain Multi Boot Loader (Grand Unified Boot Loader)

Flexible

- Can be dual booted with current OS or used from a live CD(require RAM - 384MB)
- Can run on older hardware and still perform well
- Extends the life of your current hardware to nearly twice its useful life before needing to upgrade
- It take less

* installation time

* boot up time

* shut downtime

* Space

* Dual boot with Windows , MAC

- Dell now offers desktops with Ubuntu

Open Source

- Run for any purpose
- Study source code
- Modify source code
- Distribute and Publish

Ubuntu One

- It is cloud file client like Amazon S3,Dropbox
- Free data storage up to 5 GB
- Any user can use through internet(No need of Ubuntu OS)
- It has Ubuntu One Music Store like Ovi music in Nokia
- Special mobile apps like Ubuntu One Music, Ubuntu One Files for Android and iPhone.

Compatible

- Compatible with most hardware,
- Natively Compatible with MS programs:

* MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, Dreamweaver, Project, Adobe Acrobat

Ubuntu works brilliantly with a range of devices. Simply plug in your MP3 player, camera or printer and you?ll be up and running straight away. No installation CDs. No fuss. And it?s compatible with Windows too! So you can open, edit and share Microsoft Office documents stress-free.

Accessible

Accessibility is central to the Ubuntu philosophy. Fully translated into over 40 languages, Ubuntu also includes essential assistive technologies, which are, of course, completely free
Advantages:

- Free.
- No office software needed (pre installed).
- Quick booting,
- Fast; Ubuntu loads quickly on any computer, but it's super-fast on newer machines. With no unnecessary programs and trial software slowing things down, booting up and opening a browser takes seconds. Unlike other operating systems that leave you staring at the screen, waiting to get online. And Ubuntu won?t grow sluggish over time. It?s fast. And it stays fast
- Good looking- It?s beautiful, stylish and fast.
- Easy to use-Ubuntu does everything you need it to and more. It'll work with music, videos, photos and files that you use on your current PC. And it works just as well with printers, cameras and all common smartphones.
- Minimum hardware requirements,
- Easy dual boot installation with Windows.
- Highly stable. Works well with Android phones. Integrated menus in the top bar save screen real estate if needed.
- Easy to trial and install-You don?t have to be an expert. Ubuntu?s quick and easy to get started.
- Up-to-date. Ubuntu is released in every six months and it brings regular updates for free.

Security

- All Operating Systems are vulnerable
- Security requires a layered approach
- Fire-starter as fire-wall
- UBUNTU is immune to viruses- no antivirus needed- Life's too short to spend it worrying about viruses.
- Anti-phishing
- File encryption
- Password protection
- Built with security in mind
- Automatic security updates
- Built by hackers to be inherently more secure  than any other operating system

* Including spyware, adware, Trojan horses, worms, and any other malware protections

* Antivirus : ClamTk (GNU)(GUI), ClamAv

* Trusted OS

* ATMs, BANK Server, some military aircraft

You can surf in safety with Ubuntu - confident that your files and data will stay protected. A built-in firewall and virus protection are available. And if a potential threat appears, we provide automatic updates which you can install in a single click. You get added security with AppArmor, which protects your important applications so attackers can?t access your system. And thanks to Firefox and gnome-keyring, Ubuntu helps you keep your private information private. So whether it?s accessing your bank account or sharing sensitive data with friends or colleagues, you?ll have peace of mind when you need it the most.

Architecture:

• Dynamic loading of kernel module
• Preemptive
• Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) support
• Linux does not differentiate between threads and normal processes
• Linux provides an object-oriented device model with device classes,hotpluggable events and user-space device file system(sysfs)

Ubuntu Desktop certified hardware
Dell, HP, Lenovo, Wipro, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, HCL Info systems Limited, Compaq

Ubuntu Server certified hardware
 Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, IBM, Cisco UCS, System76, Intel, Citrix Systems, Facebook - OCP, Sun, VMware

Software

- Ubuntu Software Center featuring Thousands of free software and tools.
- Other free software are available via other sites like getdeb.net, appnr.com etc.
- We have to purchase other software if you want.
- You may need to purchase less than 1% of your software

Requirements

- Requires less hard drive space (under 2-4 GB )
- Requires less RAM ( 128-256MB )
- Requires less CPU power (as old as Pentium II)
- Maintains its performance speed no matter how much you use it.

Ubuntu V/S Windows V/S Mac:

- Version Upgrades,

* Windows?averaging 2-3 years

* Mac?every 2 years since 2003

* Ubuntu?every six months 

-  Service packs and updates,

* Windows?months

* Mac?weeks

* Ubuntu?immediately 

you can see the blogs of other team members of the team 3[G]enius here,

Tanvir Islam
Abdullah Al Imran

Chrome OS and System Architecture

At first we want to define what a “Web OS” is. The market uses this term mostly for a “web based desktop environment” which is nothing but a standard OS, which happens to export a desktop view over HTTP so people can launch a browser, and work on a remote OS via the web.

Google's Chrome Operating System is a web OS which is Linux-based, open-source operating system which launched in July 2009, with the aim of building an operating system that provides a fast, simple, and more secured computing experience. Chrome OS is essentially a small sized, fast booting platform whose purpose is to run a web browser from where all the Google apps and other web services that you commonly use, can be run.

Its open source version is called the Chromium OS.  This is the first OS dedicated to internet.

You may get confused or mix up the Chrome OS with the Chromium OS. So let us make sure the difference.

•    Chromium OS is the open source project, used primarily by developers, with code that is available for anyone to checkout, modifies and build. Chrome OS is the Google product that OEMs ship on Chrome books for general consumer use.

•    Chrome OS has some additional firmware features, including verified boot and easy recovery, which require corresponding hardware changes.

•    Chrome OS seamlessly auto-updates so that users have the latest and greatest features and fixes.

•    Chrome OS includes some binary packages (Adobe Flash, PDF plug-in, Netflix Instant, Google Talk, 3G Cellular support) which are not allowed to be included in the Chromium OS project.

Installation:

While Chrome OS runs on specially optimized hardware, it comes preinstalled. There is a simple setup procedure, however. It’s recommended that you sign in using a Google account. If you'd prefer, you can opt for the Guest mode. Guest mode in Chrome OS has the Chrome browser's trackless browsing mode, called Incognito. Incognito prevents guest users from leaving any traces of their session, as well as keeping them from making any changes to your apps and other settings.

Interface:

The user interface of the Chrome OS simply resembles a web browser. You can run an application in one tab and browse the web in another. There's an actual desktop that looks a bit cribbed from Windows 7, with Chrome browser pinned to the far left of the Launcher, and other apps pinned right next to it. The browser also has a set of ‘Application Tabs’ which are pinned in the web-browser where user can access popular Google apps and services- Google Talk, Gmail, Picasa, YouTube, Google+, Google docs which are pre-loaded and just a click away if you wish to use them. User has the option to add more. Besides the Application Tab, you will find the chrome menu. Other applications like contacts and calculator can be accessed from this menu. Activities like chatting and file handling and sharing are accomplished through Panels. For instance, if the user wants to view the contents of a USB device, he plugs it in the machine and he will see the contents in the pop-up panels.

The lower-right corner shows your Google account avatar to indicate who's logged in. Click the avatar to show shutdown options and reveal more information and settings.

Features:

•    100GB Google Drive.

•    Based on Linux: supports multiple workspaces.

•    Auto updating and translation.

•    Supports PDF, PPT, DOC, ZIP, XLS and RAR, and PPTX.

•    Printing with Google Cloud Print. Cloud Print does now come with access to FedEx stores in the United States, which is a nice improvement for remote printing.

•    Cookies, image management, JavaScript, plug-ins, pop-ups, location information, and notifications can be adjusted.

•    A new feature: "verified boot." Chrome OS will check its own integrity when booting, and if it detects any changes, it will allow user to restore a last-known good configuration.

•    Supports external Memory Devices. Ex. SD Card.

•    Explores external devices in Chrome Browser itself.

•    A media player is integrated enabling users to play back MP3s, view JPEGs, and handle other multimedia files while offline. Embedded Video Player is provided as a feature of HTML 5.

•    Chatting feature is readily available.

•    V8 JavaScript engine is used to increase browser speed.

•    Developer mode is included with a switch mode button. It allows developer to install their own builds of Chrome OS

•    File sharing is easier. If user wants to send a file from a USB drive to a friend with whom he is chatting, he can simply drag and drop the file between the two panels (the chat and the USB panel).

Architectural Overview & Performance:

Google Chrome OS is not a conventional operating system that you can download or buy on a disc and install. As a consumer, the way you will get Chrome OS is by buying a Chrome-book that has Chrome OS installed by the OEM. However, one can download the Chromium OS which requires just 1GB disk space, 256 MB RAM and supports most of today's graphics cards and support both Intel, AMD processors.

Cr-48 prototype hardware:

Google announced the Cr-48 laptop, a reference hardware design to test the Chrome OS operating system. The laptop's design broke convention by replacing the caps lock key with a dedicated search key and the default settings for the hot keys. The Cr-48 was intended for testing only, not retail sales. To test it, they used a high-powered Lenovo T400 laptop, running on an Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 at 2.53GHz, with 3GB of RAM.

The Cr-48 notebooks have additional unused hardware components, including a Bluetooth 2.1 controller. The USB port only acts as a keyboard, mouse, Ethernet adapter, or USB storage port and will not work as a printer port as there is no print stack on the operating system.

Commercial hardware:

Chrome OS is initially intended for secondary devices like net books, called the Chrome-books. Currently only two Hardware companies ACER and SAMSUNG are authorized to design this Chrome-book. Chrome OS is hardware dependent currently supports x86-based PCs and devices built around the ARM processor. Chrome-books do not have HDDs but instead they use flash based memory solutions or solid state drives (SSD) for that.

On May 29, 2012, Google and Samsung introduced the Second-Generation Chrome-book and a new compact desktop Chromebox, which was said to be a clone of the Apple Mac Mini.

Hardware-specific developer information:

Release date	Manufacturer	Model	Project code name
December 2010	Google	Cr-48	Mario
June 2011	Samsung	Series 5 Chromebook	Alex
July 2011	Acer	AC700 Chromebook	ZGB
May 2012	Samsung	Series 3 Chromebox	Stumpy
May 2012	Samsung	Series 5 550 Chromebook	Lumpy
October 2012	Samsung	ARM Chromebook	Snow (aka Daisy)
November 2012	Acer	C7 Chromebook	Parrot

Google is currently working with manufacturers to elaborate a new set of netbook hardware which comply with their speed and security needs. Also, Google requests the hardware partners for the netbooks to be made a bit larger to accommodate a standard size keyboard and to have better mouse pads. Later Google Chrome OS will also be available on desktops, serving as an ideal machine for a public Internet terminal, according to Google.

Software Architecture:

Chrome OS’s architecture has three distinct components, all of which have been tuned to make the OS fast:

1.    The firmware: The firmware provides the quick boot time and incorporates system recovery, if and when it's needed. The firmware also contributes to security by verifying each step in the boot process.

2.    The System-level/user-land software: Chrome OS's system-level software includes a Linux kernel that has been patched to increase the speed and performance of the system. User land software has been trimmed to essentials, with management by Upstart, which can launch services in parallel, re-spawn crashed jobs, and defer services in the interest of faster booting.

3.    The Window Manager: Window manager cum browser handles the user interaction and is also used to log on and use the internet services and various Google apps.

Advantages:

Chrome OS does a lot of things right and its almost custom made for regular internet users but you can do all that on your current OS too, so why then should you switch over to Chrome OS?

The answer is here,

Chrome is intended to provide the core features of an OS which is speed, simplicity and security.

•    Speed 

Chrome OS tends to diminish the irrelevant process time such as hardware detection, BIOS, OS Primitives etc. Chrome offers incredibly quick boot time, and is all customized for quick access. Google claims that even the fastest computer takes about 25 seconds to boot. Booting on a Chrome OS device takes hardly 7 seconds to get the user to the log-in screen. It is just like Television, Flip a switch and it is ON.

•    Simplicity 

-    Just a browser with tabs

-    Requires Google ID to log in

-    Customizable as per users requirement

-    For any application User is not supposed to buy and install any app on her PC instead just get subscription to suitable web application and consume it.

•    Security

-    Small list of verified programs : signed and verified before each use

-    File System is Locked down :

-    Read only Root File System in EEPROM

-    Self Automatic updates for entire OS

-    All apps in Chrome OS are web apps which are sandboxed. This means that they can’t interfere with each other and your device. Therefore the chances of getting a virus are minimal.

-    The root system is read only. All user data is encrypted and fully secure. On boot up, the OS checks itself and incase any improper functionality is found; the OS automatically downloads patches and reinstalls them.

-    Data is stored in cloud - As such, computers running Chrome OS will be very dependent on a solid internet connection to function optimally. Since data is stored in the cloud, you’ll be able to access your data remotely in a process Google is calling “chromoting”.

-    Data is always synced with cloud to avoid data loss

-    Digital Signatures are provided for every firmware update

-    If malware found System recovers itself to clean image

Limitations:

•    Only web applications are supported, not any local applications.

•    Does not support Microsoft Office or Popular cross-platform like Skype

•    Non-Google sites can’t be easily integrated as apps

•    Hardware specific - No conventional net book support. Yes, you need to buy new one from Google’s hardware partners (HP/Acer/Lenovo/Asus).

•    No physical data storage

•    Terrible with large number of tabs

•    Virtual Private Network(VPN) software can’t be used for secured data transfer

•    Data security on cloud- User will be reluctant to store his highly confidential data on cloud. For example, if anyone prepares a document on long term planning and strategies, definitely he will prefer to store his documents in encrypted form on its own hard drive than storing it on Clouds.

•    Internet needs to be much faster- For an instance, think user wants to work on few Adobe applications as well as a movie download from internet and even playing a favorite tune. For all these to happen, internet speed needs revolutionary increase.

However, the question of Chrome OS usefulness is still debatable – when in the absence of an internet connection.

Further Development:

•    Open Source project named ‘Chromium’ is stared

•    Open Source Communities are adding code to Chromium

•    Google Developers and Open Source Developers are working on same tree for betterment of OS

•    Google is working with OEM to make Google Chrome OS machines available in market

•    Expected that Chrome OS and Android will converge together.

Google has really brought us a faster, simpler and more secured OS. Well, as it is new so it is not available easily but we can hope that it will give a good competition to some trend setter OS developers. As long as Google continues to support the project, Chrome OS will keep improving. One day, and perhaps sooner rather than later, it might even be ready for all.

we, the team "omega", worked really hard..! :P
you can see the blogs of other team members here,

Mahmodul Hasan Bhuiya
Abdullah Al Imran
Abu Sofian
Nusrat Jahan