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A.2. Ubuntu

Ubuntu made quite a splash when it came on the Free Software scene, and for good reason: Canonical Ltd., the company that created this distribution, started by hiring thirty-odd Debian developers and publicly stating the far-reaching objective of providing a distribution for the general public with a new release twice a year. They also committed to maintaining each version for a year and a half.
These objectives necessarily involve a reduction in scope; Ubuntu focuses on a smaller number of packages than Debian, and relies primarily on the GNOME desktop (although an official Ubuntu derivative, called “Kubuntu”, relies on KDE). Everything is internationalized and made available in a great many languages.
So far, Ubuntu has managed to keep this release rhythm. They also publish Long Term Support (LTS) releases, with a 5-year maintenance promise. As of November 2013, the current LTS version is version 12.04, nicknamed Precise Pangolin. The latest non-LTS version is 13.10, nicknamed Saucy Salamander. Version numbers describe the release date: 13.10, for example, was released in October 2013.
Ubuntu已经在普通用户中有非常大的用户数了。数以百万的用户对其安装简单,桌面环境的简单易用留下了深刻的影响。
然而,并不是所有的东西都是最好的,特别是那些想让Ubuntu可以直接给Debian贡献而予厚望的Debian开发者来说。尽管多年来情况有所改善,但是仍然又很多人被Canonical的营销所激怒,这也就意味者Ubuntu是自由软件界的良好公民只是因为它把适用于域Debian软件包的改变公开了。自由软件支持者们明白自动生成的补丁对于上游的贡献是无用的。
This interaction is becoming more common over time, thanks in part to the Ubuntu community and the efforts it makes in educating its new contributors.