Ubuntu is both a philosophy and a Linux distribution named after the philosophy. This page is about the Linux distribution.
Who?
Ubuntu is developed by people at the company named Canonical Inc. and the Ubuntu Foundation. The foundation was set up by Canonical to make the long term development of the Ubuntu Linux distribution easier and to allow donations from users. Canonical focuses on making money from support and related activities.
Most of the code, for the underlying Linux kernel and a stack of packages, are from the Debian distribution of Linux. Debian maintain the biggest and best collection of free open source Linux based software. Debian maintain a "stable" set and a parallel "testing" set. Ubuntu use mostly the testing set. Debian compile the packages for ARMv6, ARMv8, Intel, and a stack of other architectures. Ubuntu use the Intel set for their desktop and server editions plus an ARMv8 edition for Raspberry Pi computers.
Thank all the people who feed the Debian system for most of the work then the Ubuntu Foundation people then the Canonical people.
When?
Ubuntu desktop used a standard but not all that good GUI, Graphical User Interface, named GNOME2 then they switched to something worse called Unity then to GNOME3. There are versions of Ubuntu with different GUI packages. You can also upgrade to Linux distributions based on Ubuntu with Linux Mint the best choice for AMD/Intel desktops.
Ubuntu server is a good alternative to Debian server setups when you want the later releases from Debian testing plus paid support. Canonical provide the paid support plus perform additional testing and integration.
Ubuntu have an edition for the Raspberry Pi computers but it is slower than the Raspberry Pi OS derived direct from Debian. Ubuntu works at an acceptable speed on the biggest fastest Pi, the model 5 with 8 GB or more of memory.
Where?
Check the Canonical Web site for local support. The main advantage of Ubuntu is paid support and if the support is not local, there are a heap of problems the support people will not be able to fix. If you cannot get local support, you could look for support in the same time zone and language with real people available over the telephone when your computers cannot connect.
You can use support forums but some forums feature people in different time zones which may mean you have to wait overnight to see if there is a useful replay. Test the forum usefulness before you need support in an emergency.
For other locations, you might find a different Linux distribution is more popular with experienced people online in your time zone and language.
Why?
Outside of paid support, I do not see a reason to use Ubuntu on the desktop. Linux Mint has all the advantages of Ubuntu plus a better range of GUI packages.
On servers, Debian stable is the safer option but lacks the most recent release of many software packages. Debian testing and Ubuntu have later releases. For some packages, Ubuntu has later releases or better integration or more testing than Debian. Look at the most important software in your servers then compare Ubuntu against the other Linux server options.
As an example of a choice, look at Web servers. Most use Apache or Nginx plus MariaDB or MySQL plus PHP plus a CMS, a Content Management System. Your code or the CMS might need the latest release of PHP. You rarely need the latest release of the other packages. Your choices are a Linux distribution focused on the latest releases or using something line a PPA library to get the latest release. PPA is specific to Ubuntu and Linux distributions based on Ubuntu.
Without the Ubuntu PPA option, you might be forced to compile the source code on your system, creating more problems during installation and making ongoing support painful. For the Web server example, Ubuntu is the easiest choice.
Way?
Ubuntu has a number of official distribution downloads plus some user contributed downloads. Look at the official downloads. Stay away from the others. If you need something different, use the closest official download and develop a script to add any missing bits plus deleting unwanted stuff. That way, you know exactly what you have.
The best option is something with everything you need and use the script just to delete or disable what you do not need. You then know that everything is tested together.
Worth?
I use Linux Mint on the desktop and the Linux Mint support forums are excellent. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu Desktop. For about one out of four questions, I find the most useful answer in the Ubuntu forums. The Ubuntu forum support is good value. I do not know if their paid support is worth the money.
What?
Linux is the kernel of Ubuntu and hundreds of other operating systems. Debian, Red Hat, and others package the Linux kernel with lots of other software to make what we recognise as an operating system. That full collection is packaged as a "distribution". Debian is the best packager for most users.
Ubuntu and dozens of other Linux distributions are based on Debian. Ubuntu is an excellent choice for many uses. Ubuntu provide downloads desktop use or server use and for some other specialised uses. There is a popular version, named Ubuntu Studio, for sound studios.
There are several distributions based on Ubuntu. Linux Mint is the best example for desktop use.
A distribution might contain Web server packages or games or some other special collection. Some distributions are packaged as an ISO file, .iso. Some of the ISO files can be installed on a USB stick so you can boot from the USB stick and test the operating system without installing anything on the computer. You could, for example, download Debian to one USB stick then Ubuntu to another and Linux Mint on a third for testing side by side.
In the Linux Mint test, you could download Linux Mint several times for each GUI, Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce, then test those side by side.
Look for "live" downloads. Test on your computers. You will find most distributions work the same for Intel and keyboards, mice, etc. Things like GPUs and WiFi chips vary by a huge amount across different computers. Test WiFi and something like video playback or a video editor. Some AMD chips need weird support. Make sure you can boot to the point where you can get Internet access for installing updates. If not, test a different distribution.
After you have a distribution connected to the Internet, test the package update system. There will be a program with a name like Update Manager for updating software. Run that to get everything up to date.
There will also be a program with a name like Software Manager. Open that and search for packages like LibreOffice. A good software manager will find what you want from LibreOffice or libreoffice or LIBREoffice. Some are cranky and need an exact match.
Look for the software you use. Look at the releases. LibreOffice is popular and most Linux distributions have an old release, making LibreOffice the first software package where people want to update beyond what is in the distribution.
Ubuntu by default does some things in a flexible but less efficient way. There are official "flavours" for older machines with less power. You might start with Lubuntu which uses LXQt for the desktop. There is an Ubuntu Cinnamon but you get a better result from Linux Mint Cinnamon.
Linux is used in cars, remote controls, the space station, televisions, washing machines, and everywhere else. The worlds most popular smartphone operating system is Android, a Linux distribution. Ubuntu is an excellent choice for users who need support, especially paid support, and would be one of the first distributions I would look at for servers. On the desktop, I prefer Linux Mint Cinnamon instead of the Ubuntu Cinnamon flavour. For my Raspberry Pi computers, the official raspberry Pi OS is better. You can test all the options for free.
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