why is ubuntu most preferred Linux distro...???

this is my view only...anyone can agree or disagree.
But i have seen in many polls and read many reviews where ubuntu is recommended at least where newbies are concerned.I start my journey with fedora and i'm still with it....but i've tried ubuntu as well and i just can't figure this question out.
Ubuntu website and forums are also highest ranked !
why is it so...?
What has made ubuntu so successful ?
Is it because of their simplicity or because of their user friendliness or is it because they ship free CDs...??
Again this is my view only,please post independently...

I don't use ubuntu, but I always recommend it, as if you knew what you were doing you wouldn't need to ask. Whilst others may be better for n00bs, I hear great things about Mint, it has such a good support base and is polished enough you wouldn't regret it. I think the consistency of recommendation is often more important. when a whole bunch are "fine" why confuse someone by giving them all the choices?

Originally Posted by acid_kewpie I don't use ubuntu, but I always recommend it

that is what i want to know....why mostly people recommend ubuntu...when there are many more brilliant options available ?

Canonical took a stable base (Debian) and claimed to make it more user-friendly, at a time were Debian was considered to be hard to install. They delivered a complete desktop system and also offered GUI-tools for easy configuration of nearly any desktop-related task. In my eyes even more important, they integrated desktop effects. That boosted their publicity enormous, just search on Youtube for that, you will find literally hundreds of videos how good looking Ubuntu is in comparison with XP, Vista and 7.

In my eyes the GUI-tools and the more Windowish-like behavior of the OS were the main reasons that it was recommended mainly to newbies, but nowadays I would rather recommend Mepis or Mint. I simply can't recommend an OS as a first look on Linux to a newbie that is so buggy and doesn't give a damn about their user-base.

Just my 2 cents.

polls currently show 0% recommendation of ubuntu...
i need to get back to 2011.....
please also post what is the latest recommendation...

My 2 cents on how Ubuntu got a large install base:
- they packaged a few non free software that make it easier to transition from Windows
- they used a powerful base (debian) and made it easy to use and install
- they initially had support from big names such as IBM (got my first Ubuntu cd from IBM back in 2005 or 2006)

I suppose the reason why many advise Ubuntu is because they've used it. Also, when you advise something, you like the idea that there is a large number of users, meaning they can go to forums to get help easily.

But on the other hand, Canonical (company behind ubuntu) often tries to go away from the standards to introduce technology of their own. Unity is a good example of that (well, I should say a bad one since it's been so poorly received ...)

Fedora however comes from Redhat
You need to independently install rpmfusion, livna, adobe, google repositories.
It sticks to latest standards (Gnome 3 for example).

Ubuntu lovers often mention that the large install base is a big plus for them. I would argue that it may be true for the quality forum posts, but it does nothing to improve software quality. For this you need many developers, not many users.

Personally, I'm on Fedora since as long as I can remember.

Originally Posted by 16pide Ubuntu lovers often mention that the large install base is a big plus for them. I would argue that it may be true for the quality forum posts, but it does nothing to improve software quality. For this you need many developers, not many users.

yes,i totally agree with you on that point.
So,what do you recommend now...?

Personally, I'm on Fedora since as long as I can remember

exacty same is the case with me !

As mentioned above it comes close to Windows mindset and has plenty support so it is popular. It's not bad though. For people who just want working OS and want start exploring Linux it is one of best fit distros for task. Afterwards they can move to something else. Real problem however is in fanboys and trolls. While Ubuntu itself is nice the people who use it tend to whine and bitch and annoy other distro users with their ignorance but same can be said about opposite sides. Infact it's even worst. People who tend to be geeky ones like to act like their rulers and will decide what is better for others and whatnot. For example in most iForums Slackware, openSuse, Arch, Debian, Gentoo, FreeBSD and other so called "true" distro users tend to insult Ubuntu and other popular distro users. As much as i respect distros itself i just can't respect people like that with bad attitude. Noone forced them use Slackware for example so why force other people use it? Using something doesn't make you superior and doesn't give you right to judge stuff. It makes you same level people you are fighting against.

Originally Posted by Arcane Real problem however is in fanboys and trolls. While Ubuntu itself is nice the people who use it tend to whine and bitch and annoy other distro users with their ignorance but same can be said about opposite sides. Infact it's even worst. People who tend to be geeky ones like to act like their rulers and will decide what is better for others and whatnot. For example in most iForums Slackware, openSuse, Arch, Debian, Gentoo, FreeBSD and other so called "true" distro users tend to insult Ubuntu and other popular distro users. As much as i respect distros itself i just can't respect people like that with bad attitude. Noone forced them use Slackware for example so why force other people use it? Using something doesn't make you superior and doesn't give you right to judge stuff. It makes you same level people you are fighting against.

yes....i've seen it !!
i've seen people criticising each others very badly.....they are,i think taking them as a community which is superior and the other non-users inferior !
But it is inevitable...

The packagers of every distro have certain purposes in mind, and attract a certain "loyal fan-base" otherwise known as "satisfied customers." I doubt that Umbuntu is unique in this regard.

Mint has got a reputation for being a more reliable easy working out-of-the-box distro than Ubuntu.

Originally Posted by sundialsvcs The packagers of every distro have certain purposes in mind, and attract a certain "loyal fan-base" otherwise known as "satisfied customers."

that is exactly i' trying to find here...
what all they have provided to their customers that made them so preferable .

Ever since I have tried Ubuntu 11.04, I decided that I'm not recommending it to newbies any more. Mostly because of Unity.

something else Ubuntu is good for is its LTS (long term support) distrib.
it provides 3 years of support.
Compare that to Fedora's 1 year support ...
Or compare that to Windows XP's 10 years of support ...

Originally Posted by brianL Mint has got a reputation for being a more reliable easy working out-of-the-box distro than Ubuntu.

Haven't tested myself yet but Fusion linux has same reputation about Fedora. Like Mint version for Fedora.