Ubuntu is, perhaps, one of the most accessible distributions of Linux available to the home computer user or enthusiast. If you are interested in experimenting with Linux, you can do worse than to test-drive Ubuntu from a USB drive. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create an Ubuntu USB live-drive, using a Mac, to test on a Mac.
Ubuntu, a Nguni Bantu term meaning Human-ness, recently released version 14.04 LTS (Long Term Support) codename Trusty Tahr. Based on Debian Linux, Ubuntu is estimated to be used on more than 26% of all Linux websites.
Since its first release in October 2004, it is estimated that, in 2011, Ubuntu had in excess of 20-million users worldwide and it is being increasingly adopted for large-scale public sector deployments, notably the Gendarmerie Nationale, thus replacing expensive Microsoft Office licences with OpenOffice for 5,000 workstations.
Regardless of whether you have thousands of workstations, or not, experimenting with Ubuntu from a USB drive is a good way to get an introduction to this interesting and alternative operating system.