Ubuntu is probably the most well-known Linux distribution. Ubuntu is based on Debian, but it has its own software repositories. Much of the software in these repositories is synced from Debian’s repositories.

The Ubuntu project has a focus on providing a solid desktop (and server) experience, and it isn’t afraid to build its own custom technology to do it. Ubuntu used to use the GNOME 2 desktop environment, but it now uses its own Unity desktop environment. Ubuntu is even building its own Mir graphical server while other distributions are working on the Wayland.