<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
is	O
a	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
computer	O
operating	O
system	O
and	O
collection	O
of	O
programs	O
aimed	O
especially	O
toward	O
higher	O
education	O
and	O
secondary	O
students	O
and	O
their	O
teachers	O
and	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lead	O
developer	B-Application
of	O
the	O
platform	O
is	O
U.S.	O
educator	O
and	O
technologist	O
Stephen	O
Ewen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dubbing	O
itself	O
"	O
Linux	B-Application
for	O
Learners	O
"	O
,	O
UberStudent	B-Application
describes	O
itself	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
cohesive	O
academic	O
success	O
curriculum	O
integrated	O
into	O
an	O
installable	O
,	O
easy-to-use	O
,	O
and	O
full-featured	O
learning	O
platform	O
"	O
aimed	O
at	O
increasing	O
overall	O
student	O
learning	O
and	O
academic	O
computer	O
literacy	O
,	O
and	O
lifelong	O
computer	O
fluency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
additional	O
aim	O
is	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
computing	O
platforms	O
,	O
like	O
itself	O
,	O
within	O
higher	O
education	O
and	O
secondary	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
current	O
release	O
is	O
4.3	O
,	O
dubbed	O
Heraclitus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
distribution	O
uses	O
its	O
own	O
dedicated	O
software	B-Application
repository	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
be	O
run	O
from	O
a	O
live	O
CD	O
,	O
USB	O
flash	O
drive	O
,	O
or	O
installed	O
onto	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
from	O
either	O
of	O
those	O
mediums	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
the	O
last	O
published	O
version	O
,	O
UberStudent	B-Application
4.3	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
Ubuntu	O
14.04	O
,	O
ended	O
in	O
May	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
founder	O
and	O
lead	O
developer	B-Application
is	O
Stephen	O
Ewen	O
,	O
a	O
U.S.-based	O
educator	O
who	O
specializes	O
in	O
postsecondary	O
literacy	O
,	O
academic	O
success	O
strategies	O
,	O
and	O
educational	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
began	O
UberStudent	B-Application
,	O
he	O
has	O
said	O
,	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
place	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
smart	O
and	O
dedicated	O
computing	O
tools	O
,	O
and	O
just	O
the	O
right	O
amount	O
of	O
support	O
,	O
into	O
the	O
hands	O
of	O
students	O
,	O
whether	O
currently	O
within	O
higher	O
education	O
or	O
preparing	O
for	O
it	O
in	O
secondary	O
school.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
stated	O
goal	O
through	O
UberStudent	B-Application
is	O
for	O
students	O
to	O
"	O
learn	O
to	O
really	O
excel	O
at	O
the	O
core	O
skills	O
and	O
habits	O
they	O
need	O
to	O
become	O
everything	O
they	O
can	O
academically	O
be	O
,	O
and	O
on	O
into	O
professional	O
life.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Ewen	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
UberStudent	B-Application
is	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
his	O
own	O
experiences	O
achieving	O
top	O
academic	O
performance	O
with	O
the	O
assistance	O
of	O
educational	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ewen	O
has	O
described	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
overarching	O
design	O
philosophy	O
as	O
one	O
that	O
provides	O
a	O
"	O
unified	O
system	O
for	O
learning	O
,	O
doing	O
,	O
and	O
teaching	O
academic	O
success	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
this	O
,	O
he	O
has	O
said	O
that	O
UberStudent	B-Application
takes	O
what	O
he	O
calls	O
a	O
"	O
core	O
academic	O
skills	O
"	O
approach	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
has	O
delineated	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
skills	O
in	O
research	O
and	O
writing	O
,	O
studying	O
,	O
and	O
self-management	O
required	O
of	O
students	O
across	O
all	O
academic	O
majors	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
UberStudent	B-Application
can	O
be	O
"	O
easily	O
extended	O
"	O
for	O
specific	O
majors	O
via	O
additional	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ewen	O
has	O
additionally	O
asserted	O
that	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
due	O
to	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
and	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
nature	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
base	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
geared	O
to	O
produce	O
"	O
computer	O
fluency	O
"	O
among	O
its	O
users	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
more	O
or	O
less	O
natural	O
outcome	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ewen	O
has	O
argued	O
that	O
academic	O
institutions	O
can	O
increase	O
both	O
their	O
student	O
learning	O
outcomes	O
and	O
economic	O
efficiency	O
by	O
more	O
broadly	O
adopting	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
application	O
and	O
system	O
software	O
for	O
everyday	O
student	O
academic	O
computing	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
has	O
additionally	O
argued	O
for	O
academic	O
institutions	O
to	O
increase	O
their	O
involvement	O
in	O
developing	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
tools	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
UberStudent	B-Application
,	O
citing	O
successes	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
bibliographic	O
manager	O
Zotero	B-Application
by	O
George	O
Mason	O
University	O
,	O
included	O
among	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
set	O
of	O
core	O
academic	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nearly	O
all	O
of	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
software	O
is	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
and	O
its	O
core	O
programs	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
so	O
its	O
adopters	O
can	O
avoid	O
vendor	O
lock-in	O
,	O
whether	O
with	O
Windows	O
,	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
or	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tech	O
review	O
site	O
Dedoimedo	O
reviewed	O
UberStudent	B-Application
as	O
containing	O
a	O
"	O
superb	O
"	O
collection	O
of	O
"	O
smartly	O
selected	O
"	O
programs	O
,	O
"	O
probably	O
the	O
best	O
when	O
it	O
comes	O
to	O
serious	O
work	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
each	O
"	O
stitched	O
into	O
the	O
fabric	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tech	O
columnist	O
Jack	O
Wallen	O
said	O
UberStudent	B-Application
"	O
contains	O
so	O
many	O
education-specific	O
tools	O
you	O
will	O
be	O
spending	O
your	O
first	O
days	O
with	O
it	O
just	O
marveling	O
at	O
what	O
the	O
developers	B-Application
have	O
packed	O
into	O
one	O
single	O
operating	O
system.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
core	O
programs	O
for	O
academic	O
work	O
are	O
clustered	O
within	O
an	O
applications	O
menu	O
entry	O
,	O
Education	O
,	O
where	O
they	O
are	O
organized	O
by	O
sub-categories	O
,	O
including	O
for	O
Reading	O
,	O
Research	O
and	O
Writing	O
,	O
Self-Management	O
,	O
Study	O
Aids	O
,	O
Subjects	O
,	O
and	O
Utilities	O
,	O
which	O
themselves	O
have	O
sub-categories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
its	O
academic-specific	O
application	O
set	O
,	O
reviewers	O
have	O
noted	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
inclusion	O
of	O
templates	O
for	O
academic	O
work	O
and	O
"	O
tons	O
"	O
of	O
on-board	O
how-to	O
guides	O
as	O
"	O
welcome	O
additions	O
"	O
that	O
are	O
"	O
often	O
missing	O
"	O
from	O
other	O
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
also	O
contains	O
a	O
full	O
range	O
of	O
student-oriented	O
programs	O
in	O
the	O
Multimedia	O
,	O
Games	O
,	O
Graphics	O
,	O
Internet	O
,	O
and	O
several	O
other	O
categories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
a	O
separate	O
menu	O
,	O
it	O
contains	O
select	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
applications	O
that	O
have	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
containing	O
additions	O
"	O
you	O
do	O
n't	O
often	O
see	O
elsewhere	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
its	O
stated	O
intent	O
to	O
couple	O
user-friendliness	B-General_Concept
with	O
security	O
and	O
stability	O
,	O
UberStudent	B-Application
production	O
releases	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
Xubuntu	B-Application
Long	O
Term	O
Stable	O
releases	O
,	O
which	O
stems	O
from	O
the	O
Debian	O
branch	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
also	O
includes	O
numerous	O
self-developed	O
programs	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
own	O
Update	O
Manager	O
and	O
the	O
deb	O
file	O
format	O
to	O
manage	O
and	O
update	O
its	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
main	O
editions	O
are	O
distributed	O
as	O
a	O
DVD	B-Application
image	I-Application
or	O
pre-made	O
disc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
full	O
edition	O
features	O
the	O
Xfce	B-Language
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
lightweight	O
edition	O
the	O
LXDE	B-Language
desktop	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LXDE	B-Language
lightweight	O
edition	O
is	O
greatly	O
scaled	O
down	O
and	O
is	O
intended	O
solely	O
"	O
to	O
re-invigorate	O
low-specification	O
or	O
older	O
computers	O
"	O
and	O
fits	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
CD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amid	O
his	O
decision	O
to	O
feature	O
Xfce	B-Language
in	O
UberStudent	B-Application
full	O
editions	O
,	O
Ewen	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
UberStudent	B-Application
must	O
prefer	O
stability	O
,	O
dependability	O
,	O
and	O
traditional	O
usability	B-General_Concept
over	O
the	O
novel	O
when	O
it	O
comes	O
to	O
such	O
a	O
major	O
thing	O
as	O
the	O
basic	O
desktop	O
environments	O
it	O
uses	O
;	O
and	O
it	O
will.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
2.0	O
release	O
cycle	O
,	O
Ewen	O
criticized	O
the	O
designs	O
of	O
both	O
the	O
Ubuntu	B-Device
Unity	I-Device
and	O
GNOME	B-Language
3	I-Language
Shell	I-Language
Linux	B-Application
desktop	O
environments	O
as	O
hindrances	O
to	O
student	O
academic	O
computing	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2011	O
April	O
Fools	O
 '	O
Day	O
satire	O
,	O
he	O
announced	O
an	O
"	O
UberStudent	B-Application
Dumbed	O
Down	O
Edition	O
"	O
featuring	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Language
3	I-Language
Shell	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pointing	O
to	O
what	O
he	O
called	O
"	O
the	O
enforced	O
helplessness	O
"	O
leading	O
to	O
"	O
learned	O
helplessness	O
"	O
that	O
he	O
says	O
the	O
GNOME	O
3	O
developers	B-Application
designed	O
into	O
their	O
new	O
desktop	O
environment	O
,	O
he	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
intent	O
behind	O
the	O
spoof	O
UberStudent	B-Application
edition	O
was	O
to	O
"	O
obscure	O
what	O
is	O
not	O
obvious	O
and	O
easy	O
so	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
continually	O
avoided	O
"	O
by	O
students	O
and	O
thus	O
never	O
learned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
May	O
2011	O
interview	O
,	O
Ewen	O
expanded	O
his	O
criticisms	O
of	O
Unity	O
and	O
GNOME	O
3	O
by	O
citing	O
specific	O
usability	B-General_Concept
issues	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
UberStudent	B-Application
had	O
no	O
plans	O
to	O
adopt	O
either	O
Unity	O
or	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Language
3	I-Language
Shell	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amid	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
3.0	O
release	O
cycle	O
,	O
Ewen	O
criticized	O
the	O
Cinnamon	B-Language
desktop	I-Language
environment	I-Language
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Linux	B-Application
Mint	I-Application
,	O
pointing	O
out	O
what	O
he	O
called	O
"	O
major	O
shortcomings	O
"	O
in	O
Cinnamon	B-Language
,	O
which	O
he	O
stipulated	O
as	O
its	O
failure	O
to	O
honor	O
certain	O
fundamental	O
freedesktop.org	B-Application
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ewen	O
stated	O
that	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
desktop	O
environment	O
holds	O
promise	O
,	O
"	O
Cinnamon	B-Language
as	O
of	O
its	O
full	O
May	O
2013	O
version	O
1.8	O
release	O
is	O
actually	O
beta-quality	O
software.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
he	O
characterized	O
Cinnamon	B-Language
as	O
"	O
not	O
at	O
all	O
yet	O
suited	O
for	O
a	O
serious	O
and	O
stable	O
workstation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Ewen	O
,	O
"	O
UberStudent	B-Application
dubs	O
each	O
of	O
its	O
major	O
releases	O
after	O
a	O
famous	O
historical	O
thinker	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
practice	O
he	O
describes	O
as	O
"	O
only	O
fitting	O
"	O
in	O
light	O
of	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
educational	O
mission	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
version	O
0.9	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
beta	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
15	O
January	O
2010	O
and	O
named	O
after	O
Thales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
1.0	O
Cicero	O
Lightweight	O
Edition	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
4	O
September	O
2010	O
and	O
inherited	O
the	O
name	O
Cicero	O
from	O
the	O
full	O
edition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
2.0	O
was	O
dubbed	O
"	O
Plato	B-Operating_System
,	O
"	O
UberStudent	B-Application
3.0	O
was	O
dubbed	O
"	O
Aristotle	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
4.0	O
release	O
"	O
Socrates	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UberStudent	B-Application
has	O
been	O
described	O
by	O
reviewers	O
as	O
"	O
highly	O
in	O
tune	O
with	O
student	O
needs	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
loaded	O
with	O
student-friendly	O
tools	O
and	O
customizations	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
perfect	O
for	O
the	O
higher	O
education	O
environment	O
"	O
,	O
succeeding	O
at	O
its	O
aims	O
"	O
with	O
aplomb	O
,	O
elegance	O
,	O
and	O
power	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
a	O
smart	O
pick	O
for	O
getting	O
your	O
actual	O
schoolwork	O
done	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
fantastic	O
and	O
delicious	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
received	O
a	O
positive	O
review	O
in	O
The	O
Chronicle	O
of	O
Higher	O
Education	O
,	O
which	O
cited	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
completeness	O
for	O
doing	O
core	O
academic	O
work	O
,	O
user-friendliness	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sixty	O
days	O
after	O
UberStudent	B-Application
's	O
official	O
15	O
July	O
2010	O
release	O
of	O
UberStudent	B-Application
1.0	O
Cicero	O
Full	O
Edition	O
,	O
its	O
first	O
non-beta	O
,	O
DistroWatch	O
ranked	O
it	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	O
for	O
education	O
worldwide	O
and	O
the	O
32nd	O
most	O
popular	O
overall	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
316	O
varied	O
distributions	O
tracked	O
by	O
the	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weeks	O
after	O
the	O
4.1	O
release	O
,	O
it	O
ranked	O
as	O
the	O
fifth-most	O
popular	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
