[3][4][5][6] Xubuntu seeks to provide "a light, stable and configurable desktop environment with conservative workflows" using Xfce components.

Rather than explicitly targeting low-powered machines, it attempts to provide "extra responsiveness and speed" on existing hardware.

[7] Xubuntu was originally intended to be released at the same time as Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger, 13 October 2005, but the work was not complete by that date.

Instead the Xubuntu name was used for the xubuntu-desktop metapackage available through the Synaptic Package Manager which installed the Xfce desktop.

The first official Xubuntu release, led by Jani Monoses, appeared on 1 June 2006, as part of the Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake line, which also included Kubuntu and Edubuntu.

[12] The first official stand-alone release of Xubuntu was version 6.06 long term support (LTS), which was made available on 1 June 2006.

It was introduced with the statement: Xubuntu is the newest official Ubuntu derivative distribution, using the Xfce desktop environment and a selection of GTK2 applications.

Xubuntu builds on the solid foundation of Ubuntu, with world-class hardware support and access to a vast repository of additional software.

[17][18] Michael Larabel of Phoronix carried out detailed benchmark testing of betas for Ubuntu 7.04, Kubuntu 7.04 and Xubuntu 7.04 in February 2007 on two different computers, one with dual Intel Clovertown processors and the other with an AMD Sempron.

However, with the AMD Sempron, Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn Herd 4 had outperformed both Kubuntu and the lighter-weight Xubuntu.

9.04 also introduced new versions of many applications, including the AbiWord word processor, Brasero CD/DVD burner and Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client.

[25] 29 October 2009 saw the release of Xubuntu 9.10, which utilized Xfce 4.6.1, Linux kernel 2.6.31 and by default the ext4 file system and GRUB 2.

It included Parole, the Xfce4 media player, XFBurn CD/DVD writer in place of Brasero and Xfce4-taskmanager replaced Gnome-Task-Manager.

This version was based upon Xfce 4.8 and introduced editable menus using any menu editor that meets the freedesktop.org standards.

This version also introduced a new Elementary Xubuntu icon theme, the Droid font by default and an updated installation slide show.

[30] Although the developers have decided to retain a minimalist interface, Xubuntu 11.04 has a new dock-like application launcher to achieve a more modern look.

[32] In this release gThumb became the new image viewer/organizer, Leafpad replaced Mousepad as the default text editor and LightDM was introduced as the log-in manager.

[33][34] The minimum system requirements for this release were 512 MiB of RAM, 5 GB of hard disk space, and a graphics card and monitor capable of at least 800×600 pixel resolution.

This release introduced the use of Xfce 4.10, as well as new versions of Catfish, Parole, LightDM, Greybird and the Ubiquity slideshow.

This ISO size change also allowed the inclusion of two applications that had been previously dropped due to space constraints, Gnumeric and GIMP.

Changed were a new Xfce Power Manager plugin added to the panel and that items in the new alt-tab dialog could be clicked with the mouse.

To illustrate the customization of the operating system, 14.10 featured pink highlight colours, something that could easily be changed by users, if desired.

[48] This release featured Xfce 4.12 and included new colour schemes, with redundant File Manager (Settings) menu entries removed.

[55] Reviewer Jack Wallen said, "The truth of the matter is, the Ubuntu Software Center has been a horrible tool for a very long time.

[59] This version continued the then-porting of Xfce panel plugins and applications from 16.10, along with a slight refresh of core theming to improve GTK3 support.

It also included two new applications: the HexChat IRC client and the Synaptic package manager as well as some general user interface changes.

Updated applications included the addition of spellchecking to the Mousepad text editor along with session backup and restore.

[105] Xubuntu releases are also given code names, using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter, e.g., "Dapper Drake" and "Intrepid Ibex".

[113] Testing conducted by Martyn Honeyford at IBM in January 2007 on Xubuntu 6.10 concluded that it "uses approximately 25MB less application memory, and also eats significantly less into buffers and cache (which may imply that there is less file activity) than Ubuntu".

[114] In a September 2009 assessment in Linux Magazine, Christopher Smart noted, "the Xfce desktop is very lightweight and well suited to machines with small amounts of memory and processing power, but Xubuntu's implementation has essentially massacred it.