Good morning buddy, how are you doing these days? Ubuntu is a Linux based operating system just like Slackware & Mandrick but different in the manager of the OS. For Ubuntu it is gnome, but for Slackware it is something different. Linux is an open source which means that you can download it for free [OS Website] and install it without any problems or needing any license or serial number like windows. The future is for Linux and Windows is gonna fade away, not to the degree that it would disappear ... but Linux is more reliable.