Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for desktops, laptops and servers. It is based on Debian GNU/Linux. Ubuntu aims to provide an up-to-date yet stable operating system for the average user, and features a strong focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation. Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd, owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. The name of the distribution comes from the southern African concept of ubuntu which may be rendered roughly as “humanity toward others”, “we are people because of other people”, or “I am who I am because of who we all are”, though other meanings have been suggested. This Linux distribution is named Ubuntu as it is expected to bring the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world. Ubuntu is free software and users can share it among each other

Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of software operating systems by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Microsoft Windows eventually came to dominate the world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced previously. At the 2004 IDC Directions conference, IDC Vice President Avneesh Saxena stated that Windows had approximately 90% of the client operating system market. The most recent client version of Windows is Windows Vista. The current server version of Windows is Windows Server 2003. The successor to Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, has been released to manufacturing, but is not yet generally available.