Hayd
Yep, Ubuntu, etc
You can run Mac OS X 10.9, Windows 8 and Ubuntu on the same Mac, either booting through EFI or in virtual machines: Parallels, VMWare
Arran, had the B&M for a long time, Bennett has it as well, it is very good quality, very precise and half the price of TWM stuff
There is a topic I've started somewhere here on the forum with a comparison if I remember well.