Pluses of Linux:
- Most of the software included is not controllable by any one entity or person, giving you freedom of choice
- It's open source, if you want to change it you can.
- it's Faster, Stryker at least gave us SOME proof with his little counting benchmark
- very reliable, systems can run for literally years with Linux (although the highest uptimes usually go to BSD-based servers)
- Linux has a literally huge community of people that can help you with problems
- Linux is prettier than Windows in a lot of ways (minus some translucency eye candy right now)
- Linux still supports some Windows applications using WINE if you cant find better alternatives natively (Photoshop works near flawlessly, Flash MX works although a little slow, many other major apps have support)
- Linux is beginning to catch mainstream in an important way. You'll be riding the wave of the next generation. All your friends who think Windows owNz will have to eat their words when they finally switch to Linux or buy a PC with Linux etc
- Linux has better applications. IE sucks, Firebird owns. Office is nothing compared to OpenOffice imho
- Your favorite open source Windows applications are developed for Linux first, for instance GAIM (if you aren't using it for instant messenging, you should be), OpenOffice, Firebird etc
- Linux runs on older hardware much better
- Linux runs on newer hardware much better (my Linux box runs games twice as fast as when I boot to Windows)
- Linux is much less expensive. There are MANY free distributions available for download, and many inexpensive commercial distributions
- Linux doesn't contain spying software from Microsoft
- Linux is flexible enough it can be run from a CD, installed to your hard drive, isntalled to your USB key drive even.
- Linux has quicker development cycles, if you get bored of your current version, don't worry there will probably be a new release soon. And for many commercial distributions you can get free upgrades
Thats just a few. I know I missed a lot.
