Note: This post is aimed mainly toward Windows users

Alrighty, some of you know what Linux is, others may not. Some of you have thought about installing it, others haven't. Some of you may dual-boot Windows and Linux, some of you may not. Some of you may have even switched entirely to Linux. This post will help you to understand the advantage of Linux, and I think once and for all I can compare the two systems side by side and give them individual attributes that will help you decide which is better for you. Let's go!

We'll start with some info.

Windows
Windows is currently the biggest and most-supported OS. It is closed-source, however. The most popular versions are Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10. There were others before them not referred to as “Windows,” but I'll group those other Microsoft OSes with Windows nonetheless.

Windows XP is a fairly fast, but in my opinion, ugly operating system. The issue is that Windows XP users have almost no way of upgrading their system.
Windows Vista has much better graphics than WinXP but crashes and freezes, and is overall slow. This is my worst favorite Windows system.
Windows 7 is my personal favorite. It has similar graphics to Vista while being much, much faster.
Windows 8 has much graphical improvement compared, but the GUI itself is harder to use and would work better on a device such as a tablet or phone.
Windows 10 split the difference between Windows 7 and 8, but I found that programs such as Microsoft Word became much harder to use.

Linux
Linux is not an OS, it is a kernel, but there are many different types of Linuxes (called “distros”) that vary greatly. For this forums topic, I will be using various Ubuntu flavors as examples, because Ubuntu is the most-popular and most-supported distro.

Xubuntu is an Ubuntu flavor pointed towards old desktops running Vista or XP, or slow laptops. It has a toned-down graphical interface allowing for more speed than Windows.
Lubuntu is by far the fastest Ubuntu flavor. The graphics are reduced a stunning amount so that you can get maximum speed, even on the worst PCs in existence.
Ubuntu. The original, which is based of off a distro called Debian. It uses a graphical environment that is faster and more beautiful than the Windows environment.
Ubuntu GNOME is a unique Ubuntu flavor that isn't really pointed at any certain type of computer, but combines graphics and speed extremely well.
Kubuntu is my personal favorite flavors and the one I am using now. It is definitely the most user-friendly flavor and is growing in support.

Now for the comparison. I've grouped which OSes I think would work well on similar computers or have similar UI ideas.
Note: I have used all five Windows versions mentioned, as well as Lubuntu, Ubuntu, and Kubuntu, but have read many reviews on all five Ubuntu flavors.

Windows XP versus Xubuntu
Windows XP:


Xubuntu:


You can clearly see Xubuntu has much better graphics than Windows XP, but nonetheless, it still has better speed and RAM usage due to the way Linux works. I don't have much to say about this.

Windows Vista versus Lubuntu
Windows Vista:


Lubuntu:


I think you can see why I grouped these two together. They are fairly similar desktops. But the main point is that Vista is slow and freezes constantly. Lubuntu, on the other hand, is extremely fast and, like many Ubuntu flavors, rarely crashes. If your computer freezes with Vista, graphics for performance is a good trade.

Windows 7 versus Ubuntu
Windows 7:


Ubuntu:


This is a very hard choice. Windows 7 is a very good operating system and so is Ubuntu. Windows 7 has a great GUI, and so does Ubuntu. Both are fast, but here they differ a bit. Windows 7 is admittedly faster than Ubuntu, but Ubuntu has better RAM usage and presumably better CPU usage. Sadly, the Unity graphical environment is not very customizable, whereas Windows 7 is. I pronounce a tie between these two systems.

Windows 8 versus Ubuntu GNOME
Windows 8:


Ubuntu GNOME:


Windows 8 had a weird idea that most older users disliked. On the other hand, Ubuntu GNOME has a cool GUI that seems unique to Linux. It has a launcher menu equivalent to the Windows 8 start screen, but it fits more items and has a better search bar, as well as the fact that it shows files, not just programs. Ubuntu GNOME is much better than Windows 8 in my opinion and in yours, I hope.

Windows 10 versus Kubuntu
Windows 10:


There is no possibly way I could fit Kubuntu's many GUI features in one picture, so I'll offer a few.
Kubuntu Breeze (default theme):


Kubuntu Breeze Launcher Menu:


Kubuntu Breeze Large Launcher:


Kubuntu Oxygen:


Kubuntu Breeze Honeycomb Colors:


Kubuntu Wobbly Windows:


Maybe I'm a little bias on this one, but I think Kubuntu is a billion times better than Windows 10. But what makes it better? Something called KDE Plasma is where the magic happens. Plasma is the beautiful desktop environment on Kubuntu that allows you to customize the entire desktop. Having widgets is the best part about Kubuntu. You can place them, move them, remove them, change their settings, etc. On one image, the launcher is big, on the other, it's small. That's because there are two different launcher widgets. What's more, if you have two monitors, the widgets are completely separate. I could go on and on. The Kubuntu performance is very similar to Ubuntu, but the main idea was to have an extremely customizable interface. Windows 10 doesn't get close.

Overall Comparison
Windows/MS Systems:
Pros:

• Fast
  
• Highly-supported
  
• Beautiful GUI
  

Cons:

• Closed-source
  
• Bad RAM/CPU usage
  
• Costs money (although I know how to get it for free )
  

Linux Systems/Ubuntu Flavors:
Pros:

• Terminal is very useful
  
• Boots quickly
  
• You can use PlayOnLinux and Wine to run Windows programs
  
• Fast
  
• Good RAM/CPU usage
  
• Beautiful GUI
  
• Different distros and flavors for your needs
  
• IT'S FREEEEE
  

Cons:

• Hard to use for computer noobs
  
• Less support
  

Sadly, Windows has a bigger array of programs than Linux. There are solutions to this problem, however.
Buuut, while Windows 10 is the last version (though subject to updates) Linux is growing constantly.

Support Linux by switching now!

Ooh, I didn't no how pretty Kubuntu was…

I have Ubuntu on all my computers (laptop and desktop have 16.04), and the only Windows machine I have is a netbook with a dual boot of Windows 7 Starter and Ubuntu 14.04. I only wish I hadn't wiped my laptop of Windows XP because my drawing tablet and animation software don't work with Linux, sadly. I can use the animation software with Wine, but rendering to AVI format seems to crash it. I don't use them on my netbook because it is soooo sloooowww.

I have no qualms against Windows 7, really- it's my favorite OS next to Ubuntu.

The only reason I haven't wiped my netbook yet is really because it's the only machine I can play Undertale on… XD When I do wipe it, though, I'm thinking of putting Manjaro XFCE 16.06 on it and see how it goes.

Pturretdactyl wrote:

Ooh, I didn't no how pretty Kubuntu was…

I have Ubuntu on all my computers (laptop and desktop have 16.04), and the only Windows machine I have is a netbook with a dual boot of Windows 7 Starter and Ubuntu 14.04. I only wish I hadn't wiped my laptop of Windows XP because my drawing tablet and animation software don't work with Linux, sadly. I can use the animation software with Wine, but rendering to AVI format seems to crash it. I don't use them on my netbook because it is soooo sloooowww.

I have no qualms against Windows 7, really- it's my favorite OS next to Ubuntu.

The only reason I haven't wiped my netbook yet is really because it's the only machine I can play Undertale on… XD When I do wipe it, though, I'm thinking of putting Manjaro XFCE 16.06 on it and see how it goes.

I used to use Ubuntu. The story behind my switched to Kubuntu is odd. I was trying to install Ubuntu on another computer, but it wouldn't work, so I grabbed the Lubuntu and Kubuntu .ISOs. I tried Lubuntu first, but when I tested Kubuntu, my jaw literally dropped. So, I installed it on my laptop.

Anyhow, instead of dual booting with Ubuntu on the netbook, you should try Lubuntu, if it's that slow.
In Ubuntu vs Kubuntu the latter is a much better choice. I found that after a month or two, Ubuntu, oddly enough, experiences plenty of internal errors whereas after about a week with Kubuntu I experience almost zero errors. Also, Unity is a whole lot slower and not as customizable as Plasma, and it doesn't even look as good, and Kubuntu also has better CPU usage.

BabyChewie wrote:

Overall Comparison
Windows/MS Systems:
Pros:

• Fast
  
• Highly-supported
  
• Beautiful GUI
  

Cons:

• Closed-source
  
• Bad RAM/CPU usage
  
• Costs money (although I know how to get it for free )
  

Linux Systems/Ubuntu Flavors:
Pros:

• Fast
  
• Good RAM/CPU usage
  
• Beautiful GUI
  
• Different distros and flavors for your needs
  
• IT'S FREEEEE
  

Cons:

• Hard to use for computer noobs
  
• Not as fast as many Windows versions
  
• Less support
  

Sadly, Windows has a bigger array of programs than Linux. There are solutions to this problem, however.
Buuut, while Windows 10 is the last version (though subject to updates) Linux is growing constantly.

'few notes (mostly anecdotal & subjective, but still worth mentioning):

- A con for Windows worth mentioning is the fact that Microsoft has backdoors in the operating system that allow them to spy on what the users are doing. These backdoors are one of the factors that make Windows 10 more vulnerable to malware than any free or proprietary operating system. I can personally say that I've never gotten a virus using a linux distribution without 3rd party antivirus software, but was faced with a persistant adware problem on Windows 10 after my McAfee trial expired.
- Enterprise distros like Red Hat & SUSE aren't free in terms of monetary cost (though Fedora & openSUSE are the respective free alternatives).
- I would argue that linux has quite a bit of support. Anecdotally speaking, I can generally find everything I need to know about linux via distro forums or youtube videos.
- A number of Windows programs can be run on linux via wine/playonlinux.
- Sit a computer noob down with Deepin, Solus, or Ubuntu MATE, & they probably won't find it hard to use.
- It's been a while since I've used Windows, but in my experience, Linux generally boots & runs much faster than Windows.

I won't drag on here, but a little over a month ago, I did a video explaining a number of reasons why I prefer Linux over Windows (kindof a shameless plug, but I think this video's content is supplementary to the points of this thread ).

SilverMediaPro wrote:

BabyChewie wrote:

- snip -

'few notes (mostly anecdotal & subjective, but still worth mentioning):

- A con for Windows worth mentioning is the fact that Microsoft has backdoors in the operating system that allow them to spy on what the users are doing. These backdoors are one of the factors that make Windows 10 more vulnerable to malware than any free or proprietary operating system. I can personally say that I've never gotten a virus using a linux distribution without 3rd party antivirus software, but was faced with a persistant adware problem on Windows 10 after my McAfee trial expired.
- Enterprise distros like Red Hat & SUSE aren't free in terms of monetary cost (though Fedora & openSUSE are the respective free alternatives).
- I would argue that linux has quite a bit of support. Anecdotally speaking, I can generally find everything I need to know about linux via distro forums or youtube videos.
- A number of Windows programs can be run on linux via wine/playonlinux.
- Sit a computer noob down with Deepin, Solus, or Ubuntu MATE, & they probably won't find it hard to use.
- It's been a while since I've used Windows, but in my experience, Linux generally boots & runs much faster than Windows.

I won't drag on here, but a little over a month ago, I did a video explaining a number of reasons why I prefer Linux over Windows (kindof a shameless plug, but I think this video's content is supplementary to the points of this thread ).

Thanks for this I was hoping some Linux Scratch users would add their thoughts.
Anyhow, every Linux has it's quirks. As you said, Red Hat and SUSE aren't free, Deepin, Solus, and Ubuntu MATE are easy to use, and most Linuxes boot a lot faster (which I'll add to the pros list). Linux has less support than Windows does simply because it's not as popular due to the fact that most computers come with Windows.

Linux Pros Added:

• Boots quickly
  
• You can use PlayOnLinux and Wine to run Windows programs
  

Another huge benefit of linux worth mentioning is the command line/terminal. As a windows user, I always saw the terminal as being a bit unhelpful compared to a gui, and in the case of windows it probably was… However, the ubuntu terminal (and I assume other linux terminals as well) is incredibly useful. It certainly takes some getting used to, but much like code, a lot of it can be done just by copying stackoverflow answers. (Just don't run anything with sudo before making sure it's safe…)

PullJosh wrote:

Another huge benefit of linux worth mentioning is the command line/terminal. As a windows user, I always saw the terminal as being a bit unhelpful compared to a gui, and in the case of windows it probably was… However, the ubuntu terminal (and I assume other linux terminals as well) is incredibly useful. It certainly takes some getting used to, but much like code, a lot of it can be done just by copying stackoverflow answers. (Just don't run anything with sudo before making sure it's safe…)

Here's an amazing point I never thought of. I completely agree. When it comes to the terminal, the Linux community is huge!
Added to the pros!

BabyChewie wrote:

Pturretdactyl wrote:

Ooh, I didn't no how pretty Kubuntu was…

I have Ubuntu on all my computers (laptop and desktop have 16.04), and the only Windows machine I have is a netbook with a dual boot of Windows 7 Starter and Ubuntu 14.04. I only wish I hadn't wiped my laptop of Windows XP because my drawing tablet and animation software don't work with Linux, sadly. I can use the animation software with Wine, but rendering to AVI format seems to crash it. I don't use them on my netbook because it is soooo sloooowww.

I have no qualms against Windows 7, really- it's my favorite OS next to Ubuntu.

The only reason I haven't wiped my netbook yet is really because it's the only machine I can play Undertale on… XD When I do wipe it, though, I'm thinking of putting Manjaro XFCE 16.06 on it and see how it goes.

I used to use Ubuntu. The story behind my switched to Kubuntu is odd. I was trying to install Ubuntu on another computer, but it wouldn't work, so I grabbed the Lubuntu and Kubuntu .ISOs. I tried Lubuntu first, but when I tested Kubuntu, my jaw literally dropped. So, I installed it on my laptop.

Anyhow, instead of dual booting with Ubuntu on the netbook, you should try Lubuntu, if it's that slow.
In Ubuntu vs Kubuntu the latter is a much better choice. I found that after a month or two, Ubuntu, oddly enough, experiences plenty of internal errors whereas after about a week with Kubuntu I experience almost zero errors. Also, Unity is a whole lot slower and not as customizable as Plasma, and it doesn't even look as good, and Kubuntu also has better CPU usage.

I've tried Lubuntu before, and I can't say I'm a huge fan of the interface. I've been itching to try Manjaro for a while, but again, Undertale- I'm working on using it with Wine, though it's giving me all sorts of pain, mostly with DirectX…

Pturretdactyl wrote:

I've tried Lubuntu before, and I can't say I'm a huge fan of the interface. I've been itching to try Manjaro for a while, but again, Undertale- I'm working on using it with Wine, though it's giving me all sorts of pain, mostly with DirectX…

I haven't tried Manjaro. I'll take a look at it.
Anyhow, Xubuntu is faster than Ubuntu but has better graphics than Lubuntu.

WAAAIT: Manjaro uses KDE, and I've heard it's faster than Ubuntu… Do I sense a distro switch?

BabyChewie wrote:

Pturretdactyl wrote:

I've tried Lubuntu before, and I can't say I'm a huge fan of the interface. I've been itching to try Manjaro for a while, but again, Undertale- I'm working on using it with Wine, though it's giving me all sorts of pain, mostly with DirectX…

I haven't tried Manjaro. I'll take a look at it.
Anyhow, Xubuntu is faster than Ubuntu but has better graphics than Lubuntu.

WAAAIT: Manjaro uses KDE, and I've heard it's faster than Ubuntu… Do I sense a distro switch?

Yeah, I believe it's based on Arch Linux.

Pturretdactyl wrote:

BabyChewie wrote:

WAAAIT: Manjaro uses KDE, and I've heard it's faster than Ubuntu… Do I sense a distro switch?

Yeah, I believe it's based on Arch Linux.

Manjaro seems to combine the best of both worlds then; Arch Linux for speed, KDE for beautiful graphics. If you like the Kubuntu style, just get the “Breeze” look and feel on your Manjaro, it should make it look like the screenshots I posted.

BabyChewie wrote:

Pturretdactyl wrote:

BabyChewie wrote:

WAAAIT: Manjaro uses KDE, and I've heard it's faster than Ubuntu… Do I sense a distro switch?

Yeah, I believe it's based on Arch Linux.

Manjaro seems to combine the best of both worlds then; Arch Linux for speed, KDE for beautiful graphics. If you like the Kubuntu style, just get the “Breeze” look and feel on your Manjaro, it should make it look like the screenshots I posted.

Cool! I'll be installing it later today, actually; in my Undertale-Wine woes, I discovered that Toby Fox released a version for Ubuntu while my back was turned… That was a lot of pain for nothing, ha.

Honestly, if you don't care much about Windows-exclusive programs, go with GNU/Linux. Not only because of the speedy experience and efficient use of resources; but also because you have control over basically every aspect of your system.

I used to rock a Debian system with an Xfce desktop and a pretty conky config, but then I needed to use some Adobe graphic design tools (and their open source equivalents, Inkscape and Scribus, weren't good enough) so I had to go back to Windows. :c

Manjaro is an interesting choice in the sense it's not based in Debian (like Ubuntu) or Fedora as most distros are, since it's based in Arch and thus has a different package manager and perhaps it's a bit faster. I haven't tried it, but I've tried Antergos, which is another “normal user”-oriented, Arch-based distro.

Another great distro - which I also used for a long time - was Crunchbang, which was a lightweight, minimalistic Debian-based distro with an Openbox desktop, but sadly it's development stopped around 2014. The good thing is that a group of people decided to continue it under the name of BunsenLabs. I haven't tried it personally, but if it's anything like Crunchbang, I'd totally recommend it if you want a pretty, minimalistic and very fast distro.

BabyChewie wrote:

Thanks for this I was hoping some Linux Scratch users would add their thoughts.

Glad I could be of assistance!

BabyChewie wrote:

Linux has less support than Windows does simply because it's not as popular due to the fact that most computers come with Windows.

That's a fair point, but I don't think that the lesser quantity of linux support has really hindered my ability to get the help I need (obviously, this may differ for you).

technoguyx wrote:

Xfce

SilverMediaPro wrote:

BabyChewie wrote:

Linux has less support than Windows does simply because it's not as popular due to the fact that most computers come with Windows.

That's a fair point, but I don't think that the lesser quantity of linux support has really hindered my ability to get the help I need (obviously, this may differ for you).

I think Linux also has a negative stigma of being considered too complicated for the average user, and this perception isn't too accurate because from my experience with Ubuntu, the only issue you might have is installing things manually and maybe doing stuff from the terminal for the first time.

Pturretdactyl wrote:

I think Linux also has a negative stigma of being considered too complicated for the average user, and this perception isn't too accurate because from my experience with Ubuntu, the only issue you might have is installing things manually and maybe doing stuff from the terminal for the first time.

The important thing to note is that people who are used to Windows or OSX didn't learn these OSes overnight. It takes time to learn any operating system, and I think this difficulty stigma is placed on linux because most people don't start out with linux as their first computer experience.

SilverMediaPro wrote:

Pturretdactyl wrote:

I think Linux also has a negative stigma of being considered too complicated for the average user, and this perception isn't too accurate because from my experience with Ubuntu, the only issue you might have is installing things manually and maybe doing stuff from the terminal for the first time.

The important thing to note is that people who are used to Windows or OSX didn't learn these OSes overnight. It takes time to learn any operating system, and I think this difficulty stigma is placed on linux because most people don't start out with linux as their first computer experience.

Yeah, I guess that's true; I tried using one of the school's Macs once and it wasn't pretty.

However, I think Linux is generally considered to be something only for hackers/programming gurus and so people are unwilling to give it a shot. Also, I didn't have much of an issue transitioning from Windows to Ubuntu; I thought the interface was straightforward enough. Sure it took some getting used to, but not like when I tried to use a Mac.

-snip-

Pturretdactyl wrote:

However, I think Linux is generally considered to be something only for hackers/programming gurus and so people are unwilling to give it a shot.

Yea, I actually hear a lot of that, & I think that the best way to combat this is to spread the word about linux in some way, which is one of the main reasons I make YouTube videos* about various distros. The internet was how I learned about & got into linux, & is the platform I intend to use to give back to the community.

To me, both are just as good. Both have their own disadvantages and advantages. I'm using Windows 7 and Raspbian (on my pi) and both OS are good

I've used GNOME 3, KDE, LXDE, LXQt, i3, XFCE, Cinnamon, Unity and Budgie and prefer GNOME 3 from a novice's and developer's perspective. It has a great workflow, is easy to use out of the box, and has tons of extensions. It's also probably the most popular Linux DE, and has a huge user base.

Fedora is a great distro that works seamlessly with the amazing GNOME desktop environment. I've used Ubuntu and Fedora and while Ubuntu has a few more apps available, Fedora just works better in my experience, is more stable, and its command line tools are generally easier to use. (Don't worry about the apps thing, you probably won't run into any app compatibility issues)

tl;dr: Get Fedora.