Why do you prefer Linux operating system instead of windows?

Answer 1

There are a number of reasons why any given person may prefer a Linux OS over Windows, and which ones a Linux user values the most will vary from person to person. But generally they can be summed up as follows:

Relative Security - Because Linux has a much smaller number of users than Windows, it is less likely that criminal hackers will try and write viruses for a Linux system since the number of affected users will be lower. The number of variances in Linux operating systems also means that a Linux virus is less likely to affect all flavors of Linux, which brings us to another reason...

Number of Choices - There are literally hundreds of versions of Linux out there, so even if one doesn't quite suit you, this does not mean all is lost. Sadly, the sheer volume of options can be overwhelming to those accustomed to Windows, and this is one reason why Linux on the desktop hasn't caught on. Having a choice for an OS that is geared toward specific needs makes it a must-have for some (such as Backtrack Linux for security audits).

Customization - This usually applies to the extreme techies. Because the source code of any Linux OS is available, users can modify the code to their liking if they desire. This has led to the development of many newer variants of Linux - where people take existing code from Debian for instance, and then adapt that for another OS (such as Ubuntu) and then another more on top of that (as is the case with Mint).

There is enough modularity in most user friendly operating systems (such as Ubuntu or Mint) to modify them to a large extent even if you cannot code. But the open-source element that would allow a coder to create their own variant is itself yet another reason why people prefer Linux.

Production Approach - Linux is open-source while Windows is proprietary. Linux can be adapted and modified by anyone to their liking, which is appealing to those who are opposed to copyright restrictions on software. Anyone can contribute code to the Linux kernel or to a specific OS for potential inclusion. New releases appear much more often than Windows with most actively developed Linux distros.

Hardware Requirements - The overwhelming majority of all Linux distros require far less computational power to run. There are even some versions of Linux designed specifically for those with old or inexpensive hardware (such as Puppy Linux). This can lead to some performance gains and greater longevity for most computers compared to what you can expect from Windows. Faster boot times and less of a need for disk defragmenting (because Linux uses a different file system approach) are just a few typical benefits.

Overall it really comes down to the user which operating system is better for them. But in general the reasons elaborated above are some of the justifications for why one might prefer to use Linux instead.