Linux has been around since the beginning of time, but only recently has it reached a milestone market share of 4%. It's mainly used for servers, but the desktop is just as powerful. With the recent shit Microsoft has been putting onto Windows, it's becoming more and more unbearable to use Windows as a normal OS.

Nowadays, Linux is objectively better than Windows in many ways, but of course there will always be cons. For now, let's focus on why many choose to try out or use Linux.

Important note, these are simply just a small amount of reasons as to why I and many other choose to use Linux. The point of this is to shed some light on what makes Linux unique. I am not here to convince or tell you to use Linux, that is your own decision. As you can probably tell already, I put Linux against Windows a lot, but some of those reasons would only work well when being put against "competition."

Lightweight

A common mention about why Linux is great is the fact that it is lightweight, like very. Windows is quite bloated, even with a clean install. Linux is usually light unless you choose a distro with a billion things on it. There are still many factors that can make it run just as "bad" as Windows, for example the desktop environment and/or extensions. Otherwise, it is light on resources, storage, and it's stable. You can basically run it on a microwave lol, Windows could never.

It's free!

Even though you can use Windows without a license or use some methods to get around that, it still leaves you under other restrictions and disadvantages of Windows. Using Linux is completely free and will typically never have anything behind a paywall. You really should not need to pay for a damn license of THAT price just to use an operating system. You already paid for your pc why the hell do you need to pay more.

Privacy

Windows (and Microsoft) is known for its amazing amount of telemetry and data it collects from users (it's also opt-out). Just from the oobe, you have to disable a bunch of toggles to make sure there is less data being collected from you. Unfortunately, there is still a lot more that needs to be tweaked to remove most of the telemetry planted in Windows. Dedicated tools have been created to do just that, but that's the issue. There should not be a need to create programs just to remove certain elements on an operating system to increase privacy. Linux does not have any telemetry on its own. However, it still depends on the distro you choose, as they can make users opt in/out of telemetry features. Even though it is telemetry, it is still much more trustworthy than whatever the hell Microsoft is doing. A good example of this is KDE's opt-in telemetry slider. It shows exactly what is sent to KDE and is completely up to your control whether or not you want your data to be sent to them. This is especially of concern after the whole Recall thing.

Freedom

You should be in control of your own systems, not some corporate overlord monopoly. You decide whether you want to install something or not. You decide whether something should look like this or that. It's not going to force you to use some spyware ai shit that completely invades your privacy. Or install Edge after an update.

Customization

Sort of extending on freedom, you can basically change any part of your system. From the bootloader to the login screen to your actual desktop. The only limit is your imagination _{and some parts of the desktop.}

In it's current stage, Linux is still a bit funky on specific hardware configs, especially multi-monitor setups using Nvidia (and Wayland). It's why I personally still do not recommend using Linux as a daily driver for the average person, only to those who want to get their hands wet and try new things out. Most computers are able to install and run it without any need to fix stuff, but eventually there will always be an issue that will require you to mess around with your system. Many people want things to Just Work™️. You shouldn't need to work for your computer, your computer should be working for you. It's a common turn off for people looking at Linux. Another huge issue with using Linux is compatibility with apps. Many apps are made specifically to be run on Windows without any Linux support. While Wine or Proton can run most apps and games, it still doesn't cover every case, especially when it comes to more complex software such as video/photo editors. And due to the lack of popularity Linux has, it's not very viable for developers to be putting in the effort to port and make apps supporting Linux. In the end, it all depends on a person's workflow, whether they need to use something that is only able to run on Windows or can be replaced by an alternative. In my opinion, it is a better step to try using FOSS alternatives to your current applications to help make a transition better, while also being free and private. It allows you to be more comfortable using applications that aren't official and have the same reliability as their proprietary counterpart. Go read Why FOSS? for more info.