Most of the Softwares presently available are suitable to windows only.

Accessing the applications and running the applications are harder compared with windows.

proper maintainence required for linux compared with windows.

installation is little bit harder

Linux is freeware that is the first advantage.

This is an ideal opportunity to try out Linux Ubuntu 7.10, the graphics and effects are far superior to Vista see link below :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC5uEe5Oz...

Ubuntu is free as it is open source, the download link is :

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Once you have downloaded Ubuntu 7.10, you will have an ISO image file. You will then need to create a bootable disc of the file.

This can be achieved by using Nero Burning ROM if you have it or MagicISO a free trial of which is available for download :

http://www.magiciso.com/

Once you have created the bootable disc, we are going to call it the LIVE CD.

Start your PC from the Ubuntu live CD, select start or install when prompted, once the Ubuntu desktop has appeared in the top left hand corner there is an option to install, double click and the installation screen will appear.

Once Ubuntu has asked you about regional settings etc. it will then take you into the partitioning table, if you select the default setting which is on the top, Ubuntu will then automatically sort the space it needs and install its own Grub bootloader.

I am so taken with Ubuntu 7.10, I have ditched windows altogether and I am now running Ubuntu as my primary operating system.

You can run quite a number of windows applications on Ubuntu using WINE, a piece of software that emulates windows. For details of this visit :

http://www.winehq.org/site/download-deb

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/wine

Using Linux may initially seem daunting in places, but you will get use to it, I did.

You can also run Ubuntu using the Live CD without any kind of installation. However this will be somewhat slower and you would be restricted as to running applications, it would just for browsing the web really.

I work with both Ubuntu and Vista, Vista has been an expensive disappointment for me and sits mainly redundant on my hard drive and I consider Ubuntu to be far superior of the two.

I will break it down in to categories and give each system a rating out of 10.

System resource friendly :

Ubuntu 10/10
Vista 4/10

Graphics (Eye Candy) :

Ubuntu 10/10
Vista 7/10

Ease of use :

Ubuntu 7/10
Vista 9/10

Software compatability :

Ubuntu 4/10 (Open Source alternatives in some cases are available) also WINE as described above can be used.
Vista 8/10

Wireless compatability :

Ubuntu 5/10
Vista 8/10

Networking compatability :

Ubuntu 7/10
Vista 8 /10

Security :

Ubuntu 9/10
Vista 8/10

Gaming :

Ubuntu 3/10
Vista 8/10
This category sourced from various sites.

Office software :

Ubuntu 10/10 (Free)
Vista 2 /10

Price :

Ubuntu 10/10 (Free)
Vista 2/10

Overall performance :

Ubuntu 9/10
Vista 6/10

Value :

Ubuntu 8/10
Vista 2/10

It should be noted that these ratings are based on my experience working extensively with both Ubuntu and Vista.

Of the two for me Ubuntu wins hands down.

If you are really going to use your computer for techinical things, better you can go for linux.You can Interact with the OS and Hardware easily If you know to use it.
Where as windows is for entertainment purpose.You can enjoy videos,games, in Windows…

Wanna know more about linux from basic:

I suppose I can help you with your homework. Let’s start by examining your assumptions:

1. Linux is not the only alternative to Windows. Apple’s (Unix based) Mac OSX is a very viable alternative, as is FreeBSD. There are other OS’s, but few have the capabilities of Windows, Linux, OSX, and FreeBSD.
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2. The only real limitation of Linux compared to Windows is that most PC games are release for Windows but not Linux. DItto OSX. Worse for FreeBSD. Some software (eg Cedega) will allow you to play most PC games on Linux, but not all, and not really easily. It is harder to sync your Windows Mobile smartphone to Linux, but then it’s not 100pct reliable on Windows either. In every other respect Linux is similar or superior in capability to Windows, with a minor bit of retraining.
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3. Windows has a massive install base and widespread vendor support. Linux is not as comprehensively understood and supported. This is why people say Linux is harder than Windows, even though you apply exactly the same learning process to Linux that you did to Windows. Many programs are available for Windows that are simply not operable in Linux due to this vendor support.
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4. Linux is better than Windows, because Linux is by nature more secure: the way Linux handles users and permissions naturally limits the scope of a virus or trojan. Linux is also free. Linux also does not participate in thinly disguised blackmail. Linux does not promote vendor lock. Linux presents a similar user experience across hardware platforms. Linux allows a user to leverage training to multiple roles rather than isolating user skills from admin skills.

I could go on for days.