[roger_smith]

Tarew,

i didn't cover the "benefits" of Linux over another OS such as Microsoft Windows. That can tend to be a bit of a philosophical debate and was beyond the scope of my guide. The intention my guide is to aid the new user who has decided to learn linux for whatever reason.

Now that being said, Linux has a number of benefits over Windows for me and my usage. The main thing to keep in mind is that Linux may not be the right choice for you if gaming is something of major importance. Yes, Linux has come a long way on the gaming front, and it's gaining more and more traction every day. However, many gamers still feel that Microsoft Windows is superior for gaming, and they may well be right. I am not a gamer, so I will leave that judgement to those who do regular gaming. Some of the benefits I like of Linux over Windows include:

Little active/wild malware
Open Source
ease of installing software
wide range of filesystem support, more fault tolerance for failing hardware such as hard drives
huge support community
less need to restart over MS Windows (typically only needed for kernel update)

These are just off the top of my head, and just my own personal preference. I don't want this thread to turn into a "Linux is better than Windows! RAWR RAWR RAWR" or "Windows is better than Linux, RAWR RAWR RAWR!" debate, because in the end the OS you use, just like everything else, comes down to personal preference and personal needs.

I hope this helps answer your question, if you'd like to try playing with Linux without the need to remove you Windows OS, this guide is perfect for you since the entire intention was to make sure people could try Linux without completely upsetting their current system.