The GNU/Linux Operating System is free and open-source and its source code is available to everyone. There is no central authority telling you what you can do and what you can’t do, so it is more secure than Windows. Since Linux is available to everyone, more people are building and contributing to the software. Another advantage is quick updating. If someone will find a bug and fix it, you will get a patch very soon.
Unlike GNU/Linux, Windows is built on a very complicated framework and there is little people can do to fix the bugs if they are found.
While there are many differences between Windows and Linux, these are just the most popular. If you are curious you can browse the differences here.
Freedom
The GNU/Linux operating system is distributed and available to anyone under free software licenses. This license does not limit you to using GNU/Linux or any particular version or version history. Anyone can make their own version of GNU/Linux based on any distribution’s packages and release it under any license they wish. Linux is thus entirely free, and also completely free for the user, giving everyone the freedom to use and modify it as they please.
This makes Linux very flexible, you can customize it very easily. It’s possible to use Linux on most if not all platforms. You can use GNU/Linux as a server operating system, for web servers, game servers, etc. You can install Linux onto a hard disk or solid-state devices. It can be used as the base operating system for your computer. GNU/Linux is extremely stable, with many of the distributions achieving a 90% uptime with no service interruptions. This makes it very reliable in high-availability networks.
Linux is also open source, which means anyone can take a look at the source code and make changes to it. This helps to reduce the cost of maintaining and developing GNU/Linux systems. Anyone can help GNU/Linux improve, even without ever contributing to any particular package.
Licensing
GNU/Linux is distributed under the GNU General Public License, which is an attempt to provide the benefits of the GNU Free System to as many users as possible. This license is also free to use, meaning anyone can use it under the same conditions as GNU/Linux. The GPL is very strong and protects GNU/Linux developers from anyone re-using the code without complying with its terms.
Another benefit of the GNU/Linux development model is that anyone can download, modify, and use the code as they wish, without fear of legal action. There is no one “official” version of GNU/Linux. No central company or organization controls it. This also means that anyone can add or modify anything they like, for free, and so the development community can quickly adapt to new uses or features.
So even though it is called GNU/Linux, you really are using the work of many different people. This is also the reason for its success and for why you should think about joining the community. The free software community is still very small, but it grows fast. The developers are enthusiastic and highly motivated. The most common reason for people to write free software is a love of helping others and a desire to see their ideas implemented.
Popularity
GNU/Linux is the most used free operating system in the world. Many home computers, workstations, servers, mobile phones, and personal digital assistants are running GNU/Linux.
GNU/Linux is also at the heart of many Internet services such as web servers, e-mail servers, FTP servers, network routers, and VPN servers. It also runs many Internet applications, like web browsers, mail readers, chat programs, graphics programs, text editors, and many more.
It runs most of the world’s websites, including Wikipedia. You can also use it to create web servers and other network applications. While it is very powerful, GNU/Linux, like most free software, is designed for advanced users. That means it takes a while to figure out how to use it. It is not true for all, for instance, GIMP is somewhat easier than Photoshop.
Conclusion
I hope now you know, why GNU/Linux is better than Windows. To sum up, here’s the list:
- Freedom
- Security
- Popularity
- Stability