What are advantages of Linux ?

This is way too open-ended a question.  I'll be happy to give you my input if you can be more explicit about the information you're looking for.  For example, are you looking for advantages of Linux as a server?  As a PVR?  As a workstation?  In general, the advantage is that it's free to put on as many computers as you want.  I'm not willing to go any further without some assurances I'm not answering your homework (something more than "this is not homework")

Do a google search for Linux vs Windows:
http://www.linux-tutorial.info/Linux-NT_Debate/
http://www.devx.com/opensource/Article/16969
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,104693,00.asp
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/188
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/
http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/Linux.vs.Windows.html
.....

You will get a lot of clear explanation for this topic.

Wesly

Advantages of Linux over _what_ in  _what_ setting, for _what_ applications/uses?

FREE

If you compare linux to windows, you'll find that linux has way more advantages than windows in every aspect.

--trigger-happy

Linux is free, but FreeBSD is also free, therefore being free is not an
advantage that Linux has over FreeBSD.

By the way, Windows has advantages over Linux in certain areas: its popularity
means better availability of  manufacturer-provided drivers for a larger number
of hardware components

Ease of use for the end user.   (Windows users needn't use or learn
a command line, they're not going to need to open up vi and edit
/etc/modules.conf   by hand to get their sound card working.. Linux users
just might)

Vast amounts of commercial software, shareware and Games you would recognize
are written for Windows, very few, is available for Linux by comparison.

i.e. If you need to use Photoshop, then Linux would not be a good choice, because
on Linux the closest you will find is Gimp (a drop in the bucket, by comparison).

Of course Linux has advantages too for most uses, and for many tasks it's a better
more robust choice than Windows.  The number of advantages you can
count doesn't  matter nearly as much as the significance and the prevalence of
the major advantages that are relevant to the computer's particular role / tasks which
need to be done.

The Linux penguin may look cooler than other OS's Logo, but its an example
of an advantage that doesn't really matter

Thanks so much

If you are satisfied with the answers, please close the topic, or you will receive comments to the end of the eternity.

My addition: for developer (or company that does something original and/or mission critical inhouse), Linux provides a simpler API then Windows (compare Qt to MFC, for example), allows to learn quickly through looking into other people's source code, and provides source code for everything so that REALLY hard problems can be solved much faster then with Windows.

The problem is that 99% of the time it is enough to find some 3-d party component for VB (Delphi, etc.) and use it without much thinking. Thus, this advantage is either irrelevant or critical, depending on what you do with computers.

it's the penguin

Too few points to split, sp PAQ - no refund works for me.

Although, when a premium services member abandones a question like this, since points don't really matter to them, I'm in favor of upping the point value so everyone can get 20.  But I think that's something of a policy issue that maybe should be put into the suggestions area.