I will give you a good reason..

Curiosity....

Nothing else.

The reason I tried Linux?
I was in search of a better ping on Quake Team Fortress.
I figured that since the servers were Linux, I might get some benefit from being on a Linux client.
Of course that was all nonsense, my ping was no better. Although general 'performance' seemed to be improved.

Anyway, I too like to tinker, and my mission to get quake running on redhat Linux 5.1 ( note that is not Redhat Enterprise ! ) turned out to be the best fun I had had in sometime. Stopped playing quake and started playing 'compile stuff' a game with no end.

In today's distros Slackware is probably the closest to what I experienced way back then ( 1997-98 )
so if you are bored, go on a mission like Minecraft on Slackware.
You can always go back to Windows if your curiosity runs out.

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Check this persons Blog(\top entry:) corp769:http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ml#post5039203 be sure to click on Continue reading...

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you mite want to take a look at fedora electronics lab spin (theres also one for robotics).

Making Linux work the windows way and windows the linux way, is gr8 adventure in itself. Just beauty of the linux is its kernal which is very light and yet powerful. But windows has the edge because it has mass appeal. And its just because of huge marketing since the birth of Microsoft.

Just imagine today no gaming firm makes games for linux OS, which infact its possible, as its all about code. One gr8 example is WINE program, you install in ubuntu and play windows games (not all btb). Its all about company to company tie ups. Like Microsoft acquired Nokia mobile. I am just saying that today Linux could have been in the Windows spot, but only the creators( Stallman, Linux torvalds & A.S Tanenbaum) didn't chose that way. And the birth of open source took place.

So the bottom line is you can do R & D with ubuntu or Mint, which have strong presence in linux community.

jamison20000e: Thanks for using my post as a reference to the topic being discussed, appreciated!

I really don't have any comments about this, as quite a few people are already discussing this first hand. But one benefit? Well, what it really comes down to is that with linux, you don't have to pay for any sort of license/is completely open source. Doesn't that say enough?

I have seen that page in replies before but never read much of it until your Blog so Thank You.

That sounds like you are issueing a challenge. I believe sticking with Windows would be the most appropriate course of action for you.
Nor do I hope my response is taken as any form of slander. But I honestly think, in your case, based on your description of yourself, you will not be happy with anything BUT Windows.

If Maths & Physics are important to you, try Scientific Linux, a derivative by Fermilab+CERN of RHEL.

Or, even, any software for anything(.) And, I Know "apart from cost" but I forget did anyone mention free?!. This was one of my favorites Firerat. Are we all not here for it?

http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/20173...use_linux.html
http://lifehacker.com/5772574/gettin...-install-linux

As a largely computer-illiterate Linux noob myself, the fact that Linux is "free" (as in free beer) wasn't really even an issue. I switched from Windurs 3 years ago because of the constant frustration with Windurs OS's- i.e. their poor performance; planned obsolescence; inability(or unwillingness?) to make a secure system, after 20 years of providing consumer OS's...and just the general frustration of their quirky, Rube Goldberg-esque products.....

Switching to Linux was like entering a sea of tranquility. Virtually no maintenance; no worry about viruses; everything just works; you have the freedom to do with your OS as you please/as your skill will allow; it just plain works; it's robust; and many distros these days are actually easier to use, and more intuitive than anything Microsh&t has ever made!

My computer is now Microsoft-free! It's nice to have an OS whose primary objective is functionality, as opposed to protercting it's precious code at every step, to the detriment of the user (especially when the user is paying good money to use that proprietary OS!). Linux gives you for free what you can't get from Microsh&t or [Cr]Apple for ANY price!

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Who would want the blue pill anyway?

Would be for the Linux crowd assistance.
If anything major goes wrong you can always ask for assistance, someone will work with you to sort it out or write some code for you to get you up and running.

...and the help you get on these forums, is ten times better/more competent than anything you'll ever get from the paid cretins whom Microsh^t hires! It truly is a wonderful thing- so many people willing to help others for free!

Well, I think you touched on an excellent reason already. If you want to customize Windows and make it *your* operating system, Windows will fight you every step of the way. If you want to customize GNU/Linux and make it *your* operating system, you have very little standing in your way.

Linux is free software, but not just "free as in free beer". It's "free as in free speech". That latter definition of "free" is the one that's universally applicable, because that's what the Linux experience is all about: freedom. Freedom to do whatever the heck you want to do with your system. Want to switch to a realtime-preempting kernel? Just compile a new one. Want to completely change your user interface experience, or even not use a GUI at all? Piece of cake.

In Windows? Unless you use Windows CE, have access to the Windows NT source code, or are willing to play with ReactOS (which is another OS worth trying out, by the way), you're not going to be able to tweak the kernel to your heart's content. You might be able to install alternate GUIs for Windows, but doing so tends to be equivalent to pulling teeth from a rabid rhinoceros.

There are numerous other reasons besides monetary cost, but you only asked for one; I'd be happy to provide additional reasons if you still aren't satisfied