So, before you start using Linux(or any kernel/OS/whatever), you should do some research on it.
Here's a tl;dr tho:
Linux is a kernel, not an entire OS like Windows. A kernel does all the hardware-y low-level stuff(getting input from devices, interacting with hardware, etc.) while the OS does all the higher-level stuff(the GUI, running programs, etc). That means that if you're looking for an OS, you're not searching for the Linux kernel, but a Linux distro(distribution). Linux distros are like different OSes that use the Linux kernel at their core. There are several different distros targeted at different people, but I'll outline the most common ones:
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Ubuntu - This is the most popular one with the most support and one of the most user-friendly ones. I'd recommend you start with this one...
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Debian - Another user-friendly Linux distro, although this one is a tad more simplistic.
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Fedora - A bleeding-edge distro, that uses all the latest stuff.
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Arch Linux - One of the most hardcore distros, since you pretty much start up with a command line once you install it. I do not recommend you use this one, unless you know all the ins and outs of the Bash Command line. (Don't mind the last 3 words if you've never heard them.)
Next up, the benefits of using Linux over Windows:
- 99% of Linux software is open-source, which means that you can go on the respective project's GitHub/SVN/
source control page and you can see how everything works. If you don't like something you can write a patch and ask the moderators to add it to the main project. It's an extremely interesting way to work on stuff together and I highly encourage any Linux user to get used to
Git.
- Linux distros are free and there is absolutely
no spying like in Windows for all the privacy freaks.
- Linux distros are fully customizable. That means that if you don't like something about your desktop(say, you want icons on your taskbar to pop up when you hover on them), you can either switch to another desktop client(say,
KDE,
Unity,
GNOME) or edit your current client.
- The Linux kernel doesn't require a restart after 99% of all updates(unlike Windows), which is cool.
- Most Linux distros use a
partitioning system that doesn't require defragmentation, resulting in faster load times and less wear on hard drives...
and a lot of other small things.
But there is one very glaring drawback of Linux and that is Windows software. The only way to run Windows software through Linux is through
Wine(okay, VMs also work, but that's slower). Wine is an emulator of the Windows OS and as such, it is not perfect. For example, if you use
Photoshop CS6 for drawing in Windows, you may have a problem with the Pen tool in Linux. Keep in mind that may games on Steam don't have Linux versions(although it is getting better) and running them through Wine will decrease your FPS drastically.
So, you will have to check if your programs have Linux versions, run fine on Wine or have decent enough alternatives(e.g. instead of Photoshop,
GIMP).
If you find that you can't live without the programs that don't run properly, then, sadly, staying on Windows is your only option.
I personally tried to get in on the whole Linux fad, but I always came back to Windows, since I needed several Adobe programs, Visual Studio and some other stuff that doesn't work well with Linux. I still keep a Fedora install on my hard drive, but I almost don't use it...
That being said, it's relatively easy to dual-boot a Linux distro, even when you have Windows 10.
In the end, I think that you should
just dual-boot an Ubuntu installation, try and live with it for a couple of days and if you notice that you constantly go back to Windows, then Linux is not the kernel for you...
Holy crap, that's a long post! Hope I didn't scare you off with this wall of text.