And if you're talking about what its like to use then that can vary with different distributions. Some are even made to be like windows for users switching over.
XP is made and designed by a giant corporation whose main intent is to make money Linux is made,operated and maintained by volunteers and best of all is free. sadly atm Linuxs does not have as many capable programs as XP does
linux is open source, generally uses less resources than XP, so it's better if you have a really old machine. XP is much more common and has "better" support, but you have to pay for the OS
It all depends on the Linux distro (distribution). Ubuntu for example is designed to be a gateway to Linux. I use it at a computer lab I run and people have no problems with it. Linux is also great for older systems. One distro called DSL used less than 50mb and runs great, takes a bit to get used to, but is good for older computers that you want to use for things like browsing.
Its a good operating system if you have the time to learn it and get used to it and it's equivalent programmes.
It's great for netbooks (which is what I assume you want it for as you were asking about them before) as it doesn't use as much system resources as windows.
I used to use Ubuntu as my main o/s but use vista now as it involves less configuring and I can use itunes etc on it.
I use linux now for my netbook and I run Ubuntu on my server (file and domain conrtoller).
Another reason I don't use Linux as my main OS is I have never had a customer YET who owns a Linux system and am AMAZED that nearly ALL of them had never had any idea that there are alternatives to M$!!!
I guess it's mainly down to advertising and soft/hardware compatability.
Just IMAGINE how MUCH CASH schools/colleges/Universities would save if they used LINUX instead of Windows
I guess they get a good discount but still...... that license money could have been put back into education for our kids futures instead of lining M$'s pockets again. ( RANT OVER )
There are viruses, theyare just much less common as windows has 97% of the OS market, so hackers/virus programmers write viruses for windows because it will affect much much more people. There are definitely viruses and vulnerabilities for linux and even for Apple OS's. But once again because Apple OS's make up less than 3% of the market, most hackers dont bother with them.