Windows versus Ubuntu

Windows

Pros

* Best choice for video games
* Great graphics drivers
* Most people are familiar with it

Cons

* Closed Source Software (Proprietary)
* Not easy to remotely maintain systems; RDP sessions are GUI only and log users out.
* The educational system forces it and other associated Microsoft software on people. However, in doing so they don't teach you how to use software but teach you to not 'think;' merely to act as mindless drones creating documents and spreadsheets from templates.
* Costs a hefty fee, with another fee for each new version.
* The system is bound to get slower over time.
* Therefore, it needs constant maintenance.
* Need to use a driver CD or download a driver for just about everything, especially printers.
* Due to the poor memory management in the Windows NT Kernel, programs tend to consume much more RAM compared to Linux.
* Due to how Windows does not share libraries between other programs properly, it uses significantly more disk space/RAM.
* Must install plenty of virus protection
* Because it is prone to getting infected with viruses.
* Not very secure at all, which is why viruses are so common. It is so easy for a program to get elevated to administrator rights that it's no wonder viruses are a problem
* Pukes all over the hard drive every time it writes to the disk so you must defrag often.
* Desktop environment is not very customizable. Not to mention, it isn't very functional.
* The system does not update software over time.
* Does not run well, or at all, on older machines.
* If you do not upgrade to the latest version of Windows, you will suffer a great number of security risks and lack of support. Because newer versions of Windows don't run well on older machines, this may not be an option. But Linux is an acceptable option here.
* Default software is greatly lacking in usefulness and capabilities. Almost everything requires that you manually install third party programs from the Internet to replace it, via the use of downloaded exe files.
* There is no central management of packages at all like the package managers in Linux.
* Therefore, managing installed software and keeping it up to date is a major PITA.
* Command line is not very intuitive or easy to use; it is treated like an archaic tool of the past rather than a tool to the future; not much can be accomplished with it.
* Easily broken, not easily fixed.
* Lacks support for many file systems, NTFS is not secure.

Ubuntu/Linux

Pros

* It's Open Source Software.
* Linux is everywhere. In your smartphones/tablets (Android), the Mars rover, the top supercomputers, almost every server in the world, embedded devices, and in your desktop (if you select to install it).
* It's easier to use than Windows. If you can use a mouse to click on buttons and type on a keyboard, you can use Ubuntu/Linux too. (may have to break a few Windows habits)
* The rate of software development exponentially increases over time due to the open source nature of Linux; at this point in time it has already excelled far past the capabilities of existing proprietary solutions.
* Easy to remotely maintain an infinite number of machines connected to your network via SSH or Cluster SSH. Focus of the desktop is not removed from the user, and users won't even know you are running commands on their machine.
* All of the best software is preinstalled. Office suite? Already here.
* Never have to pay for a new version, every six months you are given the option to upgrade to the latest release.
* No viruses, no need for antivirus.
* Never slows down; is always fast, even on old hardware.
* Programs run faster than on Windows; open source software has more efficient code; Linux is a more efficient kernel over Windows; GNU Compiler Collection optimizes code far better than Windows compilers.
* AMD processors are significantly faster in Linux than Windows. Sometimes up to three times faster.
* Runs perfectly with all your favorite applications installed while using less than 5GiB of disk space.
* No need for system maintenance; Linux does everything right the first time so there is no need to clean up after a mess.
* No need to defrag because it writes to the disk properly the first time.
* Security and Privacy (No NSA backdoors... looking at you Microsoft).
* All software auto-updates daily.
* No need install drivers for your blasted printer hardware or peripherals; everything works out of the box.
* Can run Windows programs in Wine; supposing the existing open source alternatives is not already better, which it is.
* All software is installed via the software center. It is as easy as an 'app store' on your smartphone, except everything is free.
* Advanced users can install software faster and simpler with a terminal.
* Install and configure any desktop environment you want, from the default Unity interface, to KDE, Xfce, Gnome-Shell, and more.
* Power: If you choose to learn how to operate the terminal, you can perform many amazing tasks not possible on Windows.
* Hard to break, easy to fix
* Supports every file system type, even NTFS.

Cons

* With great power comes great responsibility, please don't 'sudo rm -rf /' if you decide you want to play with the terminal.