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Why Linux?
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Open standards
Most of the software that runs on Linux is open source and based on well documented open standards. This means that it follows well published and agreed-upon standards. These standards are open for any developer to build software for. For instance, if you use the SXW format (comes with OpenOffice.org suite) to store your documents, software can be legally made for opening these documents by anyone who wants to. So you don't get locked into using a proprierary standard such as the Microsoft Word document format for which only Microsoft can legally make software. Besides, there is no way of knowing whether a proprietary format will really do what it claims. For instance, you never know if future versions of Microsoft Office will support your important documents written in older versions of the Word format. The worst part is that if Microsoft decides, you cannot get a third-party software developer to unlock your old data. This is because, firstly, the developer has no way of knowing how to unlock your data - file formats are not published (not open) and secondly, because such parties have unreasonable EULAs (End-user License Aggrements, which we never bother to read) and huge teams of highly paid lawyers to enforce these EULAs.
We hear of bugs, worms and virus attacks on Windows (no matter how many "updates" and "service packs" they release). Why doesn't this happen with the same regularity to Linux? The major reason is that Linux and GNU software is based on open standards which are well accepted. The software is studied, tested and improved by millions of scientists, programmers, industry developers and users throughout the world. So most bugs (software glitches) get tracked and fixed in record time. The rest are known and work continues not only to patch up holes but also to improve the standards. It is happening even as you read this document written using an open standard (HTML) and brought to your computer on an open application (the World Wide Web) running on an open network system (Internet) - again, built using open hardware and software (nearly all of core Internet runs on Unix and Linux)!
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Proprietary standard?
There is no such thing as a proprietary standard. Period.
Why? Ask yourself these questions and you will know why.
 Isn't it absurd to call something a "standard" and not tell everyone why it should be accepted as one?
Can you call something "standard" when there's no way to know how it works?
Can a bunch of people decide whats right, hide why it is right and call it a "standard"?
Can a standard be formed without open scrutiny?
If its so standard, why hide it?
What kind of "standard" ties end users to a single corporation?
If you think that corporations which do not manufacture software based on open standards will never reasonably answer these questions, you've understood the meaning of all this! Believe me, these are just a few reasons to cross over. There are many more.
If you want to cross over to Linux, I have a few Linux resources listed here which can be of tremendous help.
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