While only a tiny fraction of the PCs & laptops for personal use are running Linux, the numbers are growing noticeably for the first time ever. That's prompted web sites in pursuit of clicks to first feature lots of pro Linux content, and now it seems, the new fad is publishing pro Windows counterpoints. In both cases the folks writing this stuff are [too] often minimally capable, so please take their claims with more than a few grains of salt. Bottom line, there are advantages and disadvantages to using either OS. Linux respects your privacy, is more efficient, *possibly* giving you a performance boost, and is not tied to the US or Microsoft. If you've got old hardware that can't run Win11, even using workarounds, e.g., Rufus, Linux is likely an option. And if you absolutely hate Win11, Linux is a way out. OTOH if you're OK running Windows, and none of that stuff applies, and/or software you need won't run in Linux, stay where you're at. The grass really isn't always greener on the other side.
Both Windows and Linux are capable operating systems for laptops and PCs. They both do the same job, providing the necessary resources to run software, which after all is their sole purpose. And both are roughly comparable when it comes to firing up and using installed apps -- you click an icon for the app and it starts. Linux is more efficient, so you might notice better performance, depending on how powerful your PC or laptop hardware is -- lower end hardware often sees a boost, but higher end gear not so much. However, there's a twist when it comes to gaming, where low and high end hardware may or may not see a boost, depending on the game's compatibility, since most games are designed for Windows, and the software allowing them to run on Linux is not perfect.
And that's where Linux suffers the most... the majority of software, including games, has been written for Windows. There is an enormous amount of software that's been written for Linux, most of it free & open source, but particularly when it comes to best-in-class software, there isn't a Linux alternative. There is a Linux compatibility layer called Wine that can be installed, and there's a similar package for games from Steam. Sometimes they're enough, sometimes not. Both Windows and Linux can run virtualization software, e.g., VirtualBox, that emulates a PC, so you can run Windows in Linux, and vice versa, in a Window, though without the full hardware resources your device provides. That may or may not be enough -- it may or may not be worth it.
Both Windows and Linux need and use drivers, software that lets the OS talk to the hardware. Drivers are generally provided by the company that makes whatever component or peripheral, and individual teams of developers have both written very many drivers for Linux, and built needed support into Linux itself. That said, whether the hardware you want to use will work with Windows or Linux is a coin toss. Sometimes [too often] the driver a manufacturer wrote for Windows is garbage, and sometimes [again too often] an older driver will no longer work after a Windows upgrade or update. On the flip side, you may have some less popular hardware that no one bothered to write a Linux driver for, or the manufacturer refused to cooperate, and independent developers couldn't get a driver working. [I've used a Windows To Go drive running Win11 and Linux Mint on a USB drive to check hardware compatibility -- basically boot to the drive and see if everything works, and if not, look to see if a driver &/or fix was available.]
As I wrote earlier, Windows and Linux are comparable, with no big differences using your software. Some countries in the EU are switching from Windows to Linux. China prefers that everyone runs Linux. That's been possible because the switch doesn't require retraining. The app icons and their arrangement in what Windows calls the Start Menu are often a bit different, but from a non-tech user perspective that's about it. There are however major differences under the hood, and that's what most of the stuff written about Linux vs. Windows focusses on.
No one owns Linux the way that Microsoft owns Windows. And while the core of Linux is pretty much standard, always the same, everything else that's built on it is separate, with often several alternatives. Some people love all the choices and the flexibility it brings, and some people just want something that works and gets out of their way, requiring a minimum of effort rather than unlimited choices. That's where choosing the correct distro comes in -- think of distros as more-or-less different flavors. A distro like Ubuntu makes lots of choices for you, keeping things simple. Plenty of other distros overwhelm with choices by comparison. Some distros focus on a particular interest, e.g., Bazzite for gaming. Research and choose wisely, and realize that it's not the end of the world if you start over after making a wrong choice. I recently read 2 articles, one where the author chose a distro without the desired number of choices, and one where the author chose a distro that required more tech expertise to make those choices than he possessed. Both blamed Linux itself, rather than the real problem, which was their own bad choice of a distro to start with. To help with a choice, and check hardware compatibility at the same time, most distros give you the option to download & run a live CD version on a USB stick/drive. Personally I prefer a full installation on an SSD in a USB housing.
You cannot install Linux to a USB drive without potentially compromising Windows finicky [POS] boot loader -- the boot loader is the software that actually starts the OS when you turn the device on. I found that it's trivial to install Linux to a new VM in VirtualBox. Making sure that UEFI & secure boot were turned on before installing Linux, I booted that VM using an ISO for Foxclone, then cloned that Linux disk to an SSD in a USB housing. Done. IMHO it's also a viable [for me, preferred] alternative to dual booting Linux and Windows, which is a somewhat common way to see if Linux is going to work for you. To dual boot Linux & Windows you first have to make sure you have enough free disk space to hold the Linux OS. That normally either means adding a drive or shrinking an existing partition or partitions, which obviously is extra work, and poses some risk if things don't go right. Then you install Linux, which requires it's own boot loader, which in turn can start Windows boot loader if you choose. Did I mention Windows boot loader is a POS? Usually things work out OK, and when you turn the device on you get a choice of Linux or Windows, but *Usually* is Not always, so to be safe have a disk image backup handy that you know you can restore.
That all said, Linux can sometimes be more work. If you use Wine or the Steam emulation for games there's a good chance you'll have to spend some time tweaking settings and/or software versions. While there's usually an app to select and install software, it may require using the command line if what you want is not listed. If/when you need to install a driver or to get some hardware working, likewise you'll often wind up using the command line, which in Linux is called the terminal [same as Win11]. And, just like Win11, there are some things, e.g., some settings that require using the terminal as well.