I'm wondering about changing my os to linux. is it worth it, and what are the pros and cons?

It depends on how you look at it. I'll make my case using Linux Mint.

-It has an integrated package manager. This is both a pro and a con. The pro, anything in the repositories can easily be installed and used. If you want to use programs outside of those repositories, it becomes harder. PPAs ease this a little but the versions have to match the release you are using. Adding custom software outside of a PPA is even more difficult. Luckily, a lot of software is provided in the default repositories.

-It has a number of common alternatives to important software. It has office suites (LibreOffice is installed by default), browsers (Firefox is default), media players like VLC installed or available and supporting most formats including encrypted DVDs, graphics programs like GIMP by default and MyPaint/Krita available in the repositories, etc.

-It has some support for Windows applications. WINE is available in the repositories and it works for a number of programs and games. It's kind of spotty though and you should check the WINE AppDB for compatibility beforehand. DOSBox and ScummVM are also available in the repositories.

-It is highly configurable. If you don't like the interface you can change it. Generally, there are three variants released by the Mint team. Linux Mint Cinnamon provides a Windows-like level of customizability and appearance in my opinion. Its also a little beefier than Mate in my experience. Mate is more customizable but it also happens to be very dated. It runs better on older hardware XP era hardware especially since the code for the UI was written then as well. KDE is the most configurable and I doubt you could tell much difference in resource usage compared to Cinnamon.

I could go on and on... If you are expecting security, it is safeish. In the default configuration its probably about as secure as Windows although you don't have the threat of most viruses or malware infecting the system. Sudo provides the equivalent of UAC with passwords. 9 times in 10 you'll only need that for package management or editing system files.

I recommend Linux Mint. Its an easier transition to Linux than many other distros are. GOG has expressed that they plan on supporting Mint. Steam should work as well (due to the Ubuntu base). If you want stability go for the LTS releases. You'll get older software but everything should be quite polished at this point. Be sure to try out the liveCD first. Linux tries to support every piece of hardware but it does it better for some hardware than others.

Nope Linux ain't as good as Windows.

Also you will not see AAA video games like Assassin's Creed, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Dark Souls be released for sale for Linux ever and there are more video games released for Windows exclusively in a year than there are on Linux.

People usually switch between linux and windows if they want to play games like that but use linux.

Depends what are you going to use it for. I've recently installed Puppy Linux on my wife's old laptop. It's dual boot PC - with XP SP3. At the beginning she was very reluctant about it but after a week or two I've noticed she starts Puppy by default. The reason was she uses her laptop mainly for internet browsing and Puppy goes on-line within 15 seconds on XP -it takes twice as much.

The question is, what are you looking for in an OS?

The answer depends on why you're considering changing over. If it's for compatibility with the most software/games, then it's a horrible idea to move over. A lot of time is spent making things work there.

There was this joke: "Linux is only free if your time is worthless." that touched on that point. Shirley you learn more, but you'll probably be asking "Does it work on Linux?" more often than saying "Wow, this is great!" It's very usable and you have your core programs, but you really need a 'why' before you jump in on a computer that's not a spare.

I have to wonder what one person has to do to get a rep score such as yours... Makes me rather cautious to answer so... I'm not going to tell you that any Linux distribution is better than Windows or worse.

My advice is to install one or two side by side, try to use Linux to do work you already do on Windows when you're not pressed by time.

Don't wipe Windows and slap Linux on there. Chances are you're going to have a bad time...

I've made a full and total switch some years ago (monetary issues) and no regrets so far
but it depends on various factors, such as usage, ease of use, etc

Apart from the absence of AAA games, and flash, there's nothing about Windows that's any better. Windows is basically just a bucket for piss compared with a toilet, yes it does technically do the job, but it does it in the most half-assed and generally shitty fashion possible.

Right now AAA games don't get released on Linux, but that's not going to last too long, Valve is targeting Linux so people can stop using that shitty illconcieved of OS once and for all.

Linux is different than Windows, so as others have said, it depends on your need as to whether you should favour one over the other.

You should have a bit of technical savvy before going the Linux route, but the days of needing to compile kernels and configure everything by hand are happily behind us for the most part. Here are a couple online reviews of the major Linux distros that may help you make a selection:

Analysis of the top 10 Linux operating systems

The Top 7 Best Linux Distros for 2014

Naturally these are influenced by opinion to a degree as to what constitutes "top" and "best", but they do hit on many of the major distros you will want to consider. I'm an old SuSE user from the early days, and am looking to set up Linux on at least one of my current systems again.

I like Linux, but I play alot of games, so I use windows mostly. I recommend starting Lubuntu or another derivative of Ubuntu, although once you get the hang of it, its pretty cool to set up a custom Arch Linux install. I had one on my old Compaq Deskpro, it had a E11 desktop and was very fast.

I think it's chaotic neutral...