Linux is the third most popular operating system on the desktop (PCs, laptops) but the most popular on servers, phones (android is a Linux system) and the "internet of things". And it rules the supercomputers! It is now a mature system, having been developed over 30 years ago with constant improvement over that time. It had a reputation in the early years of being hard to set up and use but that is now very much something of the past. It is now a system that all ages can install and use. Two things that set it apart from Windows and MacOS are that it is free and it is customisable to the way you want it. It also uses less hardware resources so tends to run well on older hardware. It's even better on new hardware though!
Henry Ford, the maker of the first mass-produced car, famously said that his cars could be "any colour the customer wants, as long as it's black"! And this is how Windows and MacOS approach things - for any given version of the system (e.g. Windows 11), there is one set-up. You can tweak it, but it is what it is.
Linux doesn't place that restriction on developers (or you) so there are many "flavours" of Linux, called distributions. The engine, the Linux kernel, is the same across all distributions, but there are many variations from there, not just in how they look but how they work too. Have a look at the Linux family tree to get a sense of the variety, catering for everything from cloud providers to large companies to small businesses to individual users to tiny devices.
With as many distributions as there are, how do you choose? Most of the people at Howick Linux User group use Ubuntu, or one of its more user-friendly off-shoots, Linux Mint. These are both good systems for people new to Linux. However, just like sports teams or car models, everyone has their favourite and is happy to talk at length on why "their" one is the best! Come along to one of our meetings and stir the pot by asking this question! As a bonus, we'll even help you install it.
Your imagination is the limit, and almost all it is free. Unlike its competitors, Linux software is mostly open-source, meaning the underlying code is freely available and the software is free to use. There are licences but these are generally to prevent people claiming ownership and charging for the software.
Just like how Windows applications and MacOS applications are often different, so too, many of the applications on Linux will have different names and look a bit different. But there is almost always something that will do what you want in Linux, from browsing, to email to gaming to photography to programming and more. And many of these applications are industry leaders in their own right.