And the control goes even further:
You decide which software you install (EDIT: including even system software while in Windows you are normally stuck to the official desktop-software and stuff like that).
With a basic distro (Arch, K1ss etc.) you control even the system conf/setup.
You control even which init/daemon system you use. You don’t like systemd? Then there are distros for that, too.
And you can tweak your kernel.
I switched to Linux 6 years ago when I first heard that Windows 7’s support will be ended. So I figured I’d better start using Linux, so that I’ve gotten used to it when Windows 7 dies. In time I found out that Linux does many things better and faster and so my love for Linux kept growing. Nowadays I do have a dual boot with Windows 7 but I keep the Win for only 1 thing: to reprogram the G-keys on my keyboard whenever I need (the software for that works only in Windows) which happens once in 6 months or so.
Funny thing is that when I first switched to Linux (Mint), there was a weird problem that caused the distro to think my 1 TB HDD was a “Picture CD” and what’s even funnier is that none of the linux gurus I asked could ever solve the problem. Eventually I solved it myself and started using Linux normally without restrictions.
This is so true, I use Arch Linux, and since I built my system from the ground up (minus the kernel part). I know what’s in my system, if something breaks, I know where to look and how to debug it.
I’ve never been tempted to go back to Windows once I realized how much it meant to me that I finally have control over what my system does.
Long gone are the days where the only fix you (or Microsoft “MVPs”) can come up with is rebooting your machine.