I don't currently know Linux at all, so I don't use it. When I read "You can run it completely from a USB stick for testing or permanently." I decided that I need to learn it.
Currently I run about 120 Windows 10 computers (cad/gis quality) in academic labs, and half a dozen Macintoshes (various operating systems ranging from System6 to OS X El Capitan.) My own computers - the ones I use most often with my Arduino stuff - are Macs running osx 10.11.6. In my office, I have last year's Lenovo mini with Win 10.