One of the things I hear often from someone wanting to try linux and leave windows is that they are afraid that they will no longer be able perform some of the things they used to do. That is so wrong. Be it from the perspective of a developer or a casual user linux offers a wide range of apps to suit your needs. Here is a table of things I used to do in windows that I can still do in linux

Application	Windows	Suse Linux – KDE desktop
Chat	Gtalk, Skype	Kopete / pidgin for gtalk Skype is supported
Development	Eclipse / myeclipse / Netbeans	All of them have linux flavours
Screenshot	Gadwin printscreen	Ksnapshot
Browsing	Chrome / Firefox / Opera	They are all supported. Chrome support is getting better
SQL Client	Squirrel SQL	Supported. Java runs anywhere
Application server	Tomcat / Glassfish	Supported
Web server	Apache	Supported
Video player	DivX , VLC	VLC is supported
Package management	None	Yast,yum, apt etc etc
Firewall	Inbuilt / Zone alarm	IP Tables. Much more flexible
Database	Postgres	Supported
Desktop customization	Not bad	Amazing. You can add widgets, multiple panels etc etc
Multiple desktop support	No	Yes
Dual screen / Nvidia drivers	Yes	Yes
Remote desktop	Windows / VNC	Supported
Windows applications	Yes (Duh)	Simulate with WINE
Office	Windows office	Open office. Not great but ok. You can use an online office suite if needed.

Application	Windows	Linux
Chat	Gtalk, Skype	Kopete / pidgin for gtalk Skype is supported
Development	Eclipse / myeclipse / Netbeans	All of them have linux flavours
Screenshot	Gadwin printscreen	Ksnapshot
Browsing	Chrome / Firefox / Opera	They are all supported. Chrome support is getting better
SQL Client	Squirrel SQL	Supported. Java runs anywhere
Application server	Tomcat / Glassfish	Supported
Web server	Apache	Supported
Video player	DivX , VLC	VLC is supported
Package management	None	Yast,yum, apt etc etc
Firewall	Inbuilt / Zone alarm	IP Tables. Much more flexible
Database	Postgres	Supported
Desktop customization	Not bad	Amazing. You can add widgets, multiple panels etc etc

The list above is just a sample of the applications I use. I am sure there are more use cases.