What is better windows or unix hosting?

It all depends on what you need. Both have different features.

Well I have no experience with Windows platform, but I've heard that Unix is more stable.

Windows 2003 Server and *nix are equal in stability but like mentioned before both have their benefits. The new IIS in Windows 2003 is sweet. I use both linux and windows and I like them both. For new customers to web hosting I find out their needs if it's basic I recommend linux to get them off their feet (since cpanel makes it very easy for them) If they have other requirements like Windows Media Servers ASP (or ASP.NET) I recommend Windows. also different databases etc...

Like stated previously it all depends on what the user needs/wants.

This a good thread...
Both has got their own advanages and disadvantages..

But one thing is sure,hosting in windows platform may be costly!!!!

The other important thing to take into consideration is that ...whats your site using...do it user MS Sql or MS Access then,then you have to depend on Windows..

Or if your site choosed MYSql ,PHP ..etc then u can beautfully select LINUX platforms

I use linux and why I am saying linux is good because of the load balancing feature.

Linux is very cheap compared to Windows. Microsoft allows a single copy of Windows to be used on only one computer. You can buy a Linux book and get the operating system included with the book for free. You can also download Linux for free from each of the Linux vendors (assuming your Internet connection is fast enough for a 600 MB file and you have a CD burner) or from www.linuxiso.org.Both these options however, come without technical support.
After the initial cost (or lack thereof) of obtaining software, there is the ongoing cost of its care and feeding.
I don't know if there will ever be an objective measure of the ongoing care and feeding costs for Linux vs. Windows. If there were however, it would have to consider:

Dealing with bugs in the operating system
Dealing with bugs in application software
Dealing with viruses, worms, Spyware, etc. (big advantage to Linux here)
Dealing with software upgrades to new versions (both the OS and applications)

My preference is for Linux. While it's true the newer versions of Windows have become increasingly stable, you can't compare to the open source community of Linux. Any issues, any quirks and you know that you'll find someone online that has had the same issue and has a remedy already worked out.

I have experience with Windows in a production environment and must say that Windows was responsible for many headaches...and perhaps a few ulcers. Waiting on patches, then only to have the issue NOT be fixed.

IIS is a great webserver yes, very fast and not a resource hog...even on Windows...BUT to use it means you need to be running Windows...an option I can't stomach

I feel more secure running Linux/Apache for a large production web server.

No offense to you Windows folks...just my opinion.

I have no problem with my linux server and I am using centos [Redhat Enterprise Clone]. All is good with linux if you have good admins with you.

This all depends on the type of customers you are targeting. Your "average" customer will probably be fine on a linux setup but if you get requests for MSSQL and ASP it's best to have the windows platform to offer.

exactly. Thats why I orignally said it depends on the needs. If your customer needs certain features show them Windows 2003 if they just need a basic website witht he ability to setup a normal e-commerce site or forum or something along those lines show them Linux. I have multiple servers Some are Windows 2003 Server others are Redhat Enterprise. and I have customers on both because they need the features of which ever OS they are on. Qualify your customers and you will find the BEST for that customer.

If you think that only average customers are with Linux that is not true and take the example of IBM, they completely migrated to Linux. It is also proved in the server market Linux is the leader.

That is not what I meant. I was simply stating the way we run our operation. If a customer does not need ASP, MSSQL, etc. we set them up on our linux machines which are cheaper and easier to maintain for us.

I'd say UNIX because it's what I know. I know how to control and manipulate it to be just as secure as i need it to be

Unix. From what I read, it's a lot more stable than Windows. If I was running a hosting company, I'd want most of my servers to run on Unix.