What’s the practical difference between Linux and Windows hosting?

They offer a somewhat different set of services. The whole question is not too easy to answer – your choice really depends on you. For those starting from scratch Linux would probably be a better (and cheaper)choice, since the very OS is free, requires less hardware and in most cases runs faster, while those clients transferring their sites made with the use of Visual Basic, ASP and other Microsoft-related technologies would prefer using Windows hosting. Most commonly, hosting providers prefer to offer both Windows and Linux hosting to give their customers the widest range of services.