Linux servers are the main server type used for hosting. Linux provides a less expensive, feature rich and in most cases better solution to Windows servers. Do not think I use a windows computer at home I should purchase a Windows account, Windows servers tend to be harder for people to understand.  

The server type has nothing to do with the operating system you use at home either. Mac or Windows will work with both Linux and Windows servers. If you are still in doubt as to what type of account you should choose Linux will most likely be your answer.

They have different hosting control panels, Unix server has cPanel installed, while Windows server has Plesk. ASP, ASP.NET and Access Database support only available on Windows server, but subdomain, addon domain, domain parking and shared SSL only available on Unix server.

If an application within your site will be using an MSSQL database or designed in ASP, a windows hosting environment may be your only solution. On the other hand, if you have an application that utilizes a MySQL database or is designed in PHP or Perl, Linux may be the best operating system for you.