See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_systems

The current Linux file systems are EXT3 and EXT4 with the latter being
newer. There is also Reiser which I used to use, but since Hans Reiser is in
prison for murdering his wife it is at a dead end. ;) The upcoming FS for
Linux is Btrfs which is often pronounced Butter FS.

Generally speaking the advantage of Linux file systems over Windows file
systems is that they do not need defragmenting. This has to do with the way
Windows and Linux file systems add data. Linux starts at the middle and
leaves space for a file to grow and moves data around in the background
whereas Windows puts files at the beginning or in the smallest available
spot and leaves no space to grow. When a file is expanded then it adds the
added bits in another available spot, creating fragmentation, which slows
down the computer. Linux also can have longer file names with more
characters than FAT's 8 and 3. It does not need to truncate file names in
the same way that Windows sometimes does. You can have as many periods as
you want in a file name without it confusing the file system. Extensions in
Linux exist but do not take on the same significance. The file name does not
tell what type of file it is so much as the contents of the file and its
location. Any suffix that you choose to add is more often than not for your
convenience.

I don't want to suggest that NTFS is useless. It has been upgraded several
times and have stood the test of time, but sometimes you need to start over
and innovate rather than just improving something that was never that great
to begin with. Microsoft could make a better file system, but why should
they if users accept the old standbys? Not only is there an abundance of
choice in Linux, but they are willing to start from scratch and come up with
something that is better. As new file systems replace the old they exist
side by side for a long period of time and users can decide when and if to
transition to a newer file system. Any new file system can read the older
ones, but this of course does not necessarily work in reverse.

Btrfs is exciting. It is copy on write which allows for snapshots and roll
backs to a previous state. It is extremely fast and handles larger blocks of
data. It is still in development but is ready for daily use and is available
in the next Ubuntu and Fedora 13. I have never used it, but I have followed
its progress for a couple of years now. It and ZFS were touted as the
successors to EXT4 which was only a short term fill in until these were
developed further.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Btrfs