The argument (at the time) was that Windows C++ tools were better than anything on GNU/Linux of the time. Also, in most non-CS fields (aka "real" engineering fields ahem) Windows, for better or worse, is still heavily entrenched. I have mixed feelings on this, as I am a Unix junky but it requires a lot of arcane knowledge to be effective, which many folk don’t have the wherewithal to acquire.
> The argument (at the time) was that Windows C++ tools were better than anything on GNU/Linux of the time.
That's still true today and it will probably always be true unless Microsoft ports Visual Studio one day. It's not a super great reason to choose it as an operating platform though. :\
