What is better? Linux or Windows 7

please DEFINE "better"

Results depends upon
  1. your needs
  2. the responders experience

the question is so vague that there's so little orientation to know/guess 'which way is up'.
 
Just for performance and tools,
OK, that's a start.

Linux is ~ 1/3 the overhead of Windows and will perform extremely well (apples/apples on the same hardware).

Tools? As a software developer that grew up without a GUI IDE, the tools on Linux are just great for me, but for those accustom to MSE -- likely to be very frustrating.
 
LONG TIME :) I use Redhat (two versions) for Web site development as a triple booted mini-tower system.
 
How old are you? I know this sounds like maybe a dbag question, and well maybe it is, but I don't intend it to be.

If you are pretty young, say under 20, you can probably make a "switch" to linux fairly easily. So if you are that young, I'd suggest you use whatever flavor of linux you want, exclusively, for a month. Then decide.

If you are older than 20, well, use a VM to play with linux, try to learn as much as you can, but I expect you'll end up staying with what you've 'grown up with' which is probably Windows.
 
Haha - I've got some new terminology to use around here... dbag questions. Thanks SN! Those will go perfectly with all my dbag answers.
 
SNGX1275's answer fits perfectly also as to ones motivation for change:

* Change for change sake is in the long run just chewing up time.

* Change for evaluation of 'do I like it; does it feel faster' may be interesting but ultimately frustrating'.
In such cases, I would recommend a LIVE CD system like Knoppix which boots Linux
directly from a CD and leaves your HD unmodified - - you can play without risking your Windows install.

* Those that contemplate 'I need Linux because it will allow me to _ _ _ _' will begin the journey and just
make it work for them because of the higher motivation.
 
Jobeard's post is one of the most sensible I have ever read concerning how to think about the Linux/Windows dichotomy, and SNGX1275 also gives excellent guidance.
 
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