Windows 7 vs. Linux?

Lately, I have been thinking about which operating system to run after Windows Vista on my PC and laptop.  I have been testing out the Windows 7 Beta 1 on my laptop and I must say that I really like it so far.  There are some bugs to work out still but overall its everything Windows Vista should have been.  However, I have always secretly been a fan of Linux but have never switched from Windows for various reasons.  I’d like to share some pros and cons that I have come up with so far.

Windows 7 Pros

1.) The new taskbar is pretty slick and jump lists are useful.

2.) Its faster than Vista and the beta is very stable.

3.) The new themes and the ability to save your own themes is nice.

4.) Windows Live Essentials integrates very well into Windows 7 and allows me to access my Hotmail, feeds, blog, photos, buddies, and more from the useful programs.

Windows 7 Cons

1.) I really hate the idea of buying another Windows product.  Windows 7 should have been Vista SP2 or they should give a discount to those that already spent their hard earned money on Vista.

Linux Pros

1.) Its free.

2.) Has pretty much everything Windows has and more.

3.) Linux can be just as slick as Windows with Compiz Fusion and other enhancements.

4.) I really like KDE 4.

Linux Cons

1.) Has no support for my iPod Touch or iTunes yet.

2.) There are way too many distributions to choose from.  Choice is always good, but sometimes I wish there was just one or at least a few less to have to evaluate.

3.) I can’t install Windows Live Essentials.

In conclusion, I am not sure what this tells me about which I should choose.  I do know that it would be very difficult to switch to Linux before there’s support for my iPod Touch.

This is now the part where I invite you, my readers, to leave some comments, suggestions, or anything else you have to add to this.