Is Linux better than Windows?

I was answering the question above on Answerbag.com and as I was posting it, I thought "I bet other people would like to read this too":

"The advantage of Windows is that you won't have any trouble finding software to run on Windows, especially games. All hardware manufacturers make device drivers for Windows. More people are familiar with Windows. More corporations have Windows on their desktops. More people know how to make Windows work.

But Linux has come a long way. Linux is still free, yet comes with a lot of features that I find are easier to figure out than the Windows counterpart; great web browsers (yes, more than one, usually); a free Office replacement that is quite compatible with Microsoft's offering; and tons of free utilities. Linux supports a vast pool of hardware now. I installed Ubuntu Linux on my HP laptop and it had no issues whatsoever - even setting up networking was simple. Linux has fewer (exploited) security vulnerabilities. Linux has no arrangements with the entertainment industry, so it has no crippling DRM in it's software. But Linux is most known for its stability. I've seen Linux run for over a year on a PC without needing a reboot.

I like Ubuntu the best of all the flavours of Linux that I've tried. It's best feature is that it has built-in access to an online software repository, that contains only software that has been tested to work with Ubuntu. So if the program you're looking for isn't bundled with Ubuntu, you can see if it exists and then download it.

I still find Windows more suitable for my day-to-day use, but that's heavily biased from my 20+ years of Windows use. If it wasn't for my favourite games and very specific programs, I would have no gripes about switching to Linux permanently. I continue to suggest Linux as an alternative to my clients who are fed up with Windows and fit into the right demographic. One last thing I love about Linux - certain distributions come in a Live CD version. Put the CD in your drive, reboot and watch Linux run right from a CD-ROM for demo purposes, without affecting your Windows installation. Now that's cool. "