i use Windows (various versions from W98SE to Vista), Linux (mostly Ubuntu) and OpenBSD computers every day. Trust me, on any random PC, unless you are using the system restore CD that came with it, Linux is MUCH easier to install than any version of Windows.
It was not alway so, until four or five years ago Linux would always require some fiddle to get something working. These days, only multiple monitors have given me trouble. Everything else is pretty automatic.
The average Windows user has never installed Windows. They buy the machine with the OS preinstalled. When the machine slows down for whatever reason (usually crashes, malware, etc.) they go to Best Buy, and the blue shirts say, “Oh, what you need is a new computer”. And they buy new hardware rather than learning how to clean off the crap and tune their machine or hire that done (and if they hire it done, they go to Geek Squad and pay ridiculous prices).