I finally installed Ubuntu (10.10) on one of my desktop systems and really like it. There are some issues with video and audio (seems cached and doesn't play at the right time) and it doesn't run my favorite software under WINE, so my Windows 7 box is used for things that don't run quite right.
Other than that, Ubuntu works for me on my HP desktop.
I built a server a few years ago and keep loading newer version of Fedora on it, but since Ubuntu worked so well on my desktop I thought I'd try 32 and 64 bit on the server. Neither worked. At first I thought it was a boot timing issue but think the motherboard may not be supported. So Fedora 14 is back on the server and it runs great.
Other than Ubuntu, what linux distros do you suggest for the desktop?
Linux Mint. It’s a derivative of Ubuntu, but I’ve found it to be far more resilient and performs better.
i have had good success in running Open SuSE. Currently i'm on version 11.1, about to upgrade to 11.4 when it is released next week.
As you have more experience with the Windows Desktop, i strongly recommend that you use the KDE environment rather than Gnome. While KDE does use more system resources, it is far more highly configurable than Gnome.
There is an Ubuntu version called KUbuntu.
As for software deficiencies aside from gaming (where Windows is to this day and for the forseeable future the superior system), can you replace those applications with Linux equivalents?
Perhaps give us an example of what software you speak of.
Other than Ubuntu, what linux distros do you suggest for the desktop?
I use PCLinuxOS, it just works out of the box. I have it on one of my desktops and run win7 on Vbox, I also put it on my OCZ neutrino netbook, again just works