[Crusher138]

I would guess that if you were building a computer from scratch and had a list of Linux compatible hardware, it would be a much smoother install. Still, there are issues with popular hardware, cameras and MP3 players come to mind, that would frustrate a novice after the initial installation.

The Linux community does seems to be addressing these issues, but the general hardware manufacturers seem to be slow in providing Linux drivers, if they provide them at all.

[zeugma]

I've done several installs of linux recently (Core4 and Core5). Some were completely seamless successes, some required tweaking. The biggest issue by far is WiFi networking.

Even though I've got native WiFi drivers on my  laptop, I'm still not completely satisfied with location management.

OTOH, running dual head with either separate desktops (my personal preference) or with one desktop spanning both monitors rocks. Windows will do dual heads, but I don't think you can get dual desktops without third party tools.