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As of now I am using 64bit xubuntu Linux. Have been for 2 years now. xubuntu is the XFCE desktop environment alternative to ubuntu’s GNOME, and Kubuntu’s KDE. Everything has been fantastic once I found the right software set.

ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com
kubuntu: http://www.kubuntu.org
edubuntu: http://www.edubuntu.org
xubuntu: http://www.xubuntu.org

VLC Player plays everything I have thrown at it, especially when coupled with full gstreamer support.

Asunder is a fabulous CD ripper. http://www.getdeb.net/app/Asunder

Handbrake is the same for DVDs. http://www.getdeb.net/app/HandBrake

Abiword 2.6.6 has been great so far and even has support for .docx files along with a comprehensive feature set. I even wrote my senior thesis on it. http://www.getdeb.net/app/AbiWord

GNUcash and GNUmeric handle my business accounting and spreadsheet needs perfectly.

3D animation and FX are handled by Blender 2.48a. 2.5 when released will be akin to Houdini on the professional front. I also use Houdini but with all new releases of Blender 3D, it is getting harder and harder to open the other apps like Maya, 3DS Max, and lightwave. http://www.getdeb.net/app/Blender

Ardour Digital Audio Workstation v2.8 now includes VST support and has shaped up to be the leading DAW on the Linux format. http://www.getdeb.net/app/Ardour

GIMP has been with me since the beginning. It is a little awkward to use at first but once you get used to the interface it’s a good tool to have. Its major drawback is that it only supports 8nit per channel color, better known at 24bitRGB. For higher bit depth color I use Cinepaint, it supports 8, 12, and 24 bit color per channel as well as HDRI. http://www.getdeb.net/app/Gimp

NLEs or Non-linear Editors are a big flaw on the Linux platform with many contenders but no really up to snuff apps. The best we have up until now for SD video is Kino, and for HD is KDEnlive. Of course all of these will be flushed away when the Lumiera project is complete. Lumiera will be a professional level editor and compositor for Linux. http://www.lumiera.org , Kino: http://www.getdeb.net/app/Kino

My jukebox is songbird 1.1.1. Once again no problems with usability as it is modeled directly after iTunes. http://www.getdeb.net/app/Songbird

All of these apps plus many more can be downloaded in their newest versions at http://www.getdeb.net (ubuntu, kubuntu, edubuntu, and xubuntu Linux only)

The only proprietary driver I have is my nVIDIA graphics driver and it has never flubbed out of me ever.

Specs:
Dual AMD Quad-core 2346HE CPUs, 16GB DDR2 667 SDRAM, 2TB (4X500GB) WD SATA 3.0 7200 HDDs, ARECA ARC-1210 RAID controller card, nVIDIA 8800GT, TYAN Thunder S2927-E Motherboard BIOS v2.03, xubuntu Linux 8.10 Intrepid Ibex 64-bit edition