I agree that Linux has great potential. But, being a current user of Red Hat Linux I couldn't possibly recommend it to anyone but a near-expert computer user. It just doesn't have the support base for all of the hardware out there. I know for a fact that it will NOT work with my laptop's built in wireless network card. I'm going to keep using it, in a dual boot fashion, but I can't imagine the frustration (and expense) that a novice would have to go through to get Linux up and running on anything but a VERY standard, desktop, computer configuration. Add something new and different and forget it...
Just my experience so far, being an expert, using Linux for NASA development...