I genuinely believe (ignoring vendor support) that ubuntu is by far the easiest to use operating system, ahead of windows and osx for the basic operations of installing and using new applications, I would rather use gnome over leapords window manager any day.
Since I installed Ubuntu on my mom's computer, she hasn't called me for really any support. The computer boots up faster and isn't slowed down by virus software.
but the polish has always been lacking