>I just dread the idea of moving to Linux again. I don't want to tinker that much.
If you don't use Unity and instead use a different environment like KDE, Ubuntu is actually a great system that requires minimal tweaking.
If you don't use Unity and instead use a different environment like KDE, Ubuntu is actually a great system that requires minimal tweaking.
That said, I intentionally purchase hardware that's known to work well with Linux (if you buy a system with all Intel chipsets, you'll probably be fine). Also, the power management is still abysmal. I still have to tinker with powertop to get battery life comparable to other OS's.
That said, for my money you can't beat Mint with Xfce for a quick and easy casual GNU/Linux box. I always skip Xfce's compositor and install Compton for tear-free window dragging and video watching (Nvidia-specific issue I believe), but otherwise the default install is very good.