Ubuntu handles older devices better than Vista, for the most part.

Most newer ones are fine, too. I installed Ubuntu on my mother's laptop and she's been very happy. Her camera works fine, just plug it in and it works. I've not had any issues installing printers.

They had a GPS device they wanted to use, and that didn't work since the driver is very specific and it's not very common. For most purposes, though, it's quite easy to set up.

Even though it's gotten a little better in recent years (presumably because more vendors are releasing Linux drivers), the trick is really to make sure whatever device you want to use is Linux-compatible before you get it.

Following that rule, I haven't had any problems recently, running Linux on a machine that doesn't come with it pre-installed.