For laptops you need to do a bit of research to make sure they have good Linux support. There are websites to help with this. You'll also gain an intuition for which manufacturers to avoid.

For the software side, you need to learn it, just like anything else. You've spent years, perhaps the majority of your life, learning Windows. Of course there are going to be things you'll have to learn again. But you'll be better for it. I'd rather learn to use a system that respects me than one that treats me like a commodity.