Personally for me, Ubuntu is used for desktops and servers (one of few options if you want optional paid support, and Ubuntu is slick). Apple for new hardware/laptops, with the introduction of Windows8 I don't see any problem with that. Nothing wrong with Apple or OSX, top notch quality, can't be beat at this point. I would still put a copy of Windows7 on a machine used primarily for gaming though (nothing really wrong with Win7 either, IMO best GUI interface conceived).
See the dilemma?
For example, I'm on an Ubuntu machine now, and I've recently tried to upgrade it, but apparently it's too far out of date. I've tried to install some software, but it can't find the necessary site that has the package. So now what? I have nowhere to go apart from the internet, and suddenly I am once again having to learn stuff that I really don't want to have to know.
Again, this isn't a complaint, it's an attempt to help define and clarify the problems faced in getting Ubuntu (and other distros) more widely adopted, something I would love to see.
Unfortunately, they seem to have cut the price and removed the discrete graphics card option from the current Gazelle Professional. I guess that makes sense given the state of Linux gaming, but being able to run CUDA on a $1200 laptop was pretty awesome :(
And what you say is one of the main reasons that being able to buy a machine with Linux pre-installed is such a big deal, and potentially a milestone. It's a minor miracle that Linux is getting the market penetration it does given the near total lack of pre-installed machines.
But it's chicken and egg. Here I am being driven to use Windows when I need wireless connectivity because I can't get the Ubuntu wireless system to work. It's at the point where I browse on the Windows machine, and putty into an Ubuntu machine to do my real work - not a good solution long term. I need to get the wireless working.
But where do I start? I've already spent 2 hours searching around, reading forum postings, reading blogs, trying to find out what's going on, and it's clear that I need to learn a lot more before I can start to understand the problems. Quite simply, it's not a cost-effective option, because I don't want to become a Linux internals expert. With the money I could make during the time I spend sorting this out I could easily just have bought a Mac. Which is a shame.
In a sense this is not a complaint - this is a fleshing out of the current situation with respect to installing Linux on a laptop. It would be nice to play a small part in helping to get it sorted.