InformationWeek, has a very in depth look at Ubuntu Linux in comparison to Windows Vista.

I just read the entire article and it points out the good, the bad, and the ugly on both sides.  And while it gives Ubuntu fairly high marks in the end, it does point out that Windows is better in most cases.

I am okay with Windows being better in most cases, because Microsoft spends money on development, research, and user testing to ensure they have all the kinks worked out before shipping a product (at least for the most part).  Microsoft has an entire team of people paid to do nothing more than work on the Windows operating system.  While several of the Linux developers are now paid, there are still a lot of them that are not.  They also do not have the research and user testing budgets the Microsoft has.

Overall, Ubuntu Linux is a free alternative to Windows that works as well as Windows, most of the time.  You can get all the special coolness out of Linux that you can with Windows but with a little more reading and effort.  Free is a good price in my book.