I've been ignoring this thread (seemingly for weeks). But two days
ago I ran out of my anti-psychotic medications (and I'm unemployed and
broke).

Consequently, I answer thusly: All operating systems have been, and
may very well remain, impossible to learn. Unless we include 2-kb
boot loaders in the set of operating systems, I doubt even the
creators of such beasts have ever completely mastered them.

Even so, every so often an operating system very empowering over some
large sets of development and application uses arrives. While no
operating system is universally wonderful, Ubuntu provides an
excellent environment for many uses.

Various Linux distributions play very well in realms Microsoft has no
intension of serving. Many Microsoft employees use one or more Linux
distributions at home. I've worked for Microsoft and believe their
products fill some important niches. That MS does not play well in
shop-floor network and embedded environments where I often work as an
analog-electronics engineering technician or junior engineer is only
to say no product is everything to everybody.

In the current economic environment many small embedded controller
developers will increasingly apply Ubuntu and other Linux flavors to
developing embedded applications on Atmel, Arduino, BASIC Stamp, PIC,
and Umbicon platforms.