Once you have a Linux box up and running good you certainly won't into the typical problems seen with Windows like driver issues and software clashes since Linux is more basic OS without all of the background services. It also uses the memory installed more efficiently then other OSs. The small distro are known for running on as little as 4mb of memory compared to hundreds needed for Windows and Mac. Newer distros with newer features builtin would obviously then see the increased need there.
For Apple/Mac the obvious need to be more flexible in order to run MS products is one main reason why there is cross platform support seen. Yet Windows will also need some Apple tools like QuickTime for playback of videos at various sites. While Linux has it's own pointer system for having the mouse cursor available you still have the need for manually typing commands there. For the point and click generation that is the hardest part over the actual effort needed to get a working knowledge of the basics. MS Dos was also hard for many when comparing the two OSs there.
"Manual typed commands" is the "unheard of" type thing many fear while working with it isn't a tremendous undergoing to get things working once you are accustomed to the commands and command line structure. There are several online tutorials that can be a help at times. The best thing seen with some of the live distros is the ability to retrive files and data off of MS type partitions as well as for data rescue on Linux.
