An article in Wired about the wondrous Linux advent of a better, considerably pleasant, desktop experience for those looking at the alternatives to a Windows-based life of slavery caught my eye.
Linux: It's Not Just for Servers Anymore
The article mentions Ubuntu's distribution, I've thrown a number of people at this OS and they've all had a relatively healthy reaction to it, even though some of them are self-proclaimed technical neophytes. Looking for a change, with some understanding that this is not a Windows OS, this is a viable option.