The CNET review was prompted by Dell’s inclusion of Ubuntu on some of it’s systems. It isn’t entirely complimentary — it complains about missing wireless and webcam drivers, and that the timekeeping wasn’t accurate, but I haven’t seen any of those problems myself. It also complains that the system isn’t always able to recover from sleep mode, which I have seen a couple of times. Nevertheless, I completely agree with their “bottom line”:

Ubuntu is very user-friendly but not right for everyone. Oddly casual computer users and advanced users will find this operating system wonderful, while day-to-day users may rail against Ubuntu’s incompatibility with certain popular software applications, such as iTunes. Still, this is a great leap forward for Linux with the mass audience.

As an aside, the acquaintance that I recently recommended Linux for is using it now, and loves it so far. She still has to have a dual-boot system, because she needs to run some Windows programs for doing taxes and the like, but she spends practically all her time in e-mail, the web browser, or the various games that come with the OS. On the other hand, my wife is still running Windows, because she spends a great deal of her computer time playing Windows games… I intend to see whether Cedega can handle all the games she likes. If so, it might be perfect for her too.