As many have said - Linux on Laptops is not for the faint-of-heart and not ready for prime-time ---- I've got Ubuntu Feisty on my Dell B130 - but really had to fiddle to get wireless to work.

On your standard PC most everything will work unless you've got some exotic hardware. I'm typing this on my Ubuntu PC which also acts as a storage server for our other 2 PCs and my iMac. It was very easy to set up Windows Workgroup sharing.

Best thing about Linux is you know that security wise you're pretty bullet-proof -- but doing dumb things can still cause a vulnerability.