I used to think that way too. Except add OS X to the discussion. Then things change.

There is always a "hump" associated with changing from one operating system to another, however people who cross the hump on Windows or OS X can live there and become productive. There is no getting over the hump on Linux. Why? Because both Windows and OS X have a set of rules regarding what applications should look like, how their menus should be laid out, what keys should be used for which short cuts, etc. So the more you use them and get used to them the less you have to think about how the infrastructure is going to work and the more productive you can be. That isn't true of Linux, each application might have a different windows toolkit, some wiener thought having "File" be the first menu was stoopid and it should be "Edit", someone else decides since preferences are really options and they are editing the config file they should be called "edit config" under the File menu not called Preferences under the Edit menu.

As silly and as banal as that sounds, it makes a world of difference for people who use computers to get things done, rather than simply enjoy the act of using a computer.