If you want a new laptop that "just works", buy an Apple. Some people enjoy taking their cars apart and rebuilding them. It gives them great joy to learn about how the engine fits together and how it works. Likewise, some people install and run linux because administration and tweaking give them great joy. It's the difference between a computer as a hobby and a computer as a tool. A laptop with OSX is a tool. A laptop with Ubuntu is a hobby. I might be flamed into oblivion for saying this but I don't care: Linux is a fine OS but it's not the answer to everything. I propose that with sufficient effort, a Linux box could be superior to any other proprietary OS in every way; however, the amount of effort required to achieve this result is far above what even most linux hobbyists would want to invest.
I guess that what I'm driving at is to use the right tool* for the job.
* - "tool" is used in a different context than it was previously.
I've noticed several design suggestions in your code.