QD ignore the people here who throw in their useless opinion when they don't even use linux.

I deal with linux machines all day at work, and most of them are Ubuntu. All I have to say is that it is more then just a "general" OS, or a "file server that I wouldn't operate". It is an extremely powerful and stable OS option, its great for internet machines. It tends to be faster then windows on the same machine. Ubuntu has made great strides to setup a distro that needs to have nothing else added. That being said there is a learning curve and some things will need to be installed manually. IE video codecs, let me know if you need some help getting started and I would be glad to point you in the right direction.

PS The latest version 9.10 is really SWEET!