I got an Macbook Pro when they first came out and my sister half-jokingly said she disowned me; now she couldn't survive without her own macbook and iPhone. I'm not sure what you use, but I think Ubuntu would be a decent choice for a linux-based consumer OS. The only reason I wouldn't install it on my parents desktop is because they are so set in their ways. Also, I've been following Haiku which seems like an interesting project with the goal of an easy to use, simple to learn OS. Who knows, maybe 2013 will be the year of linux on the desktop!
I had a thinkpad that came with Vista, and after using XP for a while, I switched it to Ubuntu 10.04. I really like the OS, except for two things: installing software could use a nice GUI, and Gimp. Gimp was the deal-breaker ultimately. I need a solid image editor for my RPG, and Gimp is not a lateral replacement for Photoshop. Switching from Word to Open Office was painless, but not from Photoshop to Gimp. I now have a ideapad running Windows 7, which I like well enough. If I had a second laptop, it would run Ubuntu for sure. My second laptop with Ubuntu recently died. Hubski runs on a Ubuntu server. btw, I can't believe you're still using ugly hubski, /. :)
Have you considered running Photoshop from a virtual machine on Ubuntu? I do that with Powerpoint when I need it at uni. Photoshop Portable runs under wine, be it with a few minor bugs here and there. I left Windows for good 2 years ago, when I was introduced to Ubuntu at uni. Now using Windows just frustrates me to no end. Unless it's Windows XP. Never liked Vista or 7... let's not mention 8. I have no regrets!
Ah yeah, proper replacements for photoshop and flash are the major reasons my wife doesn't switch as well. I have all my computers dual or triple booted with Windows, ubuntu, and haiku at the moment; I love trying out new OSes. And I will use ugly hubski for as long as it's available! I stare at enough Courier New all day anyhow it doesn't really phase me anymore.