I've recently started using a Linux desktop again ... I'm currently back to using a Mac laptop
So which is it? It sounds like you switched under some compulsion (corporate policy etc). I have seen this attitude. It is not so much that "things don't work" as "things have to be configured". It took me a solid week to get used to Unity (on Ubuntu 11.04) and the jury is still out on how I feel about it.
One thing to consider when you are going over to the Linux desktop is that the end user has to be a lot more participatory in the overall setup. It takes a little time to get everything as you want it.
A Mac laptop out of the box is a lot more ready. After a few weeks my hp laptop with Ubuntu is irreplaceable. (and I would imagine the same with Arch or Fedora, etc)
I have used a Linux desktop in the past, without being forced, so I'm not totally opposing it for religious reasons. Quite the contrary: I couldn't stand working on Windows, without a proper shell and all its extremely annoying notifications.
Some things have to be configured, but the things I find most enraging are all the usability issues in Gnome (on Ubuntu).
Which kind of makes sense - there is no single authority ensuring quality and consistency, and most applications just got the 20% effort to fulfill their job, but not the 80% polish to be really good at it.
One thing to consider when you are going over to the Linux desktop is that the end user has to be a lot more participatory in the overall setup. It takes a little time to get everything as you want it.
A Mac laptop out of the box is a lot more ready. After a few weeks my hp laptop with Ubuntu is irreplaceable. (and I would imagine the same with Arch or Fedora, etc)