I'm a big fan of Linux, but the idea that it's free is only the case, as they say, if your time is worthless.

I use Debian, which is generally considered to be pretty stable and sane, and yet I've still spent tens and tens of hours dealing with issues that simply aren't a problem on Windows or Mac. Currently I'm fighting what I think is a DPMS issue where my external monitor wont wake up from the laptop dock after the monitors all sleep.

Ultimately, I think it's a price worth paying for the experience and flexibility I want, but it's very head-in-the-sand to pretend that it's not just as expensive as Windows, just you don't pay in cash.