How can a bug like this end up being specific to a distro? Aren't the distros effectively just different package managers, different init conventions, and maybe some system management sauce?
The overwhelming majority of the operating system is just: kernel + modules, GNU, X, and a window manager, isn't it? So how can a bug like this be specific to Ubuntu?
2. A bug may be triggered by the presence of two conflicting libraries or configuration settings that appear in the version sets chosen by a distro.
Considering the bewildering variety of hardware out there and all the testing manufacturers during the beta phase (no, just kidding - they do absolutely nothing to help) not that many people got hit by the bugs mentioned. It depends on a carefully aligned stack of bugs that's easily removed by changing one component.
Obviously, Ubuntu is not for some people. For all others, it works.