Yes, also problems with wireless/wired network card drivers and DVD playback are common. These are the kinds of things where you've just gotten them working, then you upgrade your distro and they stop working again. In theory they all probably work, even for your hardware, but getting the right versions of all the software necessary running at once on your machine is a pain.

It doesn't have anything to do with paying the people who work on Linux, it's that the manufacturers of these devices don't have a commercial interest in making their hardware work in 30 different Linux distributions. They do have an interest in their products working flawlessly on all versions of OS X and Windows, and so they do what it takes to make it happen.

Linux-based systems are great, but not when it comes to desktops where productivity is the point. They are good for desktops where tinkering and copyleft are the point. They are obviously a superior choice for anything that isn't a desktop.