Based on personal experience, I would stand firm that Linux is more stable than the competition. Not that (to pick on Microsoft as an example) Windows is unstable, but I find I have far less trouble in Linux than Windows. Example - I was at my buddy's house today. He turned on his monitors (running Windows 7) after coming home from work. The monitors lit up. Blue screen. Why? It was sitting idle. Really? Did he get a BSOD while idle? Yes.
Also - Photoshop (according to what I heard) works flawlessly under Wine, thanks to Google contributing money for developers to code for it. But that's just heresay - I haven't personally used it.
@Mak - What did you do to your xorg file when you were tinkering with it? I've never even tinkered my xorg file, except through the Nvidia-Settings GUI. Of all my years running Linux, this is one thing I have not yet encountered. Speaking of which, if I remember correctly there is a command you can type in while in console mode (if you lost your xorg file) to rebuild one on the fly, therefore putting you back into operation.
I like Linux simply because... I can do what I want. I have far more control over my system and I can tweak far more than I ever knew was possible. It's a free operating system and surprisingly has by far the best forum support I've seen. I still have open questions on the Windows forums I keep bumping up that are unresolved, dating back to August 2009.
I find knowing Linux is a valuable thing. In fact, knowing Mac as well is a valuable thing. And - you guessed it. Knowing Microsoft is a valuable thing too. Think about this from a business standpoint. There are pros/cons to every platform. Despite the fact 100% of what I do can be done in Linux with ease, that doesn't mean EVERYBODY will have smooth sailing with Linux. Some will prefer Windows, some will prefer Mac. Just KNOWING other platforms is extremely valuable. At work we utilize Windows and Linux servers because there are pros/cons to every scenario. Mixing it up a little bit isn't a bad idea. In my opinion, it's healthy to match up the right tool for the right job.
Linux is known for its stability and security, which is why it was widely bred as a server operating system for so many years (and still is). Only in the last few years has it picked up popularity among the desktop users. Commercial support is available for a cost, but in my experience isn't really needed due to the quality of forum support I've had. There's also a lot of documentation out there to read up on. Not to mention, once you get the hang of the operating system, there's an endless supply of free and open source applications that you can learn about and utilize. You might feel right at home, considering Google Earth, Firefox, OpenOffice, Thunderbird, Audacity, Pidgin, Gimp, and several other similar programs are already ported to Linux. Linux is relatively easy to install and really isn't bad to get going. I've done side by side comparisons with getting a Windows box set up as well as a Linux box set up, and I really think most Linux distros have definitely come much closer to being grandma-approved. Granted, there's a ton of advanced things you can do that basic users would be lost over, but the same goes for Windows. Ever try to uninstall a program, and it fails to uninstall, requiring you to edit and delete all of the registry keys associated with it? I have. Many times. Tell a basic user to do that and watch their eyes light up.
My point is Windows and Linux can be used by both basic users and power users. It just depends how you utilize the tools in front of you for the tasks you want to accomplish. I would never expect a basic user to do advanced things in Linux, just like I wouldn't expect a basic user to do any advanced things in Windows. But at the same time, basic users on both Linux and Windows can still accomplish basic tasks with relative ease.
Give it a shot. Even if it's not your main OS, it's good to know. Knowledge is power, and is something that is worth overdosing on.
