Yep, I've got Ubuntu Mate on my laptop, and Lubuntu on the work PC. Would fully recommend unless you use any programmes which you desperately need Windows for.
The only issue I find is that installing and troubleshooting can sometimes be a bit tricky, but Libreoffice and Firefox come with all the 'flavours' now I think, so that covers most everyday use. Also this might just be the ones I use. I think that regular Ubuntu comes with a kind of app store thing nowadays which would make it all a lot easier.
Personally don’t really see the point, in the vast majority of cases. Seems to be confined to Linux geeks, obsessed with not liking windows or mac
I run Ubuntu on an old desktop machine and openELEC on a raspberry pi to use as a media centre. There is less software available and much of what there is, is somewhat utilitarian. However, the software is almost always open source and not riddled with malware. The main problem I had was hardware support. Computery stuff is fine but things like trying to update maps on a satnav, or upload content to V-Tech kids toys is more trouble than its worth. I started using it 15 years agobecause Windows Vista was abysmal and Ubuntu still runs great on that machine! I use Windows 10 on my laptop now thoughand find it fine. I still use almost exclusively open source software on it though, other than the operating system itself. So really it boils down to why you want to try it and what you'll use it for. The way I was recommended to start - and I stand by it as a tip - is to look at your top ten must have programs on windows and seek out an open source replacement. Almost all common Linux software has a Windows version so you can replace with open source on Windows. If you can get used to the alternatives, when you move to Linux it's only the OS you need to get used to.
I like windows, my pc runs like a dream but just thought about having a change, in fact I may put ubuntu on a seperate drive & have both.
I have done when Windows was causing me massive problems. I can't say it matches windows though, even with all its problems. That said, it's legal free and lots of software for it.
As an experiment, a dual boot is worth a go. But I found that when you give yourself a choice like that, the lure of familiarity is too strong and you'll tend to return to windows as soon as you encounter any difficulty.
