Linux isn't perfect, that's for sure, but unlike Windows it very rarely ever "works" and then just "doesn't work" for no reason at all. There must have been something that was not done correctly at some point.
I'd definitely give it another shot. If you haven't, I highly suggest you sift through these threads as well - especially the first one:
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
Linux is VERY different from Windows and Mac OS. Different distros leave various amounts of things to the end user to do, but one thing that can be consistantly said across the different distros is that they all generally require the user to pay FAR more attention to details and the inner workings of the OS than Windows or Mac OS.
Give it another try, but be sure to try it with the right mindset and for the right reasons.