Linux vs. Windows

So, I’ve been thinking about switching from using a Windows OS to a Linux OS for a while now. Like most “computer nerds”, I’ve never been overly impressed with Windows. For such an expensive, closed source thing, it’s sure buggy and bloated. Plus, there’s the whole evil corporation with a monopoly on the industry thing that doesn’t sit well with me.
There are tons and tons of Linux based OS’s to choose from. I’m thinking about going with one of the versions of Ubuntu.

One thing that is stopping me from wiping Windows from my hard drive right this second is that I’m nervous about giving up the programs that I’ve gotten used to using, such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc. Some say that there are ways to run programs written for Windows on Linux using emulation, but then doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of going to Linux? Ya, it does. I’m sure that there are Linux programs that are just as good, I just have to find them, get used to using them, etc.

Another thing that really concerns me is that in perusing various web sites, I’ve seen a lot of statements that videos encoded with Windows are a lot better quality than ones encoded with Linux. I do quite a bit of video capturing, editing, encoding, etc. so the prospect of having to settle for so-so quality doesn’t make me very happy. I could always do my video work on one of the other PC’s in my house running Windows, but again that kind of defeats the purpose.
But are those statements even true? Or are the people making those statements just using crappy Linux video programs, thus tainting the results?

Someone on the Ubuntu forums wrote to me that if those statements were true, why would Disney and Pixar use Linux according to this article?
What’s your opinion? What programs do you use to work with video in Linux, and what do you think of the results?
What Linux OS is your favorite?