Certain linux distros (arch for example) can be pretty unfriendly if you just try to pick them up. But you've also got Ubuntu and Mint and co, who can be setup easily (once you get partitioning sorted out), and generally have a choice of nice uis unless you broke something, in which case you might need to look up how to fix or boot up a console.
Honestly I think the console scares a lot of people, but really I find it quite nice. I'm running Windows 7 (probably moving to 8 later this year when I upgrade) only because a few of my favorite games are not Linux or Wine compatible, but that's changing very quickly. For work, though, I'm running a Debian server that's CLI only and it's very efficient once you put in a little while to learn it. I'm likely going to be dual booting a desktop interface for Deb when I
do upgrade.
I think a big problem is people putting on their big boy britches too early and trying to jump into Arch and such.
My partner's been on Arch for well over a year and it still frustrates him sometimes, and he's a programmer. Jumping into Mint or Ubuntu is pretty darn easy peasy as long as you don't mind reading a lil bit.
For my wtf of the day, I cannot find lemongrass any damn where. WHY. Not even bottled/smashed/prepacked crap. I know I live in a little town, but I drove over to the next city and I
still can't find any. You'd think an area close to friggin' New Orleans would have one simple not-
that-rare of an herb. All I want is some tom yum, why can't I have my delicious soup?!
I'm making the boyfriend drive me to NOLA tomorrow though. I will have my soup.