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Rating: - Great OS if it matches your system. Get 8.04 instead.
I tried 7.10 a few weeks ago but had a few monitor problems. Some monitor types it doesn't recognise. I first tried it with a live boot up CD and I just got a load of rubbish on the monitor. I found that if I rebooted but pressed F1 and chose one of the options which allowed me to enter commands (I entered [live vga=771 noapic nolapic] it booted up fine with no monitor problems. But not a practical option.

I now use the new Ubuntu version 8.04 which I have no problems with. It's the prerelease LTS version and it certainly beats XP.

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Rating: - the best
If I were just learning Ubuntu and had subsequent experience with Window Vista, It would be difficult for me to understand why anyone would even consider the latter OS as preferable, given the vast array of Linux software at minimal if any expense compared to the constant, time consuming, and budget breaking upkeep of Windows programs and the price of many additional applications one may wish to add. Open source software and Linux have provided the opposite experience. Happily my Windows Vista crashed on my year old laptop and without the Windows Vista OS disk that is no longer supplied with a computer purchase, I was "forced" to again resort to Linux, and I had forgotten just how great the Ubuntu program is. I say a silent thanks to all those folks who gave us Linux and Ubuntu and who continue to develop a superb OS for all of us to use.

One additional brief anecdotal comment- I note some complaints regarding wireless speed and connectivity- I have had no such problems on my system.

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Rating: - Ubuntu 7.1
I installed it in a virtual machine. It works fine, but the virtual software has some issues. I'm using this as a learning tool on using Linux. So far, so so.

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Rating: - Just Keeps Getting Better and Better
I am a graduate student of astronomy and I started using personal computers in 1981 and that was one of the first IBM PCs with DOS. Until summer of 2005, I used Windows exclusively, but then started looking for something better in the form of Linux/Free Unix. December of 2007, I switched my home network over to Ubuntu Linux and purchased a Dell computer with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed. That was the last time I touched a Windows computer:
Best things about switching to Ubuntu Linux:

No more viruses to worry about, Ubuntu is FREE, Complete install and configuration can be done in minutes (Windows used to take me days to get it completely configured), updates are optional at the user's discretion, By contrast, Microsoft pushes updates to you whether you want them or not. With Ubuntu, Every 6 months you have new major release with exciting new features you can try. I love the silly names for Ubuntu Releases:"Gutsy Gibbon" is the current release and "Hardy Heron" is next in April of 2008 with lots of new stuff to play with. Ubuntu works particularly well with older hardware and can be used to resurrect an old Dell or Gateway or other dinosaur computers that you have sitting around gathering dust. Windows Vista release was an expensive DISASTER plain and simple, get Ubuntu and try it today...I bet you have an old computer that would love to live again, re-incarnate it with Ubuntu...did I mention it is FREE? For grins I recently built a computer from scratch for under 200 dollars and installed Ubuntu Linux on it...worked no problem...I am no wizard either...if I can do it so can you...

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Rating: - Ubuntu is the best
Man, Ubuntu just keeps getting better! It's easy to install. It includes a LOT of extra software including the awesome OpenOffice.org office suite. You get a lot of games including Aisleriot Solitaire which includes TONS of different solitaire games from Thirteen to Klondike to Golf and so on.

You also get the award-winning Firefox web browser for virtually worry-free web surfing.

For the multimedia lovers, Ubuntu includes a nifty iTunes-like music player (Rhythmbox) and a nifty movie player (Totem), both of which can play popular multimedia formats - including MP3s, AACs, and DVDs - once you install the necessary multimedia codecs.

Ubuntu installs easily with just a few clicks and a tiny bit of typing (you have to supply a user name and password for your user account), and it is easy to install Ubuntu on a computer already running Windows, giving you the choice of either an easy-to-set-up dual-boot configuration or have Ubuntu take over the entire hard disk.

And if you have powerful video hardware, Ubuntu comes pre-installed with Compiz-Fusion for nifty desktop video effects such as minimize/maximize/restore animations as well as a view of your virtual desktops as a 3D cube.