Ubuntu Wonderful?

Windows service packs are not just security updates (those come out in monthly patches) - they
do roll these up, but they also include many other bug fixes and some new features, e.g.
Windows XP SP2 included many IE features, a new firewall, improved WiFi/Bluetooth, etc.  See
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/features.mspx 

So I think it's reasonable to compare an Ubuntu release with a Windows service pack, except
that the Ubuntu release will typically upgrade many bundled applications to new versions, and
even change them to alternative versions in some cases, as well as providing new system
features.

Debian is great for servers but I would not want to have to customize it for a desktop user
population, unless they are Linux developers who will just do this for themselves.  Ubuntu is
definitely easier to install than Windows (as long as WiFi is supported), since you don't
usually have to install any third party drivers as with Windows.