That's the huge advantage of distros without discrete upgrade paths. I have the same Gentoo install on my desktop since I built it in 2008. Meanwhile I tried Ubuntu on my laptop for a couple of years and every time a new version came out, I tried to upgrade only to find my system borked, hours wasted, and ultimately my giving up and doing a fresh reinstall.
And yes, so many more things work "out of the box" today than ever before (as long as it isn't ATI/AMD :P). The Linux ecosystem has grown and improved incredibly over the last few years. I wouldn't dare argue whether it's better than OSX or Windows, but I can comfortably say that it has advanced a much further distance in the last few years.
And yes, so many more things work "out of the box" today than ever before (as long as it isn't ATI/AMD :P). The Linux ecosystem has grown and improved incredibly over the last few years. I wouldn't dare argue whether it's better than OSX or Windows, but I can comfortably say that it has advanced a much further distance in the last few years.