My first ? Getting a new computer, so is this an ideal time to go with Ubuntu?
 

It will be brand new with nothing on it that needs saving.

glad you decided to use linux I hope you have a good Ubuntu experience.
many sudo times ahead. apt-get me a beer.

Welcome to LQ!
About your question,well it depends on what you want to do.If you are interested in playing some popular games which are still only available for Windblows then Linux might not be for you,but you can always have a dual boot system with Linux and Windblows,for everything else Linux is I'd say the best choice.Ubuntu is friendly for new users,lots of software ready to install with just a few clicks ( it's Debian based,so there are many packages in the repositories ) and it isn't hard to learn.You should know that with Linux you don't have to wory about viruses,spyware and similar things because Linux is beyond that.Also,internet is full of friendly Linux communities ready to help you.
If you want to know how computer and operating system work,use Linux,how much you'll learn,depends on you.Ubuntu is good to start with for newbies.

Thanks for the welcome. I got a new computer today and succeeded in getting running on Ubuntu in no time. It was easy and I enjoy being freed from Windoze. I look forward to learning more. Coming from 4 years on a Mac I am looking forward to not having to worry about viruses and spyware.

Here is a good site for getting started with Ubuntu:
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/
You can also get this for free:
http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com/download2.html

You should also take it upon yourself to learn basic linux terminal commands. Even though Ubuntu has GUI tools for most things, learning how to use the terminal is often faster, easier, and will really pay off if problems develop or if you ever want to try another linux distro. Terminal commands are (more or less) consistent for every distro. So it is the "common language" of all linux distros.
Work your way through this:
http://linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php
You don't have to learn everything at once. But you should endeavor to continue learning if you want to get the most out of linux.