NBie Frustrations

I'm just about to give up on trying Linux (Ubuntu 5.10). This is my first attempt, and I am already pretty disappointed.

1. I can't make Macromedia Flash sites work no matter what I do (example - www.pbskids.org).

I tried to reinstall Flash player several times, edited configurations (per instructions on google), manually copied files... no luck. I tried installing Opera and Konqueror, in addition to Firefox, no luck there either. FP simply wouldn't load. Granted, I have the same exact problems with FF running on Windows, but there I can use Avant or IE.

2. No way to sync Pocket PC PDA. I tried SynCE + MultiSync combo, but even though SynCE sees my iPaq, it won't sync. After 2 evenings of tinkering with different commands I gave up on it. Again, as bad as MS ActiveSync is when it comes to user options and duplicates, it does sync.

3. All color prints come outh "sprayed" with black particles. Something is wrong with Epson 740 driver. OTOH I am getting beautiful photo quality prints in XP.

4. I have a Visioneer scanner and it seems I'm out of luck as it's not supported by Linux.

5. Some of the best freeware programs that I use daily (e.g. KeePbutt, TrueCrypt) even though they have been ported to LX, are very limited and some of them I can't make work at all.

This are just some of the problems I'm running into..

Seems though even I want to move to LX it would just have to wait another year or so..