Hey Captain, Linux writes NTFS, too.
I've heard tell of that, at least with respect to Ubuntu. I had "Mint" installed, (which is basically Ubuntu with a more Windows-esque GUI). However, it doesn't write NTFS, "right out of the box", and keep in mind I'm a total rookie, without your skills of familiarity with the OS..
I'm copying and pasting an earlier post of mine in this thread, (to save, you the trouble of looking for it), about my latest excursion/ dabble into the, "dark arts", which is Linux for noobs:
I got sick of trying to update an old copy of Win 7, (no SP-1) M$ wouldn't update to SP-1, they just doled out the "cumulative security update", which didn't register as SP-1. So, most programs still available for Win 7 require SP-1. I said "f*ck it", and installed Mint. The boot times were reminiscent of an HDD, in spite of having an SSD on "sba1" (?).
OK, so this is an old box, (G-41 Intel), so it doesn't have much oomph. When I'd get a bunch of tabs open,it would red light the HDD indicator continuously, immobilizing the mouse pointer, and all browser controls. Recovery from this was hit or miss. Usually, a forced shutdown and reboot would rectify the situation. However, the other night I tried this and managed to brick the machine. Now it boots into a black screen, where I'm given the choice of "recovery mode", or "advanced". Whichever door I walk through, I get prompted to enter "help", for more "commands". It then spits out a bunch of gibberish, none of which resembles a command prompt, and proceeds to regurgitate that it can't find the "floppy drive", ("sbf" (?)), endlessly..
OK, I'm fairly certain Win 7 would have recovered under, "start Windows normally", or worst case, "insert disc to repair the system".. Mint, doesn't give you those opportunities. So, I guess it's time for the big reinstall. Which is a b*tch, since I was just getting used to Linux.
After about 5 calls to Windows activation, I was finally able to get the "industrial surplus" copy of Win 7 pro in this even older box (Intel G-31) up and running, enabling me to get this tale of woe and torment off my chest.
But no, even the latest edition of Mint, and therefore Ubuntu as well, isn't anywhere near as stable as Windows 7.
But then who the hell knows, maybe that damned G-41 board is on its way out. 