Yeah Linux still sadly puts fear into peoples bones
But Linux 15-20 years ago and Linux today are two totally different things. Using Linux today, with distributions like Ubuntu and Mint, is about as easy (or more easy?) than Windows.
I've been using Linux for > 15 years and tried Windows 2 years ago and didn't get far. Always blue screened. I bought a macbook and hate it very, very deeply x) But it does have a command line with which I am familiar LOL
On a side note: Linux actually refers to the Linux kernel. Thats the software that communicates between your software and your hardware (as in when you download a file, thats the layer that communicates with your hard drive).
Ubuntu and Mint and so on are Linux Distributions, which means they are a Linux Kernel + a collection of software for a specific use case, in Ubuntu and Mints case that usecase would be to be a end-user friendly operating system.