Same here, I also find mint to be the best for my use, it's so easy since it's basically ubuntu underneath (for software and guides etc.) I've tried soo many distros and mint just seems the only choice.
Before Ubuntu, I regularly used Mandriva (formerly known as Mandrake). If there was anything close to Windows' looks & usability (apart from the obvious lack of native Windows programs), that'd probably be it. After Unity showed up, I promptly moving to Mint, and that's all I use these days for general desktop usage. Mint has started selling mintBoxes & bundled systems for months. These guys actually know other ways to get funding without literally selling their own customer base out.
The company formerly known as Lindows and Linspire sold their own computer bundles too. Pretty cheap at $200. Now they're owned by Xandros. Mandrake offered what was probably the easiest way for people to get into Linux with their "Lin4Win".
Debian has always been free and to think that Ubuntu would try a scheme like this is truly terrible. Debian is much better than Ubuntu and actually does the job of getting people to learn how their operating system works, allowing them to greatly develop their skills. The move to make operating systems remove most user control and access from the underlying system will leave many technically illiterate which in the long term will work against the interests of software developers and users alike. A future in which an ever decreasing number of people actually understand how software works creates a dangerous precedent where many will increasingly lose control over certain aspects of their life and how their own personal information and privacy is handled. It was free software and the initial learning curve that got many interested in developing their own software. If you never learn basics like to customise your kernel and optimise your build for your hardware or use a terminal then you can hardly call yourself an experienced user. If you don't have control over what information leaves your terminal then someone else has.