Neat! I was just thinking, if it starts updating the kernel as you turn it off, you'd have to wait a minute for it to finish. M$ style. Has that never happened?
I don't think the first two are distro specific, more a question of mindset. Unless there are distros that force update your system like some other OSs, which could cause the second picture to happen more often.
My laptop's mic seems to have some contact issues. It never worked for a second on windows. I put Linux on it, and it usually just works. When it doesn't, some percussive maintenance does a quick job of fixing it. I guess I was dealt the opposite hand than usual.