Your Windows install breaks because Microsoft fucked it up.
My Linux install breaks because I fucked it up.

We are not the same.

The nice thing is that Linux is always improving and Windows is always in retrograde. The more users Linux has, the faster it will improve. If the current state of Linux is acceptable enough for you as a user, then it should be possible to get your foot in the door and ride the wave upwards. If not, wait for the wave to reach your comfort level. People always say <CURRENT_YEAR> is the year of the Linux desktop but IMO the real year of the Linux desktop was like 4 or 5 years ago now, and hopefully that captured momentum will keep going until critical mass is achieved (optimistically, I think we’re basically already there).

It sometimes is, but then sometimes Linux is not to blame.

Yesterday I was installing CachyOS on my son’s laptop, because that’s what he chose to use instead of Windows 10. The desktop came up fine, but no wifi adaptor was detected. I could try another more mainstream distro, but I wanted my kid to have what he chose. So we went troubleshooting. Googled the laptop model, found the adaptor, found the matching kernel module, checked the logs… and there it was, a cryptic error -110. Googled that and there was an answer: disable Windows Fast Boot.

It turns out that Windows locks the wifi adaptor when shutting down in Fast Boot mode. So after disabling it and a couple of reboots later, CachyOS was installing flawlessly.

It served as a lesson for me and an example for my kid to persevere and learn more.

It is a LOT of work indeed! In fact I even commented on that hours ago in https://lemmy.ml/post/36231170/21124115

… but as you mention the alternative is ALSO a lot of work PLUS frustrations.

So between learned helplessness and tiring empowerment the choice remains obvious.

FWIW whenever it feels like it’s “too much” I reminder myself how I browse through obscure man pages decades ago… to still find them useful today! It’s crazy that so long after learning about tools like more or grep is useful on :

• a desktop
• a console (SteamDeck)
• a mobile phone (which basically didn’t exist back then)
• a VR headset (yes, via termux)
• the “cloud” (as in fine it’s just a server)

I use Garuda, which is an Arch-based distribution. Regressions are inevitable, though in my experience any actual issues arising from updates are quite infrequent. I’ve only once ever had to use Snapper to restore my system after a borked update in the some three and a half years I’ve used it. Keep in mind that this is a rolling release distribution, so new code isn’t always thoroughly tested before it’s sent out. I generally prefer new software, because I like playing games so new features and enhancements are important to me (on my main PC. I often install Arch for fun on other computers, but I thought for my ThinkPad? It’s older, maybe I’d like it to run Debian).

But any time I have a minor hiccup (that usually gets resolved after an update or reboot), I remember how much worse it could be. I’d much prefer the rare slight complication to the ads, telemetry, nags, intrusive updates, excessive bloat, and lack of control.

I’ve said before, that after using Linux on my main PC and not touching Windows? Windows really does feel like I’m not using my PC, something I never really noticed before I made the switch five years ago. I used to have no problems with modern Windows, but now it’s hard for me to tolerate. Old Windows is generally okay. I collect old computers, so versions like Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP are fun.

Linux IS a lot of work to keep up with. But it’s also way better to use after that work is done. And won’t be enshittified against your will with every update, unlike Windows.

I got a new laptop with Windows 11 at work yesterday. This is the first time I’ve used 11. I must say, it’s not really that bad. Once you cut out all the enshittification, which our IT department does, it’s pretty decent. I would never dream of putting it in any of my own machines, of course.

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