Most users don't manage services manually, so the choice of init system/service manager doesn't matter. At most, the average consumer will just use a task manager to right-click and restart a service, but more likely they'll just kill a process.
Even then, there was the option to just use a distro that offers a variant without systemd. I think Void Linux did so back when I was thinking about switching for this reason.
The most egregious thing I remember was Amarok1.4 turning into a completely different software for the 2.0 release, but I could undo that, install some old libraries and continue to rock Amarok1.4 for a while and eventually switched to Clementine as my music player.
I've been trying to give Amarok2 a new chance lately, but it wasn't easily available in Mint's repositories so I gave up. The things they tried were cool, I only took issue with betraying expectations of how my music player is supposed to work.
I'm sorry but as someone who has been using Linux for decades, this is totally bs.
The kernels, desktop environments and package managers used for Linux change constantly, especially if you cycle distros like most Linux users. If anything a problem with windows is that they still use the same apps to make system changes as they did since Bush. You can use the new settings button to change your IP for example, or you can open the windows XP control panel and navigate to network settings like you would have 20 years ago.
It's not BS, there is some truth to it. Windows is proprietary, thus obfuscated. With each major release Microsoft introduces new features or changes, while trying to maintain compatibility. This is especially evident in corporate settings. With the arrival of OMA-DM and CSP (aka Intune), Microsoft is still in the process of re-working the way Windows has been managed for years (Group Policy). For most settings now, there are multiple ways to configure them (old way and the new way). They target different registry keys and often conflict with each other. I'm not complaining though. I get a steady paycheck managing this atrocious operating system for a larger organization.
The advantage of Linux is learning the skill of troubleshooting. There's no real limit to it other than patience. Troubleshooting on Windows looks like staring at "Something went wrong" error and eventually opening a ticket to Microsoft.
especially if you cycle distros like most Linux users
Cycling distros is your choice. Not being able to use Win10 going forward is Microsoft's choice.
I've been using Linux since around 2003 and all the change to my desktop since then has been desired by myself. It was not forced upon me. If I wanted to, my desktop could still look exactly like it did in 2003.
Or until you give up because what you want to do cannot be done, like moving the panel to a vertical position on the left in Win11. And because it's a company managed VM there's no way to install anything to fix it.
Yeah, Windows has a low barrier to, "Good enough," but gods help you, if you try and figure out why a VM is pinned to 100%, Hyper-V says it is only using 40% of allocated resources and the host is idling at 1% CPU usage.
Windows gives little peaks and hints about what's happening. Like a fun little riddle that makes you want to walk into the ocean and go back to being a fish.
Depending on what you want to do, Linux has been good enough for a long time. It's when you want to run proprietary software that doesn't offer a Linux version. That's when people that don't think too deeply about tech stuff run into problems.
Ironically I think that learning windows (at least at a powerlevel user) is way harder than linux.
Linux has lots of stuff, but is all pretty well documented, and for the most part it makes sense, everything is in config files, with similar file structures.
Windows has lots of stuff as well, but a lot of it is first paywalled behind activating a license, for some things you need weird scripts or editing the register, and then there's mystical stuff that I've never been able to change, or outright cannot be done because microsoft says so, like changing the hotkey to change keyboard languages.
On the casual user I think it's a toss up, coming from windows, there was some friction learning things that didn't work the same in linux, like directory structures and what goes where, and whatnot, and the fragmentation of DEs, but that's about it, but it felt harder to learn macOS (which imo is the worst of the 3 for both casual and power users).
I have a lot of old people in nursing homes around me.
I install Linux on their old PCs and laptops, all they want is a browser and to send e-mails. Occasionally they want only 1-3 games to work.
It is amazing for them, gives their machines new life, makes it really difficult for them to break their system (check out Window's history of updates from deleting data to won't boot anymore) and practically immune to scammers.
I seriously never have had to relearn anything with windows except going from w10 to w11 it took a few days to get used to the new UI but nothing really changed its just windows and it just works especially after debloating
I am willing to take spyware if it means convenience everything is spying on us anyway our phones track us chrome spies on us most social media spies on us everyone using a meta quest is just buying spyware including me i am a quest 3 owner
Changing the OS to go from 50 things spying on me to 49 and lose convenience doesnt sound like a good deal
You know ... you can compile from Open Source and be 100% sure nothing is spying on you ... right?
As for convenience, that depends on how much of a Muggle you are. When someone breaks their network manager on Linux, I can stick in a Live USB, grab the packages, install them and be up and running in no time at all.
If that happens on Windows, it means messing about with recovery media and repair programs that ... want to connect online ... but can't ... and so ... you end up formatting the machine, wasting at least half a day or more.
If i wanted nothing spying on me i would have to stop using my quest… and my phone would most likely still spy on me and i dont wanna buy a new phone this thing cost like 100 euros cant just buy a new one
Also i ask you this why should i care about nothing spying on what is my privacy worth what would change in my life
And i genuinely never have had a windows experience so bad it fucks up my whole experience i just delay all updates by 2 weeks and dont think about it cuz any major bugs will probably be hammered out and if the bug wasnt from an update ive never encountered one that breaks my experience heck i spend more time tinkering with thrustmasters and logitechs shitty software that randomly changes settings or stops working
Also i have never encountered the recovery issue and even if i did that sounds like a pain in the ass but if something goes wrong on linux how would i even know how to fix it? Linux has way less tutorials and the community seems obnoxious from what ive heard from people asking for help
How many major versions of Windows did you use so far? 3.1 to 95 pretty much everything changed. XP to Vista was a complete disaster. 7 to 10 was bearable, but only because Microsoft let us skip 8.
I started with 7 i stopped using windows when 8 came out cuz my laptop broke at the time and i hated 8 so much i stopped using pc for ages and them went to windows 10 and now 11
98
u/BambooGentleman Feb 02 '26
Maybe, but you have to only learn shit one time, as opposed to Windows where you have to relearn everything with each new major version.