[pjmlp]

Unfortunately I kind of doubt it, although Windows is still what I get to use, not paying Apple tax and Tahoe isn't great either, and I have better things to do than fine tuning Linux installations, even on laptops sold with it pre-installed like my old Asus netbook.

Lets see in practice how much they are actually listening.

Now, this would be a great opportunity to actually get stuff like Dell XPS with Ubuntu on PC stores.

[graemep]

> I have better things to do than fine tuning Linux installations, even on laptops sold with it pre-installed like my old Asus netbook

This seems to be claiming Windows is better because you cannot fine tune it. No one forces you to fine tune Linux. You can just buy something with Linux preinstalled and use it and skip the tuning and customisation.

[pjmlp]

Unfortunately I have the experience that is hardly the case in regards to laptops.

Using various Linux distributions since kernel 1.0.9, Slackware 2.0.

[graemep]

My experience differs. Very few problems with lots of laptops over the last 20 years - mine and family.

I also did specify laptops with Linux preinstalled which I do not think were even available in the days of kernel 1.0.9

[chrisandchris]

Like one could say

> and I have better things to do than uninstall Teams, LinkedIn, Spotify and undo some random settings after each update.

about Windows.

[pjmlp]

Except Windows is available on PC stores where humans can be talked in person for sorting out issues, while most Linux powered laptops have to be ordered online, with various degrees of missing functionality, with a black box when comes to sending them back for repairs.

Same applies to Apple, Chromebooks and Android pseudo laptops regarding stores available with out of the box experience, the latter two while using the Linux kernel aren't certainly GNU/Linux distributions.

[viraptor]

> Windows is available on PC stores where humans can be talked in person for sorting out issues

Has anyone actually achieved anything non-trivial with those? In my experience store help can only do what an average techy knows anyway. Anything else gets you sent to the manufacturer's support.

[pjmlp]

A lot, which is why normies go to them.

[robocat]

> where humans can be talked in person for sorting out issues

Like the Geek Squad counter in Best Buy? PC setup $39.99 OS Repair $149.99 (presumably also needs data backup $99.99)

I'm in NZ, and help with Windows is expensive here. I have mostly given up helping friends (many reasons including the "last person to touch it" problem).

[pjmlp]

Good for you if Best Buy does sell laptops with Linux pre-installed, not around here.

[robocat]

Good for you if your friends and family are wealthy enough to pay for support and pay for antivirus subscriptions and pay to upgrade their laptop because their old one has been obsoleted by Microsoft. Microsoft's focus has shifted away from their users.

Linux is a distraction - why do you strawman it? Raw Linux is only to be recommended to very few end users.

The last time I had to support Windows was while I was travelling in Argentina and my father asking for advice about his worry about a virus. His worry was the primary issue, whether he actually had a virus was secondary. There's no way I could safely hand him to a third party to support him (the only third-party people I might trust needed business accounts and had expensive chargeout rates). My answer was change your banking password and "use the iPad I bought you" for any sensitive activities like banking. I couldn't have solved his Windows issue (perhaps didn't exist), nor could I fix his worry. Windows laptop was the cause, and there was no way to work around it. And now he's fighting the side-effects of a forced Windows 11 upgrade.

Windows is an expensive answer, only suitable for a subset of users. Apple and Google have their downsides, but both are less confusing than Windows. Everything has its compromises.

[viraptor]

> like my old Asus netbook

Not to say that experience was invalid, but we've come a long way since the netbooks were a thing.

[pjmlp]

If it was so certain to win the lottery, as betting in getting a Linux Forums style of answer every single time there is a complaint about Linux hardware support.

Maybe that wasn't my only experience?

Even Dell XPS, Tuxedo and System 76 aren't without issues in regards to 100% supported hardware.

[viraptor]

That is the experience you mentioned, not the recent one though. Acer finished with netbooks over a decade ago. I can't guess what you're not telling us and I'm happy with everything on my XPS.

[pjmlp]

Lucky user,

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=298021

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/linux-genera...

https://www.linux.org/threads/screen-issues-with-the-later-d...

https://medium.com/@AlexMichelOrg/like-linux-then-dont-buy-d...

Plenty more out there.