[happytoexplain]

>The idea that Windows doesn't have it's own weird, mysterious, issues is hilarious to me.

That's not what the author said. And anecdotes are perfectly fine - in fact, they are literally are all we have to write about.

In this case, everything I've experienced and heard from others suggests that the author is correct. Linux distros are amazing, and their issues are generally fixable with experience, but the problem is that their issues are usage-blocking. Windows issues are much more common, but they are just fucking annoying. They are either solvable without a comp sci degree, or (and this is the important part) simply ignorable while still being able to use the computer (albeit with varying degrees of misery).

[teo_zero]

> > The idea that Windows doesn't have it's own weird, mysterious, issues is hilarious to me.

> That's not what the author said.

It is exactly what the author said. TFA makes a point that Windows' issues are well known and predictable. And the author would rather endure the daily nuisances infliced by Windows than fix the sporadic breakages that Linux might throw.

[worthless-trash]

Known consistent breakages, than maybe sometime breakages..

make it make sense.

[Telaneo]

I've found Windows issues to be just as usage-blocking.

I tend to have better luck with google-fu when it comes to Windows problems, just though the user base being so much larger, so it's much more likely that someone's written a guide or an explanation of my exact problem, while on Linux, it's much less likely that someone's written an exact guide, but general knowledge goes further (but you need more of it to fill in the gaps).

One additional issue I've found is that in the cases there is a guide or a Stackoverflow question regarding my exact problem, the solution is 6 years out of date and may be non-functional or less than ideal, while on Windows, that solution would still work.

[nsvd2]

I usually find the exact opposite, where for Windows I can sometimes find a few SEO optimized pages with vague instructions, but for Linux I'm much more likely to hit a wiki or forum with in-depth technical information to solve my problem.

[wormius]

"Hi I'm Mohinder from MS MSP, MSVP, SUPERSTAR ASSIST, Can I have you restart your computer... once you do that, please report back if that fixes the problem"

ms.com "support" pages.

Meanwhile, Archi Wiki? That is like... the best thing and should be a national treasure.

[Telaneo]

> I usually find the exact opposite, where for Windows I can sometimes find a few SEO optimized pages with vague instructions,

It's been a while since I've had to look up Windows problems to be fair, so my experience on that front is a year and a bit out of date (and probably more, since most permanent issues would have been solved on my desktop install years earlier).

> but for Linux I'm much more likely to hit a wiki or forum with in-depth technical information to solve my problem.

That's part of the problem, at least in my experience. When I ran Windows, I'd find someone's article called 'Solution for $Error in $Program when doing $Thing', or a forum thread or whatever else along those lines, and it would in the best case be accurate and fix my problem, and in the worst case help me figure it out from there.

On Linux, that wiki page or forum won't have a solution for my exact problem, but it will help me figure it out. Linux's default case has often been equivalent to Windows's worst case when looking for solutions, but both of them very rarely ended in a true worst case (not finding a solution at all). Linux's solution will more often than not be transferable to other situations, so the knowledge gained is useful, while on Windows, the equivalent solution is bespoke and won't be useful in any other case.

[vrighter]

"run sfc /scannow"

"that didn't work. That has never done or found anything"

"I'm just going to close this issue as solved"

Most support posts

[throwaway2037]

I agree about google-fu with Windows before two years ago. "Free" LLMs, like ChatGPT, are now excellent at fixing your Linux problems. When I have a problem with my Linux box now, I just describe the issue to ChatGPT... we do diagnosis together, then it suggests some fixes. It has not failed me in more than one year, and continues to get better. (I know, I know: This damn post reads like a shill/submarine advert for ChatGPT, but I sure other LLMs are just as good at this point.)

[newdee]

> They are either solvable without a comp sci degree, or (and this is the important part) simply ignorable while still being able to use the computer

If this were true there’d be no need for IT/tech support services.

[aworks]

I have a computer science degree yet continue to use Windows. Is it because I have 30 years of experiece knowing what to ignore?j I do also use WSL for the command-line.

[marysol5]

I mean, how much "CompSci" do you apply to your OS on e day-to-do. Or even to diagnose an issue?

I feel that was half of this article...The author did ZERO investigations

[ErroneousBosh]

> Windows issues are much more common, but they are just fucking annoying.

Apart from the ones that are completely 100% usage-blocking.

[nuancebydefault]

I find that a very weird thing to write. I think the last BSOD i had was 10 years ago and when a laptop didn't work anymore, it was usually because some of its hardware broke. It's true though that over time laptops become too slow or have too little resources to run a recent (and secure) windows version over time, but that goes for most software in general.

[ErroneousBosh]

Okay, but it's more that there are a lot of things you simply cannot do in Windows. It's got extremely poor hardware and software support.

[throwaway2037]

    > Linux distros are amazing, and their issues are generally fixable with experience, but the problem is that their issues are usage-blocking.

This is a great point. Years ago, when Microsoft Windows was much less stable, I noticed that Windows felt like you constantly had some small nagging issues, but you could still boot and workaround it.

[chii]

is it better to have a thousand paper cuts, or a limb injury? I guess it depends on the person...

[whyagaindavid]

> that their issues are usage-blocking

What?

Sure - if one has some weird hardware? or need to use some specialist windows only software/workflow.

> they are just fucking annoying

> are either solvable without a comp sci degree,

with that argument - even ChromeOS is great. Just works. Especially for all the school kids without compsci degree or even Amazon staff (that use a modified form of chrome OS).

[ivell]

Frankly nowadays Windows is rage inducing. Dark patterns, annoying pop-ups, mandatory single sign-on.