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Yeah I think most of the reasons people use Windows over Linux have to do with convenience like being used to a certain piece of Windows-only software, or not having to worry about the anti-cheat in games or just not wanting to move to a new OS. (Granted I acknowledge some people are expected to use certain software for work.) I think the only thing modern Windows has over other operating systems is that it has a lot of mainstream compatible software & games (I'd say usability too but I'm including MacOS in this). I know a lot of people here like Windows 10. But switching to Linux Mint made me realize how bad it was for me. On Windows 10, my computer would crash a lot (my computer hasn't crashed again so far and it's been like 4 months). I'd also run into problems trying to customize the taskbar & icons, even if I miss my Open Shell Win7like full glass skin. To me, the last good version of Windows wasn't Windows 10 but Windows 7. That's not to undermine other people's experiences with Windows 10. The crashes could have been a hardware issue, for example. Plus not everyone wants to theme their OS beyond simple flat design, or stuff like Open Shell and Retrobar are good enough for them and that's fine too.
People use Windows because:
- Almost all software and games works with it, including obscure ones from the 90s, using compatibility tools, and as you said, anti-cheat works.
- Professional tools such as Adobe suite, photo editors, more video editors.
- Interface is easy to use and intuitive (no terminal commands needed).
Personally, I never had a crash on my current installation of Windows, but with so many hardware configurations available, there's bound to be one that crashes more often than another. For some people, Linux will crash more often than Windows, I guess it depends on your particular hardware. Also, it's possible you had corrupted your Windows installation, you mentioned trying to customize taskbar, maybe that's why.
Cons of Windows:
- Lack of data privacy compared to Linux (you can remediate this to a certain level).
- Less customization out of the box (but people customize it anyways).
- AI built-in (though you can disable/uninstall it).
- More bloat in general.
At the end of the day, to me it's just preference and also sometimes your needs that define what you use. Nobody should shame someone for using something else (I'm not saying you did, but generally people like to do that in those debates), I also find it curious that people seem to love Windows 10 now when I remember it being hated when it first launched, maybe people will miss Windows 11 when 12 comes out.
Yeah true. I guess you have a point. I should have been more considerate as to people's preferences even if I wasn't exactly shaming like you said. But I do think the terminal commands scare people a bit. However it seems like I mostly use them just for installing & uninstalling stuff, especially if it isn't in the software manager or doesn't have a deb/appimage file I can use. I'm able to do most things through the user interface. But I'd imagine it'd depend on your distro & desktop environment, especially since I hear Cinnamon (unlike my DE) lets you uninstall stuff by right-clicking it in the start menu & selecting uninstall. Maybe I was projecting though because a big reason why I was undecided on switching before was convenience. Also I was experiencing crashes from BEFORE I started customizing. So it wasn't that.
Update to this: I've decided to use schedules to limit my time on social media in general (this includes discord, this forum, my guestbook, and other stuff of that nature), to only around 2 hours in a certain period of the day. Outside of that, the websites are blocked automatically thanks to an extension called LeechBlock on Firefox. I've also started using Pomodoro timers for when I'm doing any kind of work (25/30 minutes work separated by 5 minutes breaks), instead of working for hours on end with no breaks until I finished my task (aka. ADHD hyperfocus).
I think a big problem with our modern lives is that we are always connected and reachable, we also have a over abundance of stimulation in the media we consume, all of those things were not a thing when we were younger (if you're of my generation anyways), which is probably why I felt happier when I was younger and less anxious. I also think that when something is limited to a certain period of time in the day, you start to value that time way more and enjoy the thing again. I think that applies to most things not just social media.
Think of it this way: Birthday cakes are special because we only have them once per year. But if we eat birthday cakes everyday, it doesn't feel special anymore when the birthday comes. It's the same thing when you over-consume something like a social media, if you do it all day everyday it doesn't make you happy anymore.
I've decided to implement a system on Reddit using that same extension where it's blocked by default but you can override that block a certain amount of times per day. Each override is set to last enough time to leave a post or comment. It has worked successfully so far.
As for Discord, I've now decided to implement that same scheduling system so I can only check between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner. I will tweak the schedule as needed. I may (not guaranteed) update with effectiveness and any tweaks.
