Might be more a question for OP. 20 years ago was 2005, so I suppose they’re the ones making that claim.

I do… Kids in school occasionally need stuff printed. I have a network attached laser printer, it was super easy, barely an inconvenience to set up in Linux. It was fairly easy to setup in windows too, but every so often it stops working randomly for a few minutes, then as soon as I start trying to figure out why, it randomly starts working again… No such trouble from Linux.

Seemed idiot proof already a couple years before 2005 in my experience. I hear for years prior already too. Rumours of Linux’s difficulty have been grossly exaggerated, like in the OP image.

… And reading the EULA for Windows may be non-idiot preventative. But who ever reads what that says. … I did, when I had read the GNU GPL. The difference… it’s worth the read… to experience that vivid constrast awareness, with one offering freedom, the other with it’s deal with the devil clause, that they can change the agreement after they make it, and do all manner of nasty to you. GPL’s easier to read only a few thousand words, compared to the proprietary license etc that are probably something like thousands of pages in their entirety. The BSD licenses are an even easier read. The WTFPL even shorter yet. Freedom’s brevity not trying to hide something nasty in either the license nor the software… unlike the scary stuff one can find hidden in proprietary software. ~ Anyhoo, I’ll stop rambling on your comment. It just sprang to mind.

When Ubuntu came along, I could not understand the fuss about it being easy to install… It seemed no easier than other distros years prior. Yes, 2004 04 (iirc~ or was it 10?), ubuntu’s easy to install… so are half a dozen others at the time, for years. Twas just marketing. If only we could have got the word out already before then… or even now… still people seem to think it was hard back then. It wasnt. A monkey pushing the button could install it. Did not have to install Arch, Gentoo, or LFS, the hard way. Could install debian, slackware [Edit: oh wait, slackware woulda been curses tui], redhat, suse, or whatever even easier respins (ubuntu wasnt the first debian respin). Some people still think it’s hard now. It’s not. It has not been difficult all this millennium so far. Oh to let other people have that awakening moment, have it be revolutionary in their eyes, still today, dispelling their notions of how life has to be, into how life can be. :)

Just FYI, ReviOS is a playbook (set of system changes) that strips all the crap out of Windows 11 while still being almost entirely functional (I believe it disables automatic driver downloads, but it still gets Windows security updates.) I use it in my VM.

It’s super easy—install Windows 11, run the ReviOS playbook, then a Ninite to install all the essentials (including Classic Shell I think? Although I prefer one called something like Start Back.)

Non !

EVERY SECOND WINDOWS IS GOOD

Is that what microsoft put in the microsoft windows subliminal messaging subsystem?

(or whatever its called now)

Only this time around Linux got to the point where everyday users can switch and only run into debiliating problems twice a year, so MS is losing customers.

It’s been better than that for around quarter a century. From 2003, I had my first distro run solid for 4 years, before choosing to switch, ran that one for near 4 years too (with more meddling for fun), before switching to what it was based on (and in a sense, been with various installs of mostly that since… call that 2nd or 3rd time lucky). One does not have to go with a distro that does a 6 month fixed release cycle. Long term support can go 5 years (and eased seamless transitions are possible anyway, so that’s near meaningless). Rolling can go forever. There’s still Arch if you want debilitating problems (more than) twice a year. ;D (Now watch me be beat to death with baseball bats that say “Arch BTW” for saying that. lol)

debiliating problems?

The fuck? XP was awful. I left because of it. What are you on about?

All windows after 7 was just a downward spiral of shittiness.

I bought Pepsi after a long time of drinking almost no sodas, and none of big-brand ones (and I prefer Pepsi to Coke generally). It was somewhat of a shock as to how loaded it was with caffeine and sugar. Next time I’ll rather get store-brand soda that’s five times cheaper and has barely any sugar and no caffeine, even if it’s blander in taste.

Amusingly, Ubuntu Cola is pretty good.

Lots of smaller, independent brands make nice cola, like Fritz-Kola in Germany or Breizh Cola in France. Don’t expect to find them at your local hole in the wall though.

No but RC cola is pretty good if you want something that tastes similar to coke. My hick is showing ain’t it?

nope, but i have no idea how else to describe their counterproductive logic

On the forums asking for help.

All the support forums I went to (redhat, gentoo, debian) in 2005 were friendly helpful and well moderated. What is this fud?

Being told “RFTM! noob”, isn’t as common as it was 20 years ago. At least with Fedora where good help can be found. Still, there are a good number of questions that just don’t get answered either.