Linux on the desktop
I have been using Linux on the desktop (and laptop) for a number of years and I love it. However, in order to do that with CentOS 7, I had to "hack" things in order to use MATE desktop (Gnome 3 sucks!) and kernel-lt that supported certain hardware. Whilst M$ Windows off the DVD still needs drivers, consumers rarely see that, as shop-bought systems are usually ready to go. There has never been an easy path for consumers to migrate to something that was familiar. Another commenter on another thread is complaining about the case-sensitivity of *nix compared to Windows - something I have seen catching people out (web "developers" with spaces in their file names...).
There there is the lack of application support. iTunes for Linux, anyone? The software houses claim there is no demand, so they do not create a Linux version, which means you cannot use their software on Linux, which means there is no demand. Flatpak may be able to fill that gap. It has certainly helped me run the latest Skype, Signal, KiCAD, and OpenShot Video editor on CentOS 7. For other applications, I have had to use mock to rebuild upstream Fedora packages so I could use certain Amateur Radio applications in CentOS. I suspect Red Hat assume those who want to use those apps will just use Fedora, not an EL version on the desktop?!
And we have fragmentation. I have already stated my dislike for Gnome 3, and thankfully, others agreed and made MATE. With so much choice, it is really hard to create documentation, or tell a friend/relative over the phone to click on X, then Y, to sort something. This of course is also true for Windows with the UI constantly being screwed with!
And of course, we have to have the distro argument. Which do you use? Debian and its clones, or Red Hat and its clones. Different package management, different paths, different release and support cycles. I like to use the EL versions so it "just works". Unfortunately, the toys I want to play with are only available in the bleeding-edge versions, such as Fedora (speaking from a Red Hat perspective). So I have to go without, rebuild, or run it virtualised. A recent issue has stopped me dead in my tracks from trying to migrate to Rocky Linux 8. The rather handy 'mail-notification' utility is not available in EL8, as it needs libgnome-devel, which is deprecated (also an issue with Ubuntu, according to posts I have read). Attempting to rebuild it on a Rocky8 build VM, and I hit a wall where libgnome-devel requires compat-openssl10, and that refuses to build the -devel package, as it clashes with openssl-1.1.1. So I am stuck. No EL8 desktop for me at the moment. Do I go back to running Fedora to save on rebuilding the toys? The fedup upgrade utility is rather handy, and you can stay on the last supported version to try and avoid all the things that are borked, but you still have to use bleeding-edge Firefox, and they like to break add-ons! I am afraid it is of little use to suggest: "just switch to Debian". I have spent 20-odd years playing in the RH field, and trying to get my head around where things are in the Debian clones gives me a headache. Apologies to those who love and maintain Debian, but the path and packaging differences are another reason why M$ Windows remains the dominant "thing" on people's desktops and laptops.
Feel free to downvote. As a SysAdmin of 20+ years, I have seen lots of changes, not all for the better. I now simply want things to "just work" and not have to spend hours trawling through changelogs and forum posts to find someone decided to change how one package worked, and now my entire IT estate is on the fritz! I am looking at you systemd.