In my experience in a graphics lab, the perception was that Macs (thought they often wrote that in all caps) “couldn’t do anything.” Specifically, having a one button mouse made them unusable. I never had trouble being productive and greatly enjoyed the old Macs, but I think it was just a different way of looking at computers.
Now that macOS is every bit as complicated as windows, it’s often Microsoft’s OS that can’t do something. WSL helps some of that, but there are usability shortcuts that Windows doesn’t have. Windows is also insultingly condescending with its verbiage (“Getting Windows Ready” or “Working on Updates”). Maybe aiming low in their explanations is their one-button-mouse moment.
I don’t think the users were ever all tech-illiterate on either platform. Only perceptions have changed.