I have slowly been moving them, one by one, over to Fedora. I still get support calls, but not related to the OS, more like, "how do I add an attachment to this email, I forgot."
"How do I share my screen?"
"Well grandma, the Google Chrome Flatpak you're using defaults to Xorg so it runs in XWayland, which means it can't see the desktop because the rest of your shell is native in Wayland. If you go to chrome://flags and set prefered-ozone-platform to wayland it might work, but some people in this reddit thread also mention you need to install xdg-desktop-portal-gnome so it can call the screensharing API in GNOME. This also might not work in the Flatpak at all and maybe just the RPM."
Remote support is a breeze now, and we save the usual 30 minutes of guiding an update of TeamViewer over the phone (because of an old and incompatible version) etc.
Flatpak has made it so easy to install most common apps, just press the Super key, search for the app, click on it in the list and "Install". Usually takes less than 10-30 seconds from start 'till the app is installed and running. Very grandma-proof, actually!
EDIT: But I will say that the road to where GNOME / Fedora is today has been a bumpy ride, like a car that is under maintenance while driving :) It's the FOSS / Linux way. In the end, the result is actually quite amazing and user friendly.
I had my ageing parents set up with a Linux desktop for some years in the past. I just -pre-configured everything they'd likely have needed. Browser, email, instant messaging (as it was at the time), a photos app, possibly something else I'm forgetting.
It's the somewhat tech-savvy (or at least somewhat tech-independent) for whom such a transition might be the most trouble.
(And, of course, those people who use specialized applications or hardware for which support may not be available, or who use workflows that require going somewhat below the "appliance" level and which could require significant relearning.)
Sibling commenters have it right - if a computer is an appliance to them, then going for the simplest, least likely to accidentally mess up option is the best one.
But over the last few years, the Windows 10 and Windows 11 installations are being booted occasionally merely to update the Windows itself.
More and more I'm considering that to be a waste of time, because I don't use Win 10 or Win 11 for anything practical. I only use Win 7 when I do use Windows.
It's probably time to blow away those Win 10 and Win 11 partitions entirely, I think.
Also, what's up with the random "welcome to your new device, lets set everything up". Seen that about 4 times already on my current W11 install.
Personally, I am contemplating moving to a server version of Windows on my desktop. This AI nonsense looks like just a privacy invasion scheme.
It was actually much better in the past, when it was more of a Unix with a fancy GUI bolted on. These days it's becoming more like iOS, "Trust us, we know better than you how things should work, you must use it like we intended". That's not how I am. I have very strong ideas on how my computer should work.
When I look at Gnome I see the exact same ("you're using it wrong") attitude in the developers. That will never fly for me. That's why I love KDE because they embrace choice.
The thing is that even with KDE my desktop is quite heavily modified. I use a 3x3 desktop grid with fullsize windows and I remapped the keys on the numpad to be quick desktop selectors without modifier keys and added other quick keys for tab shifting and window to desktop reassignment, so I can control most things fully with the keyboard. Also remapped other things like KDE's Activities for even more flexibility. Also I modified the look and feel very heavily.
But I didn't need a single plugin for KDE at all to make this possible! Every time I want to do something outlandish I look around and there is a setting for it. It's amazing. For Gnome (yes I did use it at one stage) I needed a bunch of plugins to do even the most simple things like make the window toolbars not so insanely big, to put virtual desktops in a grid, to add a dock etc.
These are some things I used to do in macOS but they removed for example the ability to put virtual desktops in a grid (they are now in a row only) and they added this horrible full-screen option that doesn't do what I want. It felt like every update apple was trying to saw the legs of my chair from under me. I was getting so sick of it.
But anyway I would never be on board the linux train if Gnome were the only option available. And even if it were to become one I (and I'm sure many others) would keep alternatives alive. I'm just not a team player. I don't get with the program.
Well, yes it can. But the choice of Desktop whether that be Linux, MacOS or Windows is just a matter of familiarisation.
I have the exact opposite view to you: "Too bad Windows still can't offer a desktop alternative that is widely acceptable." but that is because I have been using a Linux Desktop for over 20 years. I've been using the LinuxMint MATE Desktop for about 10-11 years.
If you feel happy with Windows, stick with it. It's your machine, and your choice.
Otherwise I would’ve switched long ago, as at the very least the development environment is much nicer in Linux.
Even if you filter *.microsoft.com and other domains in firewall ?
