For me the most frustrating thing about linux is that it's distros are universally made by people who love linux, and the linux paradigm.
I have used linux on and off for 20 years now, and every time I end up back on windows, and it's such a relief when I am back. And so upsetting that I cannot escape windows.
Windows solves friction with GUI usability.
Linux solves friction with expectation of CLI mastery.
It's forever damned to the 5% of people who are willing to toil with a CLI (yes, I know your grandma uses it to check her e-mail, unfortunately the -only- thing she does is check email).
Then we have the likes of Android and MacOS, which had product people force engineering to bury all CLI stuff.
I strictly use KDE. It is well refined, all the KDE built apps follow a consistent UI. It behaves much like I have expected any desktop OS to behave. Back in the days of KDE 3 (or 3.5?) they used to do a setup wizard where it would ask you which experience you'd prefer: Windows, Mac, or Linux and it would change everything to match how those platforms behaved.
They also seem to have an app for all the major things.. IRC Client? There's definitely a KDE based one, Mail client? KMail. Web Browser? Konqueror! Even though I don't use it, it's still nive to see them build apps for everything for KDE, even a range of simple games.
What do you mean, there's all kinds of extremely user focused distributions.
If you need it to feel like Windows there's KDE - but if you're OK with changing your mind then things like ElemeteryOS (https://elementary.io/) put a huge amount of focus on UX, accessibility, beauty and of course: usability.
Aside from Archlinux, the majority of mainstream distributions bend over themselves to offer you GUIs for everything. Yes, the CLI is powerful and you will be better served by not avoiding it: but you can get by totally fine if you never open a single terminal on Ubuntu or Bazzite.
This is written as a power-user lamenting having power, and presuming that non-power users will have to learn to be a power user.. that's just not a thing in linux since at least 2016.
EndeavourOS is what I use, since I wanted to try Arch but I also refuse to run an OS install that does not have a GUI. The 90s where 30 years ago, every other major distro has a GUI installer OOTB.
Debian lets you do either, I would prefer Arch adopt the UI and still keep the terminal. The other thing is usually with a GUI installer you get a LIVE system that lets 'try before you buy' a distro.
> It's forever damned to the 5% of people who are willing to toil with a CLI
I've never really understood this complaint. On GNOME/KDE, all the normal system administration/configuration stuff (the types of settings you'd see in the control panel on Windows) are accessible through the settings GUI. The situations in which I've had to use the CLI on Linux are basically equivalent to when I have to use the Registry Editor, Group Policy Editor, Services Manager, or PowerShell scripts on Windows, none of which are really any more user friendly than the Linux CLI.
>For me the most frustrating thing about linux is that it's distros are universally made by people who love linux, and the linux paradigm.
The distro I use (Slackware), 100% true. Plus that can be said for many others too.
But, RHEL and by extension Rocky and Alma Linux are driven by corporations and marketing, like Windows is. So if you want a marketing driven OS, you have these anyway.
I just hope RHEL changes does not infect Slackware, a couple of things snuck in due to dependencies, but luckily it did not change the feel of Slackware (yet).
Slackware was my first distro, then Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE for a little while, then POP_OS!, and now Arch Linux. I loved openSUSE the most, but it stopped supporting my hardware at some point. I dont like to fight for my OS to just work.
I have used linux on and off for 20 years now, and every time I end up back on windows, and it's such a relief when I am back. And so upsetting that I cannot escape windows.
Windows solves friction with GUI usability.
Linux solves friction with expectation of CLI mastery.
It's forever damned to the 5% of people who are willing to toil with a CLI (yes, I know your grandma uses it to check her e-mail, unfortunately the -only- thing she does is check email).
Then we have the likes of Android and MacOS, which had product people force engineering to bury all CLI stuff.