The choice for me was something that did well in gaming. Features like good VRR support made the voice of KDE plasma the only option. I'm not bothered about the KDE UI. It is nice, and similar to windows, so ready enough to get along with.
I am monitoring Cosmic. Once it has HDR and solid VRR, etc I may try it out.
Solid rant. The amazing thing is how quickly people learn to live with whatever they currently have. It explains iPhone users.
EndeavourOS is the way to go, btw.
Most of what you said went a bit over my head. I have the Topping E2x2 audio interface. I did some testing of each setting combination on Windows. And it just works. I'm definitely using settings the hardware supports. Linux just doesn't seem mature in this area.
No. This is a multi purpose pc. Gaming, audio, work, VM. On windows this is fine but not on Linux. Not sure an RT kernel is good for my use case.
Using pipewire. It depends on which settings I use for the sample and bit rate. On windows I can use almost any combination, and baring a few older games, there is no stuttering or breakup. In Linux I find only specific sample and bit rates work well. The others cause stuttering and audio drops.
Also changing sample and bit rates is not straightforward. I've found utils that help but the only reliable way I've found is to edit the configs then restart the service.
I agree. Most of my graphics issues were related to my DE choice. KDE plasma has been by far the best in this regard.
Hmm, if not straight Arch then EndeavourOS or CachyOS first.
Audio. As much as windows has issues, it is not hard to get good latency. The same process is it less accessible to most users. A reliable gui is needed.
VST's and their associated DRM is a blocker but not the fault of Linux. The same is true for hardware that can only be properly configured with a windows or Mac only tool. These problems need a critical mass of users, and a legal requirement to support Linux for mainstream products. (EU, I'm talking to you)
I always thought they should have a 15 second gif for each DE showing off the general form factor. That looks and feel is all most people care about.
Until Adobe patch's the installer and licencing server to prevent it from working at all. (Too cynical?)
Server
"Core" Switch
WIFI and Internet Router / Firewall
These are the people in power now. There should be an international year or celebration when the last person born before the year 2000 dies, with minor celebrations for each decade leading up to that year.