Ah, the age old debate... Of course Linux is going to suck for you when what you've been buying for years is closed source software and non open source friendly hardware. You've been voting for the same stuff with your wallet over and over again. Software and hardware makers aren't going to take risks and release their products for an OS that's only got a marginal user share. Of course installing the nvidia drivers is going to be a royal pain in the neck when it's basically the windows drivers put inside a wrapper (i.e. it's a sloppy piece of software that doesn't integrated well with Linux). Hell, hardware manufacturers don't even care about driver support past a few years at times, even under Windows (I'm thinking about Xonar sound cards here). The hardware and software is their property. You can't take it and make changes to it, otherwise you'll get a big, fat lawsuit for intellectual property theft. For things to change, people need to support open source in any way they can (donations, software development, helping other users in forums). You really can't complain that app X, Y or Z isn't available or driver A, B or C's performance/compliance isn't on par with Windows when all you've done is use Linux for a couple of weeks. Things aren't going to change overnight. You had to learn how do use Windows at some point... Now, you need to learn Linux. There are going to be fundamental differences and you'll need to adjust. If you want a Windows clone, you won't find one with Linux (although some distributions do try to mimic Windows a lot). And for each of your Linux horror stories, I could tell one about Windows.
Yesterday I tried both Elementary and LMint 18.1: in one I have no video hardware acceleration and other the fan coolers working all time . Manjaro won't install at all : stucks with"job" or this kind of stuff...
The Arch Wiki (unable to post links) is a very extensive guide for installing and configuring software. Arch Linux is only a base system and package manager (pacman), keeping all programs to their sane defaults and no messing around. Therefore, the instructions in the wiki apply to most distributions. It just requires you to READ. Reading gets you places. It all pays back. I know it's not all roses and sunshine. But look how far it got just with voluntary work. It's perfectly usable for lots of people who freed themselves from the corporations' control. That guy who writes software for some company arrives home at night and instead of relaxing he gathers with his underground mates and write open source software so we can have an operating system for free (as in beer and in freedom). It's pretty super cool. I installed Lubuntu for the owner of a bakery nearby. He payed me with life long discounts and twenty cheese breads. It's still up and running and serving him better than Windows XP (his computer has 512 MB of RAM). The kids won't break it anymore (requires authentication to mess with system files). So how can you run Windows when they ignore all the people with older computers who can't or don't want to spend on a new one? I prefer to fix my things instead of buying new s**t. It's our work that they throw away.
If you are onto this project, what's your method? Do you have two laptops, on one is your old Windows you try to abandon for the new Linux one, or you juggle with virtual machines? What's the better option? I'd go with two, separate laptops, if at all possible.
Why not just dual boot Linux and Windows? I did this when I started to use Linux right after the Windows 10 release. I still have Windows 10 on my machine, but I only use it when it comes to games. I'm no friend of Wine.
I have a Windows system -and- a Linux system. Would you care to define "procrastination"? (LOL) Not everyone who tries linux does it for the sake of being 'polar'. Some of us want to try it simply to understand how it works and how to perform day to day tasks with it. And just because I have a 'nix system doesn't mean that I want to drop Windows. Not by a longshot. Each system serves a purpose. Both of which are for -my- enjoyment.
@Neo: No offense taken. I wanted to point out that, regardless of Windows or IOS or 'nix, for some of us it's just about staying sharp (And not feeling like a dinosaur). My mom is 80, and She does puzzles on her laptop just to stay sharp. Myself I'm retired. Which means I do this stuff strictly for fun. Hell I can't drink any more, my legs hurt when I dance, and I'm too old to run around with boy-toys. So I tinker with computers and write software. And looking at distro-hopping, it looks just like what car buffs do. Or Audiophiles: Tinker with it, constantly striving for perfection. And making themselves neurotic trying to reach that pinnacle. That's sad. To me, anyway.
I have a bizarre reason for failing with Linux. I live in India, and the service quality here is poor compared to USA (obviously). Our internet connect used to be crap, only recently we have started getting respectable net speed and service. Now the ISPs supply us with modem which only works with Windows. If you pester them they give you a Mac one. But they draw a blank about Linux. It's only the beginning. Tech support and computer shops don't have a clue about linux. You are sol if you run in to a problem with drivers or something else. Computer shops can't tell which wifi cards works with linux. The list goes on and on. The entire game is rigged towards Windows. They only reluctantly support Mac because it's a status symbol here and a lot of rich people use it, so it's a pretty crucial market. It's really sad. Developing countries should focus on Linux instead of donating tons of money to MS.
I know the feeling. Here in Brazil is almost the same, but they have been using GNU/Linux in federal banks and schools for many years. I remember seeing a password machine and an ATM booting Debian 7 . Repair shops wouldn't know what to do with a distro. But hey, I never heard of a modem that depends on the OS. Is it like those dial up modems that need a crappy piece of software installed? I hope you find one ISP that doesn't do that. It's hard to believe that all of them would be so old.
Not really.. it's the greed for capitalisation that overcomes the soul-less - many have no deeper understanding, sadly.