Jumping generations in Windows has always come with proportionate to disproportionate headaches and growing pains, but with the exceptions of the odd ones out like ME, 8, and Vista, I think most of the grousing could be tied more to people's traditional dislike of change. At least speaking personally I was usually able to look back and go, "Yeah, that was pretty decent all told." 95 was leagues more advanced than 3.1, 98(SE) was very familiar while extending functionality, XP was a thing of beauty, 7 actually managed to improve on it in some respects even if it lost more compatibility than I was anticipating.
Personally I made the jump when Win7 hit EOL simply because 8 was such a hideous laughingstock and 10... definitely wasn't better than 7. The best praise I could possibly give 10 from my comparatively limited exposure to it is, "It still works, mostly. It isn't Vista or 8." But more things than usual just started breaking that weren't breaking before and shouldn't have had reason to break. More stuff was forced. More restrictions were in place. The aesthetic is modern minimalist garbage. But... it mostly worked.
Everything I've seen of 11 is so in-your-face consistently, aggressively hostile, restrictive, forced, borderline if not outright broken, and bad that it staggers belief, and adoption rates have been as reluctant as I've ever seen them if not moreso. I'm not saying the year of desktop Linux is here, I'm not saying Microsoft is finished. They might never be just because of the footprint they have in the market with default installs on new hardware, and the comparative level of engagement and computer fluency that's required for someone to adapt to Linux. But I will point out that the ~3% global install base Linux has now is between double and triple what that percentile was just 5 or so years ago. That Linux, especially where gaming is concerned, is leagues ahead of where it was just a few years ago in terms of compatibility, accessibility, and ease of use thanks in large part to Proton and the popularity of the Steam Deck. That Valve just unveiled the "GabeCube" as their new standardized hardware rig and are seemingly on the cusp of extending SteamOS compatibility to ARM64 devices writ large. That with the economy the way it's been, being able to game on a budget is much more viable on Linux now that Win11 is overnight obsoleting millions of otherwise functional devices out of hand.
It'd be a lot of work. I get it. I can't imagine the headache that must go into the process, and it's for a comparatively tiny install base. But it's an install base that's slowly been gaining traction and seems to have a brighter future ahead of it in spite of all its own proprietary headaches.
