Really? Been using a logitech trackball at work for 14 years now. My k750 keyboard lasted me almost 10y until the battery completely gave up and I wanted to upgrade. My Mx keys has lasted me for years since.

Similar stories for my mice, none of them have failed, I’ve only upgraded because I wanted lighter, more/less buttons or for other reasons.

I wanted to vote for them, I did so last time, but they didn’t appear on the ballot in my country this time. Couldn’t vote for them…

To be fair, I’ve been using windows since 3.1. I haven’t paid for windows since xp I think. I got an oem key second hand right around w7 for my desktop. That key has just lasted me all the way to w11. So I haven’t paid ms anything either in decades (except for my personal data I guess?)

Ever heard of a job? Some people need to work with a specific software suite as part of their job, regardless of their personal convictions :)

I have to use office and chrome on windows at work, I don’t get any choice in the matter.

As an end user, I don’t care about proprietary garbage, I want my mouse to work :). I understand the aversion to proprietary stuff etc. But non techie end users don’t give a flying fuck.

Also, everyone has had an MS account since the msn messenger and Hotmail heydays. That is an absolute non issue for 99% of the people tbh.

But that’s the entire point. The windows UI is still easy, especially for people that have always used windows. There have only been gradual changes. :)

And to slap in an anecdote, I am quite proficient with everything IT related. I try installing Linux once a year on average, in general I try to recommended “noob distros” . I always go back to windows after a few weeks at best. You really have to make an big effort to fully go to Linux. I end up spending more time dealing with the OS itself than doing the stuff I want.

I can absolutely see the appeal of it, but I don’t enjoy it :)

Because Linux doesn’t just work out of the box.

Somehow the Linux evangelists never understand that point.

All your peripherals, no matter how old, and all your (legacy) software just works on windows. Maybe the OS isn’t blazing fast and there is more and more so called bloatware (at least according to FOSS people), but if I plug in my 10y old Logitech wireless mouse, it works in 10 sec. In Linux I’d have to start searching for a solution, a driver, a little hack, a script, a controller repository, etc… It will work eventually, but it’s not intuitive. Doubly so for people that were raised on windows.

Linux is absolutely not user friendly for non techies that have 20y of windows habits in them.