What really bothers me is simping for corporations. I've had Windows reset my stuff multiple times to the point I had a script to set it up every update. At this point I decided it would be less work to switch to an OS that would not do this. You said yourself you need a whole procedure, not because the system itself is bad, but because of bullshit they tack on top of it.

I understand Linux will not play nice on all hardware but my Ubuntu install has been perfect for 6 years now (through changing motherboards and cloning to another disk).

I absolutely never said Windows is 100% bad and nobody should use it and Linux is completely perfect. I've even been saying the opposite on this thread. I needed to use it at many points.

But if you want to get rid of ads, bullshit like the OP article, Linux is the only sane solution and I stand by it, it is much better to learn a new system than constantly deal with issues on another just because it is what you are used to.