My wife is not technical and has no interest in adopting and learning anything.

The web works the same way regardless of the OS, and LibreOffice has all the same features as Word that she uses.

The "hard part" is choosing and upgrading hardware, and maybe installation (depending on distribution).

I mention this because I think we should evaluate these differently. With a preloaded desktop/laptop, I've had no issues with anyone that actually relates to Linux (except my BIL who was trying to build an arcade stick for gaming).

Explaining to my other BIL how to select hardware for his custom build, that took some time, as did guiding him through the installation.

You need to dedicate time to adopt and learn how to get a local account on Windows and clear out the bullshit you don't want.

I recently switched to Linux. At first I was surprised at how easy it was to set up and get working, then I was annoyed at having to look up how to do every little thing I know how to do on Windows and considered switching back.

Then I booted into Windows and in less than 10 minutes was fed up the whole OS. I realized I had to look up things just as often as I was on Linux, but in Linux it was because I didn't know where it was, where as on Windows it was actively hidden from me and fighting me every step of the way.
Windows is in no way easier, It's just the struggle you've gotten so used to fighting with every single day that you've forgotten it exists.

I don't disagree in general. However, my mom has been running Linux with a Windows XP skin for almost 8 years now without knowing she's using Linux. Literally just keeps her from running a random .exe and she does everything on a browser anyway.

and i also say this as someone who is required to use windows at work. i despise windows, its so much harder for me to use windows given linux been my daily driver for a long time. im annoyed at powershell, explorer, clunky shortcut behaviors, etc just about every second im on windows. its a nightmare difficulty for me, but i also refuse to ever relearn windows stuff. i do remember a time when it wasnt annoying as fuck to use, could be nostalgia or that people just adopt.

using windows as a linux user is a nightmare. but if someone is adopted to windows, the opposite is gonna be similar no matter what.

Well, the whole reason people have to "adopt and learn" is because M$ bought their way onto virtually every new PC sold back in the 90s, so people's first experience would be their "operating system."
Talk about leveraging anchoring bias.
I'd argue you'd have a hard time selling Windows to people if you were honest about it.

For just 145€ you get:

• an operating system that assumes you're an inept idiot
• ads in your application launcher
• a screenshot taken every minute, which gets stored outside your control and analysed by "AI"
• an invasive "assistant" that listens in on your microphone at all times
• forced to create an account to log in to "your" machine, so we can collect even more personal data

Especially when the alternative is free and let's you do whatever you want with your hardware. And if you happen to misconfigure something you get to be an adult about it and learn from your mistakes.

I don’t think you realize just how complicated it has become to administer windows these days.

Can confirm. Just switched to Linux about 2 weeks ago. I am happy enough, but there was a brutal learning curve. This was for a distro that is user friendly, too. I was able to install just fine, but actually getting my environment set up is an ongoing process.

Many Linux distros are getting there, but they still aren't ready for casual users.