So yes, it is simply easier to just use Windows and turn off as much as you can. It's a pain, but the relative pain to using Linux is lower.
I support Blizzard because they make good games which are fun to play. Who is this other person I should be supporting instead?
What graphics tablet maker that provides first party Linux drivers should I support?
As good as Gimp and Blender are, they still can't compete with the Photoshops, Illustrators, Mayas, and Fusions of the world.
The "right people" don't exist; not yet. And I can't afford to support someone on the off chance they sill someday produce an equivalent product.
/sarcasm off
Get a grip and please go trumpet your own "freedom" somewhere else. HackerNews is a place for objectivity, not bandwagon hating.
The other thing that holds me back is the UI. Hundreds of Themes available but I always see them as "cartoonish" themes that are not well though of.
[0] Heck, Windows breaks on reboots! Sometimes when I reboot, it either forgets my bluetooth or my wireless. And by forgets, I mean it doesn't think the hardware even exists. Multiple machines, multiple vendors, so it's not just one odd computer.
Rough count, I've worked with 30+ different windows machines over the last few decades. I have never seen the problem you are describing. I'm not saying you're not having it, I'm just saying it's not necessarily a common event. Maybe you live/work somewhere with a lot of EM interference?
I think people just get used to Windows' issues and don't recall how many times they have to deal with them.
[0] At least once per week out of several hundred machines.
I can recall a lot of issues that I've had with windows. I can tell you with certainty that I've never had a device go missing from the device manager.
I've had printers have trouble being discovered after they are unplugged. I've had driver updates cause hardware to stop working. I've even had windows updates completely mess up my windows installation.
But I've never had the issue you are describing.
> [0] At least once per week out of several hundred machines.
You're saying you have a greater than 1% occurrence rate per year? Google doesn't show the issue in the first three pages for me with the query "Windows forgets network hardware." Have you opened a Microsoft support ticket? I mean, if you're losing device drivers every week, that's man hours your burning! I would want to get that fixed ASAP!
I have the same install since 14.04, I have updated to each version up to 16.04 and it still works fine.
OTOH, I reverted the Win10 free update and went back to Win8.1 because Win10 did not work with my bluetooth devices, the tablet functionality was inferior to Win8.1 and it was actually unpolished compared with the Win8.1 experience.
Your second point is simply opinion, and while I can't argue against it, my own experience using Ubunty with multiple monitors and virtual desktops makes Windows feel limited in comparison and therefore much less professional.