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Can't you say most of these things about Windows or even any other useful desktop OSes?

If you want a computer that does useful things and isn't just a locked down social media consumption machine, you end up with a lot of that baggage you've mentioned. Sure MacOS and Windows fare better (insert trillion dollar companies backing it spiel here...) but they are no smooth ride if you are doing anything more than consuming stuff or using a web browser.

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It is especially acute when it comes to Linux desktop.

I agree, it feels like linux is on a perpetual "under construction" flow, except that lately development has been picking up speed (which is a good thing), but results in an even "bumpier" ride.

And you can't really retreat to a more stable distro (Ubuntu LTS, numbered debian release etc) because you often get stuck with "outdated" software, missing hardware support and missing features (might be essential to your use case). Chasing the bleeding edge ends up being pretty essential in desktop linux but as the name entails it ends in lots of pain for the user. Nerds, hackers, developers and maybe even some power users can definitely have fun and thrive in that environment but the casual consumer.. yikes :(

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