Thing is, people just don't install an OS to begin with - as Torvalds once remarked himself.

You don't see Steam Deck users installing Windows, though they very well could, and I'm sure some would prefer to do so, but the experience in that device isn't bad enough - or bad at all for most - for people to bother, likewise the experience of Windows isn't bad enough for people to bother.

Framework won't suddenly cause a major shift, simply because they just don't sell that many devices. These kinds of things don't happen in a year.

For me the target is “GNU/Linux is viable and practical for the average user”, not “GNU/Linux has 30% market share”. I haven’t tried System 76 so I don’t know much about GNU/Linux outside the Framework line, but upgradeable graphics in the upcoming 16 inch models means you could dual-boot with Windows for AAA gaming and maybe a handful of Windows-specific apps, and GNU/Linux for machine learning and just about everything else.

If that's your target then we've been there for pretty close to a decade.

I set up my mother on Linux mint in 2013~ and she genuinely didn't have issues with it (until the hardware finally kicked the bucket).

She had much more issues going from Windows XP to Windows 8, which was something she had to do around the same time for work.

This is a reminder that Windows 8 is coming up on 11 years old. :D

You’re right, except you had to install it for her. Viability and practicality mean people who aren't devs or power users can install the OS and update/upgrade by themselves.

Which is especially ironic given that the install experience for Mint 10 years ago was better than Windows installation at the time (live environment, lack of product key), and far better than Windows now (opt out? Do you want a pen? What about this tracker? Don't you have a microsoft online account? Why not? please make one before continuing!).

I had to install some Windows 11 machines for work and I was honestly dumbfounded by how convoluted it was.

The "problem" is that there's only a few people selling Linux laptops and they're doing it to target a niche market.

I have to seriously wonder how much market cap there would be if people had to install Windows themselves.

I hear about it, but I have no first-hand experience with how terrible Windows installation has become. I do have the privilege of being a developer who doesn’t need anything Windows-specific.

Another irony is that most folks who are making an autonomous decision to use GNU/Linux can probably figure out how to install and update it, so if you want to make good money pre-installing, selling to consumers, and supporting/updating the OS, you need to make a massive marketing push to convince folks to switch.

Framework doesn’t even sell their laptops with Linux pre installed. How are they even that much better than Dell for instance in this regard?

Actually people are indeed installing Windows on the Steam Deck, and all upcoming competing devices are being based on a Windows 11 core.

The netbooks show how well it worked, with every OEM having their own flavour.