Linux

I've used Linux pretty consistently since about 1995-96. In the 90s, it was for the nerdiest of the nerdy computer science students. In the aughts canonical and others brought in a lot of attention, polish, and funding. That knocked off some of the biggest rough edges. Making it a perfectly valid daily driver for general computing for anyone. The 2010s was the decade of wine, proton, steam, and valve. Tearing a gaping hole in Microsoft's platform lock in. The 2020s are shaping up to be the decade of OEM support. From Tuxedo, to System 76, to framework, to valve themselves.

The last big hurdle was hardware designed to work with and shipped with Linux. It's been proven now. And there's no taking it back. There can still be catches and pain points. Proprietary software requirements and bespoke hardware. DRM. But that's becoming less and less acceptable. I've switched my 70 year old parents. Once they're up and running it's been less constant support than windows.