This person gets it

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

True it’s a tool. Just like a car. We get attached to one way of working with that tool, but then advancements come and a different tool starts to look interesting. Think gas->electric windows/mac->Linux.

Every year is "The Year of Linux."

Year of Linux on the consumer PC. Linux has been dominating the server space for... 40+ years now.

According to the last magazine I checked about this, 1997 is actually going to be the year of Linux on the desktop.

And this housing bubble is totally going to burst any day now, too.

It's the only reasonable solution.

(I too use Arch btw)

Gentoo is for when you want to know what your compiler is doing.

It's also ironically easier to use day-to-day than some other commonly suggested distros. Sure something like Mint or Pop_OS is much much easier to set up but later on when you need a newer version or something that isn't in the repos. Too bad! That doesn't exist. Time hunt down a PPA and hope it's trustworthy.

With Arch 99.9% of the time if it's not in the main repos it's in the AUR. And since it's rolling there's no worry of doing the big upgrades (been seeing plenty of posts about issues with the transition from Fedora 38 -> 39 lately). I have daily driven Arch for almost 10 years now and there have only been a handful of times across that whole span where a pacman -Syu actually broke something.

Start with a live CD version (a USB thumb drive acts as your C: ) or a virtual machine (like VirtualBox and install Linux on it) just to try things out. Then do a full switch when ready.

Try a live CD. It's easy to get started without hearing a bunch of stuff.

If you've got a spare USB drive, have a look at Ventoy. It's a program that lets you put multiple ISOs (disc images) onto a drive and select which one to boot from at startup.

Most distros have free bootable ISOs to download, which let you try that distro without installing it. They usually have an installer built in so that you can install your chosen distro from a desktop environment.

Installation is probably the trickiest part, but even that's not too bad as long as you pay attention. Once you're on the desktop, it's as easy to use as Windows.

Linux has a learning curve that's steep to the average Windows or Mac user. The guys suggesting Arch are saying it's easier than the other distros, but you have to remember that most of those coming from the other two aren't going to know what a command line is. I had to guide someone through it when they wanted to install VMware on Pop!_OS, I would not put them on Arch. (And to those suggesting the AUR, that still needs a command line and now you need to inspect the PKGBUILD for security purposes.)

It's at the same time much easier and much harder than you think. You'll have most of it working very easily and then find some little thing annoying you with some tool and take days to find a replacement that feels just right.

Yeah, you're right about the last part.

Just command line.