Try LTSC 2019 (there are 2 other releases for 10, LTSC 2021 and LTSB 2016, back in 2016 it was named Long Term Support Branch). It’s almost like Win7 regarding speed… almost.

Not saying you should switch, but I dual boot because sometimes I need things that just don’t run even in Wine, so if I have to use Windows, I use LTSC. A lot less intrusive, doesn’t have the bullshit apps that come with regular Pro and Home, and, on top of that, 2019 has a 10 year support cycle (they changed it to 5 with LTSC 2021). So, basically, I’m covered till 2029.

Long Term Support Channel. It’s Windows 10/11, but without all of the app crap. It’s frozen in time to when it was released, just takes security updates, no feature updates. Same as any Windows before 10.

It was way too early. If that happened after 11, very few would mind. But it happened way too early. 7 had the classic 6.x kernel start menu, and 8 suddenly had… no start menu button at all 😬. That was their mistake, way too much change way too early.

You don’t have to make it a part of the kernel, it could be an external module, like the firmware. I’ve done it before, it’s not as scary at it sounds. Yes, at a certain point, it will stop to work and you’d have to recompile with a new compiler (if that doesn’t work, code changes need to be implemented), but in most cases, you don’t have to change a thing, except download the new source for the driver and build it again.

It usually works for about a year or two, then you have to rebuild, so it’s not that big of an issue.

Meeh, each to his own 🤷.

You’re gonna get downvoted because of 8.1.

But yes, I do agree, 8.1 was great, a lot better than 10. The problem with it was the start menu (easily fixable) and the fact that MS didn’t invest money or time in it after 10 came out, so a lot of bugs went unfixed.

because literally nothing else that ships with KDE supports my machine’s 5G modem…

Why not just take that module, build it yourself, add the firmware package as well, repackage it and install it on whatever distro you like. I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but you only have to do it once… or maybe twice, depending on what is removed/added in future kernels.

Exactly, same as Arch… which is why I used Arch for like 2 weeks and then hopped to Void. Sorry, but it was the same bullshit all over again, services not running properly, slow boot time, services stalling at shutdown… I’m sorry but, with the words of Garry Oldman, I haven’t got time for this Mickey Mouse bullshit!

Runit on the other hand… it just works. Set it and forget it!

There is no self test for mouse, just keyboard.

Except for the start menu and right click menu, yeah, I’d agree. Luckily, you can bring both back if you wanted to.

LTSC has almost the same performance as Win7… almost. It is runnable on a regular spinning drive.

That’s actually the first run welcome notification. You just have to edit the text in that dropdown popup.

He could make his own templates for the packages… he doesn’t even have to rebuild. If he could at least find a .deb or .rpm package of the app/package he likes, he could use that and just repackage. That’s what I do for stuff I can’t find… and update them from time to time (like every few months or so).

Yeah, it’s basically flatpak but with more problems and bugs. It’s from Canonical and some parts of it are closed source.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap_(software)

As to “why should I care”, you don’t have to… unless you use Ubuntu.

Why not try Void. It’s fairly up to date regarding all packages, including KDE and it’s rock solid.

I think they solve the problem the wrong way.

My thoughts exactly 👍.

Also, the famous legacy BIOS error “Keyboard not found, press F1 to continue”.