However, there are companies selling direct support, and communities focused on specific topics, and wikis run by some of the most popular linux distributions, and classes, and books, and various other good information sources.

You literally said that.

I use Linux all the time. I have an unraid server in my basement with about 50 docker containers. I run Debian to run a lemmy instance. I use windows for gaming, and I use Mac for software dev. Linux works fantastic for servers. As a desktop os it’s shit.

As for “what we did that led to Linux breaking”, that’s just a hilarious question. Go to your Linux wikis and forums and read there. It will literally just break plugging in the wrong device. This isn’t a “my friend and I”. This is every software dev I’ve ever talked to that has used Linux, including ones that currently use it.

Your last comment there is the exact point I’m trying to make. If you have to learn anything in order to literally make the OS function (e.g. even set up a monitor) then Linux will never go mainstream. That’s just a fact.