It seems like I’ve been struggling with how to complete this phrase for way too long.
But I think it just occured to me how it should go:
… when I can _use_ all the hardware I paid for.
That’s really what it comes down to. I buy hardware. I expect the software to work with it, to let me take advantage of the hardware’s features. If I didn’t want the hardware feature, I wouldn’t have bought the hardware. Simple as that.
For the hardware that I buy, Windows (and it’s software ecosystem) is still the best solution. Whether it’s the thinkpad and it’s power saving, or whether it’s my digital camera and it’s RAW files, or whether it’s my new monitor with it’s hardware calibration settings, or whether it’s my cheapo dvd-rom and it’s ability to play DVD’s.
Linux hackers and Linux distributors haven’t figured out how to create incentives for others to enable the best of the hardware out there.
Of course, the corollary to that is if I limit my hardware choices, then Linux should be just fine. This used to be really hard to do, even for desktops. It all depended on the motherboard, or the ethernet chip, or wireless chip, of even graphics chip that you decided to get. These days, the task looks decidedly easier, so I might just give it another shot.