You need to do WAY more than that to debloat and make even Windows 10 look, perform as efficiently and feel like Windows 7.
Ignoring the prefacing comment that mentioned those two were the biggest direct issues most users, so "normies", had with 10/11, and it was trivial to disable, but because they're so technologically inept they've assumed that they're forced to be stuck with it then proliferated this idea that you cannot unfuck Windows. Of course when someone tells them that it's trivial they'll then move the goalpost that "you shouldn't have to unfuck it in the first place", which I agree as stated in the comment you quoted, but that was not the initial point that I was making.
The initial point was that people over-exaggerate how bad and unfixable Windows 11 is because they don't know the most basic things about their computers, and they moan about how evil and bad 11 is even though 10 had most of those anti-features, but somehow no one bitches about 10, but instead adamantly states that they'll forever stay on 10 or totally definitely switch to Linux this time around, instead of every other time the exact same cycle happened when a new Windows version was released? Curious.
Using a Local account in 11 requires multiple registry hacks or a corporate/retail only version of Windows 10
Windows 11 in any version but Home lets you set up a local account. Said it before, they've hid it away (as in, they don't make it obvious in the OOBE like they did in the W10 OOBE) so people are under the assumption that MS forces you to use an MS account, but it's not true.
and it will STILL attempt to force a Microsoft account on you without your consent.
Things that never happen for $100. At most they keep shoving the suggestion to use MS account in your face in the Settings panel, but they don't force you, as in, they don't lock you out of your computer until you set up an MS account. Just a little nag screen in a single spot, if that's "forcing" then Debian is "forcing" you to join their package popularity contest because they give you an option to opt into it.
You can log into MS Store while keeping your local account as well, both on 10 and 11, so it's not like a demon switch where once you've given any credentials to your MS account, Windows will suddenly link
everything to it. It will keep the MS credentials for all the MS stuff but won't touch your local account unless you explicitly tell it to turn it into one. I kept my MS account credentials in Win10 for years and not once did I suddenly wake up to see that my local account is now an MS account.
FFS, you can't even disable auto-updates without Group Policy Manager, which isn't available in Home versions of windows
Home versions were always locked down on all the administrative features, even back in Windows 7. Besides, if you're gonna be the type of person to dig around and debloat Win11, then you'll most likely be running a pirated version of Pro. Home users are 99% normies who don't even know you can disable that annoying weather widget with 4-5 clicks so instead bitch and moan about it endlessly and they never have a thought of "I should look up "how to disable weather widget windows 11" online".
And if you're gonna be setting up a computer for a relative, let's be real, they'll be able to use Linux Mint and not feel a difference since their computer needs are so basic that stock Mint encompasses them all. You're not going to go out of your way to try and fix Win11 Home and then get a call from them whenever something that's a one minute fix for you becomes an unconquerable hill for them because something has changed or updated.
Now tell me: when was the last time you've used Windows for a prolonged period of time? Are you saying all those things about 10/11 from personal experience, or are you regurgitating opinions of others without verifying them as you've been using an alternative OS for years now? Because something tells me you're the latter.
Obviously, if I were to make uneducated claims about how bad Linux is then it would suddenly be bad, but when I would spew shit like "Microsoft Pluton will wipe your Linux install the moment it detects one on your hard drive and there's no way to stop it" then people would blindly agree just because it makes Microsoft look bad, even though it's a blatant lie that takes five minutes to verify. But it's totally fine to do it the other way, and trying to correct the discussion course to criticize Windows for the things it actually does bad suddenly resembles an argument with an avid anti-pirate where you try to correct the course of discussion with "it's not stealing, it's copyright infringement". They'll just chimp out and keep yelling "thief".
Look, you can have your Bazzite, I'm not telling you to move back to Windows. I'm just saying that whatever it is that you know about Windows 10/11 clearly doesn't come from personal experience and you're repeating complete bullshit.
Using an OS meant for ATM's and Air Traffic Control just doesn't make sense to me. If Windows is so bad you have to use LTSC you shouldn't use Windows, the effort you spent downloading LTSC could have been spent using Linux instead.
You're acting as if Windows LTSC/IoT was an equivalent of a purpose built Gentoo install. They're not, they're just Windows 10/11 with consumer bullshit stripped out for the sake of long term stability. Again, are you speaking from experience? Or are you making assumptions and never had any experience with LTSC? Because I know that LTSC works the same way like regular Windows. I daily driven it for years no problem, and I've set up my mom's laptop with it and she doesn't have any complaints.
Think of LTSC/IoT releases like they're what Windows 2000 was to Windows XP, a basic, barebone desktop that has all the dependencies needed to run Windows software, but skips all the extra stuff for the average Joe. Just a plain base for whatever it is that you need to run on, so what most are expecting from an operating system.
And no, with Linux I'd need to put in way more effort to migrate all of my workflow and dealing with all the shortcomings that would arise from it that I know would as I did my own research on it, than I'd have to in sourcing LTSC, installing it and activating it. You would prefer to spend that effort on installing Linux because you use Linux, but you're not me or anyone else.
Best if we don't try to prove the superiority of our preferred operating systems, but rather argue about all of the shortcomings of them with no direct comparisons that X is better than Y. Though those discussions are always one-sided, aren't they? Exaggerate all the shortcomings of Windows, downplay all the shortcomings of Linux.
