What Puts the Brakes on GNU/Linux Adoption on Laptops and Desktops is Monopoly Control (or Monoculture) Over the Distros
Recent trends in the "computing industry" (for lack of a better not-over-the-top but all-encompassing term) include an increase in prices of storage, especially volatile storage. In Linux, less RAM is typically required and the available resources - disk space too - are handled quite efficiently. The latest publicly available LWN.net Weekly Edition has an item about it, as does the prior one and some other recent articles about RAM compression. This is nothing new, but there is rekindled interest in it because of RAM upgrade perils (sometimes lack of availability). We've seen quite a few articles about that lately.
Another relevant aspect is slop pushed by Microsoft - without consent - into Windows and pertinent applications in Windows. Then there are TPMs, which restrict what PCs can still use Windows (or "upgrade" to the latest slop-ware from Microslop).
To many people, even if not all, what makes GNU/Linux attractive is: 1) works with "old" PCs; 2) does not contain slop; 3) turns down user-hostile restrictions.
Companies like IBM don't agree; they try to herd people into restricted boot [1, 2], they partner with Microsoft, and their Web sites can't stop advertising slop as if it was the most amazing thing that only dumb users would reject. It seems fair to say such companies don't try to make GNU/Linux mainstream, they just try to appease GAFAM and the Pentagon for "partnership" money. Their cash cows are a foe to users' freedom.
What's needed these days is community-led distros. But which one/s?
As an associate put it this morning, "Arch is becoming increasingly important and the base for derivatives. I hope that they are somehow aware of and protecting against the kind of political attacks that have been destroying Debian."
As noted some hours ago, this new article says: "It’s been a few months now since our last update and as you’ve seen from the headline, this is a huge milestone. CachyOS has taken over the 1st spot on ProtonDB for desktop distros, dethroning Arch Linux which was in the first spot, flawlessly since late 2021."
Remember that SteamOS used to be based on Debian until Valve dumped it for an Arch base.
"I doubt it matters," said MinceR a few hours ago in IRC, as "arch switched to cancerd because they couldn't write nor copy rc scripts worth a damn" (he meant systemd).
Distros that adopt systemd are controlled by IBM and GAFAM/Microsoft/satellites of Microsoft. In other words, they will push restrictions, surveillance, and many of the other really bad things. Sometimes they call these "security"as it helps demonise/stigmatise as reckless or "uncaring about security" those who value freedom, autonomy etc. █