Good news: we aren’t really. When I first started using Linux, graphics drivers were mostly drivers for XFree86. Today, the modern Linux graphics stack with km

Good news: we aren’t really. When I first started using Linux, graphics drivers were mostly drivers for XFree86. Today, the modern Linux graphics stack with kms/drm is used by most drivers, and now Xorg can use kms+drm instead. Same for input drivers… but now most people on Xorg are using libinput, which is what Wayland compositors use, too. Libinput handles your mouse, graphics tablet, touchpad, keyboard, etc. Even Pipewire! When pulseaudio started, a huge obstacle was indeed just buggy audio drivers. Undoubtedly we still have those. But also, it’s a much better situation today than it was. Also, a lot of the ideas already existed in JACK, Pulse, etc. So while a lot of stuff is indeed newer and still needing to mature, the typical Wayland desktop shares a lot in common with a modern Xorg setup thanks to gradual improvements.