> As an example to back my point up, one of the reasons Windows is so damn popular is that the API is incredibly stable and software written in the mid-90s stil

> As an example to back my point up, one of the reasons Windows is so damn popular is that the API is incredibly stable and software written in the mid-90s still works fine on current versions without a recompilation or any API changes. Windows started from a different position. Backward compatibility makes sense when you have all the applications. And it results in you having to maintain a sh*tload of legacy APIs and modules. Microsoft has a different budget and works as a stricter organized company. Linux Desktop lacks the manpower. But on the other hand Linux has to move forward. It certainly has to settle down a bit in the future. But things like NetworkManager, PulseAudio, Systemd, Wayland are introduced because they solve existing problems. You can certainly argue about implementation aspects but I don't think you can argue about the problems they are solving.