Is it also possible that in the intervening year the distributions improved as well? I don't know what your timeline is looking like, but I've also just found l

Is it also possible that in the intervening year the distributions improved as well? I don't know what your timeline is looking like, but I've also just found linux is much less likely to break since I started using it (~1997) because it has better packaging, more reliable contribution for hardware drivers, improved init, etc. It's a bigger business and thus the stakes to keep it running reliably are higher.