There are five active computers in my household:
Computer 1
My primary computer runs EndeavourOS on its main drive, and I use EndeavourOS during 95% of my computer time. Computer 1 is a desktop computer I built myself many years ago.
On EndeavourOS I have quite a few, ever-changing, virtual machines, some of which I visit daily. The oldest such virtual machine runs Sparky Linux. My habit is to visit the Sparky Linux virtual machine each day to read the news as I sip my morning coffee. The advantages of my Sparky Linux virtual machine are that I have given it a bright theme, which helps me to wake up, and it doesn’t exhibit the work and personal-life distractions that will later disturb my day when I switch back to EndeavourOS.
On a different drive, but on the same computer, I have an installation of Manjaro, which I made years ago, and which used to be my main operating system and from where I came to EndeavourOS. Nowadays I never use Manjaro for anything productive, but I update Manjaro every one or two months, and it continues to work flawlessly. It’s excluded from my grub menu, but I use BIOS to access the Manjaro drive on these rare visits for updates and nostalgia.
There has never been an installation of Windows on this computer.
My partner uses EndeavourOS on this computer, with her own account, in the evenings, to watch videos. This computer is connected to the best monitor in our house.
Computer 2
At home, my partner uses an old notebook computer she acquired from her aunt. I installed MX Linux for her on a new partition. She likes MX Linux a lot, after I made many changes to the Xfce theming, and it’s where she spends almost all of her computer time while at home. The old Windows 10 partition remains, but it’s unused (and not updated, because it doesn’t qualify for extended support).
Computer 3
I have a Lenovo T450s notebook computer running Windows 10, with extended Windows 10 support. This computer is still running after many years, but only because I have replaced its hard drive, keyboard, power adapter, and main battery. (Thank you, Ali Express!) I don’t want to give up on my favorite notebook computer of all time, so I run Windows 10 on this computer when I’m at home and away from my EndeavourOS desktop computer. If this computer is still working when Windows 10 extended support expires later this year, I’ll install EndeavourOS on it, replacing Windows 10.
Computer 4
My newest computer is a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. I have loved ThinkPad computers over the years, but the X1 Carbon is the first computer I have hated in my entire life, after decades of computer purchases.
Never before have I owned a computer that overheats and shuts down after only a few minutes of ordinary use (a problem corrected months after purchase with a BIOS update).
Never before have I experienced a motherboard that failed a few months after computer purchase (replaced under warranty, but only after the promised next-day repair turned into a repair a week later, because the sole repair person in my rural area operates out of a location on the other side of a mountain range). I paid extra for next-day onsite repairs, but Lenovo doesn’t guarantee next-day onsite repairs.
After only moderate use (because I don’t like to use this computer), the spacebar on the keyboard no longer works, and the coating on the “carbon” chassis is pealing. The computer is still under warranty, and the keyboard might be replaced under warranty because I paid for “accidental damage protection,” but I don’t look forward to an argument with Lenovo support.
I bought this computer because no other computer I own can run Windows 11, and I have clients and friends who need me to diagnose problems on Windows 11.
Computer 5
My partner has a Windows 10 desktop computer which she acquired from a former employer. As a commercially licensed computer, it doesn’t qualify for Windows 10 extended support. The major problem with this computer is that it initializes the Google Workspace suite of office apps upon each bootup, which takes about ten minutes and prohibits any ordinary use of the computer. She thinks she might need access to old company data, in case of lawsuit or other demands, so we keep this computer alive.
Off to figure out where to start a post…)