It really depends on what level of end user you are. I used a pc for around twenty years up until this summer when I needed to upgrade and got tired of playing "let's find the incompatible software/driver." I need to use my time for photoshop, mostly and never found any enjoyment in trying to find out why my computer wasn't working quite right. The nice thing about Mac (and again, this is something only a complete end user will appreciate), is all the software is compatible out of the box. No dicking around...ever.
So I upgraded, got a Macbook pro and immediately swapped out to 16GB RAM and will swap out the hard drive for an ssd when the price comes down a little. But yeah, one of the rude surprises moving to Mac was the lack of flexibility in customizing the operation and desktop to my needs. One thing I will definitely be upset by is if I completely emotionally adapt to Macs and future ones don't allow upgrades because all the components are soldered. 8GB of RAM was way too small, and what about when the battery goes?
But altogether, weighing the pros and cons I'd say it's been worth it.
I understand that whole concept, and I'd had less of an issue with Macs if it weren't for the "insane, unjustifiable mark-up for the casing" thing. I also know that while some degree of walled gardening is required for that kind of compatibility, I think they push it a lot more than they have to, and I can't respect that either.
It also isn't necessary for them to make the hardware as rigid as it is, to the point where trying to change it out could destroy the entire computer. They do that not because they have to, but because they want you to buy it again in a couple years when your system either breaks down or can't keep up. Macs being as expensive as they are, that's pretty nuts.
It's one thing to have a simplified OS for people who don't want to ever change anything, but Mac is doing a lot of other things as well that are blatantly designed to rip off the end user. And frankly, that's pretty low, when your main non-professional market is people who aren't that tech savvy.
I'm not really an advanced user. I'm pretty savvy. Maybe more so than your average 20-something, but not much.
Honestly, I think that these days, desktop Linux has better compatibility than Windows sometimes does. Because they have no choice. Compatibility is the thing stopping a lot of people from using Linux.
Almost everything you can think of is in the package manager that comes part and parcel with Mint (and most other user friendly Linux OS's). Open package manager, type in the namer of the program, and up it comes, 9 times out of 10. If you aren't sure what the name is but you know what you want the program to do, type in a key word. Something will come up. If you install the one in the package manager, it is pretty much guaranteed to work.
Desktop Linux is also barreling ahead with hardware compatibility. Again, they have to. I have never had a serious hardware issue with Mint in 3 years, and I've installed it on 5 different machines. It's also been through 4 hardware changes on my desktop. The worst issue I ever had was a mic not working. Using different software (again, prepackaged) solved it. Although I will admit, audio issues are a perennial problem with Linux and always have been. It's not bad anymore, but if you're going to have a hardware problem with Linux, it's almost always going to be audio-related.
You can change things if you like, but you don't have to. You won't be missing anything if you don't. Word processor, browser, photo editing, and quite a few other things are installed when you put on the OS. It's all there. The UI is familiar and intuitive. There's no reason you have to change anything. I've introduced a few Luddites to their first computer running Mint. No problems.
