I'm actually not "a dev". You're forgiven for making that assumption, my software developer friends can't believe I'm not actually one of them and they still ask me for suggestions and help, and occasionally I have some. I never really learned a programming language, back in junior high I learned enough basic to do something with it, which I have mostly forgotten, just recently I made a point of trying to learn python with some teach your kids to code books. I was pretty good at HTML 3 and even wrote CSS by hand when it was new and I had time to fool with it. I'm not completely ignorant of programming, I wrote some pretty complex .bat files back in the day, I wrote Netware login scripts, I even wrote branching menu console stuff for DOS and Netware and these days I tend to write shell scripts - the most basic of programming.

I've done manufacturing, I'm well versed in logic (which is a form of programming - just not the standard compiled code kind), I've worked in automation (and am working in it again to a limited degree), I've been a sysadmin, I've done space to ground communications, worked for a dial-up ISP back in the day, I can work cable - copper, fiber, Coax, TwinAx - milspec cable most people have never heard of. I supported networking all the way from switching serial networks the space shuttle had all over the Mission Control Center, to 10-Base-2 to Cat6A, single mode fiber, multimode fiber, K-Band, S-Band...... Right now I'm working on toll roads.

Honestly a lot of my dislike for Apple's way of doing things - even though I actually like their workstations and OS outside of their utilities, comes from cutting my teeth on Netware. I loved Novell back in the day - I could connect a DOS machine, a Mac, and a WIndows machine to the same server, using the same printers and it worked beautifully. Considering the small size of the hard drives back then I could do a "network install" of the Corel Office Suite and even computers that didn't have enough hard-drive space to install the program could run the whole suite due to the Novell server hosting the files.

Linux is in a strange place where simplicity is concerned these days.

If you run a desktop distro that is meant to be a desktop distro like KDE Neon or - despite the fact I really don't like Gnome/Cinnamon I give them credit for it as well - it's easier than Windows or Mac if you stick with what the distro offers. This means mostly sticking to software that has the distro logo/star/whatever in Synaptic.

I say this because using a web browser isn't any different one OS to the next. I honestly think Libre Office is easier to use than MS Office (I'm leaving the Apple utilities out of this equation since we removed them from user systems and fought against their use for compatibility reasons I have little experience doing anything but fighting them). The only thing you have to do in the Linux world if you're a normal desktop user AND you have compatible hardware that doesn't need extra work is select the software you want and hit install in your package manager. I like Synaptic, but there's even simpler, more basic ones aimed about desktop users. As long as you're happy with what is offered by your distro - and a normal desktop web-browsing user should be - it's the easiest thing around other than a Chrome Book.

Once you have to install a driver that isn't GPL and isn't included with your distro or want to install software that isn't in your distro all bets are off. It's better than it was. If you can get a .deb, an .rpm, or a well behaving .sh file depending on what you're using it's arguably as easy as Windows or Mac - as long as all the dependencies are available. So as a basic office/web machine it's the easiest thing around outside of Chrome OS, and there are Chrome OS derived distros that close that gap a little.

I'm not in denial - the likelihood of needing an Intel WiFi driver, and nVIdia video driver or other non-GPL driver is pretty high. I realize that even though it works great people are going to want their Spotify. Spotify works on Linux, but isn't quite as easy as Mac/Windows. My own grandma used Linux just fine for a while - but the stupid Facebook and Wild Tangent anchored games that infest her system with spyware she likes so much don't work on Linux so I have to keep her on Windows. Take from that what you will. It's worth checking out again if you haven't played with it in years. Yes, I recommend starting with KDE Neon since I like it so much.