Agreed. The only major challenges I’ve had with CachyOS are from my Windows VM or from not realizing that Docker containers are the best option for server-type things, like the controller for my WiFi mesh network. Once I stopped trying (and failing) to run that from the AUR, it’s been smooth sailing.

But most people would just buy the dedicated mesh network controller, and the only reason I need a Windows VM is for SharePoint integration in Explorer, which is a fairly specialized requirement. Even as a power user, I almost exclusively use the web apps for O365 just so I don’t need to use Windows.

Apparently, earlier in CachyOS’s history, there were more issues, but I don’t think that’s at all true anymore. I tried installing a more “standard”/conservative choice, Debian on my wife’s and friend’s laptops, and it’s been way harder. I should have just stuck with “unstable” CachyOS, and it would have been much more stable. Turns out things usually get better with newer patches. Who knew?

CachyOS would be my recommendation; it has options to get a kernel with the closed-source drivers automatically during install, iirc. I bought an AMD card, so I have no direct experience, but I’d expect the least friction with it, even compared to Bazzite or other gaming-focused distributions.

VB is still great. I use it to fully automate a lot of Excel-based tasks, like looping through thousands of Excel files to pull values or update spreadsheets with new features.

Sure, there are more powerful tools, but VBA is built in and works really well for some tasks like that.