I disagree with the notion that Microsoft is sabotaging the Linux desktop via WSL. In my opinion, I believe it’s the Sisyphean development churn of the FOSS desktop ecosystem that held the Linux desktop back. However, the industry-wide move away from native apps toward Web apps, combined with growing dissatisfaction with Windows in some circles and with the high cost of switching to a Mac (especially for those who need more RAM than what Apple sells by default), has provided a large lifeline for the Linux desktop.
The Linux desktop has had a rough history. The original problem was the original KDE using a non-FOSS Qt, which led to the development of GNOME, splintering the FOSS desktop ecosystem into two competing desktops, spreading already-thin resources. Granted, things were good in the mid-2000s, when GNOME 2 and KDE 3 were current, and when it appeared that the Linux desktop would be poised to make significant inroads against Windows XP, just like how Firefox in 2005 formed a formidable challenge to Internet Explorer. Even OpenOffice appeared to seriously challenge Microsoft Office at the time.
In my opinion, there have been many setbacks since the late 2000s. GNOME 3’s very controversial changes led to the splintering of the GNOME/Gtk community (Cinnamon and MATE). KDE 4 was not well received, though KDE 5 is widely praised. GNOME and other projects (though not KDE) was heavily influenced by mobile computing paradigms led by a misguided belief that desktops will become obsolete. The transition from X11 to Wayland has been quite rocky, to say the least.
Interestingly enough, what has improved the competitiveness of the Linux desktop these days has been the shift away from native apps and toward both the Web and Electron apps. While as a long-time former Mac user I lament the decline of native apps and the loss of consistency, apps built on Web technologies are cross-platform or even platform-agnostic. If one doesn’t need native Windows and macOS apps, then the barrier to switching to a Linux desktop is much lower. Even the gaming situation has dramatically improved on Linux.
Without Steam's built in Proton compatibility layer no gamer would realistically use Linux.
Outside of work I'm probably 70% Linux and 30% Windows. Music production is much better on Windows, but software development is miles easier on Linux. Messing around with Ubuntu during my teenage years was a key part of my later career!
It will take another generation or two for the Romanian commies to disappear. The majority of those in power, starting with Iohannis, the justices of the Romanian high court, and the rest of the parties grew up as young communist. It's hard to change their Marxist upbringing.
