Linux
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Wtf, I use Linux and have never compiled anything.
That doesn't mean that others don't have to. I installed Debian on a partition and couldn't get the WiFi USB stick to work. The manufacturers drivers couldn't be installed because they were ancient, and installing a generic one for the chip didn't work. Had to give up. In windows it's plug and play.
Dude, your wifi dongle manufacturer obviously inbox'd their driver with MSFT and didn't mainline their driver into the Linux kernel. When drivers are inboxed, MSFT will maintain them for as long as they are able to. Linux kernel maintainers will do the same when drivers are mainlined into the Linux Kernel. Your dongle manufacturer is the one to blame. Things aren't plug and play because it's "Windows". That's like a Mac enthusiast saying, "My Mac, It just works". It better "just work", there is only handful of devices that are even compatible with Mac. There are plenty of Windows compatible devices that don't have inbox drivers for Win11 and Win10 and guess what, they don't "Plug and Play".
The solution was to just buy a Linux compatible device for the newer kernel you were running. Or, downgrade to a kernel that has support for your device. If it's Windows that doesn't have the inbox driver, you'd have to downgrade the entire OS. Most people don't do that, they just buy a newer device that's compatible with the newer Windows version they are using. Why would things be any different for Linux. Or Mac for that matter. And really, you couldn't just buy a 15 dollar USB Wifi dongle that was compatible with the OS you were using???
If a Windows user buys a Mac, they will just assume they have to buy Mac devices and Mac software. If a Windows user installs Linux, suddenly everything had better work out of the box or the entire Linux eco system is a failure for everyone in the world.
I had the same experience with an old printer: Linux recognized it directly whereas Windows didn't. I wouldn't say that Linux has a strong disadvantage at these things.