I understood you weren't advocating for Windows (as an Arch user? The very idea!), but your mention of your friend returning to Windows got me thinking about my friends laptop and how icky it felt.
Glad there are fewer and fewer barriers to using Linux full time these days.
I had Plex running on a Windows server first, then locally on my Nvidia Shield, then on my FreeNAS as a jail. I used it from 2013 to 2018 or 2019. My library is only about 3k files. Plex would get slow, then start serving titles with missing metadata, then start spinning. The only fix was to purge the database and rescan the media, losing all watch data. I worked through backing up the database multiple times, but the backup was only usable for a narrow window of server versions, and was extra work Id prefer not to have to do.
Really, the phone home and pushing for Plex Pass were more consistently annoying for me, and besides, after the switch, I realized how much more I get with the simple setup Kodi allows. My NAS is doing less work, and Kodi does so much more than Plex, minis theme music for shows,/which there is probably an add-on for, but I won't chase it.
My GF had a Windows laptop until this week and her last straw was three reboots in a row, each with over an hour of waiting for updates on shutdown and startup. She never asked for the updates, and wasn't asked ifbahe wanted to perform them.
Now her password is required for any updates, and she controls her computer,as it should be.
I've been off windows for a long time, and when I was forced to use it, it was enterprise, locked down and stripped by knowledgeable IT teams.
Yesterday, I had my first exposure to Win 11 S mode. What a piece of crap. Not just the way its locked down, but the incessant Onedrive ads, broken settings app with missing features, AI buzzword addons, sloppy UI and general lack of control over your own computer.
Recommending my friend install Linux ASAP with my support. Nobody should have to endure that much cruft and garbage on their owned computer. They can't even install software outside of the MS store? Gross.
3: You don't need a server application to replace streaming. After years (and mixed results) of fixing corrupt Plex databases, I switched to a simple file share and access my media through Kodi now. Better features, better player, better community, no closed source, no phone home, no features added/changed/removed without recourse, no forced updates and no accounts required.
My NAS is just a simple SMB/CIFS/NFS share and Kodi accesses it, doing all my metadata handling. If I need to migrate, backup of all watch data and other metadata is simple XML based.
I know you asked for Plex info, but I am so pleased to be out of their clutches, I think others might prefer to be as well.
It was definitely easier to create music with my current tools when I used Windows and Cubase! I left Windows behind for good and haven't been able to scratch that itch.
Would love to be able to get back to low-latency and tools I understand. I haven't been breaking my back trying, but I spent a few days with different DAWs and not really getting anywhere close. If it became easier, I'd get my MIDI kit back out and my USB audio interface and mics and start creating music again.
I'm no Dev, but a creative lacking the tools for expression.
Good to hear that something like this is possibly getting moving.
Windows had a CONTROL key. Linux allows binding apps and actions to any key combinations. Define the action or command and choose the key combo.