If Windows is configured well, its speed has remained about the same on the same hardware. Microsoft and OEMs provide bloatware, from which one can suffer or, by deactivating it, not suffer. Deactivating it is a matter of once circa one hour. If I were a naive beginner user and did not inform myself how to deactivate, I might run away from Windows. However, I am an experienced user and prefer the time investment of deactivation.
Same for telemetry or data stealing, except that the necessary time investment for Windows 7 was minutes and, after very much preparation, has become three hours for Windows 10 or 11. I am not amused but prefer to spend the time to create an acceptable Windows configuration with almost no telemetry and without data stealing. (Note: on Windows data stealing way beyond telemetry only occurs by programs designed to do so, such as cloud clients. This is like iCloud transfer and terms, which, if the user agrees once at all, steals data via iCloud.)
Same for ads, but all active ads are removed within minutes and the few remaining passive ads (mainly suggestions to transform a Local to a Microsoft account, or for MS Office subscriptions) are harmless.
During major Windows updates or installations of some softwares (especially of big companies), bloatware must be avoided or immediately removed / deactivated. This is nasty but requires discipline much more than time. The major problem of this is not for the experienced Windows users but the bad advertisement Microsoft and some OEMs / software companies do against Windows by adding bloatware or stickers. Such could be an excuse to leave Windows but, for the experienced user, is harmless. It is, however, harmful for naive computer users who do not know how to avoid bloatware.
To avoid all such things, I might avoid macOS, i(Pad)OS, Android, ChromeOS, Windows, Ubuntu etc. and use some more respectable Linux. However, Linux involves, in particular, these problems:
- high time investment during learning,
- time investment for security configuration similar to such on Windows if done well,
- some programs I need are unavailable for Linux and I would have to use compromise programs with restricted functionality,
- some specialised hardware, of which I always have some, lacks drivers on Linux,
- there is very limited choice for mobile devices.
Linux would not save me time but I would have to invest very much more time than needed for good Windows configuration. Linux is not an option for my advanced software and hardware needs. Without such needs, other endusers might switch more easily to Linux than I could. If other endusers neglect good security configuration, their time investment would also be much lower than mine because I would want at least the same degree of security as on Windows and such does take very much time on Linux as a Linux beginner.
You may have thought that my alternative OS options would include Apple, Google or Chinacrap but, if so, you are wrong. The time investment of a few hours for Windows configuration is extraordinarily much better than the wars by Apple, Google and Chinacrap against their endusers.
Linux (other than Ubuntu) may be the least evil if it works for one's needs. Otherwise, Windows is the second-least evil, which I use because it works for my needs.
My needs include Nvidia dGPUs, and, with current hardware, that leaves Linux and Windows as only all-round options anyway. For my, other OSs can, at best, only be for secondary mobile devices at all.