I could but I do not need to, so i'd rather make better use of the time it would take me to move at this time.

Biggest pain point actually are not programs, but the need to format all hard drives to some linux file system. I cannot just replace windows with linux and that is it. No, I have to migrate all my data somehow to reformat all my drives and then move the data back. That was always huge pain in the ass.

fyi NTFS works perfectly on my linux machine.. ntfs-3g ftw

Yea, what this guy says. Throw a new HD in the machine, install linux to it, and then just /mount your other previously-windows HDs.

ntfs-3g uses a userspace driver that crap-ifies the performance

iirc linux can read ntfs but not write...unless things progressed. it was a licence issue, not a software one.

Things progressed, certainly, and it looks like this was broadly fixed in October 2021 (kernel 5.15):

https://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs3-driver-faq/

But there will be details, limitations of some kind, and I can't work out what those are without much more digging.

needs vs wants. it's as simple as that. i do not need to and i do not want to - at this time. when one or the other changes, then i'll make the switch. it's as simple as that. i know it is coming, it is not about avoiding it or being undecided. it's merely about the timing of the change, nothing more. i know for a fact W11 is not in my future.