I didn't realize how much I appreciate Linux until I had to reinstall Windows

I've been using Linux for a few months now, and due to some software I need for college I had to set up dual-booting on my laptop.

I never realized just how horribly slow the install process on Windows is. When I first installed Linux Mint, installation was nearly instant, and everything just worked out of the box. With Windows, it's screen after screen of setup. Honestly it's almost less hassle to manually install Arch.

The thing that really stuck out to me, though, is about halfway through the installation, Windows popped up a screen saying "We're giving you a free trial of Microsoft Office"

Whatever, I click Ok

Next screen: "Please confirm your credit card info, you will be charged $99.99 when your free trial ends"

Really? I haven't even installed the OS yet and you're already trying to scam me out of $100? Not to mention that they already had my credit card info pre-filled out, despite the fact that I don't think I've ever given them permission to store my credit card info

This was followed by a few screens of ads (still in the installation media) before having to wait several more minutes until it finally installed. I then had to spend several minutes uninstalling all the bloatware that comes with Windows (Or at least what Windows lets me uninstall. Why can't I uninstall the "Your Phone" app?)

Sorry if this post is a little off topic, but I just wanted to share the moment that made a new-ish Linux user become a lifelong user. I can't see myself ever going back to a full installation of Windows.