In many FOSS applications ctrl -/+ works too. I've had to mess around with audio and video on Windows too, it's not pretty. It definitely does not "just work". I've never needed to pipe data into a mic input channel on Linux. These days one probably wants "pavucontrol".

I don't like arbitrarily changing UX either, but it's not like Windows doesn't have that problem. I had massive switching headaches moving to the new "ribbon" based stuff in Microsoft Office.

Of course neither side is perfect, but I am thoroughly unconvinced by the "unusable" argument. THere are definitely biases with ignoring the headaches that Windows forces upon users.