Linux is fragmented, to be sure, but if you go with stock Fedora or Ubuntu, everything just works (mostly). I never had to put any thought into network management or DNS, except to change my DNS from my ISP to Cloudflare.

In my experience Fedora or Ubuntu just work, until they don't, usually after system update. Then you're in poorly documented territory, often deep in the bowels of GNOME. If video or networking broke hopefully you have a backup system to refer back to. Maybe they've gotten better recently, but I've had much better experience with minimalist setups where breakages are far less frequent and easier to fix on the rare occasions they happen.

Ubuntu has been my daily driver for well over a decade now. As a developer I always wanted to give Fedora a try. Every two years or so I give it a chance and... Not even once did I succed in installing it.

Just Google "fedora won't install" and you'll see what I mean. From my perspective fedora is a meme distro.

Yes, I'm a power user. I just don't want to spend a whole day on something that's expected to work out of the box.

Interesting. I'm surprised to hear that. I've never once had a problem, but its installer is weird. Figuring out how to select the target disk is always strange. Other than that, though, it's the same as any other installer.

The thing I really like about Fedora is how recent the software is. I also prefer dnf to apt.

For reference:

https://ask.fedoraproject.org/t/unbootable-fedora-35-livecd-...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fedora/comments/qmgxo4/fedora_wont_...

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1976653

I really wanted it to work. I too enjoy trying out new versions of software but I never got to experience what Fedora has to offer.

I have went back and forth from Ubuntu to fedora and literally never had an issue. Same for dist upgrades. Right now I only use fedora, and like you, I too am a power user that can't be bothered to deal with os shenanigans.