In the end, I don’t think it matters. People care about accessing what’s used most and if they have to watch ads to do so, they will. If “no ads” starts to have a competitive advantage because people are sick and tired of them, then maybe ads will start to die. We’re a long way from that though.
My experience with the linux boot has never been flicker-free. It’s bugged me for years, but I don’t have the technical knowledge to fix it. There’s a black screen between BIOS and plymouth, then a black screen between plymouth and the login screen, then another black screen between the login screen and the splash screen, and finally a black screen between the splash screen and when the desktop shows up.
Mac and windows do a much better job at having a seamless experience from boot to desktop.
The CEO of PROTON answers YOUR questions! Drive, Linux support, Photos, features, and a lot more! (tilvids.com)
Unblocking User Freedom: the right to use adblockers - FSFE (fsfe.org)
Plymouth Linux Graphical Boot Manager Now Better Handles Display Rendering (9to5linux.com)