Hmm. Considering the number of packages in a Gentoo base system and what package.provided does, [anything]->Gentoo shouldn’t be that difficult. Of course, whether “work your way through about twenty packages one at a time, then just uninstall the rest of the old system and reinstall everything using Portage” violates the spirit of the challenge is another question.

Whether or not an older machine “runs well” is highly dependent on what you’re using it for. I only very recently (like, after the new year) retired a 16-year-old laptop with 2GB RAM that was running Gentoo, when I got a good deal on something that would compile gcc in a reasonable amount of time rather than needing to be left to run overnight. However, most people don’t need to compile large software on a regular basis, and the old machine was still doing okay in its role as a large-screen-coarse-resolution pseudo-video-iPod, ssh client, quick lookup device for Perl manpages, emergency Internet query device, and general backup/light-use system. Worthless for gaming and somewhat sluggish on the Web, naturally, but that wasn’t what I needed it for.

I’d expect anything with 4GB RAM and 4 CPU threads to produce somewhat acceptable performace on most individual webpages (multiple Javascript-heavy sites might be a challenge, though, so stick to 1-2 tabs at a time), which would make the main issue most people would have with my old laptop disappear.

There are two concepts in UI design that often pull in opposite directions. They are usability (the ability to do advanced stuff easily) and discoverability (the ability to find unfamiliar functions in the interface without resorting to the manual/the Internet).

Command lines are highly usable, but they’re not very discoverable. Most people have been trained to want the reverse—discoverable, but often not very usable—and so the command line scares them. It’s less a logical reaction than an emotional one, although not wanting to waste time on something they feel they shouldn’t have to deal with does figure in.

Thing is, Windows’ “everything is in the GUI” is an illusion. If you have to fix ailing Windows machines, or even just make one produce anything other than the default telemetry-infested user experience, sooner or later you’re going to end up mucking around on the command line or in arcane undiscoverable interfaces that are an order of magnitude worse than anything Linux has ever produced. Give me a command line over regedit any day. But most people outsource the repairs to their ailing Windows machines so that they don’t have to touch this stuff themselves. For Average Joe, finding someone who will fix his ailing Linux box for him is more difficult, because they don’t set up counters in the big-box stores that most people buy their computers from.

The stat likely includes a lot of machines used for work and provisioned by an employer. The company I work for allows me pretty free reign with mine in terms of installing software, but wiping the OS and replacing it is the one thing I wouldn’t get away with.