Good we are all in agreement then... Windows and linux are both at the very least in the "just works" territory. But we also all agree linux is inferior because you caveat-ed your point with: "provided these peripherals are not using or dependent on extremely new protocols or standards." Windows does not generally have this issue.
Linux is, by your own logic, Inferior from a usability or "just works" standpoint. We all agree on this, therefore: End of discussion on this baseline.
Where we disagree is the extent of this incompatibility. Linux IMO is even worse then the baseline above. On linux, my graphics card (arguably a peripheral) has melted down and crashed the OS on me many times. I have a lot of trouble getting my xbox controller to connect with bluetooth to the OS. So anecdotally I would say that even your base line of linux just being inferior is too high.
That's not the end of the story because these small issues extend way past peripherals. You can keep the argument focused on peripherals if you want but this is really a general issue affecting linux and FOSS.
Linux is, by your own logic, Inferior from a usability or "just works" standpoint. We all agree on this, therefore: End of discussion on this baseline.
Where we disagree is the extent of this incompatibility. Linux IMO is even worse then the baseline above. On linux, my graphics card (arguably a peripheral) has melted down and crashed the OS on me many times. I have a lot of trouble getting my xbox controller to connect with bluetooth to the OS. So anecdotally I would say that even your base line of linux just being inferior is too high.
That's not the end of the story because these small issues extend way past peripherals. You can keep the argument focused on peripherals if you want but this is really a general issue affecting linux and FOSS.