Most modern ones have an fnlock somehow (fn+escape typically). Set it and forget it.

My real annoyance is that I have an airmouse+keyboard thing for my Pi that doesn’t have function keys at all. Dude, why?

Right, that’s my whole point. “Installing software” should not be such a minefield where basically unless the package version you need is in Discover or whatever, you have to learn about the dozen+ different ways an application can be packaged and the various footguns of each.

edit: I want to install a service and it’s not on Discover. Do I want the package source? The flatpak? The snap? The appimage? The .deb? The .rpm? The docker image? The podman image? Build from source from GitHub? Or the .tar.gz? Or they just published a shell script and said “just run this as root”.

And for each of the above, which one do I want? Especially if you’re not on a mainstream distro so if it says “oh use this if you’re on Ubuntu 26.04” and you have to confirm “okay, under the hood my Mint distro uses Ubuntu 24.10 as its package source”.

Because… that’s how the software I’m trying to install was published? I mean I’d rather they were in the ubuntu repos but they aren’t.

Honestly 99% of my complaint on Linux is package management. The .deb/Ubuntu approach of “downloadable installers must micro-target specific semi-annual releases” is absolutely bananas when Windows can install software from the 1900s. Otherwise? I mean I have a lot of micro-complaints but that’s the 500 lb gorilla in the room. Still happy to be done with Windows though.