It matters to those of us that have zero intention of ever, irregardless of any reason, using Win 8 or Win 10. I'm moving on from XP Pro (which I love) to Win 7 (which I can sorta tolerate). That said, I understand that the same crap that forces me to give up XP Pro will likely force me to give up Win 7 eventually. When that happens, the only choice is Linux, unless M$ pulls a U-turn, and comes out with a decent rendition of Windows to replace Win 10. No chance! Each rendition of Windows has consistently been worse than the previous one, and packed with ever more corporate malware. That is not going to change, as I suspect it is now habitual.

As for Linux, it matters which distro you use, as they are not all created equal. If you are a Windows expat or Linux newbie, you need the one that is easiest to figure out...and grinds on your nerves the least. Linux is hard enough to learn without picking some CLI-infested crap like Arch.