GPU drivers and DEs lagging behind, mostly.

Something like Fedora which releases newer code quicker will provide a better desktop/laptop experience. It’s the same reason other stable distros, like the EL distros, aren’t the best for desktops/laptops.

Historically, desktop applications would also be versions behind, but Flatpak really helps with this.

At this point, Debian is probably fine as a distro for a few year old computer that won’t be helped by fractional scaling. Pick a DE and install applications from Flathub.

Possessing the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and the knowledge of how to wield it?

It’s hard to think of anything that would matter to anyone who could do something about it at this point.

The US is such a failed state.

Vim/Emacs + Some Markup Language + LaTeX Template + Pandoc

Yeah, word processors are garbage.

Oddly, Google Docs is the least junky one, probably because JS had a bunch of limitations at the time it was started, and Google had to limit the features.

I’ve been pretty happy with Pandoc, some LaTeX, and scripts. It’s not for everyone, but it works for me.