OP here. The author of this guide seems to be using XP in 2024 (Perlmonks is how I stumbled upon his setup in the first place):
https://www.perlmonks.org/index.pl/%5C%22/index.htm%5C%22?no..."I have been using Windows XP for over 20 years now. In 2024, I switched to Sparky Linux 7.3 LXQT, and I used it for about 3 months, and it was okay. However, I have noticed that I am more productive when I use Windows than Linux, so I went back to using Windows XP."
I, too, am not a coder, just a dilettante who likes to use several "outdated" apps simply because they do their one thing better than newer software. This is why I always find people like this interesting. There's a peculiar kind of intellectual freedom or decidedness in sticking with old/underpowered/etc non-mainstream setups.
And, I do like how unified e.g. the Win2k user interface felt. The interplay with apps from that era was flawless IMO (or I just don't remember the more annoying moments). FWIW, my own contemporary usage of e.g. WinXP (for audio montage software that a particular studio uses) has always been strictly offline, though.