I second Mint. I’ve installed it on my laptop with zero issues, although that thing is pretty old so your mileage may vary on newer hardware. But mint comes with pretty up to date kernels these days so it’s definitely worth a try.

If your employer requests it, they’ll pay for it. If you need to pay yourself, it’s likely a scam.

There is no right answer. There are many distros to choose from and each has its pros and cons. My suggestion would be to try a few things in VMs before fully making the jump. Personally I use Mint. It just works and takes a minimal amount of hassle to install and run. If that’s a priority to you, I’d suggest checking it out.

That he prefers Edge’s mother’s cooking.

Yesterday I spent five hours cleaning out 247 MB on my $50, 1TB SSD. I am very efficient.

Yes. I use Mint. Please help me cross the road.

Thanks.

I have an old convertible that I want to - erm - convert to Linux once Windows 10 goes EOL. Can I use any distro with KDE to use the mobile version or which ones support it? I use Mint right now and I’d like to stay as close to that as possible.

That’s a perfectly legitimate approach. Switching your OS is always a hassle. I can understand that people like to stick with what works for them.

The cool kids all use C++. If you use Python, you’re not a “real” programmer.

Certainly a worthwhile endeavour. But I’d recommend doing it in a VM or a secondary machine before jumping right in on your main computer.

Most people I know have zero Windows skills that wouldn’t transfer to Linux. They can start a browser and click on a bookmark, but that’s as far as it goes.

But that goes for Windows as well.

Installing Linux is definitely not something, the average computer user ever wants to do. The same goes for Windows. Unfortunately you can’t just buy a Linux computer at your local electronics store. Until that changes, Linux will remain in a niche.

I did that once and it wasn’t a nice experience. Windows will always find ways to screw things up and you’ll constantly be dealing with their shitfuckery. Outside of gaming there aren’t really many reasons to stick with Windows and even gaming works great except on titles where it is explicitly sabotaged by the publishers. If you’re dealing with an older laptop, this likely isn’t a consideration anyway. If you’re unsure whether Linux is for you, my advice would be to install it in a VM first and see if it works for you. Chances are, you won’t miss Windows at all.

On a Z80?

My router can limit access time but I’m not sure if it’s on a device by device basis. Might be worth checking.

Here’s a video with some good builds at different price points. That should be a decent starting point.

https://youtu.be/8tUM-miOzBA?si=BNjOJeY3Qi_HbdyV

But does it run Doom?

Chances are she won’t even notice if you put Linux on her machine. My wife certainly didn’t. I tried to explain the concept of different OSs to her but she didn’t care. The Firefox icon looks a bit different, but that was the only thing she noticed.