I have been using timeshift from the word go. Creating a snapshot before software installations and any tinkering I was about to do. I have researched how to restore from a timeshift backup if the system will no longer boot too. I plan to test in a VM at some point to get a better understanding. I did not update or tinker with the system until I had system images, backups, timeshift snapshots and knew how to restore them all including how to boot from a bad kernal update. But I’d like to actually go through the procedure so like I said, going to get a few VM’s set up for tinkering so I am more confident in the procedure.

Thank you for the advice but I am going to leave unverified flatpaks off until I learn more about installation packages in general and what exactly unverified means in terms of risk. Open source is not enough as I do not understand how to read the code, I instead conduct research into what are the best software for this and that, go through reviews from multiple sources to build an opinion on the software itself.

I have yet to have libreoffice come across a file that it could not read properly. I am aware of only office and if I did hit an issue would probably give that one a go. But for now, libreoffice has been working great for me.

Thank you, and thanks for the welcome.

Good to hear you have got a family member on board. I think the world needs more average users to embrace the open source world.

You are welcome.

Thank you for the helpful and informative reply. I think I will take a step back and just use linux for me. Like you say, take some time to get used to it and learn more about it. Also, take a break from trying to inform others of what is really going on with big tech. To be honest I am getting tired of being ostracised over all this. I want to help them see but it is clear they just cling to their existing beliefs. Even though when something goes wrong with their computer they come to me. This is something else I plan to take a step back on.

You are right on the privacy point, I once did not care either so I understand the mentality. But that was a long time ago. It is only now I have decided to do something more drastic about it as I have began to see where it is all headed and wanted out. Linux is just a part of that but it is one of the more drastic efforts for me to implement.

In my opinion, every OS has their pros and cons, and they all break in one way or another from time to time. I am under no illusion that linux is a magic OS that just works. I have fixed enough computer problems to know things go wrong. Hence the precautions I have made in the switch. I know much of the time it is user error so I have taken steps to have recovery options if I do something wrong or something unexpected happens. I plan to created virtual machines to tinker with rather than the installation I am running on.

I think your way of thinking about things is very sound and I shall be taking your advice to heart.

Thank you.

Thank you for the advice.

Until I learn more about exactly what sort of telemetry steam uses I will be avoiding it. Differences between installation methods is definitely something I need to learn more about. For example fsearch I have installed as a flatpak but it does not know what to launch found files with and I have to select what to launch with each time. This is due to flatpak not being able to see what software I have installed I think.

This tells me that the default steam installation could, which I am not keen on. Who knows what else because I am not that knowledgable on it yet.

I think GOG may be a better option for now, also everything is DRM free. But I have not used them before so again, another thing to research.

You are welcome. I am glad you found a distro that works for you. Maybe as time progresses I will start to customise more and distro hop. But for now, I am very happy with mint.

You are welcome. During my research I found longer write ups to be more helpful and informative so decided to do the same thing. It seems as though win10 is going to now be supported until oct 2027 under the esu program so there is still time to transition whilst receiving security updates on win10.

I have had a good experience, for me, it helps to bring peace of mind and control, it just involves some effort, planning and research.

I wish you well on your journey.

What is your primary reason for switching to linux?

Thank you for welcoming me. I still do use big tech, but when I want to now. I use invidious for youtube and redlib for reddit to avoid interaction with the sites themselves. I still have much of FOSS to explore.