No argument about anything, nor will I provide you sources that show thunder isn’t caused by Thor’s hammer, the moon causes tides, or that Ivermectin doesn’t cure Covid,

Enjoy your principled ignorance, you’ve earned it.

My friend got a call from “Best Buy” technical support saying they’d noticed her computer was slow and followed their instructions to set up remote access. Unfortunately she didn’t realize that there was anything to be worried about. It wasn’t until months later when she left the computer on and unattended that the scammers took control. Fidelity wired the money out of her account before she saw the notification and Fidelity has been jerking her around ever since. She’s still badly shaken.

I’d put her on Mint, but as much as I enjoy her company I don’t want to be permanent tech support for her computer.

Anyone who’s so lazy they literally refuse to type the same words used in their comment into a search engine doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously. There are lots of adults on Lemmy, but apparently we have a few children too.

Removed by mod

Have you tried a Google search?

I just reinstalled and configured Windows for a friend who’s machine was hacked, so my frustration with Microsoft is very fresh. (She lost 8 thousand dollars of her savings she’s still trying to get back.) After years of using Linux I feel like I’m being punished every time I help someone with their Windows machine.

/Rant

These things in particular drive me nuts:

• Sending everything users do and type (including passwords) back to Microsoft. It’s called spyware when other companies do it. It should be called spyware when it’s an OS called Microsoft Windows.
• Flooding 1/2 the screen with web search results when a search is done from the start menu. I’m looking for an installed program, not a potato recipe.
• Requiring a registry edit to turn that web search off and lots of other simple things that use to be configurable in settings.
• Placing ads throughout the operating system and making it difficult to turn those ads off.
• Forcing the use of the Edge browser no matter what users choose.
• Preventing the removal of unwanted programs without editing the registry.
• Forced updates at Microsoft’s convenience.
• Absurdly long restart times after updating.
• Forced OS version upgrades.
• Reverting settings that have been changed by the user to settings that directly benefit Microsoft’s sales and marketing goals.
• Forced restarts of the operating system causing data loss and the loss of millions of hours of work for millions of users.
• Removing more and more user settings with each new OS release.
• Burying commonly used menu items multiple menus deep.
• Preventing the removal of Start menu items. I will never use the Xbox Game Bar no matter how many time I’m forced to see it.

/

Define cheap. 11" Dell 3140’s in like new condition with Intel N200 processors, 8GB RAM, wifi, SSD and a decent keyboard have been coming up on Ebay and Woot every few weeks for $170 or so. Debian 12 detects all hardware immediately on installation.

The “Free Speech Absolutist” strikes sues again.

A friend just had her Windows 11 PC hijacked and used to drain money from her bank account. Not too much of a worry with Linux of any flavor.

It took 5x as long to wipe the disk and reload Windows as it would have to load Linux, plus another hour to change the settings to turn off as much of of Window’s advertising and spyware as possible. Microsoft will no doubt change the settings back when Windows update runs, or maybe they’ll just pile on more ads.

I’d much rather deal with some hardware incompatibilities than Microsoft’s bullshit.

Linux Mint is an excellent choice for both new and experienced users. After distro-hopping for years I went back to Mint because it works on my hardware with very few problems and I was tired of troubleshooting other distros odd problems. I haven’t used Mint on a Go 2, but I have used the full version with Cinnamon Desktop on a Dell Venue with similar hardware restrictions and currently run Mint on a Surface Laptop 4.

As to whether the Go 2 will work for your uses, the Venue had 4GB of memory and a 128GB SSD and worked fine for simple spreadsheets, word processing, web browsing, email and as an ebook reader. It was used daily for 1-3 hours for 7 years. Even after cracking the screen I was able to run Debian 12 and Home Assistant on it for almost a year more. A Micro SD was great for extra storage, but was far too slow for running an OS IMO. Despite the daily use and running a Swap file, I did not have any SSD problems in almost 8 years of use. It still works and if it weren’t for the cracked screen I’d probably still be using it.

Because of the limited memory I used Zram. Once set up it’s completely transparent and Mint is noticeably faster when running multiple apps. The 128GB SSD was big enough as long as I was careful with downloads and moved large, little used files to the Micro SD. No problems 99% of the time with the processing power.

I now use a Surface Laptop 4 with Mint. The Linux Surface Github page provided the info and procedures needed to set it up. An external USB keyboard and mouse were required for installation because the keyboard and trackpad would not work until the Surface kernel was installed. It works perfectly after installation and configuration.

Libreoffice Draw works as a PDF editor and does what you’re looking for. No experience with Linux note taking apps or a stylus.

Mint’s default desktop is Cinnamon. The default file manager is Nemo.

Distro hopped for years and got to a point I just wanted to use an OS and not screw around with it. I also didn’t want to spend time troubleshooting odd problems. Mint’s been installed on my machines for years and it almost always works flawlessly. Family members have far more problems with Windows.

Hmm, every distro I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a few) required a interface bounce. Maybe I just missed the ones that don’t.

Lessons learned when switching:

Some things I didn’t expect just work differently on Linux and it took time to figure out those differences. For instance, a change to a network interface config on Windows usually takes effect when you hit the “OK” button. Linux requires toggling the interface for that change to take effect. That one took me a couple of frustrating hours to figure out. There are lots of other examples like this so keep it in mind if things aren’t working as you expect.

Trying to do absolutely everything on Linux right away was a mistake. I started switching back to Windows for quick tasks and then learning how to do those tasks on Linux when I could spend a few minutes figuring them out. Over time I spent more and more time running Linux and one day realized I hadn’t started Windows in months.

In addition to (or instead of) dual booting, create a virtual machine to allow you to use what you need in either OS without rebooting.

Lastly, if you find that you’re spending a lot of time fixing OS problems don’t be afraid to try something else. Haven’t spent much time with Fedora, but I use Mint daily because I don’t have to fuss with the OS much. Others in my household have more problems with Windows 11.

Never, and it has battery back up in case of power failure. Automation, security cameras, HVAC controls, file sharing, etc. running on it.

When you’re ready for a full monitoring package, check out Frigate.

I have similar problems with devices disconnecting from my Realtek BT/wifi card. I was able to significantly reduce (but not completely eliminate) the problems by disabling power management for the BT adapter’s associated USB port.

The most problematic are ASUS USB-BT400 and Realtek RTL8821CE

Can confirm. The Realtek adapter in my HP laptop is a major PITA. Both BT & wifi have problems that I’ve only able to partially resolve.

Many (most?) Ubuntu fixes also work on Mint. This post might help.

For Windows user who don’t want to bother learning a new OS? Mint, no question. The latest releases are easy to install and configure, Cinnamon will feel familiar, and it works flawlessly on most hardware.