I’m sure they will! I appreciate it!

I’ll be stuck with Windows on my work laptop, that’s not something that I will be able to change anyway. I can point out as things come up, but with industry accepted software (like SolidWorks for example) that we use daily I can’t see us switching to any alternative.

Do others auto-update or are users prompted as updates become available?

I’ve added it to the list for review! Thank you!

Typically I have a browser (Firefox), Blender for some 3D modeling, uTorrent, previously Plex (but wanting to move away from it to something like Jellyfin maybe), Microsoft Offjce products but mostly Word/Excel/PowerPoint, and I have Outlook on my work laptop but am used to using browser for email client as needed so thats not a huge priority if there isnt a good mail application. There are probably others but those are the most often or daily usage!

Does a desktop environment really draw that much more resource than another?

I forget what GPU I currently have but I may be upgrading soon anyway so I’ll be sure to keep that in mind for the purchase. That’s the first big step: finding software to fit my needs as they come up but that can be piece by piece!

Thanks for the response!

Thank you for the tips!

I appreciate the advice! Thank you!

Okay thank you! Do you know of a good list of Linux compatible alternatives to Windows software? I’m sure I can track some down but may want to get familiar before making the jump like you said.

What made you want to change to KDE? Was it an issue with Mint’s (Cinnamon?) that made you want to change?

Okay I’ll try out a few and keep notes on which ones I prefer until I make that “final” decision.

Yeah that’s what has made me apprehensive to be honest. I feel pretty comfortable in windows doing many things, and my wife has a MacBook that I’m also pretty comfortable using so learning a new, third OS does seem obtuse. I like the idea of having more control over the software, but don’t want to lose the “it just works” feeling of an OS or software I am used to using.

Thank you! When people say “customizing” (throughout this thread and others) what are they referencing? For instance, just the desktop layout/formatting, or the way the files are structured, or the kinds of software they are using for tasks?

That’s true, most of what I do would be in a browser as a casual user. My work laptop would still be running Windows and doing what I “need” (Excel, SolidWorks, etc.) Although I want to keep the ability to torrent and manage my media files nicely, I’m open to using different softwares than I’m used to for those.

Okay great! What made you make that jump?

Okay great! An interesting tea combination: Mint with Cinnamon :) do most desktop environments work with most distros, or is there a list per each distro?

Lots of suggestions for Mint so it seems that’s a good choice for me! Thank you!

Okay thank you! Could you give some examples about tasks that “should be easy” but aren’t? I’ve worked with MacOS casually and I thought it was based on Unix (maybe?), so I was at least aware that the way to maneuver through the desktop/settings/file searches are different from Windows of course. I am certainly not a power user, just getting frustrated with companies overstepping more and more and want to cut myself from their whims, if that makes sense.