Yep. I remember all the hoops I needed to jump through when putting Ubuntu(?) onto a laptop and trying to get the right driver/settings/config for whatever new WiFi chip was in it. Then configureing the wired network chip. Last laptop I put Mint on...it just installed and worked. Well, except for the HP laptop which supposedly has a gigabit ethernet chip in it, which doesn't seem to want to allow itself to be configured as a gigabit interface, even under Windows (yes, I pulled Linux off and reinstalled Windows just to make sure). But, hey, it's HP, so...

Dell Precision or Latitude always seem to just work. Those days of having to Google whatever incantations were needed to get the wifi or network or display working seem to be well in the past. And WINE seems to have had a noticeable improvement in its ability to install and run Windows apps.

Thanks, Linus...for 35 years of Linux!
(read his autobiography, "Just for Fun")

Linux absolutely does not require any more technical ability than Windows. I have converted two very non technical people from Windows to Linux, and in both cases "support calls" (to me) dropped from monthly to one or two a year.

Your point about Linux being a cheaper alternative to Macs is quite true. The rest of my family use Macs and I would as well, except for the "walled garden" and forced upgrade aspects. Linux meets my needs quite well.

Running Mint here, for years, on an i7-6700K, 16G of RAM, with absolutely no issues. It runs stable and solid. It's frankly more reliable than Windows ever was, without the constant "improvements". I agree that there are many Linux apps which are only partially functional, due to the developer ceasing work or abandoning them, but they're usually not in the repositories. Apps in general on Linux are more in flux than commercial apps, but there are good basic ones (LibreOffice, GIMP, Mozilla, KiCAD, etc) that are stable and as far as I need, fully functional and reliable.

So, my experience contradicts yours, and makes the point that everyone's Linux experience is going to be a bit different, but it is free of Microsoft's meddling.

The level of internally generated junk (inapplicable, HR fluff, and broadcast) emails at my former (large multinational) company was incredible.

I got caught by it once, got ribbed for it, decided to go on the offensive. I examined the email header carefully, noted the sender's domain and wrote a rule to detect and corral any more that came from there. Caught one or two, then they changed phishing vendors. Caught them, too. It's pretty easy to catch and delete these "bait" emails...as if all the ones from HR aren't bad enough.

Was already diabled in the Mint version.
Disabled the chat "feature" and tab groups.

Same here. I had a chem teacher who insisted we memorise the periodic table. My parents bought me his album in hopes that The Elements would help. Alas, the teacher wanted us to memorise it in order with no errors. I made it about half way through, then gave up. However, Tom Lehrer has had a fan for the last 60 years.

RIP, Tom Lehrer. You have made a difference.

MS, for *years*, has had nothing significant to improve in their Office apps. I mean, it's been what, 20 years? Certainly, all the basics have been well covered, and they moved on to the appearance of improvements, while adding features that nobody wanted, and nobody uses. Then, introducing new file formats and tweaking the behavior, so you need to upgrade to keep reading the stuff others send you. Well, OK, somewhere in corporate land, someone probably uses each of the oddball things Microsoft added to their apps. But, really, how many of us actually add videos to our Word documents...and don't get me started on the morass that is cooperatively-edited documents.

At the company I once worked for, we attempted to use Embedded XP for a project. The licensing was labyrinthine, though not as bad as Intel's (they really only wanted to sell processors to PC manufacturers), but the kicker was when our client came back to us with a non-functional machine. We discovered, and I kid you not, that Embedded XP came by default, with autorun enabled on the USB port. So, the client had used (against our specific instructions) a random USB key with an autorun virus and infected the equipment. Easily managed, but it soured me on ever using a Microsoft embedded OS in a product. We went with Linux. More work, but no licensing headaches and whatever happens is pretty much under your control (though it may take you a while).

It was the intern.

Considering that AI chatbots seem to have issues with the truth and holding difficult conversations (to put it politely), this advice may be worth less than what you paid for it.

Go see a counsellor or talk to a friend. You'll get another job and it will be a better one.

Agree.

My used PCs come from Goodwill, refurb places and eBay. They cost under $100, and I plan on replacing/upgrading parts as a matter of course. I tend to buy Dells, since the ones I've had at work have been generally reliable. They're also reasonably easy to work on.

My point here is that HP is offering a service nobody needs. People who buy used laptops are generally not expecting much. Laptop refurbishers offer a better value IMHO. They can buy bulk lots of off-lease machines, and mix and match to get some smaller number of saleable units. The sale price reflects that and the buyer has some expectation that the seller will stand behind the more expensive cost.

Aside from cosmetic damage, laptops are either working or not. HP's attempt to grade degrees of "workingness" is probably not something used laptop buyers are willing to pay for (at least, in amounts that would make HP's effort profitable for them)

...and Trump is? He's just as much of a tool (in both senses).

(you forgot the mandatory waxed mustache for male hipsters)

I used National, then Moleskine for engineering notes, until I realised that pretty much all my data was online and all my emails were archived. I wasn't doing a lot of work using paper, so I stopped using notebooks. Still have almost all my old ones though, although I regret leaving my first ones at a previous employer.
 

Another suggestion: have TWO similar PCs (or laptops, or whatever). And a few spare HDDs. That way you can use one machine to test out various versions of Linux while the other one is your daily driver.

When I shifted from Windows to Linux, I bought a second HDD. Swapped out my Windows drive, installed the new one, and put Linux on that. If I was satisfied, I used the Windows HDD as a secondary drive, pulled my data over, then put the Windows drive on the shelf as a backup (remember to label it).

Linux seems to run on anything, but I find 4-5 year old machines work best. That way, the new hardware bugs have been worked out by the time you install. I prefer off-lease or refurbed Dell laptops (avoid Inspirons, go with Latitude or Precision). They were bought by businesses in the thousands, so they're cheap and reasonably upgradeable.

I've found Mint to be relatively easy to install, and the upgrade process has improved. Been using it for around 6 years now with no issues.

Running it on several Dell laptops and a Gigabyte desktop. My machines tend to be between 8 and 12 years old. I max out the RAM and install a SSD. I've perceived the Linux installs to be "zippier" than Windows, but have no hard numbers to back this up.