im currently using windows 11 on msi gf63 laptop. if i used linux i would use ubuntu,bec it seems like the easiest thing.
i game,i use brave browser,i pirate games and software. i also like that my hoarded pirated binaries of games and software will work even years later on windows without too much effort.
i use an hp printer,and need to be able to use it on linux.
i expect to be able to use the laptop and not think about the os too much,meaning i wont distro hop or try to customize it too much. im fine with the terminal,my goal of using linux is being far from malware.
Ubuntu is a great place to start! You might also look at Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop or Pop_OS. All 3 are great for beginners and have lasted me since the time of Win Vista. I never felt that I out grew them.
Gaming: use the other links in this post to see if they work. Typically, the older the game, the better chance you can get it to work. Don’t be afraid of following tutorials - tweaking and trying things, just be patient, read it once all the way through before you do it, and google what you don’t understand. It’ll take time but I’ve always felt it’s worth it.
Brave, yup native linux version. Some might suggest going to firefox or using vivaldi, but you do you Boo - 0 judgement space. (Political reasons - the Brave CEO is a cryptobro, etc)
Ahoy matey, welcome aboarrrd. Get yourself a good vpn service, stick to the major distros, and you’ll probably be right at home.
More than likely, your printer will just work. That easy. I’ve had several printers and scanners, hated them all, no end of troubles with mac and windows - not at all with linux in the last 15 years. The man that does most of the work for linux printing is a gawt damn saint.
You should be right at home in Ubuntu. Gnome does a decent job of getting out of your way once you get used to it. Keep your guard up, I would assume windows malware might still be able to run in wine and it def will in a vm.
Bottom line is you can trust Linux. The learning curve is worth not having an adversarial relationship with your computer.
thanks! what recommenditons do you have for me witj linux?
Make sure to use timeshift or equivalent(system backup and restore), before you mess with any files backup your system, do what you need and if you mess up restore the image and try again, saved me and my non tech gf a few times. Since you are looking at Ubuntu (Gnome DE) you may like Kubuntu a little better (KDE DE). Test the distros before you blow up your current setup to ensure hardware compatibility. Disable or try not to use snaps (some/all of your preinstalled user apps are going to be snaps), setup flatpak and set that as default (I found snaps to be… slightly problematic, where the flatpaks seem to work well. Sandbox is great).
Try to go in steps if possible to iron out issues before a full commitment, nothing worse than being stuck with no other option. Lutris is another wine project that is a great help, especially with their user submitted scripts to install games through a GUI.