ignoring the fact that I needed to get another usb wifi receptor because the one I had was not compatible
managed to get my printer working,
IMHO that’s one of the most important trick… namely, and sadly, don’t assume compatibility. Do 5min of Internet search to insure that the hardware you buy is actually supported, and ideally without any manual installation requiring to patch the kernel. This makes usage a lot more enjoyable, where you only focus on making your experience better.
PS: I said “sadly” because in theory, if hardware genuinely relied on standards, e.g Bluetooth, without their own extension, custom software as equivalent to drivers, hardware for PC “should” work everywhere. In practice it’s not always the case and that can be very frustrating.