utopiah,

So I could recommend a distro, as you asked (which would be Ubuntu) but instead I believe what’s better is making the switch… small!

In practice that means safety net and familiarity all around :

  • backup your data
  • backup your data… and not, that’s not a mistake, truly do it, now. Before you try something new, and scary. In fact… don’t touch your computer, get another one, a cheap one like a RPi4 or a relatively old laptop that a colleague hasn’t used for years.
  • copy, don’t move, your data to whatever distribution you picked
  • ideally have a dedicated hard drive in there for JUST the data, NOT the OS
  • play… have fun, truly. Try to use YOUR data, I mean the copy you have now that you don’t even care if you lose, and try to use them with the stock software that comes with your distribution, e.g OpenOffice or Blender or Kdenlive, or whatever you are into
  • delete it all! Don’t be afraid, you can do it, you have copies anyway
  • do it, again, again, keep a logbook or wiki or .doc file where you write down what you learn
  • rinse and repeat

this way you should find YOUR distribution in no time and you won’t be afraid of messing up!

Honestly it’s a fun adventure. I’ve been learning Linux and CLI tools decades ago and I’m still learning to this day so do not assume there is one solution you can find today and move, it’s a process, a long one, but a really empowering one IMHO.

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