Last week I ordered my new laptop. :)
No, it didn't arrive yet, but as you can see I am getting anxious, lol.
In the meantime, I discovered why it takes so long for the package to arrive.
I ordered it on Friday evening, that was my mistake. Normally, it should have arrived on Monday or at the latest Tuesday.
What I didn't account for, was that this Monday and Tuesday were not working days in my country. To be fair, I received an SMS and email on Monday morning from the retailer saying the package is ready for delivery. So the retailer was working. But not the couriers, since it will arrive the soonest tomorrow.
That's ok, that gave me time to push a little more on other things during the weekend and at the beginning of this week.
Anyway, today was the time to research more about the operating system to install, since the laptop comes without one (why pay for a Windows license too, right?).
I was pretty much determined I want a Linux distro on the new laptop. For multiple reasons, I'm not going to list them fully here.
In a way, to be in the crypto world and not have at least one machine running Linux on it seems a bit strange. Kind of like influencers who talk about crypto without really being involved in the phenomenon.
Linux kernel brand character, Tux
I will keep Windows on this older laptop for the time being, to make the transition easier and for the rare cases when I might need something that works only on Windows.
So, research time today...
A Little Background
Some 3, maybe 4 years ago I had Ubuntu installed on my desktop. I think it was version 18, but I'm not sure. It didn't last long, not because I didn't want to keep it, but because my desktop PC died of old age, after showing clear signs it couldn't handle the workload for about 6 months or so.
I may have had Ubuntu installed on my PC for about a year, but most likely less than that, before the PC crashed.
It was enough to customize it to make it useful to me. And I don't mean themes and colors and stuff. I mostly disable those things, whenever possible.
At the time I touched the surface of Python (the programming language, not the snake). Mostly poked around, but also created a few kind of useful scripts too, like the one to download all your posts (placed in subdirectories by the main tag or date). Probably the script doesn't work anymore, it was either before the split or right after when I wrote it. I found it! It was pre-split and it definitely doesn't work now exactly as it is (at least not on Hive).
Ubuntu
Anyway... back to Ubuntu. I got used to it, but even minor tasks were a challenge at first and I needed to check out the internet for solutions. Their community is big, and there's often a solution for every problem, but adapting to this way of working with an OS is slow and demanding.
Since version 18, I'm sure Ubuntu evolved some. It is now the most popular OS installed on the laptops I checked out, besides Windows, and not far behind.
Linux Mint
Linux Mint (especially the Cinnamon version), seems to be an Ubuntu variant tweaked for the ease-of-use and with an interface similar to Windows. Maybe with a slightly better performance than Ubuntu too, in some areas, from what I read.
Seems like a preferred Linux option for people coming from Windows.
The requirements are of less importance to me for the new laptop at 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, that's why I don't think I'd go with a version that has lower requirements, like Xubuntu or Linux Mint Xfce, unless someone gives me a reason like the full versions don't bring anything useful on top (if it's mainly aesthetics add-ons, I'm not interested, I want more performance instead).
On the low-requirements side and also to test a version of Linux Mint, I am installing Linux Mint Xfce on a very weak laptop as I write this post. I want to see if I can revive it, make it usable for the speeds we are used to, and gift it to a family member.
At first impression from what I read about a few Linux distros, I think I would try Linux Mint. This may not be the favorite variant of Linux for long-time Linux users, but it seems like a good (re)start.
Other Option?
In my post, I only talked about these two options, Ubuntu and Linux Mint. Do you think I should start with another one? Why?
I expect to use the laptop mostly for online activities, and Hive stuff initially. Not sure what will change in the future, but I can't plan ahead for routes I'm not sure I'll take or if they'll be available for my configuration.