mullvad also has encrypted dns that anyone (don’t need to be a vpn subscriber) can plug-in to their browser or (compatible) operating system–including optional domain-level blocking (adult, social, gambling, and ads). yes, you can use a basic ‘pihole-like’ dns without needing to actually set one up.

I am pretty set with Firefox in Android and desktop to be honest.

been using firefox since before it was called firefox, and netscape before that. while i do use ‘other’ browsers, too, their use is limited to testing and a few select sites or purposes only (for instance, i use a ‘portable’ opera for mail, and only mail).

in the live linux mint environment, gparted or disks should give you a clue. if it just shows zero space free for that partition or can’t mount it, it probably is–go into windows, disable device encryption and let it complete that process. while you’re waiting for that, find the rest of the power options (in control panel–via ‘windows tools’ in win11) and disable ‘fast startup’.

is your windows encrypted?

which tends to be the case for the release before an lts.

easy to use gui backup utilities (like pika and déjà dup) can also encrypt its backups

if your system uses full disk encryption (such as via LUKS) and you simply copy files off to an external or a secondary drive for a ‘backup’, no. the copy is not encrypted unless the destination has encryption set up on it, too.

the alternative would be using a backup program, instead of a simply file copy, that encrypts its backups.

that was probably the issue. drm support in browsers is usually disabled by default on linux, but enabled on windows.

the odd cases where one still didn’t work on linux, a simple useragent addon in firefox to flip it to windows has usually worked.

but then, even when it is working, linux clients often still get a lesser product as the streaming sites like to reserve higher quality video to clients with os-level drm, restricting linux to 720p or even 480p.

it’s similar. in a mainstream distribution with a desktop environment, updates can typically be configured to notify you or install automatically. it’s common for those updates to now also include third-party sources like flathub.

upgrades (to a next point release or major version) are different, some can be fairly straightforward–others, not so much. and those upgrades will be more frequent, as the “lifecycle” for most linux distributions is shorter than windows’ 10 years.

that’s where most of my ‘issues’ come from when upgrading an old debian… upstream version changes to major software packages (python, php, even apache 1.x to 2 back in the day) that require some manual intervention

it’s really not their responsibility to babysit user-initiated configuration changes and third-party software during updates and upgrades. the user makes the changes that go ‘off book’ and uses ‘non debian’ software–so that is where the responsibility lies.

‘decision anxiety’ is definitely real. there’s literally too many choices and different ways to deliver the same end result.

ubuntu studio is an excellent choice for your use case. you just gotta jump in with both feet

dumping this one that specifically limited exposure to the trash bits of windows and instead launch a new variant for gaming handhelds that, while ‘optimized’ and limited in the crud that runs, will most definitely be focused on driving gamers to game pass subs and store sales.

i only recently moved my main home pc from 8.1. there’s configs and software on it that would be difficult or impossible to recreate on a new install or pc. i even have a spare identical mb and cpu in case it’s needed. 1st gen. mechanical disks (several, sata ssd wasn’t that much of an improvement with the old controller for everyday use so i opted to keep the higher capacity) 32gb ram and pascal gpu. i skipped all the way to a rufus’d 11 and it’s actually running well (with all the crud ripped out, though). it dual boots with endless on a loop device. the upgrade didn’t even mess that up.

updates. the constant barrage of updates. the cpu, ram, and disk time needed just to ‘check’ for updates is horrible (it used to be a lot worse, too). and if you are still on an old-school mechanical hdd, those ‘cumulative’ updates are absolutely brutal every month with win10 or 11.

last week i booted-up a silverblue that hasn’t been run in a couple months. 8gb, mechanical disk, not a speed demon either–3rd or 4th gen. i didn’t even notice the updates were coming in until the notification popped up saying they were done.

if you go in not knowing what to do, it can seem ‘difficult’. but it’s mostly like on any other oem prebuilt:

optional: prep the target disk (backups, wipe or clear part table, etc), reset bios to defaults.

if necessary: switch from raid or rst to ahci sata mode, default boot mode to efi, disable secure boot. note that some distributions support secure boot but your method of creating an installer might not–you may be able to re-enable if you want after install.

note that hp systems have a hoop to jump through (a confirmation prompt to disable) after disabling secure boot on the next startup. do not use esc key to trigger boot menu, use f9 for boot menu, f10 for bios entry… as esc will cancel the confirmation code prompt and automatically re-enable secure boot.

insert or plug-in installer, hit the magic key upon power on (f12 for dell, f9 for hp) to bring up boot menu and select installer media, boot and run installer.

busch still works here, too. anheuser-busch was acquired by belgium-based inbev in 2008.

Depends on your CPU

absolutely. some cpu can draw more than the 180 watts of a 5060ti, even without actual ‘overclocking’, all by themselves when boosting their own clock (such as intel’s “turbo power”). even a ‘65 watt’ ultra 7 265 can get up to that.