Also OP, if you want pretty and Cinnamon can't do it for ya, you can always install KDE (my fav!) or GNOME or what have you right on top of your existing system.

Research before doing so! But it's possible. :)

I also love Tumbleweed and rock it as my daily driver!

To complement this point, OP, you can also get that sweet rollback functionality in any distro! Usually the easiest way is selecting BTRFS as your file system on install, and installing a software called "TimeShift" that will manage snapshots for you.

BTRFS can be complicated, but basically, it allows remembering the changes in files, without needing to copy the ENTIRE file. This saves a ton of space. (You don't need to get into the weeds deep diving if you don't want to. Snapshots are great, everything else is great, as long as you aren't doing crazy specific RAID setups or something lol)

Otherwise, on EXT4 for insurance, your rollbacks would just literally be copied files, which can eat your storage fast. :)

Tumbleweed is known for rolling (heh!) this in quite smoothly by default, but this is just an example how any distro can be tweaked how you like! (Highly recommend setting up Timeshift on ANY install.)

I absolutely second the advice in this comment: Try some live USBs or virtual machines and just play around for what feels right. Distro hopping can be lots of fun, but you'll find one that "feels like home."

:)

I agree with most folks here that usability-wise, both are truly fine! Mainly I think philosophy is where Mint might have an edge here.

Ubuntu, run by a corpo named Canonical, has had some controversial decisions in the past, such as inserting amazon ads into the system's search feature, or "opt out" analytics being default, and lately, a system called "snap."

Snap is controversial because it has a closed source backend, but effectively works just like its open-source counterpart, the "flatpak." It's packaged so the software has everything it needs to run.

Some people say they work great, others hate them, but Ubuntu doesn't make it very easy for you to have a choice in the matter.

If you don't like the idea of snaps, it's a bit of a pain to get rid of it. And otherwise, Ubuntu will sneakily use it as the default way to install most software. Philosophically, this can feel a lot like why people left Windows behind!

Long term, that's why I favor and recommend Mint to most newcomers: It doesn't play those games, sometimes the drivers work even better, the community is fantastic, and the vast knowledge that works on Ubuntu should work on Mint too.

So that's mainly where the difference will lie.

Either way, I wouldn't sweat it too much while you're learning, as long as it does what you want! And purple-orange is pretty snazzy. ;)

Mint just feels a little "cleaner" in my humble opinion. Most software you'd want the latest of, like GIMP or Discord, will be found as a Flatpak in Mint's app store.

Hope this helps you get a clearer view!

Frodo's initial task was just to get The Ring to Rivendell, after all.

(Smash cut to Frodo and Sam clawing their way up Mt. Doom)

" 'Ah, just take the Ring to Rivendell and I'll catch up with ya! ' he said.

'Elrond's pretty sharp he'll know what to do!' he said.

'It'll be an aDvEnTuRe!' he said!"

Microsoft knows this has so much power with a certain computer user demographic and I hate it so much. It was the worst, having to teach people to install certain useful software while also directing them to override big scary warnings..."But just this time! Don't do it all the time!"

It made me look shady, it made the software look shady, for no good reason.

...And you just know, sadly they're the same kind of users that will probably repeat that pattern with a suspicious .exe they got in an email.

Ah the old bad guy cliché. You know they feel threatened when they bust out the "We're the same, you and I!" Lol

I like that idea, although I think we need some simpler guides as to what exactly one might he getting into if they're setting up an instance that's not just a domain name. (Costs, potential usage blowing up, legal issues with content, etc...)

Also, I really think there needs to be a smoother way to navigate between instances. I guess, so you're still aware of "jumping nodes", but also don't feel locked in there. (Although maybe I'm just a newb still haha)

Truuue!

I probably engage here a little much too, but I'm glad there's not a ton of "You also might like based on where your mouse hovered 0.4 seconds longer" panels on every single page!

Let's be honest, corporate was just mad they didn't think of it sooner! :p

This gesture is meant to convey threat and to harass religious and racial minorities.

I'd even take it a step further and say it's a gesture made by a very dangerous minority that threatens the vast majority.

Nothing says "I'm willing to forgo my humanity to wage pointless violence on literally the rest of the world." like the cringiest dipshit salute ever devised.

Yeah, no.

Or as they'd say down there:

"Yeeh, nooar."

(I make this joke with love, Australia 🫶 lol)

It seemed really obvious, like, I had this thought before the election was called that I should start grabbing some stonks because the uncertainty dipped everything for a minute.

But I don't have money for stocks right now, I'm simply not in the position. (Okay I own like one, for my favorite (not starbucks) coffee chain lol)

And then everything jumps massively after his "win", because all the corpos are probably anticipating massive deregulation.

I probably would've been gutted on short term gains fees anyway lol.

That's how it works though isn't it? The secret is to already have a bunch of money and stock and general capital...then when it dips, it's not so bad, and when it surges, you win such a payout!

How ingeniously simple! /s