I hate Windows so much that it is hard to describe that hatred without the threat of being put on a list looming over me. I don't like it at all. But I didn't dislike it enough to do anything about it for a long time because I was a huge weak and pathetic coward until Microsoft decided to add [Windows Recall](https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/3/24170305/microsoft-windows-recall-ai-screenshots-security-privacy-issues) as a feature to its OSes. That was enough for me. I didn't want to go back to the Apple ecosystem so I decided to finally suck it up and try Linux. Specifically I grabbed my Surface laptop and installed [Linux Mint](https://www.linuxmint.com/). I've heard it told that Linux Mint is the easiest Linux distro to just install and start schmooving with. I would agree with this assessment. Mint was shockingly easy to set up. I wouldn't even say it took me longer than an hour to get working. All I had to do was burn it onto a USB, plug it into my laptop in safe boot mode and it was on the laptop in no time. Real quick, some background on me: I would consider myself technically competent. I would hope so at least, given my entire career has been built around that supposed competency. I have been known to do some geek shit on the computer, which may come as a shock to some of you. But I am also extraordinarily lazy, so if Linux Mint gave me trouble at any point I would have dropped this project immediately. Luckily Mint avoids some of the more frequent FOSS pitfalls that come with this sort of thing, like terrible documentation or UI/UX. The installation guide was clear, simple and concise, and Mint itself as an operating system feels as Windows-like as one could hope for if they're trying to get away from Windows but still enjoy its creature comforts. Everything is where you'd expect it to be and is responsive to how a human brain engages with a computer. Great. I was expecting to have to do some extra tinkering after installation, but that was mercifully minimal. I was able to install pretty much everything I was already using through Mint's "app store" which saved me a headache. But this is also where I'd argue Linux can give someone trouble - specifically flatpaks and whatnot. Apple Music doesn't have a Linux app, and I didn't want to run it through a browser, so I had to get the app Cider instead. It wasn't on that Mint "app store" so I had to do a lot of googling to figure out how exactly to install it, and it did eventually involve the need to use the terminal. This didn't annoy me that much, but I'd recommend anyone who *doesn't* consider themselves tech-savvy to maybe do a rundown of the apps they use and how willing they are to learn how to install them if it isn't easy. Without a doubt the best part of Linux Mint has been the performance bump on the laptop I installed it on. Like I said, it's a Surface. This is important to note. It is a Windows laptop literally purpose-built by Microsoft, *for* Windows. One day it installed Windows 11 on itself without my consent, and proceeded to run like absolute *dogshit*. It wouldn't go to sleep on lid close, burned through battery in two hours or less, and had a fan that sounded like it wanted to be mercy-killed as much as I do. After I put Mint on it though, all of that went away. The chugging was gone, the heat on the laptop was gone, its battery capacity went up to *6 to 8 hours* and the fan has gotten so quiet I originally thought I might have broken the fan driver when I installed the distro. Nope, it just is at peace now. Genuinely how fucking embarrassing is it to be shown up on your own branded laptop, Microsoft? Are you stupid? So yeah, after a few weeks with it I'm pretty happy with Linux Mint. I actually *like* using that laptop now, where before I pretty much wrote it off as a loss and avoided it like the plague. My main computer is still Windows 11 but at this point I might just turn it into a Linux machine too. Pretty much every game I want to play runs on Linux at this point anyways. We'll see. Tl;dr fuck Microsoft all my homies hate Microsoft.