Thank you!

Should I get a laptop with Ubuntu pre-installed or just buy the typical windows machine and install it myself?

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All I did was get a Dell 15 3520 with a 12th gen i5 processor, 2TB SSD and 16GB RAM for $700 CAD with Windows 11 Pro on it so I didn’t have to mess around trying to find one with the OS I wanted pre installed. It also gave me a chance to mess around for a few days with windows 11 pro and recoil in horror at the level of privacy invasion it represents.

Most OEM windows license keys are right in the bios so you can always get it back if you ever want to. But you won’t likely ever want to once you see how much more private everything is by default on Linux.

Get yourself a good mouse, 2-3 thumb drives for rescue media and booting into the OS install itself, and a 2TB external SSD for saving images and critical files to, and you’re stylin.

Hot tip. Having access to your retiring internet connected PC throughout the process, and an AI prompt at the ready for helping you through any technical challenges is a quantum leap from trying to do a new operating system install and the initial learning on a lone machine.

Also look for the YouTube video entitled Introduction to Linux Full Course and others for some command line basics and gaining an understanding of how Linux works vs Windows centralized registry model.

Best thing I ever did for computing life. I should have done it years ago.