installing mainstream Linux distros isn't arcane knowledge, if you can take a covid rapid test you can install Linux. Nerdy misogynists on the internet just want you too think its harder than it is, too inflate their own egos.
There is a windows program style installer and step by step instructions on the distros website. the most complex part is putting the install file on a thumbdrive which is fixed by ventoy
@budsofstone quite possibly. if you're interested here are the things that make me too intimidated to install Linux
* I know nothing about the different distros and don't care enough to find out
* I imagine I will be chmod-ing files and doing permissions a lot on a command line
but, like finding out raspberry Pi has a GUI all this time (I was running PiHole headlessly) it does open up a lot of opportunities to have an independent OS. It just has a neckbeard reputation which is unfair.
@bleepbloop you know that's completely fair, you don't have to be invested in the hobby of computers. Fedora with Gnome if you're mac or KDE if you're windows or Linux mint Debian edition will work right out of the box. and with any of those you can do all permissions modifications (there will be little to none based on what you do with your PC) through the GUI. honestly with any mainstream distro now you don't ever have to open the terminal if you don't want to.
