I switched to Linux, and you can too!
Are you fed up with Microsoft? Are you a transgender woman? Do you have more than a passing interest in computers? Then Linux might be for you! This is by no means a definitive tutorial, or an extensive guide. This is just links to what I did.
a small flash drive (mine was 8gb, but that was more than enough space.)
a computer currently running Windows 10 or 11 (i was on 11, i'm pretty sure everything I did/used also works on 10)
a phone or second computer to google anything should you run into problems.
I'm not going to explain how to dual boot, bc I didn't do that. I excised the Microsoft Daemon from my life and I encourage you to do the same.
What to do while still on Windows:
If you have anything to backup that you haven't, do it now. I had about 1TB of stuff to move onto an external that took way longer than I thought it would. I didn't actually get to start setting up my new OS until 11pm bc I didn't plan well.
Linux Mint download (i went with Cinnamon, i like the modern minimal GUI but i still use terminal for almost everything)
Linux Mint installation instructions (this also does have instructions for partitioning and dual booting if you go that direction.)
Balena Etcher (this makes flash drive + linux iso = bootable drive)
after following the install instructions, most of what I set up was available through Mint's Software Manager (basically the app store for mint).
Things I installed first:
Steam. Since Valve dropped the Steam Deck, gaming on Linux has become a lot easier. SteamOS runs on Linux, so pretty much anything in the Steam Store that has the Steam Deck Verified ✅ will work. Steam will automatically install an extension called Proton that will handle compatibility issues. In the Properties window there will be a tab labelled Compatibility. If anything has problems, switching to a different option here will probably solve it.
Wine. Wine allows you to install windows executable.
Input Remapper. If you have a gaming mouse with side buttons, this will allow you to manage the inputs. All of my gear is older Steelseries stuff, and the manager software doesn't work and Input Remapper is what I've been using. I've also seen things around about Piper, but I couldn't get it running.
Emote. Simple extension that gives you an emoji keyboard that you can hit a keyboard shortcut to bring up on your desktop. Better than most websites built in emoji keyboards, and works for every application.
There's probably more I'm forgetting/not mentioning/haven't done yet that I'll figure out in the future.