It's complicated. Linux is extremely diverse, so there's basically every desktop layout you can think of and many that you can't. Some are similar to Windows by default (KDE, Cinnamon, sometimes XFCE or LXDE), others are similar to MacOS (Pantheon), and many are totally different from anything you've used before (GNOME, MATE, tiling window managers like Sway, Hyprland, or i3). However, almost all of them can be customized to work however you want. For example, GNOME is very unique by default (look at Fedora), but it can be changed to be a bit more traditional (Ubuntu) or heavily Windows-inspired (Zorin OS) by adding a few extensions. This is all while being known as one of the least customizable desktop environments, far surpassed by something like KDE.
I'm not them, but I'll give my reasons. Compared to Ubuntu or Linux Mint, Fedora is more up-to-date, I like the default desktop more, and it uses a method of installing applications called "Flatpak," which I like more than Ubuntu's "Snap." (Snap can be removed on Ubuntu, but Fedora's default setup is closer to what I want.) Compared to other distros, it is more polished and consistent, largely due to it being backed by a large company. Fedora is really good for both power users and beginners, but being up-to-date can sometimes lead to bugs or incompatibilities, and the default desktop (GNOME) can be hard to adjust to. As a result, I would recommend Linux Mint as a good option for you.
That's definitely not why. From how I understood it, it seems that she clicked on ads because she actually wanted to look at the product, and she was confused about why she kept getting malware on her computer.
I'm not an expert on this, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. RISC-V processors definitely don't have Intel ME. However, as the RISC-V architecture is open source, some manufacturers could include their own similar coprocessor. Also, AMD doesn't have anything called ME. Do you mean the PSP (Platform Security Processor), which provides a similar function to the Management Engine?
I would recommend CrDroid. Havoc is meant to be similar to a Pixel, so it has some more Google stuff than you want, but CrDroid is basically Lineage with some extra features. I haven't used it, but I've heard good things about it.
It's complicated. Linux is extremely diverse, so there's basically every desktop layout you can think of and many that you can't. Some are similar to Windows by default (KDE, Cinnamon, sometimes XFCE or LXDE), others are similar to MacOS (Pantheon), and many are totally different from anything you've used before (GNOME, MATE, tiling window managers like Sway, Hyprland, or i3). However, almost all of them can be customized to work however you want. For example, GNOME is very unique by default (look at Fedora), but it can be changed to be a bit more traditional (Ubuntu) or heavily Windows-inspired (Zorin OS) by adding a few extensions. This is all while being known as one of the least customizable desktop environments, far surpassed by something like KDE.