Welcome, friend! Glad you decided to try out and stick with Mint. That's the distro I used as my daily driver for at least 1.5 years. When you have a chance, do try out some of the other Linux distros, especially Arch!
I used to be in a similar position as you. I ditched Windows about 1.5 years ago, and I hopped around several distros for a while before settling on Linux Mint. About 2 months ago, i decided that I wanted to try out something new, not because Linux Mint wasn't working for me, but just to see if there was something else that would be fun to learn about Linux. Today, I use Arch, and my DE is basically the Linux Mint Cinnamon DE.
Windows 7 was okay, but I still can't fathom how Windows 8 and 8.1 came to be. In the computer companies I've worked for, I don't think they have a single product that runs on Windows 8 or Windows Vista. The OS progression was XP to 7 to 10. Now, they're all working towards Windows 11 support.
From what I heard, the Dell XPS 13 is one option to run a Linux distro, but it isn't the only option. Should it not work for you, another alternative you could consider is the Acer Swift 3. That's the laptop I currently own, and I run Arch Linux on it. I have not yet encountered any issues with it. Prior to running Arch, I have tried Linux Mint and Pop OS on it. I wouldn't recommend Linux Mint on a laptop, not because it's a bad distro (Linux Mint is quite good as a beginner distro), but because the Cinnamon DE isn't great for laptops. The GNOME and Cosmic DE are more suited for laptop workflows.
I used Linux Mint for about 1.5 years before transitioning to Arch Linux. For me, the transition was to learn more about Linux and to try something new. Thus far, I'm really liking Arch. There have been a few issues that have popped up here and there, like getting Bluetooth devices to connect properly, but the Arch Wiki and forums often have the solution. You just have to spend time reading the articles or the forum responses.
As for other distros, I've tried Zorin, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Pop OS, and KDE Neon before settling on Linux Mint.
Yes, I do realize that what I purchased may have been "licenses" to access the book. That's why I'm looking for a solution that will allow me to keep what I purchased. I'm not in a position where I can just re-purchase every eBook that I got on Kindle.
I am aware of Calibre, but like you, I have also been told that it doesn't always work as expected.
What is your experience with the Nook? I haven't seen that many positive reviews of the Nook when compared to Kindle and Kobo.
This doesn't surprise me, given how messy Facebook has become. What does disturb me is people not being able to recognize that they are AI-generated. Now, this could be due to the AI becoming so sophisticated that it can actually generate life-like images, or it could be due to humanity's inability to question what they're viewing and whether it is true or not. Either way, this is very concerning, and if it can happen on Facebook, I'm sure it's also happening on other social media sites as well.
Speaking of which, how can we stop something like this from happening on Lemmy and other federated sites?
If you want something that looks and behaves much like the Windows desktop environment, use Linux Mint. If you want something closer to the macOS environment, use Pop OS.
An excellent choice to use Linux Mint! If my parents allowed me to switch their computers to Linux, I would've chosen Linux Mint as well for them. But, I probably wouldn't give them the Windows 10 look.
Welcome, friend! Glad you decided to try out and stick with Mint. That's the distro I used as my daily driver for at least 1.5 years. When you have a chance, do try out some of the other Linux distros, especially Arch!