phanto

I use ProtonVPN on Mint, and I did have to type a command into the console to install it the first time, but I just click on the Icon in the start menu to launch it now. All the Major distros have an update feature that can be run from the desktop. My version of Mint (Cinnamon) has a little update notification icon on the bottom right just like Windows does. It's pretty easy. I like Mint, but I have distro hopped for years, and I am mostly settled on Fedora, but I still have a Mint installer on a USB for rescue missions. Its Live Linux is great. Making the computer totally dead would require a lot of effort, since you can always boot into a live Linux USB and have a usable system. Heck, I have booted my Mind stick on a system with no Hard Drive and used the machine anyway. Linux is actually easier in that respect than Windows, since you never have to Putz around with licenses. My only caution would be to make sure you have access to another computer somewhere, in case you need to write a new USB installer. That's about all for caution.

You can make the system stop booting for a bit if you screw up the install, but if you keep a Windows installer USb and whatever Linux USB installer handy, you can always get the system booting again. If you know someone who has done it before, dual-booting is a good way to dip your toe in. I keep a small windows install on most of my systems, just in case I have that one app or whatever I need to run, but I almost never boot into Windows anymore.

That the bazaar is better than the cathedral, every time.

This is a bit out there, but for the "feel", I'd recommend Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It takes a bit to get going, but wow it's a great book. The rest of the series is satisfying as well, but you don't have to go past book one.

Thank you, that was very nice! But I do love my car, too.

Prisencolinensinainciusol! That song rocks.

VROOOoooOOOMMM! Hee hee! I got a hybrid standard, and I will drive it until it literally falls apart (or I do.)

Yes!

This is what the community will likely tell you: Gnome is more for "I just want it to work and stay out of my way" and KDE is for "I want it to behave in some crazy fashion, and I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!"

I find the opposite.

I get Gnome, and I add tweaks, extensions, desktop wallpaper thingies, task bar nonsense, etc. I get KDE, and I just use it as is.

So clearly, the correct answer is: XFCE! Mwah hah hah!

I tried Bazzite on an old mid-tier gaming laptop, was Mondo impressed. I basically agree with all the things you said. Amusingly, I find that just general purpose computing is snappier and smoother too, so I wound up using it mostly as my surfing/Plex/shopping machine more than anything else.

Feel free to ask questions if you have them. I am no expert, but I am willing to try to help if you get stuck.

1. You are going to find people who have done both. A lot of NAS devices run kind of low powered CPUs so separating it out into two devices can get you more compute power than a single device. For example, an old as the hills file bay may cost next to nothing, and then using your "last" desktop will get you a lot more storage and compute than a 1500$ modern NAS, but it'll take up more space, cost more in electricity to run, and make more fan noise. This is the route I went. A modern NAS should be able to run what you listed though.
2. TrueNAS scale is all about storage, but it lets you also run containers. Proxmox is all about virtualization, but you can then run a storage solution inside a VM or container. It's not the kind of thing you're going to get a right answer for because either way can work. Both are well-documented, capable solutions. I have tried both at times, but I had a lot more experience with Proxmox by the time I deployed TrueNAS, so I stuck with Proxmox and use a TrueNAS box (bare metal) for backups. It really is a matter of preference.
3. If you have a MiniPC and NAS as separate devices, you will want to set up a network share, so you can seed on the MiniPC the copy that's on the NAS. My seeding, Jellyfin, Plex, etc, all happen in a virtual hard drive mounted in a separate container from the services. Each of the services "see that drive as a network share despite being hosted on the same physical hardware.

I use ProtonVPN and it sets up a "leak shield" interface when you start it and destroys that when you end it. It keeps traffic from flowing out over the non-vpn internet. The problem is, if the VPN crashes or doesn't shut down gracefully, that interface kills all traffic.

To test if it's something like that, try pinging an outside address, first by name and then by IP. If you can't get either, it's not the DNS messing you up. If you CAN ping the IP but not the name, then it is the DNS messing you up.

Haha! Eggs. That's a flex!