I need help.

[Sailordawg]

I had Fedora a 1000 years ago. I want to get away From MS. My computer- i7-8550U [email protected] ram. I like web browsing, Vid Watching, shopping,etc, light stuff. I will eventually move it on my sailboat to do all the previously mentioned and navigation/ weather. I need help deciding the best distro to start. I don't want anything tied to MS. I've had to tolerate using MS until I had time to make the move. I am ready. I don't mind light coding. I like the idea of puting it on a flash drive for security sake. I have a 1TB SSD USB flash drive ready to use. I'm retired now so I work more than I ever have. LOL Any help will be greatly appreciated. GBY

 

[camtaf]

My preference is for Devuan, but I think anything Debian based will work OK, lots of choices...

 

[Brickwizard]

My computer- i7-8550U [email protected]

Welcome,
as we do not have all the facts, I will speak in general terms, your computer is capable of running any of the 500 or so desktop Linux builds, depending on its components [sound, graphics,wi-fi] may need non-free drivers [no cost but not FOSS], almost any Linux build can be made into a USB drive "with persistence"
there are as many popular beginner-friendly distributions, some to try
Any of the Ubuntu family
Debian stable with the additional driver pack
Mint 21
MintLMDE
MX-linux
Linux Lite
Peppermint
to name but a few.
Please read [if you haven't already] and note the last line. https://www.linux.org/threads/what-is-the-best-linux-distribution-which-should-i-use.43789/

 

[kc1di]

Hello @Sailordawg,
Welcome to Linux.org forum.
this page may be of help in getting started.

Home | Linux Journey

linuxjourney.com

 

[KGIII]

I'm retired now so I work more than I ever have.

Many distros will work. You'd be wanting to use 'persistent USB' in your Linux searches and all sorts of distros can be set up that way. You can also just install on an external drive and use that.

But, as to your comment, I can certainly relate! I suck at retirement. What I should be doing is fishing.

 

[Brickwizard]

What I should be doing is fishing.

me too

 

[KGIII]

me too

I chuckled even though it's a bit old of a joke.

A few more years and I can laugh even harder 'cause I won't remember hearing it before.

 

[bob466]

Linux Mint Cinnamon is an excellent Distro and will run just fine...it's solid and user friendly.