random stuff about my computer and linux noob experience

Previously, my desktop computer had Windows 10 installed for a while. I mainly used it only for watching media and playing video games. Then I updated to Windows 11 in order to get system/security updates, but I only used it for a month. The ui was extremely bloated, with random news/copliot/weather icons on the lock screen, desktop screen, menu, taskbar, basically everywhere. For Windows in general I found the Windows filesystem/commandprompt/powershell confusing to use, and files that should be saved to documents would save to onedrive for some reason.

So I decided recently during this month (November 2025) to switch to using Linux Mint. I figured out how to do some basic customization with the default and downloadable applets, extensions and themes. I added the OrchideaDock theme from the download section. On my taskbar I added switcher and windows quick list, which are convenient for managing different windows and seeing what I have opened. For extensions, I downloaded Negate Window Super+I which lets me invert any window I recently clicked on, and gTile where I can tile my windows without struggle.

Desktop

Downloading files on Linux Mint wasn’t too difficult as long as the software I wanted had clear documentation, and worked for Debian or Ubuntu. The software manager is super easy to download from and there is a lot of popular applications avaiable, like Steam and VLC Player. I tried out new apps I have never used before, like RSS Guard which lets me save a feed of things I want to follow without having to manually check different websites or channels, and SuperTuxKart which is like a less bloated Mario Kart.

I was able to run Bloons Tower Defense 6, Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Minecraft Java Edition on my system natively or with steam proton. Protondb.com shows reports on what games work or doesn’t work on Proton. I’m not going to try to test what other games will work on my system though. I’m going to use this as a opportunity to stop buying new ones on steam or any game market.