There are ways of bypassing the Windows 11 TPM requirements if that’s the hardware issue. However there are no guarantees that won’t change in the future.

However from the sounds of your hardware it sounds pretty new? So I’d be surprised if your chipset doesn’t support TPM. It’s often turned off by default (particularly in AMD systems) so this may be a simple as going in to your Bios to turn it on, and then letting Windows run it’s Windows 11 upgrade. It can also have different names in AMD systems so you may need to read your motherboards manual to find out how to turn on TPM.

Linux is different to Windows; to use it you have to accept the differences to a certain extent.

Having said that, the examples you give of frustrations sound like you didn’t get far with Linux, and I wonder if part of the problem is just making the effort to get used to it? But I also wonder whether Linux is just not for you, given your software needs.

A few things you should be aware of for your use scenarios:

• You can install a virtual machine and run Windows in it, with a license if you want, for your edge scenarios of specific programs you use. It will take some minor effort to do but I have Windows 11 installed in a KVM machine on my Linux machine for the rare times I want to use my Work Office account. I prefer it to the web version. However it will be more problematic for high end graphics software; you will probably want a dual boot system for native graphics access for that. There is a route of getting a second graphics card just for your virtual Windows machine but I’m not sure that sounds like a route you’d want to go down?
• Many games just work now with Linux and Steam Proton (or other Wine/Proton derived systems). However if you want to guarantee they work all the time then again you will have to dual boot windows. I have Windows 10 installed on it’s own drive on my PC; I haven’t used it in months but it’s there for gaming in case something doesn’t work. So yes I have 2 windows licenses on my PC; rarely used but there to cover all use scenarios for me. That is extreme and in your case I’d probably just keep 1 and dual boot but both are doable.
• Linux is much more user friendly than it used to be, and drivers are generally well kept up to date including for new devices but there is often a lag for the cutting edge systems as manufacturers target Windows for launch. I would take a different attitude to you regarding devices - if they’ve not got Linux drivers I don’t want to be stuck with a lemon device in my PC. Your graphics card (AMD) is well supported; and I’d be amazed if your network drivers don’t work in this day and age - use a USB live distro to test those things
• If you are going to use Linux then I’d strongly recommend KDE as a desktop as the default paradigm is very familiar for windows users. It is also very flexible and you can make pretty much any GUI you like out of it, but at the start it just works and is familiar. I would not touch Gnome if I were you - it is very different to windows and you don’t seem like the kind of person who would tolerate it’s restrictive design philosophy. Other windows like DEs include Cinnamon on Linux Mint (There are many more but I think Cinnamon or KDE would be best, depending very much on which Distro you want to use).
• There are open source alternative for much of the software you use, but some of what you use may also run natively using Wine. However you’d have to be prepared to tinker and test to get there.

Overall however, I’d suggest that if you’re so locked in to propriety software then Linux may not be right for you. While you may prefer it to Windows in many ways on paper, ultimately the companies whose propriety products you have bought and like are not generally interested in supporting Linux. So you have a choice - either you accept being locked in to your vendors including their choice of windows, or you look at Linux supporting alternatives (open source or propriety), or you accept a hybrid set up of dual booting (which didn’t work for you previously). Only you can decide whether you’re willing to make the multiple shifts in preferred software you’d probably need to make to be able to use Linux as your daily driver.

If you do want to go down the Linux route; then personally I’d suggest OpenSuSe Leap - it’s KDE based, it’s a stable point release base, and has decent support, and is designed to be both a home desktop distro and a more professional work device. Linux Mint would also be a good place to start - Cinnamon is very windows like, and there is loads of support on the web as it’s so popular.

Yeah I agree with you. A steam deck “app store” to more easily add in plugins or third party launchers would be ideal.

It almost seems essential if SteamOS is going to run on other manufacturers platforms. Decky loader and other similar plugins are part of the way there, but a route for installing a curated selection of Linux based tools and apps seems ideal. It’s certainly easily in their power.

I do wonder though if they don’t want Steam Deck to drift too far from the Windows and Linux apps, but I think it would be in their interest to open up the gyroscope interface in this way on steam deck and make it easier for less technically savy people (or just convenient to bypass the desktop mode). Although the Steam Deck app feels like the windows and Linux apps, it is basically the main interface for the whole OS for most people.

It kind of makes sense - Lenovo are testing the water with one device rather than going all in. It’ll be interesting what happens next year - do they give up or does it sell well and they push on further.

My feeling is SteamOS is so much better in terms of a user interface and experience than the custom interfaces of each manufacturer on Windows that it’ll probably win out, even though native Windows should have an advantage in performance. Microsoft is dropping the ball on making windows work well in this category, and Asus and Lenovo really aren’t great at software. And let’s face it, they’re largely just launchers for Steam on Windows anyway.

I suspect part of it is also going to come down to whether maintaining their own software and paying a license to Microsoft for Windows for each device is felt to be worth it versus SteamOS.

What have your issues been generally?

When it comes to ports, you need to make sure your firewall is open for your new port number. Can you access the server in a browser on the laptop itself? If so the issue is somewhere else on your network. If not, then the port isn’t open in your firewall on Linux Mint.

For me, the biggest issue with setting up Jellyfin has invariably been setting up ffmpeg. I find the online official guide for a straight Linux install does not direct Jellyfin to find ffmpeg correctly - when you’re setting up the path to ffmpeg you need to be careful even if you’re installing the Jellyfin version of ffmpeg. Even if you install everything in /opt, the official steps don’t work for me and I’ve had to adjust how I write the path in the config file to make it work - even if ffmpeg is in the locations the guide suggests. Even knowing that I’ve torn my hair out more than once trying to get it to work between reinstalls - everytime for me it came down to the path for ffmpeg.

The other common issue is permissions for Jellyfin to access your media folders. The guide isn’t great on fixing those issues either - if you have those issues you’re far better googling for solutions.

You may find the docker set up is better and more consistent. It does work well as a Linux service but it’s wiki guide is just off enough that it’s a pain in the arse to install.

I’m using OpenSuSE Tumbleweed and can recommend that. It’s user friendly, especially with the powerful Yast tools for configuring a lot of things. I’m using KDE but it does have a good Gnome spin.

All of the tools you’re using will work without issue, and I have an Nvidia 3070 which I’ve set up without issue with the official Nvidia drivers. I game a fair bit with steam and everything works well.

If you’re not a fan of rolling release then OpenSuSE Leap is the same but point release.

OpenSuSE has good official repos and large variety of community repos, plus Flatpak if you need it. The only difficulties I’ve had are with Python which is installed in a weird way to allow multiple versions to be installed for devs - it can be fiddly installing python software dependencies into the right places, especially if they want you using pip.

Also you said you use VirtualBox - I used to use it but have switched to KVM and strongly recommend it. Guest systems - particularly Linux guests - work better in KVM. Worth exploring in your next system - in OpenSuSE it’s been a doddle to set up but should be in most systems.

I see people recommending immutable desktops - I’d be cautious about switching your desktop to that if you don’t have experience of that kind of system. They have strengths but definite drawbacks too. I’d try another distro not too disimilar to Ubuntu before exploring the world of immutable distros.

Maybe try an immutable system in a Virutal machine. I’ve played a bit with them and they’ve not been for me - too locked down and if you like to tinker or try niche things you’ll find yourself fighting the OS. Also Flatpak is convenient but it’s not the ideal or most secure way to be running all your software, and lots of software isn’t available as Flatpak.

And for Nix, it is very good but can be used on many distros. You can get another traditional distro and try it out - if you like it by all means switch to NixOS but you don’t have to use NixOS to use Nix. Again it seems too big of a leap to go all in to that on your main desktop. I’d make a smaller change unless you’re open to reinstalling your main desktop a few times trialling bigger shifts.

Moderation is broken because there is no longer a consensus on what is “right” or “wrong”. The very term implies that there is a moderate position that is allowed, and you cull the extremes.

That consensus in moderating used to be simple in most adult spaces - no aggression/abuse/fighting, no porn. Everything else was fine.

Now things have drifted - you have corporate censorship in social media to respond to some perceived need not to “endorse” views. But you also have users deciding some topics are not allowed to be discussed and certain view points are censored just because some people disagree with them. There seems to be a notion that you have to “protect” people from being offended or that certain ideas are just dangerous or wrong.

I’ve even seen a moderator on Lemmy describe “freedom of speech” as nothing more than a right wing wolf whistle and banning someone.

This whole CEO murder is just highlighting how a complex and multifaceted nuanced case cannot be reduced into a simple good vs evil narrative. The old mainstream media consensus that everyone shows “sympathy for victim, condemnation for the bad guy” is just restricting debate and discussion on something that raises complex and fundamental questions about our society.

The “consensus” on what viewpoints are allowed is breaking down and people are mistaking them personally being offended as a barometer of what is right or wrong.