I'm not much of a gamer so simply using Linux to put old hardware back into use is already more than I'd hoped. I have an old Macbook and per your suggestion just made a Mint Cinnamon boot USB, so I'll have a test machine up and running very soon.

While I'm at it . . . any suggestions as to the best forums in which to ask stupid noob questions?

I will try other distros if I don't like Mint, because if Linux works out, I'm ready to jump ship off Windows and start changing over my more crucial boxes. I just don't see going to Windows 11, not least because I am certain that even operating systems are eventually going to try to trap users into a subscription model, and I am simply not having that shit. It won't happen immediately, but it seems inevitable, so why wait. Thank you again for your recommendations.