Great post! Very informative! I have tried to install Kinoite but it's tricky to do with partitions. I currently have all my data/files on a big partition and install the system in a different one, and I can't seem to install Kinoite without "formatting" the disk. Will do in the future for sure!

Budgie is very much not KDE.

You can go with your wife, you know?

Yup! Monopoly alright. I'm lucky to have my bank's app working like a payment entity on Android, without having to go through Google Pay.

That's the premise behind AdNauseam, albeit only for ads and not general navigation: It clicks all the ads in the background, so the data won't ever target the real you.

Yeah that's what I thought, thanks for the answer!

To a "newbie", what does this mean? I transitioned to Linux full time less than a year ago and settled with KDE. Will this affect me in any way?

5 years??? You change cars every 5 years?

I thought it was too smooth and the rearview mirror on the third image proved it. What are you doing there??? 😂

Option 2. It's the most robust. You'll never lose it (provided you have the redundancy), you can use it offline, you can transfer it using a USB pen, it's available in all platforms, including web. I've been using this for 8+ years, on my phone, desktop, laptop, company computer, etc. I store it on a personal cloud (and on each machine, of course, by syncing).

It is still true, at least in Europe. I mean, they're not actually trying to destroy your life, you know, but they're after the company's best interests. They might help you, and might make things not the worst they possibly can, because that'll give a bad rep, but they're not your friend.

I guess this is the succinct version of the other replies. You're getting downvotes but I like it anyway :)