I’m that average Joe! In fact, I’m using Linux Mint, which is extremely easy to use and navigate. In fact, I’ve found it much easier to learn than Windows.

So far, I haven’t missed anything. I mostly stream content and use the internet. I haven’t tried much gaming, but it seems to be well supported.

My only barrier I’m aware of for gaming are multiplayer games that require anti-cheat software, but I don’t play such games anyway.

There are a few other little things. For example, since I use my mini PC for content streaming, I had to connect it directly to the TV via USB and use a wireless keyboard to navigate since that’s my primary way to watch movies. (Screen mirroring isn’t supported.) Another example is Proton VPN works on Linux but behaves weirdly. If I forget to disconnect, then next time I launch Linux I have to manually reconnect to wifi, which is weird, but the forums helped me immediately.

The Linux Mint forums are super good: https://forums.linuxmint.com/

So yeah, I literally just started using it, and my experience has been much less frustrating than trying to wrestle with Windows.

Edit: Linux Mint Cinnamon is what I’m using.