Fore and aft rigged ships sail into the wind pretty well, but square rigged ships were better outfitted for running with the trades. This design would probably do something similar, but yeah, next they’ll invent masts and yardarms and booms, and then we’ll be back to squabbling over trade routes in the Caribbean.

Update on my update re: Sony wh1000mx3 headphones and Linux Bluetooth failure to connect: got it working, didn’t need any extra software either. The Sony’s will prompt themselves into pairing mode if another device tries to connect and they aren’t paired with another device, so I’ve never activated pairing mode on them before. The Linux (zorin) bluetooth software won’t try to pair with a device not in pairing mode, so they were like shy kids who want to dance with each other but won’t ask. In short, like the overwhelming majority of my problems: user error.

Hope my verbose incompetence saves some future googler a few minutes of frustration.

Update on my linux journey:

Tried ubuntu, mint, and zorin in a live environment, they all had features that I really liked, and perhaps more importantly lacked features that I really hate. Can’t remember the last time I set up a bloatless device! I could see myself using any of them, but zorin had two advantages, the lowest learning curve and it worked with more of my peripherals and apps than the other two.

I have it dual booting on my desktop, but I have audio issues there (desktop is really my tv/gaming/media center) as it’s hooked up to a big cheap tv and soundbar, and I suspect that it doesn’t recognize them as hdmi enabled audio devices. I tired some commonly recommended fixes but no avail yet, might have to wire audio a different way. I didn’t have trouble getting games running in zorin but the performance was half that of windows. Tried updating the video driver (only a week out of date) and I need to research how to install drivers that aren’t listed. Seems like it might be a set of terminal commands. But I’m saving that for later and focusing on the laptop instead, where I have lower demands and can get more day to day use in.

Every app I use on the laptop is functional with live environment zorin, but I am again having an audio problem. No issue with the integrated speaker, but bluetooth would not connect (device not set up) which I resolved with bluetooth adapter - and now I according to the pc I am connecting and pairing, but no device will pair.

Overall I’d say it’s not a bad start considering my lack of pedigree, but I’ve got a long way to go.

Just checked it out, It’s an I5 6500, a little older than I thought, but ubuntu recommended specs are pretty low: CPU: 1 gigahertz or better RAM: 1 gigabyte or more Disk: a minimum of 2.5 gigabytes

no uefi so I’m good to go. probably

I think it depends on what your goals are.

My main goal is getting off windows, not because it doesn’t do what I need (my needs are basic) but because they put ads in my OS. Also, every iteration seems to make a bigger mess of the settings/control panel, and open shell isn’t enough for me anymore, although I often think fondly of the IT guy who turned me on to that years back. And the uninstallable (or difficult to uninstall) bloat. And it may just be me, but it seems like there are performance issues - I’ve a new desktop at work with better specs than the laptop I’ve kept on 10, and it seems to be panting under some pretty light loads.

I have a perception, which may be inaccurate, of linux as being for programmers who need to customize to suit their projects and thus rather fiddly, so I wonder if going to linux to get away from windows commercialism and constricting UI is just trading one set of problems for a harder set.

WSL sounds like a great option, and from what I just read the install is stupid easy, but I’m unclear if it’s a simulation of linux inside of windows or just the implementation of a feature of linux. I imagine the command line is like the windows terminal: a method of more directly calling for your computer to do stuff. So if WSL is just the command line, then it won’t simulate how the stuff I want to do interacts with ubuntu, but let me tell my computer what to do like I would in ubuntu?

How important is command line in Linux? Will a casual user need to access it frequently? Will my modest needs be better met by learning it?

That’s two votes for ubuntu. I like the idea of a virtual machine protecting me from myself. I’ve got desktop and a laptop, but need them both active. I’ve also got an old desktop in a closet somewhere, wonder if the hardware would still be functional enough to learn on. CPU is probably a 7th gen I5, to give you an idea of the datedness.