Assuming you have a Firefox derived browser installed, you could just add an EPUB extension to the browser.

I set up Mint on my parent’s PC a couple of years ago, and the amount of support I have had to provide has dropped to basically zero.

Assuming your laptop has hardware that has Linux support—wifi cards manufactured by certain companies are what typically make things difficult—a just works distribution like Ubuntu, Mint, and Pop!_OS will have a gentle learning curve for doing things that you want.

Mint is almost purpose made for people new to Linux or for people who just want to use their computer. It also has a large and friendly community around it, so there is community support, if you get stuck or confused on something. My parents, who are no tech people, have been happily using Mint for a couple of years now, with far less headache compared to Windows.

As others have said, the installation of whatever distribution you chose will probably be the most intimidating aspect of switching to Linux. It doesn’t require being technically savy, just a willingness to learn and follow the procedures. It will be helpful to have your phone handy when you are doing the installation, so you can look things up incase there is something you don’t understand.

If there is anything on the laptop that is important to you, back it up. The simplest way to install Linux will make whatever on the drive inaccessible. Additionally, find and record your Windows product key, just incase you want tk go back to Windows.

Mint is an Ubuntu derivative like Pop, so the package manager is apt. Synaptic is a gui for apt.

If you want to learn and use ansible, go for it, but it might be a bit more than you need. If you are just wanting to install the apps you want, you can just write a quick bash script that installs all the apps you want.

The file structure should be the same in Mint as Pop, so restoring your dot files should be straight forward.

It is a real, and useful feature, while also being a joke.

OpenSuse Leap might be closer to what you are looking for.

Yes, it is definitely possible. How it is achieved largely depends on the desktop environment pr window manager you use.

I use the meta key largely for things related to windows and workspaces. I use the capslock key as the compose key. And, the right alt key for alternative characters. Additionally, there is Ibus for typing a variety of scripts and languages.

Messing around with a Raspberry Pi was what got me over the threshold of learning enough to utilize Linux primarily, and then eventually exclusively.

Obsessed? No. Persistently interested though.

I communicate Linux as an option when the circumstance are appropriate. It is often not worth getting involved in other people’s tech decisions. My mother is now a satisfied Mint user, after she asked me if there was more pleasant and private way to use her computer. It has been great for me, because my providing tech support has gone to basically zero.

I use fonts.google.com for discoverablility, but download the fonts from the GitHub repositories.

UI: Inter (if I bother changing the default)

Reading: Source Serif 4, Literata, and Noto Serif

Terminal: Fira Code

Text editor: Fira Code

Document output: EB Garamond, Source Serif 4, and STIX Two Text

Symbols: Noto Sans Symbols, Noto Sans Symbols 2, Symbols Nerd Font

Microsoft fonts largely don’t have the character coverage I need or are not better than what is available under open licenses.

Embedding fonts in documents negages the need for others to have matching fonts installed on their computer.

Did you try the audio troubleshooting from the Pop! Documentation?

https://support.system76.com/articles/audio/

Is there any kind of guide for how to configure settings not yet exposed to the gui settings? I have been spending some time in Cosmic after every update. It certainly isn’t unusable, but it is kind of a stretch to consider it ready for daily use for an end user. I have a hard time imaging people at System76 daily driving Cosmic since June without manually changing the configuration files.

Is there IBus, or similar, integration on the development road map? This is a feature that keeps me from spending more time in Cosmic so far.

Yes.

https://funkwhale.audio/

How is the existence of Spiral Linux out of character or step with the existing Linux space. As far as I can tell, there have been a great many Linux hammers and nails to choose from to fit the various needs and fancies of people. Additionally, there may be a bunch of solutions to my need, but Spiral is the one I know about.

Yes, it is just Debian, by design, but takes a lot of the hassle out have having a functional desktop. I know the next time I do a Debian install it will be done with Spiral, because it will save me time an trouble. Additionally, for peolple new to Linux, they don’t even know that a Debian install is not a finished state or what they need to do after installing. Spiral makes Debian proper accessible and safer for new users.

Here are instructions for installing the current state of Cosmic https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZCCVRbYYRM

It is in a very pre-alpha state. The promoted demonstrations are being made by people developing Cosmic, so have a deep knowledge of how to configure it manually, or are using features that haven’t been merged into the currently distributed package.

Apparently, some people that work at System76 are daily driving Cosmic, but they must be using a different configuration than what is part of the shipped package. As is, I find it basically a demo that is functional enough to attempt using for more than 5 minutes, but giving up not long after.

SwayOS might be worth looking at. It is basically just an installation script for a pre-configured Sway setup.

Some things are pulled from GitHub, so it is probably a good idea to look into the packages it is downloading.

What I described is largely about self managing a few select packages without a package manager.

It is good to think about if you really need the newest version of an app. Do you want a newer version just because it is newer, or does the version in the official repos actually not provide features you need.

If you want the Pop! Shop, which is basically a gui for apt and flatpak, to manage your packages, you will need to add some thrid party source to your package sources. For Ubuntu based distros the most common method for adding a third-party source for software is the PPA. Read up on PPA so you understand the potential drawbacks. There are other mechanisms available, and generally described if provided by the developer.

The packages available in Pop_OS by default are what Ubuntu and Pop_OS maintain. The vast majority of available packages on Pop_OS are what Ubuntu released with LTS 22.04. They do not provide feature updates to packages, only security updates. There will be no package feature updates until Pop_OS rebases off a new version of Ubuntu. Pop_OS maintains a handful of packages themselves, like Firefox. We as users are not involved in package management for Ubuntu or Pop_OS.

If you are interested in community maintained packages for Ubuntu based distros, Pacstall might be interesting to you. I don’t think there is a way to integrate Pacstall with the Pop Shop.

There are alternative ways to install apps outside the official repos. The best options depend on the applications and your comfort level/knowledge.

I tend to get precompiled apps directly as tarballs from the developers and place a symlink into $PATH, like $HOME/.local/bin. Depending on the app I will also make a .desktop file in $HOME/.local/share/applications.

AppImages from developers can be aliased in $HOME/.bashrc and .desktop files added to $HOME/.local/share/applications. Make sure libfuse2 is installed. AppImageLauncher is a handy way of integrating AppImages.

If a developer distributes a .deb themselves, it will very likely work just fine on Pop. It seems that .deb are generated with the assumption an Ubuntu LTS or previous Debian release. If they are targeting only the newest version of Ubuntu or Debian, they tend to state it.

I don’t use alternative package managers like Homebrew and Nix, but they are an option as well.

Then there is always compiling from source, but it is rarely necessary, unless you want the bleeding edge of an apps development.

Not having constant internet access, LibreOffice is a valuable tool to me. I kind of dread the day when the development of fundamental desktop applications assumes a constant internet connection.