I do that too. I almost never want to hit CAPS LOCK (and can type holding shift) but if you map it to CTRL or even something not on modern keyboards (like F15 or any number over 12, I guess), you can use it as a shortcut key.

Personally, I use CAPS (remapped to CTRL) plus Tilde as my shortcut to show/dismiss a Quake-style terminal overlay window. That key combo actually can be made to work on Windows and macOS too so it’s basically cross-platform.

I’m 99% sure macOS (with iTerm 2 setup for Quake-style) has a built-in system option to remap CAPS LOCK but it only allows a few keys. I forget the Windows method. I used to have to use Windows sometimes but it’s been awhile. I’ve definitely got it working with a third party terminal emulator and WSL2, though.

To start, I’d recommend checking out Flathub and seeing what’s available there. Flatpaks are relatively new but anything there can be installed on basically any Linux distro. It’s organized by category so you can see your options.

Chrome is available on Linux if you’re worried about switching. Firefox is usually the default and what I use just because I’ve always used it (plus, it fully supports ad blockers whereas Chrome now cripples them). Also, Chromium is essentially the exact same as Google Chrome. Both are made by Google and Chrome is just Chromium before Google adds all its branding and stuff.

Don’t worry about antivirus. ClamAV is there if you want to run a scan but you don’t need anything like Norton.

VPN: check your provider. Most work with OpenVPN or have a Linux client.

Gmail obviously works in the browser but there’s a ton of desktop email clients. To give three examples I’ve used:

• Geary is a simple, clean email client that just does email does it well. Not very customizable, though.
• Thunderbird (made by Mozilla) has more features/options and supports extensions. If Geary is too simple, Thunderbird is a good middle ground.
• Evolution is like the Microsoft Outlook that comes with the paid Microsoft Office Suite. It has a calendar and all that enterprise-focused stuff. Probably overkill but it’s there if you need it.

Windows 10 is listed and I’m not quite sure what you mean but you can always run it in a virtual machine if you need it. I use Gnome as my Desktop Environment. Gnome Boxes is super simple. VirtualBox is more complex but has every option I’ve ever needed.

Don’t worry too much about the Desktop Environment thing. KDE and Gnome are the biggest two and both are pretty much equally capable. (You can also always install stuff made for the other if you want. It just might not match the theme.) There’s loads of desktop environments but don’t be intimidated by all the choices. Some are stripped down and designed for older or low-spec computers. There’s one focused on Chinese users. You can ignore most while you get your feet wet.

I might be the poster child for medicinal use. I never really enjoyed getting high and I’ve gone to many Dead and Company and Widespread shows. So, I’m not an amateur or in favor of restricting drugs but I normally just say “No thanks.” when I’m the rotation. Most strains make me itchy or tired and antisocial. Everyone’s brain chemistry is different. For me, I either had fun or (more often) just felt miserable.

When I developed an anxiety disorder, I tried everything else. And some pharmaceutical pills do work but it takes like 30 minutes for a pill to work. But I found a strain and dose that works in 2 or 3 minutes. I’m not saying everyone will have the same experience but it should be legal everywhere. People who don’t even smoke recreationally testify that it’s got fewer negative side effects and helps. If it were a novel drug, it’d easily get FDA clearance.

A lot has gone backwards since then but at least cannabis is legal in most places (even if only medicinally). I have a prescription and being able to know the strain and dose is actually really important.

I just have random anxiety attacks and a small-to-medium dose of Granddaddy Purp works better than any traditional medicine I’ve tried. Benzos just make me sleep. I can at least function with the right dose and strain and I can be certain about it buying from a dispensary. And my case is minor. It’s way more important for people with stomach cancer or whatever who have no appetite. The right dose and strain makes them hungry and happy. I don’t think there’s an equivalent pharmaceutical. Every state/country should make medicinal marijuana legal. Otherwise, people buy it off a dealer and can’t measure the dose or know the strain.

South Carolina used to do that. Like even at fancy restaurants, they would open an airplane bottle to make your cocktail.

In my experience, Fedora tends to be what a lot of developers settle on after distro hopping. This is by no way universal and RedHat has issues. But at some point, the OS and desktop environment become background noise compared to your own code and IDE. Younger people probably have different preferences — and they should — but you get more experienced and you have your setup. If my laptop dies, I can get back to coding quicker with Fedora than any other distro and it’s almost always stable.

In the end, a computer is a tool and being skilled with an old tool can be better than being new to a more modern tool. I still use the same brand/type power drill that I used in high school/college when I worked construction in the summers. (Dewalt and I’d rather the old 18v but they switched to 20v. I have an adapter to charge either battery, though, so it’s fine.)