“Have they worked out the kinks so that printers, CD card readers work without having to scour the internet?”
I have found adding USB printers to Ubuntu and Linux Mint to be automatic and therefore could not be easier, if someone in the Linux community has added the definitions for the model you have. When it works, it is easier than Windows. The number of supported brands and models is quite extensive. Once you click “Add Printer” it interrogates and identifies the printer and downloads the driver. It took me one minute to install an HP Laserjet P1102w printer. Those drivers are sometimes generic and while the printer works fine, you may not have all the bells and whistles the printer is capable of, such as displaying ink or toner levels, that Windows would offer The limitation is not Linux per se, but the quality of driver that some volunteer writes for it. I have never had a problem installing an HP printer on Linux.
I have not tried card readers.
“It’s been a long time since I considered Linux.”
I have seen steady improvements. I recommend trying both Ubuntu and Mint to see which you like best.
“Ubuntu Mate 15.04 (Good stuff?)”
It seems to be, I just upgraded to that yesterday. I like the Mate desktop in both Ubuntu and Mint - if you like the Windows XP interface, you should like Mate. It also requires fewer resources to run than some of the other interfaces.
Have an HP Envy 7640. I run hplip on Ubuntu 15.04. It's an open source HP Linux Imaging and Printing client--Print, Scan and Fax Drivers for Linux.
Have an HP Envy 7640. I run hplip on Ubuntu 15.04. It's an open source HP Linux Imaging and Printing client--Print, Scan and Fax Drivers for Linux.