Ok, not in the order asked..
No, I don't do Netflix.. I download from PirateBay :p (99% is TV series)..
Next, Mint is a Pre-packaged version of another (usually Ubuntu) distro. BUT, Mint has it set up to install the needed drivers DURING install (heck, just running from a Live-CD (USB), it detects and runs hardware). (I type 'usually' because the LMDE is Debian based (rolling, which means that you don't have to re-install to get updates)).
Google... well, if you have been keeping up to date with the news locally (especially here on FR, you know you should not use Google).. I was using Scroogle, up until about 2-3 years ago when Google shut them down.. Now,
ixquick or
startpage do me well for searches (both are the same) and neither log any info for you. Both are proxies for using the Google search engines (Google only sees THEIR IPs, not your own).
I personally, as I mentioned on another post, am using KDE (which spreads way beyond MINT/Ubuntu)... as a matter of fact, I think KDE goes back to about 1992, or so.. anyone please jump in and correct me.. (point being, it was made for using low resources), and I have been able to run many games.. (btw, I DO have duel boot.. sometimes I actually boot back to Win to play.. but much less often anymore..).
If you are questioning about changing over from Win to Linux, I recommend Mint. There are a few 'flavors' to choose from, and you can try any and all of them out without having to install anything.. Run from CD/DVD/USB on boot..
I started with Cinn, changed to Mate.. was finally happy with KDE, because KDE is the most flexible to change it GUI how you want it. Linux give you complete control of your PC, unlike Win or ESPECIALLY Mac.
Thanks.
Netflix — just an observation.
Mint. I'll check it out. I am due an upgrade — I am still running Ubuntu 10.04 because I like the old icon style desktop. Plus it works perfectly on my dell laptop.
I had a bad experience with Linux a few years ago searching for drivers for all of my hardware. I spent hours and hours searching the net (that is what I meant about "google is your friend"). Some people probably enjoy it and I did for the first couple of days.
Anyway, I am a little hesitant to upgrade since I have had such good luck with Ubuntu 10.04. The good news is that you can test drive it before installing it so I'll probably do that.