After some experience with Linux Mint, I gathered the courage to try another distro. I’d like to turn an old laptop into an IPTV receiver plus FTP/OpenVPN/HomeAssistant server with occasional desktop use. I first installed Windows 11 just in case my family needs to use it (it fucking sucks, the built-in PS/2 keyboard doesn’t work half the time but that’s an issue for later) but now I’ll be turning it into a dual-boot setup with Debian as the primary option. Please give me some encouragement, I’m really afraid of new things.
Laptops make excellent low power draw servers. Disabling the laptop lid switch is typically trivial. (Tickbox usually)
Also running x86 is an advantage over SBCs like the raspberry pi. Also, use what you have before you buy anything.