I think I went Ubuntu > Xubuntu > Mint > Lubuntu > Kubuntu > Arch (LXQt) > Arch (DWM)
Mint was great as a relatively new linux user. LXQt is fantastic on old hardware. After KDE I really wanted to try a tiling window manager, really enjoying it so far.
Rowing machines are good for all round fitness, but correct technique is non-intuitive and takes a long time to learn. Done correctly it will build core strength, legs and shoulders. But most importantly cardiovascular fitness. It is low impact so it should be fine on your knees as long as you aren't splaying your legs apart on the drive. I would personally recommend an exercise bike / spin bike in place of a cheap rowing machine for cardio especially if you can't be bothered with the technical aspects. Just sit on the bike, watch tv, get your heart rate above 130bpm for an hour, easy peasy.
Yeah seems like a lot of people do. Rowing technique actually takes quite a while to hone, and it is difficult to transmit a lot of power without good technique so people often crank it to max to feel like they are working hard. In reality rowing is more of an endurance sport and rowers will often sit at low intensity for 30-60mins on the machine at a steady pace to build conditioning, endurance, and cardio.
In this case Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon are obviously major threats to national security and should be banned from operating in the EU and USA.
Thankfully valve have been trying to break microsoft's monopoly on gaming and put a lot of effort into linux support, including SteamOS and Steam Deck. As a result lots of steam games seem to work in linux. If a game doesn't have native linux support you can right click on it from your library, select "properties" then "compatibility." Check the box that says "Force the use of a specific steam play compatibility tool" and select proton experimental (or whatever other version of proton you want to use). That will enable the download button. You can then download and install the game.
AMD gpus are typically going to perform better than NVidia gpus on linux because NVidia refuse to cooperate with open source community. If you use Nvidia you will have to install the nvidia proprietary drivers, thankfully it is not that hard these days. I have a second hand 5000 series amd gpu that works well with the games I want to play.
Lastly bleeding edge hardware support might not be in point release distros. If you want to use the latest hardware you might need to run a rolling release distro like arch to get the newest drivers as they are developed and improved. I would not recommend Arch unless you were reasonably experienced with linux already, but if you did want to try it, I suggest using an install script and reading some guides online. Also make sure if you troubleshoot you include "arch" in your search term, because otherwise you might end up with instructions on how to do something in ubuntu, which uses a different package manager.
edit: Feel free to message me to ask any questions, happy to help.
I recommend not using max resistance. The resistance adjustment is mostly there to compensate for air temp and how dusty the intake is. Set it to roughly the middle, and if you're using a concept2 select "options" then "display drag factor" and adjust the resistance until it is around 120
Ex-athlete here. 42 spm is way way too high. Just a few tips for anyone who wants to try rowing machines. Technique is important and difficult to get right, try to look up some diagrams online but in general:
For the machine, the Concept2 is basically the only one worth using. DO NOT set the resistance to maximum. Set it about half way. On a concept2 you can select "options" and "display drag factor" on the screen, row for 10 seconds and it should display a number. Drag factor should be around 120. (130 if you're heavy, 110 if you're light).
If you do this correctly, it will be completely impossible to reach 50 strokes per min (unless you are doing some advanced techniques like a half slide wind). For a 30min row I would recommend 18-22 strokes per min. For a 500m sprint maybe 32-36 strokes per min. For 2km I would recommend 26-30 spm. You can increase these as your technique improves.
And if you don't believe you can row fast at low stroke rates, this guy got close to a world record 30min row at 20 strokes per min: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n91DaqAk9k
I started doing it to lose weight. I lost 2lb per week for a period of 10 weeks. Since then I have continued doing it, but much less strictly. I don't eat breakfast and try to have a small lunch (like 2 pieces of toast), then I have a very large dinner at around 6pm. I honestly think I feel much better in the mornings, and I don't get sleepy in the afternoons. The way I started was to slowly push back the time I ate something at the start of the day. At first I didn't eat until mid morning, then after a few days I didn't eat until lunch time, then mid afternoon. After a week or so I was no eating anything until my evening meal.