[andymoe]

I bought two for the kids and while they are fine and I’m happy with the value I still despise windows home edition (had to block one from my router during set up so I did not have to make a windows account for instance).

I really really wish Apple would make a reversible 2 in 1. I can’t tell you how much of a better experience that form factor is for young kids. iPads are not a replacement for this.

[boogies]

Linux Mint (Windows-like) is free and elementaryOS (macOS-like) is pay-what-you-want, $0 if you so desire (https://elementary.io/). It takes less time to flash a drive and boot from it than to endure one Windows update on my desktop (although you can also get GNU preinstalled on fairly Thinkpad-comparible laptops from eg. “Laptop With Linux” https://elementary.io/store/#devices, and Thinkpads themselves will likely ship with GNU soon — many Lenovo PCs are already certified for compatibility with multiple major distros).

[andymoe]

Thanks! This just made me realize the other requirement is that they can play Minecraft and that it does indeed run on Linux.

[boogies]

My pleasure!

Minetest is a free (libre) similar game, but very mod-centric, with mods loadable from servers without installing them (as easy as Roblox) and (also like Roblox) written in Lua, may be a fun intro to programming if they’re keen to try it (ofc there friends probably don’t play, but a couple boys I know ~7-10 enjoyed it to a kind of harmful level), btw.

[toastal]

If it wasn't for the GNOME lock-in, Pop_OS would be a great recommendation in the space for this sort of user

[wongarsu]

Upgrade keys for Windows 10 pro are cheap on eBay and are completely worth it.

[kristianp]

Aren't they unauthorized volume keys that are likely to fail activation?

[wongarsu]

Yes, they are volume keys. Check the legal situation in your jurisdiction before buying.

I've had one out of about ten fail on activation. But they cost 1/40th of what Microsoft is charging, so I don't mind that.