As much as people whine about it as a trend, "/s" goes a long way. ๐
There's no winning... I get you, though. And you're right, they do think they know best... Which is why I won't use GNOME. I left Windows for the same reason. And I'll catch a lot of hate for it, but IMO GNOME is far too opinionated about how the end-user "should" interact with their PC for my tastes.
We've explored that route pretty thoroughly, unfortunately... Neither of us are eligible.
I can't offer much but to say I'm quite jealous, lol. My wife and I have researched just about every possible opportunity to do the same, just to find everything either doesn't apply to us or is just out of reach at this time (and for the foreseeable future). Asking for help around this topic typically leads to an insane amount of backlash online, so I've found...
Honest answer: I've never had need of cutting edge repositories in Linux Mint, so I've never looked or tried. I would doubt that adding cutting edge repositories to Mint would be a good idea for system stability -- there's a reason "bleeding edge" distributions have a reputation for being a tinkerer's playground. Look at the stability reputation of, say, ArchLinux as an example.
I love Arch, and have used it extensively over the last decade or so, but I would not recommend it or nearly any other rolling release to a newcomer to the space; if you aren't comfortable getting your hands dirty in the terminal, it's only a matter of time before you end up with an unstable system that may or may not boot without the confidence to fix it.
My one exception to the rule above, if you aren't afraid of configuring some repositories for non-free software: OpenSUSE Tumbleweed was a wicked stable rolling release last time I tried it due to the way the organization behind it runs it. It tends to be a little heavier than what you're asking for, but as far as graphical options for system configuration you can't really beat OpenSUSE, IMO. YaST (their system configuration platform) has a tool to configure... Well, damn near everything, honestly. Even if the UI/UX feels a bit "dated", everything you need is there.
Depending on how mission-critical your PC setup is, I might recommend doing a little "distro-hopping." Back up your data, wipe your drive, install a distro and trial it for about a week or so. If one feels like it "fits," just stay there.
I would not say Fedora is hard to install and maintain. The biggest issue by far is a setup hurdle for getting "non-free packages" enabled -- Fedora (and a few other distros) is a "FOSS-only" distribution, meaning they don't include anything by default that is not "free, open-source software." That means media codecs for playing popular audio and video file formats, web browsers like Chrome (I would recommend migrating away from this platform if you're using it) and anything else that's "proprietary software."
There are ways to enable access to this software, but it requires configuring your software package repositories to point to them. It's not hard, just something to keep in mind.
Linux Mint is a great choice for newcomers to the space -- it includes access to non-free software OOTB, has sane default applications on all of its "flavors" with their separate desktop environments, provides decent utilities for configuring your system graphically without blocking you from learning how to do so by config file or terminal should you want to learn. It stays decently up-to-date with packages, you won't be on the bleeding edge but that's not a bad thing. If you aren't doing intense activities (gaming, video editing, etc) having the absolute latest packages won't really matter to you. It still gets security updates, so you're good there. It's a well documented distro with a friendly community and forum if you run into trouble with anything. All around a really solid choice, and would be my first recommendation for someone not looking to do any heavy gaming or other specialized work on their PC.
XFCE is my desktop environment of choice. Not only is it lightweight, it also comes with some of the better desktop environment defaults, in my opinion. Linux Mint will theme it nicely upon install, but it's a long-standing DE that has a huge backlog of support for customization and "beautifying" your install however you like. Lots of themes and cursor options for those who care, all without pushing your resources. It's a traditional desktop paradigm, so it won't try and force you to interact with your PC in new and unusual ways (looking at you, GNOME, you weirdo). It just... Gets out of your way and lets you use your PC the way you're used to.
Linux Mint + XFCE is my recommendation, for sure.
I have the sneaking suspicion this was supposed to be sarcastic, but the Internet doesn't carry "tone"... Am I correct? ๐
I have never had an issue with subtitles on Jellyfin, and my wife has turned our household into an always-on subtitles household. Are you making use of the Open Subtitles plugin?
Just gonna... Drop this here...
Agreed. It culminated in some elaborate multi-video click bait about him finding a fossil and stealing it, preying on the internet's obsession with the idea that there are/were great apes native to North America (aka Bigfoot) that the whole crew swore up and down wasn't a prank... Because it "wasn't a prank, it was an educational fiction." It was ridiculous, over the top, and annoying. Haven't watched anything they've put out since.
I got tired of the subscription while I was still Windows-bound, so I trialed CaptureOne Pro. It didn't even have a subscription plan at the time, and I loved it so much I bought a perpetual license. I love the software, it's my favorite photo editing software period. They do offer a subscription now, as well as perpetual licenses, but you can't even begin to get it running under Linux so... Major bummer.
This is, again, an atypical use-case. Despite that, it's not hard to find the answers. Googling for "Linux Japanese keyboard layout" comes up with an easy-to-follow guide in the first 5 search results, literally on the Ubuntu forums. Understand I'm not saying the use case is particularly RARE, but it's not the norm either. And honestly, Snap sucks anyway. ๐
It could certainly be better supported and better documented, but you're looking through the lens of your specific experience, not realizing your experience is not that of the every day, average PC user.
Put up a dart board of the most widely used KDE distributions and throw a dart. You've got a KDE distro that actually meets the needs of a non-technical user. Kubuntu, Linux Mint's KDE edition, Fedora, OpenSUSE, hell throw Manjaro with KDE on. The desktop environment has zero bearing on a distro's ability to act like a computer, it's only the paint on the walls. If a distro "fits the needs of a non-technical user" by your definition with, say, GNOME or Cinnamon or XFCE or Budgie or whatever else, it'll do it with KDE too. Desktop environment != distribution.
This is... An interesting assertion. Do you use all of your fingers when you make '''''air quotes'''''? I'm for this movement, by the way. I think it's delightful.