software problems
Not having "out of the box" support does not make it a problem tho.
quality of distros
All distros are the same, considering they all run GNU/Linux and anyone can configure em at will.
It's pretty good. Even better than the raspberry pi 4 considering its performance and comically low power draw (It doesn't go over the 2W mark even with both cpu and gpu at 100%.). Other than that, it's perfectly usable, despise its lack of (out of the box) support.
As a proud Orange pi zero 3 owner (which I'm using it as a "lab rat" by testing several things, including shutting it down like its a router)....? Nah.
A separate /home partition means you can set $ROOTFS as read-only (and /home as rw) and have a "pseudo-everlasting but not really" file system.
(And before someone says "Why not simply disable logs instead? It's the same thing." -- yes, yes it is. But sometimes you want a "just werks" solution, even if it is a dumb one. Which is (obviously) disabling writes all over $ROOTFS.)
You can always consider the experience of using Linux as a "game" itself and DU ET NAO!
...no really. Do it.
...and that is why I love Linux as well! Gotta love my little ~~potato~~ Orange pi zero 3.
I tried it once and got ignored like a beggar trying to talk with randoms on the street.
.dotfiles on github
Big/critical files on an external HD
simple as
Just remember that "Linux is not Windows" and to "go in" like It's your very first time using a PC and you'll be fine.
There is always firejail which is very "even your mom can use it" in terms of usage.
e.g install it, type cd / && sudo firecfg, then your password and thats it.
Not by the slightest.
~~You can see it by yourself right now if you have docker: docker run -it --rm --log-driver none --cap-drop=ALL --read-only --net none --security-opt=no-new-privileges --name ascii-matrix defnotgustavom/ascii-matrix~~
~~-EDIT- Whoops. Just realized its a fork. Eeeeeehhhh... it'll give you a nice idea regardless.~~
I actually created a new image with it -- docker run -it --rm --log-driver none --cap-drop=ALL --read-only --net none --security-opt=no-new-privileges --name animatrix defnotgustavom/animatrix
I don't think that'll be a good idea to promote the usage of microsd's considering the competition is (almost) going full nvme -- which is (obviously) miles better than any microsd.