It translates Windows API calls to X and POSIX API calls. Theoretically it comes with a performance hit but as benchmarks have shown that is usually not the case as both Wine and the entire system as a whole are more efficient than Windows. Wine will fail whenever an application requests an API call that is not implemented yet, sometimes copying DLLs from Windows helps, sometimes…
You don’t have to distro hop to switch desktop environments. You can install KDE Plasma (5.27 though) on LinuxMint.
Better late than never. I hope the momentum continues.
If you want a Webkit-based browser just use GNOME Web (formerly known as Epiphany).
No, otherwise I wouldn’t have used GNOME in the past. I stopped using it because it changed too much for me not because its logo is a smelly foot. I also think KDE Khas Kterrible Kbranding but I still use it now that I prefer it to GNOME and got bored with MATE.
macOS has a terminal and sometimes you will still have to use it even if not as often as *Linux, except that it works differently from GNU+Linux distros and even from BSD that you will have fewer resources to rely on.
It looks like you want SteamOS. I recommend either getting a Steam Deck, wait for the Steam Machine or install it compatible hardware if you have any. No Nvidia GPUs.
SteamOS checks all three requirements for the most part, maybe 3 not so much. But it will be near impossible to fuck it up as it has a read-only filesystem and all apps are installed through flatpak which are sandboxed similar to apps on iOS.
As someone who previously owned a GameCube and a G4 Cube, I’m definitely getting the Steam Cube Machine.
If X11 is so good why is there no X12?