Bill Gates gets paid over and over by you every time you boot up and allow Microsoft to record everything you do. Nothing is confidential as long as you allow him to watch you over your shoulder.

Your banking data, everything you buy and sell, everything you look at, every like on Reddit is archived and may be used against you later if that comes to pass.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. Download Mint Linux 20.1 and load it on a USB stick, the directions are out there. I downloaded it months ago but never booted up the memory stick because I thought it was going to be a pain in the ass to get it to work.

Surprise surprise! It found almost all the hardware in my new laptop and got everything working in no time and with almost no help from me.

Now Bill Gates isn't spying on me! I'm not giving him any more money!