It is finicky on any distribution because NVIDIA drivers aren't perfect on Linux nor on Windows.
That being said I'm gaming, in VR and otherwise (using native games, Proton ones, Steam VR, etc), or running local AI models (thus via CUDA) on a daily basis on Debian and have no problems. You can check https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers but it's basically just installing the driver like any other package. I don't have more or less problem than with e.g. Ubuntu. It basically works.
upgrade the UEFI or other hardware-level firmware you need a way to upgrade
Indeed but unless the unit received is seriously flawed (to the point of possibly being exchanged by the manufacturer), no upgrade to UEFI or hardware-level firmware is actually required. Most people who received a computer never even upgrade the firmware. I'm not saying it's not "nice" to upgrade it but the typical scenario for most common laptop or desktop is that such upgrades are optional.
I have a Razer Blade Stealth 13 QHD+ touchscreen (RZ09-02393E32) since 2017. Until recently it was mostly Windows and Ubuntu side by side. I realized few months ago I never ever boot on Windows so I removed it. I also got tired on Ubuntu pushing for its own package management system which I don't find useful. Consequently back to "just" Debian stable and works great for me. Didn't have to tinker with anything, just works.
flashing Linux
I'm a bit confused here... aren't we talking about a laptop? Why is flashing anything required? Doesn't the BIOS let one boot on any peripheral, e.g. disk, USB stick, etc and thus allowing one to install Linux (or just boot on live USB stick to test) without flashing?
~/Prototypes on pretty much all machines I own, from desktop, laptop, server, tablets, ebook readers, RPis, XR headset, video projector, etc.
Indeed. That being said I have a (sigh) Android video projector (Nebula Mars II Pro, by Anker) and even though it does comes with its bloatware (namely "trying" to force installation, without actually doing it, of e.g. YouTube or NetFlix apps) attempts one can ignore that, install F-Droid, install VLC and Launch on Boot from there then boot straight to VLC without have to interact with the stock launcher. Also remote adb works by default so one can tinker quite a bit without even having to active a kind of developer mode.
Too late, back to Debian proper.
Get a dumb video projector.
I used Kodi with LibreElec for years in a similar setup. It was nice... but in practice I didn't really use the "cool" functionalities (like indexing, image preview, Web remote control, etc) so instead I checked how Kodi works and noticed DLNA. I saw that my favorite video player, namely VLC, supports DLNA. I then looking for DLNA server on Linux, found few and stuck to the simplest I found, namely minidlna. It's quite basic, at the least the way I use it, but for my usage it's enough :
voila... very reliable setup (been using for more than a year on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, I deleted my Windows partition (even though I paid for it, damn OEM tricks) and feel better for it https://lemmy.world/comment/12818969
So if you are genuinely worried about this, don't.
First because, as numerous persons already clarified, researchers here are breaking deprecated cryptography.
It's a bit like taking toothpicks and opening a lock while the locks used in your modern car is very different. Yes, it IS actually interesting but the same technique does not apply in practice, only in principle.
Second because IF in principle there IS a path to radically grow in power, there are already modern cryptography techniques which are resistant to scaling the power of quantum computers. Consequently it is NOT just about small the key is, but also HOW that key is made, what are the mathematical foundations on which a key is made, and can be broken.
Anyway for a few years now there has been research, roughly matching the interest in quantum computers, to what is called post-quantum encryption, or quantum resistant encryption. Basically the goal of the research is to find new ways to make keys that are very cheap to generate and verify, literally with something as cheap and non powerful as the chip in your credit card, BUT practically impossible to "crack" for a computer, even a quantum computer, even a powerful one. The result of that on-going research are schemes like Kyber, FALCON, SPHINCS+, etc which answer such requirements. Organizations like NIST in the US verify that the schemes are actually without flaws and the do recommendations.
So... all this to say that a powerful quantum computer is still not something that breaks encryption overall.
If you are worried TODAY, you can even "play" with implementations like https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/oqs-demos and setup a server, e.g Apache, and a client, e.g Chromium, so that they can communicate using such schemes.
Now practically speaking if you are not technically inclined or just want to bother, you can "just" use modern software, e.g Signal, which last year https://signal.org/blog/pqxdh/ announced that they are doing just that on your behalf.
You can finally expect all actors, e.g hosts like Lemmy, browsers like Firefox, that you use daily to access content to gradually both integrate post-quantum encryption but also gradually deprecate older, and thus risky, schemes. In fact if you try to connect today to old hardware via e.g ssh you might find yourself forced to accept older encryption. This very action is interesting because it does show that over the years encryption changes, old schemes get deprecated and replace.
TL;DR: cool, not worried though even with a properly powerful quantum computer because post-quantum encryption is being rolled out already.
" Number of supporters: 141" and 375 upvotes, something doesn't add up.