My home media server is an old nuc mini pc i5 16Gb RAM with attached usb storage running on a Linux distro, runs Jellyfin and a few other applications for the household.

In short yes, an old pc will work fine.

At this point your guess is as good as mine. I e also set up Jellyseer for discovery and ability for users to request stuff but still a reluctance to move.

Sadly I still pay for a service I don’t use because I have members of my house who are relucant to embrace the change. I, on the other hand, am more than happy with my Jellyfin and assorted apps to provide my content from whichever source I choose, now if only I could cadjole the others into embracing the freedom of the high seas.

The only superior Linux distro and DE is the one that works for you and meets your needs.

This is different for each user and, frankly, the joy of Linux that it has such a variety as to be able to meet almost everyone’s needs.

For me , personally, thats Debian/Gnome with minimal tweaks but just because it works for my workflow does not make it superior.

Few weeks, lol, RD links already disappeared from my Kodi add-ons

I use Fentastic skin with Umbrella add-on.

Sorry for the late reploy, but this is what my KODI with trakt looks like on opening the app and the movie section is the same. All widgets are driven by my Trakt account

A lot will also depend on your personal usage. Whilst I agree wholeheartedly that Stremio UX is much better that Kodi, out of the box, the one thing that keeps me with Kodi is the fact that it has far superior Trakt integration.

I will admit that Stremio is getting better it’s still a far cry from Kodi with Trakt integration and it’s something I rely heavily on.

That said if Trakt is not your thing then Stremio is probably a better option.

Also, if you’re using RD either with Kodi or Stremio there’s no real need to use a VPN as well as traffic is passed over HTTPS so the ISP only sees that you’re connecting to RD not what you’re doing.

You could try https://2fas.com/ open source mobile application with browser extensions and cloud sync for backups.

Or www.bitwarden.com password manager is also open source and for a small “premium” supports 2FA for mobile/desktop/browser.

I had a similar issue with Mint on my Latitude 7480, ended up using Fedora where everything just seems to work.

Best advice I can suggest is always use a live USB because if something doesn’t work there it won’t after install either.

This is what I also have AD, as backup and when I’m travelling for work.

I keep RD just for the house.