joyofpeanuts
If you want to simply make a folder containing media accessible to all on the network, I suggest to install minidlna, a UPnP server. All you need is to have the media folders accessible by minidlna. Otherwise the config is a simple text file.
See this: https://www.debian.org/releases/bullseye/amd64/ch03s04.en.html Minimum 1Gb, preferably 2 for a desktop.
Debian with the choice of LXDE as window manager. Debian offers high configurability to remove any heavy component.
I second this. I have been using Ubuntu for at least 10 years by I really do not like snaps or flatpaks for that matter. So, after some disappointing attempts using Debian in the past, I had a new go at it 1-2 years ago and I was positively surprised: Ubuntu without the useless bloat - kind of normal because Ubuntu is based on Debian. For sure the my next PC will be using Debian: efficient, highly configurable, and quite user friendly once you understand it’s ways of configuring things.
The spirit of hacking has to be revived. Not just for software but also computer hardware and hardware in general. It is just a dream, but curiosity about how things work would make people long for free software and the right to repair. So that is why hacking is discouraged by big profiteering corporations, I guess 🤔
The reverse is equally true, if not more: Linux and Free Software are Wonderful Contributors To Valve Business. You know the expression about “standing on the shoulder of giants.” Anyway, kudos to Valve. Don’t become evil like the other big tech co’s.
If he drops Windows for Linux, he might as well opt for a free writing software. I read that Manuskript has pretty much all the features of Scrivener and is somewhat similar so the learning curve should not be too steep.
Maybe best to set it up in a separate partition or PC for a trial.
See also : https://alternativeto.net/software/scrivener/?license=opensource
People may not like the idea, but you can get pretty decent laptops from AliExpress for like 250$, which was like 50% of the price of a similar laptop from any local sales channel at the time. I did buy one for my son when he entered university and it still runs well: 5-6 hours battery life, 8 MB RAM, some older generation core i7 inside, full HD screen. The touchpad and keyboard are not great, but after 3 years they still work. The specs today would be better, I guess.