Nothing wrong with Ubuntu, but it's interface is definitely geared more towards Mac folks.
My recommendation for someone making the jump to full time Linux is Fedora Kinoite. It's "immutable" meaning impossible to break, and uses KDE Plasma, which is like the modern Windows you've always wanted.
Again nothing wrong with Ubuntu, it's great and will run on the hardware you mentioned, but if you are someone who wants to tweak settings without fear of breaking something somewhere else, I really recommend Kinoite.
Yeah (I can't believe I'm saying this) but in Marjorie's defense she described herself as "naive", and that is also the quote the New York Times put in the banner.
It sounds like she is having a literal come to Jesus moment but I also think the readers of the Times are high enough IQ to know that that doesn't erase the past actions.