The reason you might want to consider a general purpose computer, is it's easier to type on (full sized keyboard), has more memory, more storage, and can do things far more complex than a Smartphone or iPad ever will. Sure, those devices will work in a pinch, but they aren't exactly as tailorable to your own personal workflow, nor are they really designed for things like writing long e-mails, processing spreadsheets, documenting processes, playing complex computer games, creating pro-grade art, or modifying/configuring/fixing things using various technologies associated with a general desktop computer rather than a tablet or phone with an "App" on it. ACtually, if I'm going to be frank, I hate the term "App", as the difference I make between an "App" and a full blown computer "Program", is an app has limited functionality, usually only expandable by paying for more access, while a PROGRAM will allow you to use the program to it's fullest extent without spending more money.

There are two types of "General Purpose" computer capable of running Linux: a PC, and a MAC.

A PC is a general purpose computer - or "Personal Computer" as it stands for - that is typically sold running Microsoft Windows, has a processor made by Intel or AMD, but shares roughly the rest of it's design with other general purpose computers since about 1983 or so.

A MAC is a personal computer made by Apple, which runs on Apple M1 (since 2021) or Intel processor (since about 2005, like a PC above), but otherwise is pretty much the same thing as a PC. It has a hard disk, memory, and network connectivity just like the PC above, just more expensive (and in a lot of cases, better made but less user-modifyable - pick wisely).

In the Linux World, having the "latest and greatest" isn't as important. Because as I'll explain below, "Commercial Operating Systems" like Windows and Apple are not optimized to the best of their performance for your platform, they are optimised and designed to have planned obsolescence built in to make sure they get financial kick-backs from the computer manufacturers, or in Apple's case, forces you to buy a new iMac/Macbook. The software and hardware are far more intertwined and time sensitive as a result.

The typical "normie" OS is Apple MacOS or Microsoft Windows. These are what we call a "Commercial" operating system. They are sold either separatley (in Windows case), or as a part of the computer (some Windows OEM hardware makers and ALL Apple products). You pay a premium - $99 for a base level Windows install, all the way to $3000 for a souped up, high end Apple Product in which the O/S and it's upgrades for the next 5 years are included in that price. The reason these are the norm is because they have been STANDARD for their platforms for at 40+ years in both cases. Microsoft Windows launched in 1985, and MacOS Started out being called "System Software" in 1984 for the original Macintosh released that same year. The reason these are bad is in recent years, increasingly, Microsoft and Apple have been tightening their grip on what YOU can do with YOUR computer, including and up to changing their End User license Agreement (a very long page of legalease that almost nobody who owns a computer actually reads that outlines the terms and conditions of usage for their hardware, software, and so on). One such vector is SaaS - Software as a Service - which turns owning the software outright - ie, you bought a Windows box at the store, brought it home, and used it till you shelled out money for the next version - into the software being like Electricity, Water, or Sewer - yet another monthly bill on top of the already too many we have today just to live as adults in a modern society. Apple gets around this with a different model, by basically dropping support for your computer every 5 years to make sure you go to APPLE'S store, to trade in the APPLE PC YOU "RENTED", for another APPLE PC "YOU DON'T OWN", to run their MacOS for another 5 years until they decide that new silicon Mac is obsolete and you need to buy a new one.

Linux is what we call FOSS - Free OpenSource Software. Free means "free as in free speech" not "free as in free beer". Software code is protected by the first amendment of the constitution of the United States of America - and thusly, can be freely distributed if not protected behind a corporate license like Apple or Microsoft products are - hence the term "OpenSource". It's free to share, free to compile yourself, or free to download as a distribution (for non enterprise use). It runs on more platforms than PC or Mac (including Raspberri Pi, some game consoles, some smartphones, some tablets...). It can also emulate all of the commercial operating systems or even run them ON TOP OF itself for practically free, even multiple versions. It can run Android software (which is based on Linux), it can run Mac Software with some special tweakery, it can run old legacy OSes by the ton like DOS, CP/M, BSD, UNIX. Servers even use Linux to host multiple servers within using virtualization tech running on top of Linux. So in a lot of ways, you have a lot more power over your computer.

Linux, depending on what version you get, can run great, even on a computer that's 10-15 years old for basic functions like e-mail, web surfing, paying your bills. Security vulnerabilities are patched and fixed regularly, so even if you're so financially screwed you can't afford a new computer, you could put a current version of Linux on it and still be up-to-date and secure - vs. running an outdated version of Microsoft Windows or MacOS which will remain unpatched for eternity, and thusly leave you open to security vulnerabilities because whatever version your ancient PC will run is deemed "Obsolete". Linux can even run, at it's core, on a 1990's Pentium computer as of 2026 (it used to even run on 1980's-1990's 486 and 386 PCs well into the 2010s).