So I bought my SP3 in '17 as an old-ass student attempting to graduate. It was amazing as I was able to disable most cloudy things (nothing like today with 365 and the general cloud storage), but still use it as a laptop, and finish up my degree. Since then, I've swapped to Linux and wanted to do it too (did it briefly with Ubuntu, but it was still pretty rudimentary back around '19... no touch screen, not even bloaty, was a bit too small of a UI -- can't remember which DM I used, though I know it wasn't xfce which I prefer when I use a DM, though I use i3 on my desktop).
That being said, it seems like there are great options for the Surfaces now, but for newer options. So I wanted to ping y'all and see... have you used Linux on any Surface, and preferably, would like to know for the older version.

I hear Manjaro has gotten a decent option, as I know they have the PinePhone (which I own one but... I haven't had time to mess around with, sadly). I'm not really looking for the touch screen but as it seems the blutooth is dying on the Surface (possibly unrelated or due to the latest Windows update that has borked so much - I have a firewall that prevents/shuts down a lot of Windows "protections" so I may be the culprit but I prefer to think that if I can't do what I want with what I own, the software is the problem), whatever will make it rejuvenate would be appreciated.

Honestly, it's had an awesome battery life (it can be in standby for a week and lose about 1/3 of the battery), and overall, I feel it's the last best thing Windows ever did. That being said... does anyone have a Surface and would you have recommendations (for any Surface)? If so, why, what distro, and what might you want to share?

Thanks in advance!

It's been years since I've had to use a an actual computer for anything serious and I want to regain my literacy with them. The height of my computer usage was the Windows XP/Vista era. I got it because I wanted to throw myself into a couple of different programming/coding courses.
I chose the Surface Pro because of the detachable keyboard/stylus setup and the fact that I don't have a good way to set up a desktop computer. Also I've always fantasized about being able to do work in a coffee shop or in a comfy chair by a lake lol.
Can anyone share some tips/tricks that might be useful to me? Anything from hotkeys, task management related things, or just general quality of life things I should know about would be super helpful. I'm so used to smartphones being able to do everything and feel like I'm a little in over my head here. Thanks in advance.