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Windows 12 May Require a Subscription
(www.pcmag.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
You don't need to purchase Linux. If your computer can run virtual machines (e.g. via VirtualBox) you could just download various distros and try them out in VMs. If you find one you like you can then install it as the main OS. If you're worried that you might want Windows back, buy a cheap SSD and swap it into your PC, then install Linux on that, keeping the old Windows one on a shelf just in case.
Personally, for a beginner-friendly Linux with plenty of community support I'd recommend Linux Mint.