minty fresh linux user

[minty_mina]

hello, I'm Mina this is my first time ever using linux and i've already grown to like it within less than a day. i signed up here because i am having problems, but I am sure they can be solved fairly easily, at least a few of them. I am going to start posting about them after I post this intruduction, and hope some of you can help. And that maybe I can help you guys as well.

(skip to the bottom if you don't want to read a long ramble of my computer history)
ABOUT ME:
I'm an ex-windows user (will still be using windows on other systems but attempting to make linux my main system's OS). Before windows came into my life, I had an old IBM PC JUNIOR that ran off of DOS, that I blew the poor thing to smitherines with some experiments with commands/codes I had learned from a book . I started windows in the days of Windows 98 with a windows 95 computer, which was trash. Eventually I had a decent gaming tower with XP which I liked a lot, as it was similar to 98 and 95 with better options, but in the end many XP pc's had problems, one of which had a worm make my entire LEGAL music library become useless due to a problem with iTunes and its functionality, and because windows had to be re-installed. Many of my old music CD's had become scratched, stolen, or in some cases broken, and I am still recovering from the loss as some are impossible to re-track down. This was ages ago.

I was recently given a laptop with XP which was good, but the laptop was about 10 years old and began to degrade soon after i got it. The guy who gave it to me soon bought himself a new one, gave his son-in-law his old, and gave me his son-in law's. He didnt have any serials for XP left so he put Vista on it. Dear lord how I hate vista. I have hated every encounter with it. And i've grown less fond of XP due to just like all microsoft and apple OS installations, the quality degrades over time even with constant updates and defrags, and even re-installations not really solving the degradation fully. I have been considering linux for a long, long time but have been a bit scared to even think of using it due to the fact that there are certain things I would like my computers to do, and couldnt figure out if there was a way to do it on Linux. From many talks with people, I've been very interested though. The fact I now had 2 laptops, one which had nothing on it i really needed and which also had an OS i loathed to death, was a good incentive, but still hadn't taken action as getting ahold of the OS using a dialup connection wasn't too fond of an idea for me.

While sitting at the local cafe that has wireless internet, with my friends many weekends, one friend had brought a linux magazine to my attention which came with the OS on a disc. I didn't really want to fork out 15+ dollars for a free program but just recently it clicked that it may be a good idea. I picked up one of the magazines containing an intro to the system it had as opposed to a later issue of one that had the os but not the basics, and decided i'd install it and see how i liked it on the Vista-infected system. Needless to say, directly after installation, the system went from kinda slow to superspeed. There are some slow aspects of linux i've noticed windows working faster for, but mostly, linux mint isadora seems faster, sleeker, simpler, more user-friendly, easier to find help about, etc. and I'm probably going to stick with it for the long haul so much as i can get a few simple issues solved without killing myself. I may be a decently computer-educated individual but i'm so far from being an expert many of you will probably consider me to be close to computer-illiterate. At least for a linux user. I know there are plenty of non-computer literate people who have switched to linux for simple tasks, but for me, I do a tad more than them and I am slightly-to-moderately more literate than many of the people who dont really use their computers for much.
------END RAMBLING HISTORY--------------
Thank you to anyone who read my ramble, and to those who didnt, i dont blame you, i ramble a lot sometimes!!!
i hope to see you all around and get to know some of you, and help you and have you help me! thanks a bunch, and see you on the forums!

-Mina

[tdockery97]

Hi and welcome to the Mint community. I actually enjoyed your story.

[linmint777]

welcome, and indeed the story is very interesting.

[minty_mina]

thanks guys! i have 2 questions i've already posted about linux in the forums, one is in networking one is in newbie questions (as it's a pretty basic question that i cant see fitting anywhere), and other than that, not much else has come to mind to ask about yet. I do like isadora, and i want to make it work exactly like i need, or just close to it. I wish more people were up to the idea of switching to linux, and that more software manufacturers in the USA were interested in making their software work on Linux.

[minty_mina]

as for how the IBM pc junior was fried, it was actually very simple: i had made a command line that was to loop to itself (this might have been in basic, i dont remember too well). It was meant to function as a screensaver that was a text-based waterfall. I loved how it worked, and it was cool to watch. I left it on while I ate dinner or something one night (don't remember what it was i had to do but it wasn't an overly long time), and when i came back... it was broked'd and I was computerless. This was sad because I was enjoying learning about programming at that time. I've forgotten it all now, and my games i made are MIA but I do understand bits and pieces of other code and programming systems when people run them by me. I'm just not fluent with any, and becoming so feels too hard when you're worn out half the time from work the way I am. I don't feel like learning another computer language for fun when I can't concentrate nearly like I used to. Once I reduce some of the stress in my life and find a better job I just might want to learn how to toy with linux stuff though, and maybe make some stuff to help this beautiful community. Thanks to all of you who have responded and read my story and said they liked it. It's sadly the abbridged version if you cannot tell ^^;

[tdockery97]

You're welcome, and good fortune in your search for a better job.

[minty_mina]

You're welcome, and good fortune in your search for a better job.

haha, thanks i will need all the luck i can get... living in the Flint, MI area is like living next to ground zero of an economic halocaust...

[vincent]

Glad you're having a pleasant experience with Linux Mint. Feel free to ask any many questions as you want, and we'll do our best to answer them.

[Oscar799]

Hello minty_mina,
Welcome to Mint Forum
There is a lot of useful information for new and not-so-new users here -> viewtopic.php?f=60&p=302358#p302358
We have a Community site http://community.linuxmint.com/
For real-time help there are IRC channels,open MintMenu>Internet>XChat and you will be automatically connected to #linuxmint-help and #linuxmint-chat
Have fun with Mint

[jesica]

welcome