Mint vs ubuntu & newbie

[OperatorA]

Good evening, my name is Larry. I live in Scottsburg, Indiana USA, just off I-65, in southern Indiana, 25 miles from John Mellencamp's home town.

I am a retired IBM-Mainframe Operator & COBOL programmer. I have been using Windows since MS-DOS 6.20 / Windows 3.11 days. I have also had Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows XP on my various computers. This one is Windows XP, now with a "wubi" install of Ubuntu-Mint.

I tried Ubuntu, for a couple of weeks in a "wubi" install, and it was OK, i like the interface somewhat, but too many menus.
I also did NOT like the fact that It did not work out of the box...shades of Windows (I/E X needs to run this or that active-x control or add on/plug in (Flash & Adobe etc.)

I read about Mint in a couple of PC magazine reviews and decided to try it. Ubuntu for what ever reason on My PC is a pain in the behind to install...(Disk Read Errors)...I only had two on the Mint "wubi" install. It can't be my CD drive as all other CD installs or DVD reads work with no errors. I can read and write both with no problems. I have a "factory" Ubuntu 10.4 CD and it was awful from read errors. I burned a copy of Mint using my Nero 6 and it worked as I said with only 2 errors. One when the drive 1st was fed the disk, and the other when modifying the boot.ini file, reading off the CD I guess...I clicked continue and it bypassed it, used the ATPI (right term? old age brain fart!) work around in the Mint boot. and finally got a good install.

Any how I am very satisfied with Mint so far. I downloaded all my CDs, some personal movies, and my documents from my 8GB flash(thumb) drive and MinT accepted and played it all...no huffing and puffing about codecs etc. It Just Worked! That is what i expect from an OS.

If any distro of Linux will get me to leave Windows XP, it will be mint. My machine is old, a 2005 model. It is special to me because it was a goft from my dear Mother just before she passed out of this life. (A lightening hit destroyed my desktop, (Windows XP) leaving me with an old Acer Laptop. P166, 16 mg of RAM, 20GB hard drive Windows 95-OSR2. & AOL 5.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This eMachines W3410
System Summary >>>
> Manufacturer : eMachines
> Mainboard : MICRO-STAR RS480M-IL
> Chipset : ATI RS480
> Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2200MHz
> Physical Memory : (512MB stock) upgraded to 2048MB (2 x 1024 (PC3200) DDR-400-SDRAM )
> Video Card : ATI RADEON Xpress 200 Series (uses 128MG of RAM)
> Hard Disk : Seagate ST3100011A (100GB)
> DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GWA-4164B
> Monitor Type : e15t4 - 15 inches
> Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8139/810x Fast Ethernet Adapter
> Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3 (32-bit)
> DirectX : Version 9.0c (November 2006)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am hoping Linux Mint will keep it running until it physically breaks...
Well that's it for now...
I do like Mint...
Larry Henry

[tdockery97]

Hello Larry, and welcome to the Mint Community. I too am retired and have the same Windows experience as you, but I never got into any programming. Many Linux users who use distros like Mint as their primary OS still keep a Windows partition for various reasons...gaming and/or some indispensable program that only runs well in that OS. I am one of those, and use Linux Mint Debian Edition 99.9% of the time. Hope you enjoy your time on the Mint Forums.

[Gramps50]

Welcome to Mint Larry, I too have been around since DOS, Win 3.1, OS/2 and others. When I retired 4 years ago I decided I had had enough of Windows and switch to Linux. Was and am somewhat a Distro hopper always come back to Mint now Mint Debian. When burning Mint CDs make sure you burn them at the slowest speed and be sure and check the MD5 checksum on the download.

[DrHu]

Good evening, my name is Larry. I live in Scottsburg, Indiana USA, just off I-65, in southern Indiana, 25 miles from John Mellencamp's home town.

I am a retired IBM-Mainframe Operator & COBOL programmer. I have been using Windows since MS-DOS 6.20 / Windows 3.11 days. I have also had Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows XP on my various computers. This one is Windows XP, now with a "wubi" install of Ubuntu-Mint.

Like me, you will know that the more things change the more they are the same

So, retired Mainframer, this new fangled micro computer world won't have that much to show you, that you don't already understand
--in fact, I can't think of any particular Micro concept, that wasn't already presaged in the mainframe's world: from cloud computing (mframe: Utility computing ) onwards..

Anyway, you'll find this a comfortable place as well, I think.

[Oscar799]

Hello Larry,
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 also have a Community site http://community.linuxmint.com/
Have fun with Mint

[OperatorA]

Good Morning...a few hours off then two - 12's on the weekend...all night long...(repeat I love my part-time job).

I am really impressed with Mint...except for one thing...I installed Google Chrome last night & and used it to post to this forum...now I can find no trace of it on my system. I installed the generic Chromium in it's place now let me see if it goes away as well....weird...

Mint is definitely a contender for my new OS...which variant I do not know...I will get me a 4GB Flash drive next pay day and use it to install the various versions and use them for evaluation....if all work as well as Isodora...well.....Flash for every version...LOL

Linux has opened up my mindset a bit....no longer a slave to Microsoft...have heard rumbles about the founder's politics...who cares...(The Creator is in charge of this World..not me..) I don't like much of Bill Gates politics either...but I use Windows...Ain't about politics...it's about functionality....Mint has it!

Why should folks give up perfectly good PCs just because they are a bit behind the latest technology curve? We use "used cars" (1996 Mercury Grand Marquis) so why not "used PCs"? Personally I think if Microsoft was smart...which they definitely are not..they would make "lite" versions of each new OS that would run on older hardware...like mine...I would buy a new "lite" OS of "Windows 7" if it was offered...(for a reasonable price..$199.99 is NOT reasonable...)...it is NOT so Microsoft has lost a customer.

When they drop Windows-XP in 2014 (or before) ...i will be totally Linux from then on unless someone buys me a new PC with the latest "Win-Dose" on it...

I will be telling all my friends and family about linux-Ubuntu-MINT...
Listening to "Donovan" with Rhythmbox 0.12.8 as I write this....
LOVE IT!
Larry H.

[msm]

Had the same issue with Chrome in LMDE. But I followed these instructions that resolved the issue: viewtopic.php?f=141&t=55971

[Hezy]

Hi Larry,

Welcome to the forum.

I was using an very old computer as my main desktop until a year ago. It was a 2002 Pentium 4 1800MHz CPU with 512MB RAM. I found that it worked much faster with Xfce rather then Gnome, and I got used to it so much that I'm now using Xfce even with a relatively new and fast computer. Other interesting lighter options are LXDE and fluxbox. But I think that in your case Gnome should have no problem at all. As you can already see, some of the fun in Linux is just due to the fact that we have so much choice

[OperatorA]

That is one of the things that has me all confused...all the versions of Ubuntu (which have to be fiddled with to do what I want to do) and all the versions of Mint...Isadora worked right from the install...what makes all the different versions different? Why would one version be better than another? What are the advantages/ dis-advantages of each? So far I have no problem with Mint 9 Isadora. Am running in in a "wubi" until i get familiar with it then I'll wipe and reinstall Win-XP in a MUCH smaller partition and dual-boot to a Win-XP/Mint setup. Win-XP is for "she who must be appeased" as she can just barely handle Windows-XP, let alone another NEW operating system...LOL

"HeliOS Project" ( http://www.heliosinitiative.org/ )convinced me to go with Mint of some variety...

Larry H.
Scottsburg IN. USA

[Hezy]

Larry, all the different flavors of Linux can be interesting to the curious mind, but for a newcomer I suggest using a distro and desktop that are common. You seem to be happy with Mint, and since it is a well known distro, go ahead and use it. In fact Mint is one of the best (if not the best) options for a new Linux user. The main edition of Mint uses the Gnome desktop, and this is the most popular desktop out there, so it is a good choice for you too. I only mentioned other options as alternatives suited for old hardware, but they are probably not as friendly as Gnome. If Gnome works well enough on your computer, just use it. The combination of Mint and Gnome is easy to use, and is very popular so you won't have any problem finding help when you need it.

[jesica]

welcome

[OperatorA]

Well I have found drivers for both my printer and my webcam. All my hardware now works. No reason to not go to Mint full time except for other members of the family that will fight me all the way

( " She Who Must Be Appeased - SWMBA pronounced "swum-ba" ) "She" is a pain in the behind. Have had a PC in the household (since AOL 3 and "her" in her mid 40s) since the mid 1990s and she is just now forming an interest in one. (at 62 years of age)
She has commandered my old 2004 era Dell Laptop (email & facebook)

I spent my whole life (mostly) working in Mainframe Computers (IBM-360, 370, 4331,9370-90) Got my 1st PC at Salvation Army Thrift Store (IBM-PS/2-50) It came with DOS 3. "Duck Tales & Fountain Of Dreams" (how to amuse an idiot...LOL)

I like the "simple" games in Linux because they remind me of those days...

Thankfully programmers in the open source community still write software that runs on older hardware so those of us who are "financially challenged" can keep using our older hardware -- I thank you all! Also my eMachines W3410 thanks you...smiling...

0, 1, 1, 0 ---

thanx...Larry

[Robin]

Not long ago in any discussion of Mint vs. Ubuntu I would have probably said, "Meh, Mint is just Ubuntu with green paint and codecs."

Now I know how wrong that is.

I was a happy little Xubuntu user and delighted with it's simplicity and power. But along came the "new and improved" Xubuntu 10.04 with the dreaded PulseAudio built in. Oh noes! PulseAudio is a deal-breaker for me. Lots of sound issues on my hardware, and I was downright angry that they chose a LTS version for this "innovation," particularly because none of the applications Xubuntu ships with depend on PulseAudio. I'm a dancer, and dancers need music! Back to Karmic, wondering if I'd have to find a new distro when 9.10 reaches end-of-life.

Until I learned that Isadora Xfce CE does not ship with PulseAudio! Wow, it really is different! It's not "just Ubuntu with codecs and green paint" after all, but there are lots of other important and wonderful differences. I had a huge issue with Plymouth, though (and I'm still disappointed that some of these not-ready-for-prime-time things appear in LTS versions of the 'buntu family and their offspring), but learned how to disable it, preventing the major display problems it was causing.

So now I have my "Xubuntu-like" LTS OS after all, and I'm a happy li'l dancer again - thanks to Team Mint (and special thanks to the Xfce CE team)!

Dancing again, long-term,
Robin

[OperatorA]

I think what we've all said is a testimony to the hard work of "Team Mint"...A Microsoft alternative that is at least no harder to learn then Windows 98 was...and on a par with Windows XP in my opinion...I saw/see nothing majorley wrong with Windows XP, except that Microsoft wants to kill it so they can force us to buy new computers to run Windows 7, or spend the price of an "entry level" PC to get our old hardware to where it will run Windows 7. I OPT OUT! -- Team Mint has proven to me I no longer have to be a slave to Microsoft and it hegemony..."They" can't make me buy "7" or "Vista".

I have a nice PC still doing it's job, granted not as quick as a brand new 2010 model, but it gets there....no reason to give it up just to run a new OS i didn't need/want in the 1st place.

We are a "throw away" society driven by "commercialism"...The older I get the more I throw back to the anti-materialism of my youth in the late 1960s & Early 1970s.

I own a 14 year old Mercury that still does the job nicely. My TVs hooked up to cable still do their job (analogs in a HD-Digital world), and if I lived closer to town, and could pick up over the air TV transmission (with a HD converter) I'd drop Cable except for DSL.

I read (what a concept) and listen to CDs...on my PC and Sterio. I have a DVD player If i want to rent and view a movie. ($1.00 at Redbox)

So mint will help me simplify my computing life after I learn how to install programs that do not come from the software repository....

Good work Clem & Team Mint...have a pint of Guinness for me tonight Clem, you owe it to yourself...

Larry Henry - Scottsburg, Indiana.

[libssd]

That is one of the things that has me all confused...all the versions of Ubuntu (which have to be fiddled with to do what I want to do) and all the versions of Mint...Isadora worked right from the install...what makes all the different versions different?

Different people have different experiences. For me, Ubuntu 10.04 basically worked "out of the box" while no amount of tweaking could make Mint Isadora work the way I wanted. That said, LMDE has been less problematic for me, and it's my alternative distro, rather than Ubuntu 10.10, which doesn't offer enough difference to be worth my time. LMDE seems faster than Isadora or Lucid, and has incredibly small memory requirements (less than 120 mb after booting).

A "good" Linux distro is one that runs well on your hardware and works (or can be made to work) the way you want it to.

[k3lt01]

A "good" Linux distro is one that runs well on your hardware and works (or can be made to work) the way you want it to.

Exactly.

After a while you will get used to the Linux way and it doesn't take much effort to get things to work the way you need them to.

Oh, and ... Hi

[OperatorA]

That was my basic point in the previous post...takes a while to learn something new....Remember how hard it was to do things in Windows 3.1 and Windows 95...even MS-DOS...had to make "batch" files to do everything.....fine tune "PIF" files...

Today the computer curiosity has worn off as most. but not all folks use a computer in one form or another..."we" have gotten "lazy" and do not want to be bothered to learn another Operating System, yet going from Win-98, or Win-XP to Win-7 is a "learning curve" as well....

I just know I am tired of Microsoft making me buy a new computer every other OS release to run their clunky code on. This PC made in 2005 can do more then the IBM Mainframes I worked on in the 1970- mid 1990s...and it fits on a desktop....Not a 3 bedroom house....

Where is my Maxwell House?...oh there it is...LOL
Larry