Evil-K.... now Minty fresh!!

[Evil-K]

Greetings all!

My name's Kevin, I'm gonna be 36 in a week and I currently live in Maine. My screen-name comes from a nickname I received during an unfortunate period in my life when I was on the streets a number of years ago (it's been said I look too innocent, and that I'd be the one to "press the button" hahaha).

Anyhoo, I've been mostly Windows-free for a couple of months now (I still have to use Windows at work). I first used Ubuntu 9.10 (unfortunately obsolete, but it was all I could find that would work on my obsolete laptop... an IBM Thinkpad Xsomething), but had tried a number of distros, including Linux Mint 10. Now, I really liked that version of Ubuntu, but it was a chore to get all the necessary codecs I needed in order to be able to listen to all my music, watch all my videos, and go on YouTube. The deal-breaker was a nasty graphical glitch that prevented me from viewing the system monitor (I don't care if something's obsolete, as long as it still works). In my search for a distro that would work, I finally stumble upon what XFCE and LXDE means. I loved Mint 10 (woulda stayed with it if it had worked on my computer... found that out the hard way ), so I went for Linux Mint 10 LXDE. It was okay, but I wanted more frills and longer support, so I went for Linux Mint 9 XFCE. Now this old laptop ROCKS.

Clem, I cannot thank you enough.

I love how, even with a relatively lightweight distro, I can do so much more with my computer than I could with Windows and not have to worry about it slowing down. I wouldn't doubt that this laptop now runs better than when it was brand new.

I, of course, have some questions, but that'll wait 'til I've gotten some sleep and will of course go into a different spot. I just figured I'd say hello.

~K

[tdockery97]

Welcome Evil-K. You will find a lot of information and help from some very enthusiastic and knowledgeable Mint users. I'm sure you will also want to visit our Mint Community Website at http://community.linuxmint.com/. You will find real-time help in our IRC channels. Just go to Menu>Internet>XChat IRC and when you open it you will automatically be taken to our #linuxmint-chat and #linuxmint-help channels. Have fun with Mint

[The-Wizard]

welcome to the mint family forums

wizard

[mrsfixit]

Greetings all!

Anyhoo, I've been mostly Windows-free for a couple of months now (I still have to use Windows at work). I first used Ubuntu 9.10 (unfortunately obsolete, but it was all I could find that would work on my obsolete laptop... an IBM Thinkpad Xsomething), but had tried a number of distros, including Linux Mint 10. Now, I really liked that version of Ubuntu, but it was a chore to get all the necessary codecs I needed in order to be able to listen to all my music, watch all my videos, and go on YouTube. The deal-breaker was a nasty graphical glitch that prevented me from viewing the system monitor (I don't care if something's obsolete, as long as it still works). In my search for a distro that would work, I finally stumble upon what XFCE and LXDE means. I loved Mint 10 (woulda stayed with it if it had worked on my computer... found that out the hard way ), so I went for Linux Mint 10 LXDE. It was okay, but I wanted more frills and longer support, so I went for Linux Mint 9 XFCE. Now this old laptop ROCKS.

~K

Hi Kevin, welcome.

Yeah, I know what you mean about the media codecs thing. It was a PITA to get it all to work in Ubuntu, but with Mint it works out of the box.

FWIW- not being able to view System Monitor would be a deal breaker for me as well. I set up a top panel in my Mint, and just like with Ubuntu, System Monitor is up so I can keep an eye on things, along with Gnome- Sensors so I can watch temperatures and I've got the cpu-freq applet up there too.

I just got an Acer TimelineX ultraportable, that's what I'm using now, and due to wireless issues, the only distro that I was able to get the wireless working in was Mint 11, so that's what I'm using. I'm dual booting with Win7, which I don't use at all, but the wireless doesn't work in Windows 7 either BTW... LOL

I wanted to try the Xfce version of Mint but when I tried to boot it from a flash card I got a kernel panic and it just halted. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what to do so I just stuck with Mint 11 Gnome. If a problem isn't solvable through a GUI, I need lots of help. I'm not all that comfy with the CLI.

I'm liking Mint very much so far. The developers did a good job putting this distro together. Glad to see other Mint n00b's here as well.

Have fun!

[Evil-K]

I hear ya with the wireless. It was a chore to get any sort of wireless compatibility with Ubuntu. Pretty much the day I said good-bye to Windows in my personal life was when it wouldn't even register the direct ethernet hookup. Since the only thing keeping me from Linux in general was being unable to access the net (and since I now had the direct hookup), I was able to get onto there and not look back. Now, whenever anyone I know complains about how slow their computer is, I tell them the story of my beat-to-cr@p laptop and how it works incredibly well on Linux Mint (an older, lighter distro, but Mint nevertheless) .

But yeah, I was able to download the driver for the wireless adapter given to me by the friend who gave me the laptop and it's pretty much worked without a hitch. Linux Mint is pretty much THE distro I'd recommend to other n00bs because of just how well it works out of the box without much tinkering around. And it's just so much FUN to tinker around with!! I'm actually passionate about computers again thanks to Linux Mint.

Anyhoo, I've rambled enough. Thanks for the warm welcome, mrsfixit!

~K

[mrsfixit]

I hear ya with the wireless. It was a chore to get any sort of wireless compatibility with Ubuntu. Pretty much the day I said good-bye to Windows in my personal life was when it wouldn't even register the direct ethernet hookup. Since the only thing keeping me from Linux in general was being unable to access the net (and since I now had the direct hookup), I was able to get onto there and not look back. Now, whenever anyone I know complains about how slow their computer is, I tell them the story of my beat-to-cr@p laptop and how it works incredibly well on Linux Mint (an older, lighter distro, but Mint nevertheless) .

But yeah, I was able to download the driver for the wireless adapter given to me by the friend who gave me the laptop and it's pretty much worked without a hitch. Linux Mint is pretty much THE distro I'd recommend to other n00bs because of just how well it works out of the box without much tinkering around. And it's just so much FUN to tinker around with!! I'm actually passionate about computers again thanks to Linux Mint.

Anyhoo, I've rambled enough. Thanks for the warm welcome, mrsfixit!

~K

LOL

That's pretty damned funny- because this new Acer laptop wouldn't work with the wired ethernet either in Windows 7... I booted up Mint and it connected to the ethernet, no problem.

Like you, I really dislike Windows. My husband still uses XP, but the Windows version I liked best was 2000 Pro. It really went downhill after that. I was just tired of it.

I had always wanted to try Linux, but until Ubuntu it was just too difficult. Too much CLI stuff. Ubuntu made things easier, and Mint improved on that. I also love tinkering with computers. I used to tinker with cars too, but tinkering with computers is cleaner, easier on my back, and I can do it in the house with the air conditioning...

Another thing I just love about Linux is how I can plug in devices and they just simply work. This includes our Verizon cell phones which Linux recognizes and charges no problem, while Windows balks and asks for a driver, or the phone displays an "unauthorized charger" error. It's really handy to be able to charge a cell phone from a usb port.

Yeah, I'm a convert too... and loving it.

[Evil-K]

That's pretty damned funny- because this new Acer laptop wouldn't work with the wired ethernet either in Windows 7... I booted up Mint and it connected to the ethernet, no problem.

Like you, I really dislike Windows. My husband still uses XP, but the Windows version I liked best was 2000 Pro. It really went downhill after that. I was just tired of it.

I had no issue with XP until recently, but then pretty much every computer without exception is running horrendously slow on it. Getting drivers was a little bit of a pain, but not too bad. It was something I accepted. But now, it's in its slow-death cycle, making people upgrade and spend money they don't have. A brilliant corporate strategy, but extremely slimy.

My fave Lose-dows version was 98, personally. Nice, clean and simple.

I had always wanted to try Linux, but until Ubuntu it was just too difficult. Too much CLI stuff. Ubuntu made things easier, and Mint improved on that. I also love tinkering with computers. I used to tinker with cars too, but tinkering with computers is cleaner, easier on my back, and I can do it in the house with the air conditioning...

I'm probably gonna do more tinkering on computers, for much the same reason. Was never one for tinkering on cars, though. That's awesome that you were, though.

I was never averse to CLI. I'm a child of the DOS generation and always a bit of a computer geek. It's just that, up until recently, Linux just seemed alien to me and admittedly, the GUI had become a crutch by that time. Tack on Linux's reputation of being too difficult and... well, you get the picture.

Another thing I just love about Linux is how I can plug in devices and they just simply work. This includes our Verizon cell phones which Linux recognizes and charges no problem, while Windows balks and asks for a driver, or the phone displays an "unauthorized charger" error. It's really handy to be able to charge a cell phone from a usb port.

Yeah, I'm a convert too... and loving it.

Some devices don't work, or at least not completely. My iPod works, but it actually shuts my computer down (a different topic for a different time) and some of my wireless dongles don't work. And there are some peripherals that don't work, but that's where researching the product's compatibility before I buy it comes in.

Are these deal-breakers? Absolutely not, or else I wouldn't be here. To be able to have an older computer work at top capability with a powerful OS and not have to pay a penny to do it... and have it STAY running that way, I'll deal with a little aggravation rather than pay upwards of $500 in software and upgrades and STILL having things eventually run sluggishly after a year or so.

Either that, or spend over $2000 for a Mac.

No thanks. I'll take the top-tier Linux software I can get for nothing.

[rivenathos]

Welcome to the Mint forums! I remember when I was "Minty Fresh" back in the spring of 2007. It only gets better.

[lmintnewb]

Evil-K sounds like a cereal with marshmellows and chunks of chocolate and mountains of sugar. Ya know ... the opposite of the bland, plain ole cornflakes and boring stuff, like Special-k ? Hmmmm ... speaking of corny. This post was pretty lame ... sighs. Oh well ... hiya Evil.

[mrsfixit]

Like you, I really dislike Windows. My husband still uses XP, but the Windows version I liked best was 2000 Pro.

I had no issue with XP until recently, but then pretty much every computer without exception is running horrendously slow on it.

I had always wanted to try Linux, but until Ubuntu it was just too difficult. Too much CLI stuff. Ubuntu made things easier, and Mint improved on that.

I was never averse to CLI. I'm a child of the DOS generation and always a bit of a computer geek. It's just that, up until recently, Linux just seemed alien to me and admittedly, the GUI had become a crutch by that time. Tack on Linux's reputation of being too difficult and... well, you get the picture.

Another thing I just love about Linux is how I can plug in devices and they just simply work.

Some devices don't work, or at least not completely. My iPod works, but it actually shuts my computer down (a different topic for a different time) and some of my wireless dongles don't work. And there are some peripherals that don't work, but that's where researching the product's compatibility before I buy it comes in.

Are these deal-breakers? Absolutely not, or else I wouldn't be here. To be able to have an older computer work at top capability with a powerful OS and not have to pay a penny to do it... and have it STAY running that way, I'll deal with a little aggravation rather than pay upwards of $500 in software and upgrades and STILL having things eventually run sluggishly after a year or so.

Either that, or spend over $2000 for a Mac.

No thanks. I'll take the top-tier Linux software I can get for nothing.

I'm definitely averse to the CLI. I never used DOS much. I could manage to partition and format a hard drive with it, that's about it.

But then I discovered the joys of GParted...

I hear you about XP running horrendously slow... I hear this complaint from my husband on a daily basis. I really need to do a re-install, but I just can't face it right now. Windows needs a yearly re-install to keep running properly, I'm tired of having to do this.

His machine (which is my "old" machine) is a Dell Inspiron 530 with a Q6600 and 4 GB's of ram. I bought a Dell XPS with a core i7-920 with 6 GB's of ram for myself.

Both were refurbs, I had coupons, and I couldn't have gotten the parts for what I paid for them...

I would really like to get him on either Mint or Ubuntu, and then install Virtualbox so he can have his XP stuff. But the amount of ram concerns me. His machine will only take 4 gigs max. Mine will take 12. So I'm thinking maybe... I should look for another core i7 refurb for myself, give him mine, and relegate the Q6600 to being a HTPC.

It's just a thought at this time, as I don't even have an HDTV yet. But back to school sales should be coming up...

I've had good luck with devices working, but then I don't have an iPod, and why does it not surprise me that an Apple device would cause problems...

I'm not a fan of Apple. I will never own a Mac. Their hardware is very overpriced. I don't like the way they lock things down. And they make a laptop with a NON-user replaceable battery? Seriously? Great idea- throw away the device when the battery won't hold a charge anymore...

This is very environmentally irresponsible AFAIC. But what else should should one expect from one of the (now) richest corporations on the planet...

I'll stick to my PC's (same hardware as Apple), and I'll stay with my cheapo mp3 players that take AAA batteries too. They're getting harder to find, so I've pretty much taken to collecting them now.

I am really enjoying Linux, and open source. I started with open source programs on Winows, and when I moved to Linux I found myself using a lot of the same programs, which was really helpful.

I'm really liking Mint, and Linux in general, and learning. And any day I learn something new is a good day AFAIC... LOL

[lmintnewb]

^ You apparently are a smart cookie. You refuse to pay retail for electronics. Why would people do such a thing ?

However appears ya need to brush up on your XP savvy. Don't get me wrong. M$ makes me wanna hurl but I don't get the whole my XP is so sluggish thing. XP should blaze on a comp with those specs. Learned long ago how to keep XP ship shape w/o having to worry about a reinstall. Lotta boottime defragging, diskchecking, turning off unnecessary services, using a startup manager, not going overboard with sec software someone doesn't really need, changing of settings and supplementing the craptastic utils M$ sells included with quality freeware instead. Kinda sad when people make and give away better software to keep up an OS. Than the producers sell people. But that is the M$ way. Craptastic ... throw a baby off a cliff to add another $100 bucks to the bottomline, lol.

Paranoid theory, wouldn't be surprised if M$ is putting out updates to XP that bugger it up. So people will have to upgrade. If M$'s latest should really be considered an upgrade, lol. Turning off automatic updates at a certain point doesn't strike me as a bad idea. Never liked the idea of someone as sleazy as M$ automatically doing anything to me or anything I use. Fact is ... how would anyone know if the tin foil hat conspiracy theory above were happening ? It's closed source software. Glad people are getting minty fresh and into gnu/linux. Shocking how long this softwares been around and how few people in the developed countries use it. Was checking some stats earlier. Claim like 1.summin% of PC users use summin linux ?!?!? Been around 20+ yrs and 1% of people using it ? Amazing, same source had android almost having the same market share as linux proper, ... sighs.

OT: Evil ... glad you're minty fresh now. M$ doesn't want this to get around. But am told that hawt femme's really like guys who use linux. I'm on a roll when it comes to lame attempts at humor today. GO ME !!!

[mrsfixit]

^ You apparently are a smart cookie. You refuse to pay retail for electronics. Why would people do such a thing ?

However appears ya need to brush up on your XP savvy. Don't get me wrong. M$ makes me wanna hurl but I don't get the whole my XP is so sluggish thing. XP should blaze on a comp with those specs. Learned long ago how to keep XP ship shape w/o having to worry about a reinstall. Lotta boottime defragging, diskchecking, turning off unnecessary services, using a startup manager, not going overboard with sec software someone doesn't really need, changing of settings and supplementing the craptastic utils M$ sells included with quality freeware instead. Kinda sad when people make and give away better software to keep up an OS. Than the producers sell people. But that is the M$ way. Craptastic ... throw a baby off a cliff to add another $100 bucks to the bottomline, lol.

Paranoid theory, wouldn't be surprised if M$ is putting out updates to XP that bugger it up. So people will have to upgrade. If M$'s latest should really be considered an upgrade, lol. Turning off automatic updates at a certain point doesn't strike me as a bad idea. Never liked the idea of someone as sleazy as M$ automatically doing anything to me or anything I use. Fact is ... how would anyone know if the tin foil hat conspiracy theory above were happening ? It's closed source software. Glad people are getting minty fresh and into gnu/linux. Shocking how long this softwares been around and how few people in the developed countries use it. Was checking some stats earlier. Claim like 1.summin% of PC users use summin linux ?!?!? Been around 20+ yrs and 1% of people using it ? Amazing, same source had android almost having the same market share as linux proper, ... sighs.

OT: Evil ... glad you're minty fresh now. M$ doesn't want this to get around. But am told that hawt femme's really like guys who use linux. I'm on a roll when it comes to lame attempts at humor today. GO ME !!!

So, do hot guys like gals who use Linux?

But never mind, the only hot guy for me is my hubby... he's just a dreamboat...

And thanks for the compliment BTW. But I have a long way to go when it come to Linux smarts, and catching up with some of the folks 'round here...

And as far as Apple stuff... you can't reason with people who can't see beyond the hype. Don't even try.

I've got a lot of stuff disabled in msconfig. I do believe I have some kind of start up manager installed as well. The computer boots fast enough, but it just doesn't run as fast as it should.

Being that it's XP, I run ZoneAlarm, Avast, SpyBot, and SpywareBlaster. This as opposed to Ubuntu+Mint, where I don't bother with any security software...

I do have automatic updates off. I think a lot of what buggers up XP, and Windows in general, is the damned registry. True, I've installed- and uninstalled- quite a bit of software in that system and nothing- I mean nothing- cleans up after itself... I've gone through the registry many times cleaning up ancient entries for software that has been uninstalled.

One of the slowness problems is with Firefox 3xxx, which often crashes and freezes. I have the same version of Firefox on my Ubuntu machine, and it does the same thing. So it's FF issue. All versions of Firefox after 2xxx suck AFAIC. And FF 4/5 are even worse...

I've got my husband using Chrome now, and it's a lot faster and more stable for him.

Most of the stuff I use on all my systems is freeware, with the exception of MS Office, which he won't give up, Nero, which I won't give up, and ConvertXtoDVD. I use OpenOffice, I have Nero Linux, but ConvertXtoDVD hasn't been ported to Linux.

DeVeDe isn't in the same league with CxD. I tried it, and the output was rubbish compared to CxD. Plus it took forever. Technically, CxD runs under WINE, but you can't do menu's, and I need that functionality...

Anyway, I've rambled enough... but it's nice having these intelligent, in-depth conversations... LOL

[lmintnewb]

lol ... Yep fraid so, da fellas like brainy linux using women. That is a fact, even though you're attached. Errrrr ... sighs well truth be told guys like anything feminine with a pulse. If we are drunk enough or figure our buddies won't find out about it. But smart hawt guys, like brainy women and if a woman is using linux. It's a sign of smarts and thinking outside the box.

Registry cleaners with XP are definitely good. Like CCleaner, it has one included. Registry compacting is added goodness. Which ccleaner doesn't have unfortunately. Have used this registry tool to compact a couple time, though mainly rely on cc for registry cleaning. http://www.snapfiles.com/get/wiseregistry.html. Don't have much experience with it. Didn't blow up my comp though. Canna remember which I used to use often to compact an xp registry, shrugs. Btw: If you haven't heard of snapfiles.com. Mecca for some really good windows freeware. Used stuff from snapfiles forever. Have never gotten a virus, or malware from them. Don't even wanna try to turn this into an xp tweak commentary. Would be reinventing the wheel. It's been done to death all over the web already.

Am glad to see you're happy with nix though. One less person paying M$ for their software has to be a good thing. Recent nix convert myself. So one more nail ( hopefully ) in over priced corporate control freaks closed source coffin. DEFINITELY WOULD BE A GREAT THING, IMO. When it comes to having a lot to learn about linux. You and me both, sure we'll all do it the same way everyone else did. One dy at a time.

[mrsfixit]

lol ...

Yep fraid so, da fellas like brainy linux using women. That is a fact, even though you're attached. Errrrr ... sighs well truth be told guys like anything feminine with a pulse. If we are drunk enough or figure our buddies won't find out about it. But smart hawt guys, like brainy women and if a woman is using linux. It's a sign of smarts and thinking outside the box.

LOL, and some like anything feminine without a pulse too.

Ewwwwwwww- zombie chicks!!!!!!

Ok, that's MY lame attempt at humor for the day...

Yes, I was always "different", not your typical female. I always did "guy stuff", and hung out with the guys. All my close friends are men. My mother always told me I should have been a boy. Oh well, I'm happy with myself even if I don't fit the parameters other people think I should.

Registry cleaners with XP are definitely good. Like CCleaner, it has one included. Registry compacting is added goodness. Which ccleaner doesn't have unfortunately.

I DO use CCleaner. I've been using it for years, and have recommended it to other people.

Am glad to see you're happy with nix though. One less person paying M$ for their software has to be a good thing. Recent nix convert myself. So one more nail ( hopefully ) in over priced corporate control freaks closed source coffin. DEFINITELY WOULD BE A GREAT THING, IMO. When it comes to having a lot to learn about linux. You and me both, sure we'll all do it the same way everyone else did. One day at a time.

I hate paying for software, unless it's something I can't live without, like Nero, and damn, that was only $20. It lacks some features the Windows version has though...

But to be able to have an entire OS, for free, with 99.9% of the software I need also for free- damn, don't that beat all?

One day at a time, on question at a time... the longest journey begins with a single step. We've already begun...

[Roken]

Out of interest, if all you newcomers are "Minty Fresh", does that mean that those of us who have been around a while are "Minty Stale"?

[The-Wizard]

Out of interest, if all you newcomers are "Minty Fresh", does that mean that those of us who have been around a while are "Minty Stale"?

I think Mentha arvensis will suite the bill quite well


Oh its common name is Corn Mint

wizard

[mrsfixit]

Out of interest, if all you newcomers are "Minty Fresh", does that mean that those of us who have been around a while are "Minty Stale"?

No my fine friend, we think of you as "Mint adept", or if you prefer, "Mint accomplished".

[lmintnewb]

lol Roken ... nope believe you'd all qualify as minty fresh too. Only as people who've been/stay minty fresh longer.

[SimonTS]

Nah - to use the old English phrase (but without the connotations of having loads of money), those who have been around for a while would simply be "Well Minted"

[Evil-K]

Nah - to use the old English phrase (but without the connotations of having loads of money), those who have been around for a while would simply be "Well Minted"

I was gonna say "In Mint Condition", but "Well Minted" is a good one too .