new install - review as I change distros

[arnoldj]

I have used Xandros Linux for 6 years. I'm also a mod on the forums there. Unfortunately they haven't updated in a while, so I decided to move along with another surplus donated machine. I installed Mint "Gloria" this morning on a pentium M 1.6, 1 GB Ram laptop. I had earlier tried Ubuntu 8, 9.04, Kubuntu 9.04, Mepis, and a couple of uninspiring others. Haven't found the 'buntus to my liking. This one I found this one to be very good out of the box. I installed virtualbox with winxp pro and several window$ only progs in there. Set up of everything was pretty smooth. The only challenge was skype. I could not get sound to work with either the microphone or speakers until I went to a console and ran alsamixer and then set the input to "pulse" (whatever that is!), Everything else simply seems to work.

I even found a usb conexant modem

Code: Select all

Bus 003 Device 003: ID 0572:1324 Conexant Systems (Rockwell), Inc. 

was detected and automagically installed to /dev/ttyACM0 , which no other distro could do. Mint must have brand new drivers for modems.

From the kde experience with Xandros, the things I haven't quite figured out with this gnome-based desktop are if there is a GUI to list active processes and maybe to select and kill/terminate a program, and I'm having a bit of trouble finding the other computers (4 of them Linux, 2 windows) in this mixed wired/wireless network. I can see the Mint laptop from the others (all Xandros 4.1), but the Mint computer does not see any of the others.

I'd say overall, this is probably a keeper, as long as I can figure out the network 'seeing other computers' thing.

[lagagnon]

... if there is a GUI to list active processes and maybe to select and kill/terminate a program

Menu, Administration, System Monitor

[arnoldj]

Cool - Thanks! I'm new to this desktop for sure! To be going this well about 6 hours into an install is pretty darn good I think.

[Old Marcus]

You can also add an applet to your toolbar that shows you your current CPU usage and on click brings up the system monitor. Handy little shortcut there.

[arnoldj]

Thanks for the applet tip. Just need to figure out the file sharing. No doubt I will find a tutorial somewhere on this site.

[arnoldj]

I figured out the network stuff by using this advice= http://www.prash-babu.com/2008/05/how-t ... linux.html Good link.

[lexon]

Hi arnoldj

I have been using Mint since Mint 6 came out. Nice to hear about your success.

Off Topic

What can you say about the Xandros/Freespire thing? Not that I am going back. Just curious.

lexon

[arnoldj]

I suspect that they will use the click n run (CNR) to enhance an upgraded xandros. The Xandros File Manager (XFM) is a very versatile application, superior to anything else I've seen: you burn DVD/CD, surf the net, manage files, set up your network, and see & manage everything in one unified place. But then most of us eventually use more specialised apps for many of these tasks. XFM and CNR make sense for light machines with simple tasks to do, which is why netbooks make sense. But then, with the ease of putting any Linux you want on one of these, why bother with a paid distro? So we're all wondering about the business model. They were also doing servers, but this also seems somewhat dead. It is a private company, and they are not talking about the future. I will probably retain Xandros 4.1 on at least 2 boxes - not busted why fix - and I do have an eeepc with it. New machines or old ones made new, will get more recent Linux on them. I routinely salavage cast off laptops put Linus on them and give them away to seniors or immigrant refugees. Easy to do, and fun. Linux Mint is probably what I'll be using. Choice in part because it is more comprehensible to me than Ubuntu.

[altair4]

I figured out the network stuff by using this advice= http://www.prash-babu.com/2008/05/how-t ... linux.html Good link.

Just curious, why did you set up "classic samba" instead of just using the following method:
Right click a folder in nautilus > Sharing Options > Share this folder. It's called Simple Sharing and it's unique to certain gnome based distros ( but not all ).

I just glanced at the link above and it made some changes to the default smb.conf file in Mint so I'm not sure Simple Sharing will work anymore but I really didn't look at it that carefully. I did notice that the "Graphical Way" in that howto doesn't work in mint because it was removed in Mint7.

[arnoldj]

I couldn't get nautilus to share folders. If I recall, I got an error message about not having permissions. I created a root user (which I don't think is considered kosher in ubuntu, don't know about Mint) and tried to do it that way, and i couldn't see the shares as a user, so I did it the console way. I was also influenced by trying Kubuntu and Ubuntu, both which failed the sharing test, so I did not spend too much time fighting with it.

I must say this sharing issue is the only is the only one that does not work as easily as Xandros. Xandros is right click, change permissions, set password at the same time for the share, and done. Workgroup name is also set graphically. I'd suggest a one click answer that works for nautilus or whatever file browser. I also think that samba should be part of a default install in all distros. And things that just work should never be removed or made unavailable or difficult to install/use, even if someone wants to be an innovator. I have another old laptop with ubuntu on it, and I cannot share from it, just to it, which is weird.

I will try private vpn to an internet connected server I think next. I have time for more experiements. I may also capture the install that I've made on this machine so I can reinstall, then I will try to break this one, just maybe .... it has been a way to learn in past to try such experiments.

[altair4]

I must say this sharing issue is the only is the only one that does not work as easily as Xandros. Xandros is right click, change permissions, set password at the same time for the share, and done.

Simple sharing in Mint is even simpler: Right Click - share this folder. It changes permissions automatically. For anyone comming from a KDE environment this is a "gift" that Mint provides. I'll have to be honest though since I wrote a little howto on Simple Sharing I seem to have developed an irrational, protective attachment to it.

I couldn't get nautilus to share folders. If I recall, I got an error message about not having permissions.

Simple sharing allows a user to share only files he owns ( i.e., home folder contents ). To do otherwise you needed to to bring up nautilus with gksu nautilus

I also think that samba should be part of a default install in all distros. And things that just work should never be removed or made unavailable or difficult to install/use, even if someone wants to be an innovator

Samba is installed by default in this distro. It's the classic "Graphical way" method that was removed as a nautilus option since Ubuntu and now Mint have made "Simple Sharing" the prefered way.

You can still use the "Classic" GUI by typing shares-admin in a terminal