Hello, everready.
Issue #1:
Boot hangs on systems with b43 wireless cards
Yes. This is correct. It is not really the Mint makers' fault, because the underlying Ubuntu 12.04 had the same issue.
If your machine has not got one of the affected Broadcom b43 wireless cards, you may safely ignore this warning and skip this section.
If your machine has got one of the affected Broadcom b43 wireless cards, then you will have to prevent the Linux kernel from trying to activate the Broadcom wireless card until you have had a chance of installing the proprietary driver provided by Broadcom.
This is achieved by doing this at boot time:
Make sure the boot menu is displayed (when booting the live medium as well as when booting the fresh installation on the harddisk). Inside the boot menu press E like Edit. Then use the cursor keys to select the commandline that loads the kernel vmlinuz and at the end of the line add the string
b43.blacklist=yes. Then press the <F10> key to go on and boot.
You will have to connect this machine to your network using a network cable. You will have to go on using a wired network connection on this machine till you have added the proprietary Broadcom driver. The option to do so will be offered to you at the end of the normal Linux Mint 13 installation.
(I had the same issue on Lucid Lynx. Actually carrying out the required steps is much less tricky than reading them.
)
Issue #2:
(64-bit only for Mint4win)
Mint 13 is available as a 32-bit edition and as a 64-bit edition. Installing Mint 13 with the help of Mint4win will only work for the 64-bit edition (out of the box).
Unless you plan to install Mint 13 32-bit through Mint4win, you may safely ignore this warning and skip this section. If you have no wish of using Mint4win in any case, you may safely ignore this warning and skip this section.
If you absolutely have to perform a Mint4win installation of Mint 13 32-bit, you may find a (pretty technical) step by step instruction
here.
Issue #3:
Windows popping behind the installer in MATE edition
This issue may have been fixed or not by one of the numerous automatic updates which have been released since the original Mint 13 Mate desktop was released at the end of May.
Actually I do not know, because I have never tried anything but the Cinnamon desktop (not affected) and the xfce desktop (not affected).
Unless you insist on using the Mate desktop, you may safely ignore this issue.
Issue #4:
Desktop icons not localized in Cinnamon and Gnome desktop
Hm. Correct.
Is this really such a big hassle? I hardly notice: "Computer" is "Computer" in English and German. "Home" is "Heimatordner" (ok, I'll call it "home").
By the way I do not understand the instruction in the release notes on how to localize the strings, either: not enough technical details on where the changes have to be applied.
i don't have the skill to carry out the instructions in these tutorials
That's all right. Else you would probably be one of the guys writing these instructions.
Seriously: As the sentences in green below each issue try to make clear, do not bother about solving issues unless they really affect you.
Windows where you just push a button
I tend to consider this an ingenious marketing myth. New Windows releases all bring along new issues as well. This has been true for any new Windows version since v1.0 and is still true for Windows 7. And Windows 8 will bring along some new
challenges for its users as well.
Developers are human beings and therefore software will never be error free.
Linux forums are full of problem reports affecting Linux. Windows forums are full of problem reports affecting Windows.
Any operating system which you are used to will appear to be more friendly and to exhibit less rough edges than any operating system which you have not yet got used to.
The reason why more people tend to consider Linux more difficult and less friendly than Windows is that because Windows rules the PC market, home and office, most people will have some Windows experience when they meet Linux for the first time. And they silently expect Linux to do all the things the same way as Windows does them, only better and for free.
The truth is, however, Linux is neither better, nor worse than Windows, but is is definitely not the same. As a consequence, you are either prepared to spend the time to acquire the Linux knowledge that you need, like you spent the time to acquire the Windows survival knowledge, or you are not.
Cheers,
Karl