My Linux experience

[Toimu]

This is my first time to give Linux a real try.

Back story
I started using Windows 3.1 because that is what my school had. I moved to 95 & 98 with only a few problems here and there. Then I got a computer with Windows ME, that was very unstable for me. A friend gave me Linux Red Hat, but I was a little over whelmed by the instructions and my games didn't work. So I got a "copy" of Windows 2000/NT. A few years later same thing happed with Windows Vista and Ubuntu, so I got a "copy" of Windows XP. Now I'm having a similar problem with Windows 8, my wife and I hate it, so I put a "copy" of Windows 7 on her computer. But for my net-book, I'm dual booting Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (real) and Linux Mint 17 XFCE 64-bit. I don't play computer games any more, and if it wasn't for us both needing some CAD programs for work, I would try and get her to switch to Linux also. I hope to learn Linux well enough to not need Windows on my net-book.

Hardware
Acer Aspire One D260
CPU: Intel Atom N550 (1.5 GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
RAM: 2 GB DDR3
HDD: 320 GB
Battery: 6-cell Li-ion
Screen: 10.1" LED LCD
WiFi
Blue Tooth
3x USB 3.0
(don't know what else someone might want to know)

Picking a Linux Distro
I did some research on which Linux distros are easy for Windows users to learn, and settled on Linux Mint. I like how the Mint/Ubuntu communities have a lot of tools to work with also.

Testing Linux Distros
Linux Mint user guide says to do a MD5SUM check to make sure the ISO file is correct, but links to this page:
http://www.etree.org/md5com.html
This page looks like it hasn't been updated since a few years BEFORE Linux Mint came out. This MD5SUM didn't work on my Windows 7. "Check SUM Calculator" worked great and was very easy.
http://www.checksumcalculator.com/
I used "YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator" to test Linux Mint Cinnamon, MATE, KDE, & XFCE. I love YUMI, this was very easy to make and use. My net-book has USB 3.0 so all but KDE ran pretty fast. I read that Cinnamon can use some flashy graphics, so even though I thought it looked good without, I didn't see a reason to change it when MATE & XFCE seemed like what I wanted. I didn't notice a difference in speed between MATE & XFCE from my USB. I decided to start with XFCE for battery life. I found out my 5 year old battery can only use 45% of it's storage, pretty cool tool that is default with Linux Mint!

Installing Linux Mint 17 XFCE 64-bit
YUMI said it isn't meant to be used to install Linux, only test Linux distros. I tried to install anyways but YUMI didn't see my hard drive. I tried with "Universal USB Installer", but it wouldn't let me boot into any 64-bit version of Linux Mint. I made an ISO image DVD with Windows 7 default program, and let me install Linux Mint just fine.

Configuring Linux Mint
I've read a few sites for Tips and Tricks, did a few things from some of them (that I understood what I was doing to my computer). I think "Easy Linux Tips Project" explains what, why, how to, & how to undo those tips the best.
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/

Conclusion
I only have a few hours on Linux as of this writing (done in Linux!). There are still a few things I want to do, and every time I look something up, I found a few more things I don't understand and/or want to do on Linux. I'm guessing this is how I'll be for a long time with Linux. Always learning and testing.

[PatH57]

Hi and welcome.

Started myself with atari back in the days.
Went from DOS to win8
use fulltime linux since 1991 and work as a high performance computing consultant since 2004.

There is no perfect OS , you have to adapt it to your needs and start slowly, it will all become clear overtime so enjoy the ride

[The-Wizard]

Welcome to the Mint family forums,
there are free cad applications in the repository if you haven't tried them yet, linux in general still isn't gaming friendly but it is getting better.

wizard

[vrkalak]

.
..:: Welcome to LinuxMint ::..

Read everything you can -- Forums - Wiki - IRC

Linux: Tricks of the Trade > http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=38355
What works for Ubuntu, usually works for Mint > http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/
Linux Alternative to Windows > http://www.linuxalt.com/
LinuxMint Community Forums - Tutorials > http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/welcome

** Remember, all OS-Distro, Apps, DE/WM are Open-Source and have a Help-Forum

[Crewp]

Welcome to Linux Mint.

[jesica]

Welcome to the forum

[jahid]

Welcome to the Mint family........

[apemanx]

Welcome! Love the story

[killer de bug]

Welcome in this community!