Why did you decide to install Linux Mint?

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Fred Barclay
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Fred Barclay »

Originally -- it was my first computer and I knew I wanted to go Linux and didn't like Ubuntu. :) I saw a recommendation on Nixie Pixel's Youtube channel about Mint, thought it looked interesting, and went from there. That would have been late 2014, I believe.

As of two nights ago -- I was ready to move on to another distro after a year-plus with Arch (mostly) and was really wanting to run LMDE again. I loved LMDE 2 and I'm happy to say that so far LMDE 3 is living up to its legacy! Although I did have to fight to get my wifi working and also replaced Cinnamon with MATE... :mrgreen:
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by tenfoot »

As of two nights ago -- ... and also replaced Cinnamon with MATE..]
Yes! yes! yes! MATE is re way to go. Absolutely solid :lol:
Last edited by Moem on Thu Jan 10, 2019 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fixed a quote
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Hoser Rob »

I don't remember when I originally installed Mint but the reason was that I liked Xfce (still do and use it on my netbook but prefer KDE), and Xubuntu wasn't a 5 year LTS release. All Mint releases other than LMDE are.

What keeps me using Mint? The update policy, that's really it at this point.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
Poohstyx

Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Poohstyx »

Short answer: Finally, after 20+ years there is a stable release - linux has finally grown up.

Puppy almost made it, then things fell over a few years back.

Raspian is still looking good, but not quite there yet.

My core beliefs will never allow me to buy anything from apple or microsoft.
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vultureen
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by vultureen »

I was convinced by this guy - how can you not be :D :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI7QQqn ... knb3ptRiVv

And why I was looking for a Linux distro at all, is because I finally gave up on Windows 10. Over the years I've been mad at and frustrated with various operating systems, annoyed and disappointed, but I've never felt bullied by an operating system before. Windows 10 finally did that. Bullied - I was feeling that the OS was making me obey it, not the other way round. The updates during the fall of 2018 finally broke me. My screen could go pitch black for literally ten minutes. What was happening? A virus? A total system failure? No, it turned out it was an update. An update which can't be omitted (without hacking the registry). No information was given - Windows 10 just does its thing in the background as it pleases, totally ignoring the user. It has an anti virus software that can't be turned off (again, without hacking the registry). Updates will include forced installations of crapware, games and other stuff that I certainly didn't ask for. Windows 10 never bother to ask. What!

I have had nothing against Microsoft before. I've used and been happy with Windows 7 for a long time, but the way things have evolved with Windows 10 is something new and frankly a bit terrifying. I understand that they want to beef up system security, but that can be done in a much more friendly way.

I'm glad to say that I'm still happy with Linux Mint 19.1 Cinnamon. I even got the VICE C64 emulator to work without too much hazzle! Boulder Dash, here I come...
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Dot_mdb »

>> I was feeling that the OS was making me obey it, not the other way round.<<

+1. Good post. My feelings also.

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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by BG405 »

vultureen wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:21 am No information was given - Windows 10 just does its thing in the background as it pleases, totally ignoring the user.
Windows 10 & all the updates with no details presented to the user as to what they are .. a bad memory for me now, thankfully .. UGH !! :mad: mind you, not exactly a library of info with respect to Win7 updates either, particularly around the time they started pushing the obfuscated GWX "updates" :!:
... along with, as mentioned, all the crapware. I'm sure managers (and administrators) in work environments LOVE all these compulsorily-installed games for workers to waste paid time with when the boss isn't looking. :roll:
vultureen wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:21 am I even got the VICE C64 emulator to work without too much hazzle! Boulder Dash, here I come...
That's great! It would be really nice if you could let us know how you did this as I couldn't get it to work in LM17.3 Cinnamon (missing the ROMs & I couldn't find them anywhere) whereas it works great for me (effectively out-of-the-box, once installed) in Manjaro KDE.
Dell Inspiron 1525 - LM17.3 CE 64-------------------Lenovo T440 - Manjaro KDE with Mint VMs
Toshiba NB250 - Manjaro KDE------------------------Acer Aspire One D255E - LM21.3 Xfce
Acer Aspire E11 ES1-111M - LM18.2 KDE 64 ----Two ROMS don't make a WRITE
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vultureen
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by vultureen »

@BG405:

To install VICE on Linux Mint 19.1:

1) Use the software manager to install VICE (currently version 3.1)
2 )Download the source tarball http://vice-emu.sourceforge.net/index.html#download and extract it to any folder (= [folder] below)

Copy the ROM images from [folder] to application folder with a terminal command, single line:

Code: Select all

find /[folder]/vice-*/data \ -mindepth 1 -type d -exec sudo cp -rnv {} /usr/lib/vice/ \;
The mindepth command gave me an error, but in all it worked for me. Program links and symbols were created in the menu. Modified from original answer by Evan Carroll at https://askubuntu.com/questions/357331/ ... or-to-work

Good luck.
sjholland

Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by sjholland »

Hi,
& thanks y'all for reading and asking. I just wanted to state that my little brief expierence with computers and phones has been really amazing and especially with options like Linux Mint. I believe it's no accident that Linux Mint is #1. I only wish I would of picked up a computer earlier. Anyway I just wanted to thank everybody associated with Linux Mint and show some love. It's amazing that the best operating system on PC is available for no cost to the end-user. It is also amazing just how good Linux Mint is and is the reason I'm running it on everything I possibly can. thank u
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Inundated »

vultureen wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 2:15 pm @BG405:

To install VICE on Linux Mint 19.1:

1) Use the software manager to install VICE (currently version 3.1)
2 )Download the source tarball http://vice-emu.sourceforge.net/index.html#download and extract it to any folder (= [folder] below)

Copy the ROM images from [folder] to application folder with a terminal command, single line:

Code: Select all

find /[folder]/vice-*/data \ -mindepth 1 -type d -exec sudo cp -rnv {} /usr/lib/vice/ \;
The mindepth command gave me an error, but in all it worked for me. Program links and symbols were created in the menu. Modified from original answer by Evan Carroll at https://askubuntu.com/questions/357331/ ... or-to-work

Good luck.
Thanks for this information! I've tried installing VICE, but as a newbie, the whole tarball thing is incredibly intimidating :D
LAPTOP: HP - Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon via SSD with Windows 11 on hardware
DESKTOP: Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 SFF- Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon (on hold for now)
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by ravenmad »

First time Linux user and first post here :) After thinking about switching to Linux for years (and a prior failed attempt where it was "just all too hard"), I finally decided to give Linux another shot this weekend. What made me install Linux? A combination of things: MS announcement that support for Win7 ends this year (still the best version of Windows by a long shot, IMO), plus MS recently screwing up SMB shares in a recent update (I'm heavily networked), coupled with a desire to set up Home Assistant (being Linux-based, I assume it will run better natively in Linux rather than in Python on Windows) for home automation duties.

I have to say, the installation process was pleasantly straightforward (a far cry from how I remember my first foray into Linux years ago) and almost everything worked straight out of the box. Initially, my aging Creative Soundblaster Z card was providing no audio but I found a fix has recently been incorporated into kernel 4.19 so, a quick and painless kernel update later and I'm rocking sound perfectly. I'm finding all the usual programs I rely on either have a Linux version or a good alternative so that has also eased the pain of switching. Only two programs I love don't exist on Linux or have a comparable alternative - Directory Opus (the best file manager without question - Double Commander is good but doesn't touch DOpus!) and Comic Rack - again, a Windows application without peer on any platform.

Interestingly, I did a clean standalone install on a separate hard drive and did not select the side-by-side install. When I reconnected my Windows OS drive back into the mix and rebooted, Linux Mint recognised both OS and (I assume) automatically updated Grub to dual boot - wow! Very impressed. (still have one minor error in initramfs but I'm sure I'll get it sorted)

Networking was the thing I was worried about the most (despite Linux being pretty much the best at it) and I was initially stumped getting all my shares mounted (I haven't switched my MediaServer to Linux yet, still using Windows and SMB shares, SSH, etc) but, in the end, I cheated and used SMB4K which made setting it all up a breeze.

So far, very happy with how things are working out.
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vultureen
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by vultureen »

Inundated wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 10:51 am
Thanks for this information! I've tried installing VICE, but as a newbie, the whole tarball thing is incredibly intimidating :D
I'm glad it worked out for you. One thing that puzzled me for a while, was where to find the the screen (CRT) settings. In the Windows version, at least in the one I used to have, it's in the drop down menu, but here it's located in the application window itself - in the info bar at the bottom, next to the drive and tape indicators. I usually want to decrease the "Blur" setting and increase the "Scan-line shadowing", or what it is called in English. That way the picture looks almost perfect, and without those dark scan-lines.
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by CaptainKirksChair »

I wasn't really having any problems with Windows and have been a Windows user since the 1.0 version. Yeah. DOS based. And DOS 2.01 before that. There wasn't a pressing need to install something different but having worked IT at a large financial corporation that had to suffer the hell of Microsoft's Super Tuesday updates, I realized that Windows was getting less secure, not more. I guess that's all it was. I was tired of Microsoft updating their buggy and unsecure product when they said so. And If I didn't accept their time frame, they would force it on me. When I found Linux, I tried Ubuntu, Zorin, and then Mint. I've been with Mint since I installed 17.3 Cinnamon (up to 19.0 now) and it is my daily driver.

I do photo galleries, not heavy editing. I do music libraries and playlists, not MP3 file editing. Everything else: web browsing, on-line purchases, on-line banking, word processing...I don't need Windows for that. So I power on my Windows computer about once every other month to get "security" updates. Then once a year to do the whacky income tax thing. And if TurboTax releases a Linux version, I wouldn't power on my Windows computer at all. Or at least I would have a difficult time to determine why I should.
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Skalman »

Well Folks......have not read all pages, but I think there are more reasons. For me I never liked the M-soft. Started with VIC 20 computers and later the PC and the 5" black floppy discs. Learned the Novell network, used the Mozilla Netscpe and then the first Windows came. A grafic layout on top of the Dos 3.2
When the "real" windows came it was in my eyes not good. And after the XP I got enought of the M-soft policy. Debian and Redhat was little too much "handworking" even though I was uset to the "text" controll and typing.
After that the Ubuntu came. Too much childish but better than W7. Finaly when I discovered the Mint 17.3 I was sold. At home.

I use the computer to print sheet music I create and for that job I still need the XP machine and OP system. But lately I installed the Win-sandbox and can run my XP program from there. WhenI I got a good and cheep soundfonts from acustic instruments for the Linux I will give the Musescore a greate chanse and leave the win-sandbox.

The 19,1 Mate works even I have only 2 GB memory. Some small stops when changeing programs, not big problem.
Thank You Mint Theme!!!! :D
Scaleyback_65

Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Scaleyback_65 »

I've had to use windows since 3.1, and in all that time never really trusted it, it's always felt like I'm fighting the OS to get things done. Then there's all the malware and garbage out there, many programs trying to covertly install add-ons and other apps. Don't get me started on the malware that calls itself AV protection which interferes with so many things. Finally, I bought my current main machine with Win 7 installed on it, and made the fatal mistake of installing Win 10 on it when MS were offering free upgrades. What a terrible mistake that was, Win 10 is absolutely horrendous, it killed the performance of my laptop and made it completely unstable. I even had to switch the metered connection on to disable updates, but was nagged every day without fail, about updates being disabled. Then there's the data slurping and privacy issues, Microsoft is effectively now your SysAdmin, not for me thanks.

Fortunately I had tried Linux over a decade ago, playing with Mepis, but it wasn't ready for prime time, too many driver issues, so I dropped it, but I was "Linux aware". So I revisited Linux in desperation, I had already been down the Mac route and that wasn't so great either. What a pleasant surprise coming back to linux has been. I knew it had potential and it's now ready for prime-time. Initially I installed Manjaro XFCE, which I'm still using, and has been stable and truly excellent. However, I bought a dinky 6 year Lenovo i5 X240 for not a lot of money, as a back up, and thought I'd give Mint XFCE a try. It installed flawlessly and runs like a champ on that machine. I'm sticking with Manjaro on this machine, I love the whole rolling distro thing, and it's a cracking distro which runs like greased lightning. I'm also sticking with Mint on my Lenovo, it's a very polished distro and as it runs so well I'm going with the "If it ain't broke..." philosophy. I thinks it's also good to run separate distro's on different machines, it gives you options if one breaks or goes in a direction you don't like. I'm distro agnostic, whatever works for you is the best one, but I like stability and reliability, and both Manjaro and Mint seem great in that respect, so I'm sticking for now.

There's one thing I do know, I'm done with windows on my own hardware, Linux is so much better in so many ways I wouldn't know where to start on that one.
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Inundated »

I just bought a used computer, a Lenovo i5, that has Mint preinstalled. Though it's obviously not the "latest and greatest", it'll blow the doors off of this aging Dell that I am running Xfce on...
LAPTOP: HP - Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon via SSD with Windows 11 on hardware
DESKTOP: Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 SFF- Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon (on hold for now)
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Moem »

Skalman wrote: Tue Jan 22, 2019 3:48 pm Finaly when I discovered the Mint 17.3 I was sold. At home.
You and me, both!
Scaleyback_65 wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:43 am I bought a dinky 6 year Lenovo i5 X240 for not a lot of money, as a back up
Dinky? My daily driver is a X201. I wouldn't call that dinky. Instead, I'd use terms like 'rock solid'. It runs Cinnamon just fine.
Inundated wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:48 am I just bought a used computer, a Lenovo i5
Thinkpad? Join the club!
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Greencedar »

I first installed Linux Mint as I was tired of dealing with the serious issues of Windows. And, now I install Linux Mint as I feel that I have more control over my OS, files that I make, less problems with viruses, endless updates, and apps.
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by Inundated »

Moem wrote: Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:54 am Thinkpad? Join the club!
Nah, it's a ThinkCentre M83 desktop. Got it really cheap from a computer learning charity, and them already having Linux Mint on it pushed me over the buying line...

I'll figure out the laptop later.
LAPTOP: HP - Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon via SSD with Windows 11 on hardware
DESKTOP: Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 SFF- Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon (on hold for now)
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Re: Why did you decide to install Linux Mint??

Post by shmickcomputer »

Mint (19.1 Cinnamon) strikes me as currently the best Linux distro (from those that I've tried). Of course, this is very much a personal opinion. I also use Ubuntu Studio (current 18.10), because of the low latency kernel. I use Windows 7/10 for work (that's what my customers use - I do IT support). Don't much like MacOS, and Apple's approach in general (I know there are good sides to it... but still.)
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