Why do newcomers stay with Mint?

[all41]

The other side of the coin has been discussed--
so in all fairness the other newcomers should come forward in a discussion of why they chose to stay with Mint,
and did not go running back to anything.

[lsemmens]

Because the newcomers get asked to fix Windwoes machines and realise that they've made the right call!

F'rinstance : I've just spent 4 days trying to convince Windwoes 10 that sound can work undistorted on the laptop I was repairing. Yes, I finally did solve it. And I hope that Windows doesn't "upgrade" the drivers again in their next round of updates. I took 4 re-loads and heaps of patience before I could convince it to accept the "downgraded" drivers. Have a search for Distortion on Windows 10

[BigEasy]

I've just spent 2 days trying to set up simple file sharing between 2 home Linux Mint computers.Yes, I konw, smb.conf is very easy. When you edit it every day and don't forgot what to do when distro have no gksudo.

[HowboutAudio]

I'm staying with Mint because I really like the help I can get via these forums. People that reply to my, and other's problems give really great answers. There are a lot of people that have amazing knowledge about computers here. Having a problem with windows generally means going through a series of steps that might work but I never get the feeling I'm learning something. Whereas when I fix something via the terminal I get the feeling of accomplishment. I dig that

[Eugene D]

My first computer was a Commodore VIC-20 around 1981. and then Commodore C64.
Mainly writing programs in Basic, Then moved to IBM PC and compatibles.
I had a 20 MB Hard drive and I purchaced DOS 3.2.
Then purchaced a 100 MB harddrive, Now the first problem wih Microsoft. With Dos 3.2 the largest particion you can make is 30MB. Now to use the whole 100mb you need DOS 5.
I have a computer case with a defective on switch. Every time you change the computer case, you need a new OS if you stay legal with Microsoft.
I have tried different Linux versions over the last 15 years Redhat, SUSI, and others. To me the ease of install and setup, I like the menu and desktop options.

[majpooper]

I've just spent 2 days trying to set up simple file sharing between 2 home Linux Mint computers.Yes, I konw, smb.conf is very easy. When you edit it every day and don't forgot what to do when distro have no gksudo.

Got GKSU working on 19 a while ago because I like Leafpad and MUST be able to gksudo leafpad in the terminal - that is the way I edit files and no other way is acceptable to me - when people tell me how to do it some other way I start singing lalalalalala while placing my hands over my ears.

Here is how I did it and it works fine with no issues on one of my rigs that is running 19.1 - got the tip from Flemur - but see the disclaimer at the end of the post

Flemur wrote: ⤴
05 Oct 2018, 17:08

majpooper wrote: ⤴
05 Oct 2018, 15:53
Anyone having this same issue? And is there any way to correct this or even better is there away to get gksudo back?

This worked for me when I was briefly running Mint 19:
https://pkgs.org/download/gksu

THX much - had to download a few dependencies first but in the end got want I wanted - I can use the editor of my choice (leafpad) the way I want.

EDIT: Be advised that I used packages that were based on Debian 9 Stretch because neither Debian 10 nor Ubuntu 18.04 were available.
So I guess I would guess some would advise against this "non-kosher" approach.

[cliffcoggin]

Having changed from Windows 7 a year and a half ago because of its imminent demise, I find Mint does nearly everything I want it do and does not do what I don't want, so I have no incentive to change. Change interferes with work, which is what the computer exists for, so I plan to stay on Mint 18.3 until it no longer works for me.

[bob466]

I believe it's because Mint is very user friendly and has a great Forum if a Newbie needs help. not to mention features and tools that other Distros just don't have.

[Moem]

Personally I'm staying with Mint because it suits my needs. I have installed other distros just to take a look and try them out (usually on spare / old machines) and none of them seem like they would be better suitable for me than Mint is. Some feel like a decent enough and usable alternative, but that's not enough of an incentive to pull up my tent stakes and move.

[catweazel]

I've just spent 2 days trying to set up simple file sharing between 2 home Linux Mint computers.Yes, I konw, smb.conf is very easy. When you edit it every day and don't forgot what to do when distro have no gksudo.

Have you considered nfs?

[afineman]

All

I've been using LM for a while now (5 years in Sept) and it does just about everything I need, I have called Linux Mint "The lazy mans OS" in the past because it simply works right out of the box.

I came here after a 4 months stint with Ubuntu and haven't left (I went to Ubuntu when XP was killed), I can sit with a fresh hard drive and a USB stick and be done loading and configuring everything in 2 hours.

Having said that I admit I just (2 weeks ago) built a Windows 10 system, I write PLC and Touch screen code at home sometimes for work and with windows 7 going away I built a new system. WELL let me tell you, I forgot how long it takes to load windows, I built the system in 45 minutes and went to bed with Windows still updating. I am amazed with all the crap that comes with windows 10 and when your done loading it you then have now load all your programs/drivers/etc what a pain.
Luckily, I only had to load the touch screen editor and the PLC editor so it wasn't too much, it still took 2 night of work on my part before I was done.

Well thast's why I stick around

AFM

[lexon]

I use Windows and Mint.
W10 on a fairly new laptop and Mint on an older laptop.
I need W10 for iPhone and iPad music.
I tried dual boot using a link I found here but the steps where different and could not do it. Not looking for help. I don't want to spend hours, maybe days with the PC down if a mistake.
I will dual boot my way. lol

I use to dual boot at one time before Windows messed with PC's. I did triple boot a few times with different distro's.
I have been using Linux since 2003 but do not like command line.

L

[Telyx]

I have used Linux Mint Cinnamon, MATE, and XFCE on various computers at home since Windows Vista was EOL'd. It does everything I need to do and is incredibly easy to set up compared to any version of Windows I've had the misfortune of having to (re)install. I can also copy my browser bookmarks, settings, etc. to a new install by just copying one folder over (same with emails & email settings).
Here's an example. Last year, I decided to reinstall Windows Vista to my ancient Toshiba laptop that was running LM 17.1 Cinnamon. I still had the install CD, so I wiped the hard drive and got started. It took over 4 hours to install not just Windows but all the Toshiba bundled gobbledygook--it would install components, reboot, install more stuff, reboot, etc. Only after all that could I install my tax software, which was the only reason I put myself through that ordeal.
A couple of months ago, I put a SSD in my newer laptop and installed Mint 18 MATE, then restored all of my data & files from the hard drive I'd removed. That took maybe 20 minutes from beginning to "it's all there and working."
My desktop has a 2TB internal hard drive and came with Win10 installed. I installed Mint 18 MATE as dual-boot, leaving Windows in a 500gb partition, and have booted to Windows maybe twice just to poke around and see how it works--but can't see any compelling reason to actually use it.

[Greencedar]

Windows Mint, and, or, Ubuntu, are fine systems with a a lot of suitable applications.

I use the Chinese writing system gcin and it works just as fine as the Windows 10 Chinese writing system.

LibreOffice, LibreOffice Impress, Calc, Draw, are all fine applications.

Rhythmbox is just with me as with the other FREE applications.

[BG405]

In my case I was looking for a way to get a Windows 8.1 tablet working & came across Mint whilst investigating ways of restoring the "Recovery" partition I'd deleted to make some room. I really liked what I saw & installed it onto an abandoned Dell scraptop (gleefully selecting "Erase disk and install Linux Mint" to blow Blister away); not long after that it had made its way onto several & I soon abandoned my original plan of reinstalling Win7 Ultimate on my Acer netbook.

Although I do use other distros as well, I've no plans of abandoning the Mint ecosystem.

[Starkman]

I come from a Windows background, so Mint-Mate is good for me: straight forward, simple, to the point. I don't like fancy this, that and the other (i.e., colors, style, themes, complexity, etc.). Mint's just what it is and is what I like.

[catweazel]

when people tell me how to do it some other way I start singing lalalalalala while placing my hands over my ears.

It'll be much easier for you when you get to my age.

<pulls out hearing aids>

[lsemmens]

It'll be much easier for you when you get to my age.

<pulls out hearing aids>

Egggsaccerly (I just reach up and turn them off.):D

[redx87]

The other side of the coin has been discussed--
so in all fairness the other newcomers should come forward in a discussion of why they chose to stay with Mint,
and did not go running back to anything.

Back in the days of Win XP I installed Ubuntu as a dual boot and it was my introduction to Linux. I enjoyed using the Terminal and learned a hell of lot about it. Then we upgraded to Windows 7 and I didn't get back to re-installing Ubuntu so over the next decade or so I forgot much of my acquired Linux knowledge.

Now that Windows 7 is becoming obsolete I don't want Windows 10 because I refuse to pay out money for an o/s I don't like. I hope to be able to switch to Linux permanently, and it looks like Linux Mint will allow me to do that. In my opinion Mint is great, I love it. It's so easy to install and very user friendly.

I tried several other distros including Ubuntu again but didn't like them because of the way they looked and the trouble I had getting some of my hardware recognised. I hate the way a lot of OS's now are cluttered up with app shortcuts and try to make your pc look more like a mobile phone. I love the way Mint's Cinnanmon desktop looks and performs. It's neat and tidy. Mint also has this great forum to rely on when I need advice, and it just does everything I want it to do. So I'm staying with Linux Mint.

[all41]

Well stated.

Enjoy