Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

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all41
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Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by all41 »

As newcomers to Mint what is most difficult for you?
This forum will benefit from your replies. What would make Mint better?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by AZgl1800 »

For me,
a Utility built right into the Menu to allow me to change
  • Ruler Widths
    Make all of the Apps/Utilities come up with a nice appearance.
    Fix the Install app so it is easier for the Neophyte to understand
( yes, I understand that is inherited from Unbuntu, but darn it, it needs to upgraded )

LM20.3 Cinnamon has the most Unattractive stock appearance of any version of Mint that I have used since LM17.3 Cinnamon. Everything is just Flat, Flat, Flat with a very few ultra narrow thin lines depicting where the different areas are located. NEMO is my biggest complaint, as I use it at least 20k times a day. :wink:
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Hoser Rob
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Hoser Rob »

Bring back the KDE edition.

Put back levelled updates.

Between the 2 of those things, among others largely Ubuntu related, I'm going to be an ex Mint user pretty soon.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by AwesomeOpossum74 »

Why not combine Xfce, Mate and Cinnamon editions into a single ISO, and give the user the option to choose which DE they want during install?
Hoser Rob wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 10:26 amPut back levelled updates.
What are levelled updates? Do you mean rolling release?
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Schultz »

AwesomeOpossum74 wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 11:15 am What are levelled updates? Do you mean rolling release?
It was a rating system of (supposedly) how safe or unsafe each update in the update manager was, on a scale of 1 - 5, in previous versions of Mint. IMHO I think getting rid of it was a plus.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by 151tom »

You are entitled to a full refund for the amount paid. :lol:
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by majpooper »

Other than @Awesome I would like to hear from true Newcomers - no offense and not trying to start a war because I respect and enjoy the posts by many of the regular long time posters - but it would really be enlightening to hear from folks that have just started with Linux Mint.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by rene »

FWIW I vividly remember the password-fetish on a to be configured new install of Mint, 17 at the time, to have gotten me mere millimeters from kicking it off my system again without looking at anything else closely.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Hoser Rob »

Schultz wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 11:33 am
AwesomeOpossum74 wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 11:15 am What are levelled updates? Do you mean rolling release?
It was a rating system of (supposedly) how safe or unsafe each update in the update manager was, on a scale of 1 - 5, in previous versions of Mint. IMHO I think getting rid of it was a plus.
In everyday use it meant that you wouldn't need to do a Timeshift snapshot unless you has level 4 or 5 updates. Removing that was boneheaded.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Hoser Rob »

151tom wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 1:45 pm You are entitled to a full refund for the amount paid. :lol:
True. And it reminds me of another big issue for newcomers. They're generally used to Windows support sites, where they have a paid staff who are obligated to answer your question. There's even phone support sometimes. You only get that in Linux on enterprise distros in which you have to pay for a site license. And on non enterprise distros you get a forum like this, staffed by volunteers who are under no obligation at all to answer your questions.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Moem »

Hoser Rob wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 11:19 am In everyday use it meant that you wouldn't need to do a Timeshift snapshot unless you has level 4 or 5 updates. Removing that was boneheaded.
No, it was not. Too many users took it to mean that level 4 or 5 updates were unsafe and should not be applied. Personally, when I was new, I thought that those updates would over time become lower level updates as they were better tested and thus safer. The system was just too easily misunderstood.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Flemur »

I'm not new of course, but silly commands like "journalctl -b" rather then something meaningful like "show-boot-info" have to be off-putting.

I recall laughing at Unix (ksh?) commands when I switched from VMS. In fact I still laugh at many of them.
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by ivar »

^ looks like your links are broken - and now fixed :D
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by TowedJumper »

TBH, NOTHING. Being completely serious here.

I bought a laptop for a year long contract out of the US (in Qatar of all places) and I have to say I just got fed up with windows 10. The constant FCK'ery with poor updates really gets me wound up, especially when I have to support these things. So, keep that in mind when I backed up my files and blew away windows. I rely on this laptop for a lot of unofficial work things so its important to me.

I decided to blow away windows and put OpenSUSE on it. I've been a fan for a long time but never seriously used Linux for anything, even though I've messed around with it to the point of doing a Stage 2 on Gentoo back in the day. Being in Qatar however, the internet traffic is heavily monitored and after seeing warnings of "did you mean to log into x site from Russia?" I decided to use a VPN filtering software. The one I chose however doesn't support OpenSUSE with its Linux app, BUT, does support Linux Mint. Granted, I did get it working with OpenSUSE via the network manager vpn feature but the experience is a lot poorer than the native app. So, off goes OpenSUSE and on goes Mint 20.3. I have to say, Linux mint was always a good experience when installed, but this time it was 100% flawless.

Linux Mint 20.3 is polished, stable and just plain works. Its so far off the norm for me that I keep waiting for something to break and it just hasn't so far. Windows updates take hours to download and install, Mint does its own lightning fast and just the small things it needs to update, not all 800MB worth of download.

Its just been a joy and part of me wonders if all of Linux is like this now and what this Arch thing is about. I'll probably install it in a VM and kick the tires to check it out though.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Rusty Relic »

First, I am not a newcomer to Linux Mint, been using it since sometime after the release of 17.3. I like Mint except that I am not a geek and at nearly 80 years on this planet it's not easy to learn terminal protocol. I have spent considerable time trying to load a bit of software where the only option is to use the terminal. Could someone please suggest where to start a new topic so I might be able to get help.
Thanks
Solved with the generous help of majpooper before I got to start a new thread.
Last edited by Rusty Relic on Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Moem »

Rusty Relic wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 12:58 pm Could someone please suggest where to start a new topic so I might be able to get help.
It sounds like this would be a good fit: viewforum.php?f=47
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If your issue is solved, kindly indicate that by editing the first post in the topic, and adding [SOLVED] to the title. Thanks!
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by majpooper »

Rusty Relic wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 12:58 pm First, I am not a newcomer to Linux Mint, been using it since sometime after the release of 17.3. I like Mint except that I am not a geek and at nearly 80 years on this planet it's not easy to learn terminal protocol. I have spent considerable time trying to load a bit of software where the only option is to use the terminal. Could someone please suggest where to start a new topic so I might be able to get help.
Thanks
It would help if you were specific - exactly what software are you trying to install ?
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by jdm »

TowedJumper wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 12:53 pm
Linux Mint 20.3 is polished, stable and just plain works. Its so far off the norm for me that I keep waiting for something to break and it just hasn't so far. Windows updates take hours to download and install, Mint does its own lightning fast and just the small things it needs to update, not all 800MB worth of download.
I agree that Mint 20.3 is all of that but I do have issues with some new features that probably sneaked in since 18.3. Correct me if I am wrong.

1. Spent some considerable time putting up with the annoying thumbnails on the panel from open windows till I found out how to disable them.

2. The annoying scrolling sub menu in Caja when trying to right click and empty the bin, how can it be disabled?

3. The monotone icons in the panel that can't be replaced for something easy to identify.

4. Thumbnails for files now show a miniature version of the file, I find this confusing. I have solved this by setting thumbnails to generic but then you lose the picture thumbnail and have to settle for a generic picture thumbnail. It was fine the way it was, can this be restored to pre Mint 20?

There are others but I forget and have probably found a way around them.

I'll be perfectly honest I would go back to 18 if it wasn't EOL.

Yes all in all it is very accomplished but change for change sake when it doesn't actually solve anything frustrates me when bugs that still exist are ignored. I don't know if these changes are Ubuntu driven or Mint driven. I'm not really in a position to complain, I don't contribute I just use it but I am very grateful for an OS that works way better than Windows.
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by AZgl1800 »

I just completed a new install of MX21 under VB today.

What I complained about in my first post in this thread, MX has already fixed it.
The install has a Sidebar explaining what each step is for as you progress

Much more polished that MINT in that regard, plus it has Gparted already installed....
Minor? maybe, but it would make life easier for Newbies
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Re: Mint Newcomers!--what fries you the most?

Post by Rusty Relic »

Moem wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 2:47 pm
Rusty Relic wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 12:58 pm Could someone please suggest where to start a new topic so I might be able to get help.
It sounds like this would be a good fit: viewforum.php?f=47
Thanks Moem. I came to that conclusion after I posted.
majpooper; The software is Arduiino IDE.
Before I request help here I am going to see what kind of response I get from the Arduino forum. To me the install instructions are incomplete and not being a terminal user I don't know what's missing or being assumed by the instruction writer.
Thanks again.
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