What made you switch to Linux Mint?

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SwanRider

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by SwanRider »

For me it was being fed up with windows which I have not really liked since 95 to be honest every windows addition got more and more bloated and windows 10 is just a bully that enforces things on you and I don't want that. So I started looking around and was not sure because those I spoke to about Linux had a poor opinion of it and said how limited it was. However I kept looking and came across Mint and looked at some of the images for it so I thought I'd give it a try and so got the ISO and did a live addition test. It was only after a few moment of trying it and seeing that it was easy to connect my printer & to the net that I then went ahead and installed taking off windows completely and I have been using it ever since. I have no regrets at all and will continue to use it as for me it is simply the best there is
Ringel05

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Ringel05 »

In 2008 I decided I didn't like Win Vista and installed Ubuntu which was the only user friendly Linux distro I had heard about at the time. I continued to use Ubuntu until they introduced Unity which at the time looked like it had been designed by some kid on an Etch-a-Sketch at which time I switched to Mint for about a year before installing Win 7. Win 8 came out so I stuck with Win 7 hoping Microsoft would finally listen and thought they did to a certain extent with Win 10 it wasn't the end all be all for me. It didn't take long for me to realize Microsoft wanted to turn my PC into a dedicated Microsoft workstation and that was the final straw. Went back to Ubuntu with a now very polished Unity interface until I read that Canonical was ditching Unity. Spent two weeks exploring multiple Linux distros, liked the Gnome 3 interface but it has it's limitations so I kept looking until I finally came back to Mint Cinnamon but what made up my mind was the Cinnamenu applet that gives me a semi-Gnome 3 menu that I like with the configurability of the Cinnamon interface.
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JerryF
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by JerryF »

Windows 10 updates...that's what made me switch!
Aleron Ives
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Aleron Ives »

JerryF wrote:Windows 10 updates...that's what made me switch!
This is what pushed me over the edge, too. I've been burned before by Windows Update bricking the entire OS, so a prerequisite for me to use Windows at all is the ability to disable updates. Windows 10 won't let me do that, so I refuse to use it. The bundled spyware only solidified my choice to try Linux when I knew that my new laptop would come with Windows 10.
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Spearmint2
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Spearmint2 »

from page 8
MartyMint wrote:
Spearmint2 wrote:I just loaded a trial copy of Windows 10 into Virtual Box installed from the preview ISO to a vdi hard drive. While it's better than w8, sort of a stripped version of 7, fairly fast, the remains of Metro are there as tiles in an area sort of like Mint's "Favorites" area. The problem though is the huge amount of information they want to collect and even sign over your entire browsing history file to them. If anyone uses the Express Install, Microsoft will know everyone and every website and much more, on a regular basis. I made a screen capture of that particular page. If you read the link on that part about the Privacy settings, you find it's even more invasive than what's showing on that page.
It's technically a "beta". That's what this release is for...testing.
I don't have a problem with Microsoft or anyone else collecting application data in a testing release.

Now if they do this in a RTM or final release product...they need a cigarette and a blindfold.
:x
You bring the blindfold? I'll bring the smokes. Who we get to do the deed???
All things go better with Mint. Mint julep, mint jelly, mint gum, candy mints, pillow mints, peppermint, chocolate mints, spearmint,....
Mattyboy

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Mattyboy »

Originally I switched to Linux because Microsoft wouldn't honer the another re-install of a brought copy of Windows 7. I had no idea back then of, well, anything really, rang MS up to determine why it wouldn't re-active with my code... because you've installed to many times, why do you keep re-installing?...eh, because it slows down and crashes after about six months... anyway this, putting it politely, irritated me so I guess I stumbled into Linux as a fingers up to them. Distro hopped for a bit and started using ubuntu and settled on Mint.

Funny how the best thing in my computing life arose from one of the most annoying.

Corporate control and greed, let that be a lesson to you.

Damn I wish it had happened sooner.

I do still use Windows 10, for gaming.... but I've never paid for it once, even after building my own rigs...and I don't game that much these days.

The best thing that came out of Linux, for me, is that it lighted the touch paper in my interest actually learning computing properly and for that I'll always be thankful to Microsoft ;)
NChewie

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by NChewie »

Aleron Ives wrote: I've been burned before by Windows Update bricking the entire OS, so a prerequisite for me to use Windows at all is the ability to disable updates. Windows 10 won't let me do that, so I refuse to use it. The bundled spyware only solidified my choice to try Linux when I knew that my new laptop would come with Windows 10.
Even back in Win7, the update process got stuck in an endless loop for me every day, usually when I was trying to shut down the laptop to flee the office and commute home.
I got absolutely fed up with the "Do not unplug or power off" message. :roll:

The data protection issues in the licensing post Win7 got just too much for me to even consider keeping it on any new machine.
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Aleron Ives »

My experience with OS corruption taught me to avoid that problem by disabling Windows Update before I connect a new Windows install to the Internet for the first time, which prevents Windows from ever trying to obtain system-destroying updates. Windows 7 has consequently never nagged me about getting Windows 10, because I never installed any of Microsoft's update malware. :wink:
gomerpile

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by gomerpile »

This is what made me switch back too the other, small list there are more.
No stability, bugs, regressions, regressions and regressions: There's an incredible number of regressions (both in the kernel and in user space applications) when things which used to work break inexplicably; some of the regressions can even lead to data loss. Basically there is no quality control (QA/QC) nor regression testing in most Open Source projects (including the kernel) - Microsoft, for instance, reports that Windows 8 received 1,240,000,000 hours of testing whereas new kernel releases get, I guess, under 10,000 hours of testing - and every Linux kernel release is comparable to a new Windows version. Serious bugs which impede normal workflow can take years to be resolved. A lot of crucial hardware (e.g. GPUs, Wi-Fi cards) isn't properly supported. Both Linux 4.1.9/4.1.10, which are considered "stable" (moreover this kernel series is also LTS(!)), crash under any network load. confused??
◦Hardware issues: Under Linux many devices and device features are still poorly supported or not supported at all. Some hardware (e.g. Broadcom Wi-Fi adapters) cannot be used unless you already have a working Internet connection. New hardware often becomes supported months after introduction. Specialized software to manage devices like printers, scanners, cameras, webcams, audio players, smartphones, etc. almost always just doesn't exist - so you won't be able to fully control your new iPad and update firmware on your Galaxy SIII. Linux graphics support is a big bloody mess because kernel/X.org APIs/ABIs constantly change and NVIDIA/ATI/Broadcom/etc. companies don't want to allocate extra resources and waste their money just to keep up with an insane rate of changes in the Open Source software.
◦The lack of standardization, fragmentation, unwarranted & excessive variety, as well as no common direction or vision among different distros: Too many Linux distributions with incompatible and dissimilar configurations, packaging systems and incompatible libraries. Different distros employ totally different desktop environments, different graphical and console applications for configuring your computer settings. E.g. Debian-based distros oblige you to use the strictly text based `dpkg-reconfigure` utility for certain system-related maintenance tasks.
◦The lack of cooperation between open source developers, and internal wars: There's no central body to organize the development of different parts of the open source stack which often leads to a situation where one project introduces changes which break other projects (this problem is also reflected in "Unstable APIs/ABIs" below). Even though the Open Source movement lacks manpower, different Linux distros find enough resources to fork projects (Gentoo developers are going to develop a udev alternative; a discord in ffmpeg which led to the emergence of libav; a situation around OpenOffice/LibreOffice; a new X.org/Wayland alternative - Mir) and to use their own solutions.
◦A lot of rapid changes: Most Linux distros have very short upgrade/release cycles (as short as six months in some cases, or e.g. Arch which is a rolling distro, or Fedora which gets updated every six months), thus you are constantly bombarded with changes you don't expect or don't want. LTS (long term support) distros are in most cases unsuitable for the desktop user due to the policy of preserving application versions (and usually there's no officially approved way to install bleeding edge applications - please, don't remind me of PPAs and backports - these hacks are not officially supported, nor guaranteed to work). Another show-stopping problem for LTS distros is that LTS kernels often do not support new hardware.
◦Unstable APIs/ABIs & the lack of real compatibility: It's very difficult to use old open and closed source software in new distros (in many cases it becomes impossible due to changes in core Linux components like kernel, GCC or glibc). Almost non-existent backwards compatibility makes it incredibly difficult and costly to create closed source applications for Linux distros. Open Source software which doesn't have active developers or maintainers gets simply dropped if its dependencies cannot be satisfied because older libraries have become obsolete and they are no longer available. For this reason for instance a lot of KDE3/Qt3 applications are not available in modern Linux distros even though alternatives do not exist. Developing drivers out of the main Linux kernel tree is an excruciating and expensive chore. There's no WinSxS equivalent for Linux - thus there's no simple way to install conflicting libraries. In 2015 Debian dropped support for Linux Standard Base (LSB). Viva, incompatibility!
◦Software issues: Not that many games (mostly Indies) and few AAA games (Valve's efforts and collaboration with games developers have resulted in many recent games being released for Linux, however every year thousands of titles are still released for Windows exclusively*. More than 98% of existing and upcoming AAA titles are still unavailable in Linux). No familiar Windows software, no Microsoft Office (LibreOffice still has major troubles correctly opening Microsoft Office produced documents), no native CIFS (simple to configure and use, as well as password protected and encrypted network file sharing) equivalent, no Active Directory or its featurewise equivalent.
Retic1959

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Retic1959 »

I also keep a copy of W10 for gaming but I hate using it , The updates are slow and painful usually turning my system into a brick when I wanna game . MS seems to think they own my computer , not me . Linux Mint 18.2 KDE makes W10 look cartoonish in comparison as well . Now , booting into LM feels like a homecoming after a Windows session , it's a relief .
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JerryF
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by JerryF »

gomerpile wrote:This is what made me switch back too the other, small list there are more.
...
Sorry that you've had such a bad experience with Linux. :(
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Spearmint2
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Spearmint2 »

JerryF wrote:
gomerpile wrote:This is what made me switch back too the other, small list there are more.
...
Sorry that you've had such a bad experience with Linux. :(
sounds like he ran the gamut of distros with some expectation they would all be similar, not realizing that many are deliberately different.
All things go better with Mint. Mint julep, mint jelly, mint gum, candy mints, pillow mints, peppermint, chocolate mints, spearmint,....
Ringel05

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Ringel05 »

Spearmint2 wrote:
JerryF wrote:
gomerpile wrote:This is what made me switch back too the other, small list there are more.
...
Sorry that you've had such a bad experience with Linux. :(
sounds like he ran the gamut of distros with some expectation they would all be similar, not realizing that many are deliberately different.
It's not for everybody all the time, I bounced back and forth for years until Win 10 forced updates made up my mind for me though I still have Win 7 (regressed from Win 10) on my gaming machine. Not sure what I'll do there come 2020, might have to just give up quite a few games if Microsoft is still intent on turning everyone's PC into a Microsoft "workstation".
Some will bite the bullet and stay with Windows, so prefer the Microsoft approach, we'll see.
RodimusPrime81

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by RodimusPrime81 »

I upgraded to windows 10, and my laptop was only 4 GB of RAM and its been slow. I asked my self as a college student what can I do with my IT knowledge to save me money but help get my laptop running well for school without investing a bunch of money. I said what about Linux? hmmm, so I download Linux MInt18.2 and did a clean install and got rid of that nasty Microsoft stuff. LOL Windows is nice if you have a machine that can run it but I now have a dual boot Desktop and laptop running MINT. I love it also. It is a little to get used to and change your way of thinking. I love the terminal and the integration of terminal and use of it, I just need to learn it better.
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BG405
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by BG405 »

I came across Linux Mint whilst looking for a way to un-bork my Linx 7" tablet and after some messing with Rufus & adding the bootia32.efi file I finally got it to boot.

I liked what I saw.

Went downstairs and found the old Dell laptop I'd been given years ago and decided to give it a go. The screen didn't work so I hooked up a monitor. It had Windows Vista on it so I booted a live USB and selected "Erase disk and install Linux Mint". This became my daily driver straight away.

My Acer netbook had by this time spent about 6 months gathering dust since the Win7 installation had been borked by plugging a scanner in. I decided to leave the Win7 reinstallation until after the forced Win10 downgrade period and planned to dual-boot after that time but soon decided to forget about putting Windows back on that machine & installed Linux Mint KDE. That quickly became the machine I now take everywhere with me.

I also replaced the last remaining Win7 installation (on my Toshiba netbook) with LM Cinnamon, later to be replaced with Xfce.

As they say, the rest is history ... :mrgreen:
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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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by linux_rules »

I switched from Windows to Linux in 2007. Two reasons I didn't have the money for Windows and security which is far more robust under Linux.
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bartszu
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by bartszu »

But this is what they do they owe your computer M§, they think they do /°°)
No Linux is only option and its dev is accelerating so much, that longue durée I dont see M§ in this game.
I mean there is plenty of business to do doing consoles or keyboards, but this seems like all, they could do in 20 years time IMHO.

Retic1959 wrote:I also keep a copy of W10 for gaming but I hate using it , The updates are slow and painful usually turning my system into a brick when I wanna game . MS seems to think they own my computer , not me . Linux Mint 18.2 KDE makes W10 look cartoonish in comparison as well . Now , booting into LM feels like a homecoming after a Windows session , it's a relief .
CoffeeFiend

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by CoffeeFiend »

I haven't made a full switch as of yet. I still have my Windows 10 laptop which I use 99% of the time. I have recently downloaded ISO's and made bootable USB's for Mint, Ubuntu, and Debian. All three are good, but I actually prefer the Mint device most of all, followed by Ubuntu and then Debian. I also have Kali loaded in a VMware Virtual Machine on my laptop which I use for school (Master's of Science in Cybersecurity). I really love it, and when I decide to buy a new laptop I am definitely going to load Mint on it instead of using the USB.
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Spearmint2
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Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by Spearmint2 »

@CoffeeFiend

That's the same path most of us took, and after a few months switched to Linux entirely. A few months learning curve is all it really takes.
All things go better with Mint. Mint julep, mint jelly, mint gum, candy mints, pillow mints, peppermint, chocolate mints, spearmint,....
CoffeeFiend

Re: What made you switch to Linux Mint?

Post by CoffeeFiend »

Very true. I have found Mint to be extremely user-friendly and will have no issues setting up a laptop with Mint in the near future.
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