Linux Mint....luvly

[FrankCrank]

....yep, been running it on my 4 year old Lenovo Ideapad last few days - so far so good.

Windows 7 was creaking and groaning, so it was either reinstall the old familiar or try something new. Very impressed with how painless it was to install, and easy to get a custom fit to how I like.

Laptop running very smoothly, snappy and full of new life, and also running a lot cooler! - Windows must carry with it a lot of overhead. Should also offer more security, which is nice.

Anyways, for anyone sat on the fence with this one, it gets a big thumbs up from me

 

[LocalLad]

I only really use my work laptop, but last time I had my own, I tried a Linux distro (the name will come back to me shortly) and found it brilliant. I think the days of Linux being the reserve of geeks is long gone

 

[vernon]

I only really use my work laptop, but last time I had my own, I tried a Linux distro (the name will come back to me shortly) and found it brilliant. I think the days of Linux being the reserve of geeks is long gone

That's open to challenge. It all depends upon what you want to do. If you want to go 'off-piste' and do stuff that isn't installing and running Office Suites and standard-ish software applications, there's a lot of cryptic command line instructions that have to be used and the standards of some software documentation leave a lot to be desired.

Yes - 'vanilla' installations are painless. Linux still requires some geeking to get the best from it.

 

[midliferider]

I am running Ubuntu in one of mine.
What is the advantage of Mint over Ubuntu? Does it need less spec?

 

[LocalLad]

That's open to challenge. It all depends upon what you want to do. If you want to go 'off-piste' and do stuff that isn't installing and running Office Suites and standard-ish software applications, there's a lot of cryptic command line instructions that have to be used and the standards of some software documentation leave a lot to be desired.

Yes - 'vanilla' installations are painless. Linux still requires some geeking to get the best from it.

I'll give you that...you don't have to be a geek, but it helps.

 

[FrankCrank]

.....Mint has a reputation for being user friendly, especially for someone new to Linux. Looks similar to the old Windows XP, if you can remember that far back

Got another real old laptop, maybe 9 years old, somewhere under the stairs. Might dig that out and see if I can resurrect it with something Minty........

 

[mybike]

That's open to challenge. It all depends upon what you want to do. If you want to go 'off-piste' and do stuff that isn't installing and running Office Suites and standard-ish software applications, there's a lot of cryptic command line instructions that have to be used and the standards of some software documentation leave a lot to be desired.

Yes - 'vanilla' installations are painless. Linux still requires some geeking to get the best from it.

Actually if you want to do anything 'off-piste' with Windows it seems to require increasing amounts of esoteric knowledge. On the other hand I've found that there are easy tutorials for Linux freely available. Or perhaps Linux Mint is deceptively simple to just use.

 

[graham bowers]

I am running Ubuntu in one of mine.
What is the advantage of Mint over Ubuntu? Does it need less spec?

Mint is based on Ubuntu but a quick google reveals that mint is supposed to be "lighter". I used Ubuntu for several years but when the interface was changed to Unity I hated it so switched to the more conventional Mint, that I have now used for years.

 

[mjr]

Actually if you want to do anything 'off-piste' with Windows it seems to require increasing amounts of esoteric knowledge. On the other hand I've found that there are easy tutorials for Linux freely available. Or perhaps Linux Mint is deceptively simple to just use.

There's also a lot of us hanging out on cycling groups... sorry, Linux user groups... willing to try to help answering questions about how to do things... although that will often resort to command line commands because they're easier to email. But if you ask nicely, some of us will record screencasts.

 

[FrankCrank]

...thanks for the offer MJRay, if I get really stuck it's good to know help is at hand.

Must admit not a fan of those terminal commands, but that's the backbone of linux/unix I guess. I'm not a full blown geek - maybe one foot in that camp though.

Done many windows installs for the past few years, and see this as an extension really - all good fun eh..........

 

[accountantpete]

.Must admit not a fan of those terminal commands,

Most of the basic 'Terminal' work is slowly disappearing as more and more GUI is available (software is usually downloaded via Software Manager or by installing a PPA) and for most basic things that do need the terminal there is usually a web page or two where us non-geeks can copy and paste a few lines.

 

[mjr]

Never paste in lines without checking they're not likely to do something evil, though. GNU/Linux systems usually come with copious manuals and help files that you can check, plus people debunking bad advice.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

I've an old Toshiba laptop (7 years old) running acceptably on Windows 10..
doing some hobby work on it..
not whiz bang fast but it'll do..

 

[Jimmy Doug]

If you want to go 'off-piste' and do stuff that isn't installing and running Office Suites and standard-ish software applications, there's a lot of cryptic command line instructions that have to be used and the standards of some software documentation leave a lot to be desired.

Don't agree with this at all. I've been using Linux for ten years and have found it to be far from geeky, bearing in mind that I'm about the most ungeeky person you'd ever meet!
I love that I have a computer that never slows down and doesn't need an anti-virus. I'm no Linux fanboy - but that's the point: for me, it's far less trouble free than Windows and faster too. I'm not an evangelical geek trying to convert the world, but from a pragmatic standpoint Linux just wins. The only thing I regret is that there are still things that need Windows because Linux versions aren't available and Wine will only get you so far. Tomtom for example - impossible to update in Linux as the Tomtom software isn't available for it and it doesn't work in Wine.