Trying out Mint 18

[Ringel05]

On my Linux machine, Cinnamon version. Very impressed, easy to install, not too slow on an older (not old) machine and very easy to use (slight learning curve for those unfamiliar with Linux operating systems).



I've also noticed that both free and paid games written for Linux have virtually exploded (mostly thanks to Steam).

Linux Gaming Is Exploding on Steam | Linux Journal

35 great PC games for Linux and Steam Machines

Even DICE is looking to enter the Linux market now.

For you non gamers, casual users this could be a valid possibility Windows replacement for those not interested in moving to Windows 10.

 

[Iceweasel]

I have it on a partition with Cinnamon as well but on this drive (ssd) I am on Kubuntu. Mint is very advanced and runs solid as a rock. I might go back to it for main use, I'm waiting to see which one has full support for a Huion tablet though.

 

[Montrovant]

I downloaded Mint 18 and put it on a usb drive, but that's because I was having problems with 17.3. Now that my problems seem to be resolved, I'll probably just stick with my current version for now.

There are some games ported to Linux, but the majority still are not. For most gamers I think Windows is still the only option. I'm not sure how well the casual PC user would do running a Linux distro, either. I suppose it depends on what they do with it.

 

[Ringel05]

I downloaded Mint 18 and put it on a usb drive, but that's because I was having problems with 17.3. Now that my problems seem to be resolved, I'll probably just stick with my current version for now.

There are some games ported to Linux, but the majority still are not. For most gamers I think Windows is still the only option. I'm not sure how well the casual PC user would do running a Linux distro, either. I suppose it depends on what they do with it.

Windows is still the primary gaming platform but that is changing more rapidly than I thought it would.

 

[Montrovant]

I downloaded Mint 18 and put it on a usb drive, but that's because I was having problems with 17.3. Now that my problems seem to be resolved, I'll probably just stick with my current version for now.

There are some games ported to Linux, but the majority still are not. For most gamers I think Windows is still the only option. I'm not sure how well the casual PC user would do running a Linux distro, either. I suppose it depends on what they do with it.

Windows is still the primary gaming platform but that is changing more rapidly than I thought it would.

One of the problems I've found is the haphazard nature of which games get Linux builds. Yeah, I can play Borderlands 2, but not Borderlands 1. I played Dead Island on Linux, but the sequel isn't available. I have Left 4 Dead 2, but Left 4 Dead isn't on Linux. Payday 2 is on Linux, but not the original Payday. Those are just the games I own and currently have a version loaded on my Linux boot. It's annoying to have to switch OS's to play sequels to the same game.

 

[Ringel05]

I downloaded Mint 18 and put it on a usb drive, but that's because I was having problems with 17.3. Now that my problems seem to be resolved, I'll probably just stick with my current version for now.

There are some games ported to Linux, but the majority still are not. For most gamers I think Windows is still the only option. I'm not sure how well the casual PC user would do running a Linux distro, either. I suppose it depends on what they do with it.

Windows is still the primary gaming platform but that is changing more rapidly than I thought it would.

One of the problems I've found is the haphazard nature of which games get Linux builds. Yeah, I can play Borderlands 2, but not Borderlands 1. I played Dead Island on Linux, but the sequel isn't available. I have Left 4 Dead 2, but Left 4 Dead isn't on Linux. Payday 2 is on Linux, but not the original Payday. Those are just the games I own and currently have a version loaded on my Linux boot. It's annoying to have to switch OS's to play sequels to the same game.

Yeah, I've noticed that, there's a couple I have where i can play the sequel but not the original. Initially they're going to release what they're working on at the time (for Linux) as it costs money to go back and rewrite the originals, that might come later down the road.
Part of what's still holding Linux back are the purists who some claim make up the largest bloc of Linux users, they're the no proprietary anything crowd, they believe everything about Linux should be open source. Well in my mind they have their distros and we have ours.

 

[Ringel05]

Some of the Desklets and Applets are buggy but that's to be expected as they're eventually modified to work with the newest release.

 

[AnCap'n_Murica]

I have an older version of Ubuntu on my current machine. Even though it's still working well for me, I have looked at going to Mint on my next laptop.

Sell me on it.

 

[Ringel05]

I have an older version of Ubuntu on my current machine. Even though it's still working well for me, I have looked at going to Mint on my next laptop.

Sell me on it.

I sell no one on anything, you try it and like it, great, you try it and don't like it, great. I've used Ubuntu Unity recently, I like it but it did have some problems I don't have with Mint 18. With Ubuntu I would have to reboot every time my laptop went into sleep mode and I had to install additional code via Terminal to get Steam to work, neither issue with Mint 18, not saying that would happen with everone. Mint is built off of Ubuntu and like any OS preference it's a personal choice.



If you like the old (pre-Unity) Ubuntu you can install Ubuntu MATE instead of Unity.



Like I said, pick the one you like and run with it.

 

[Montrovant]

Here's a recurring problem I have with Mint : connecting to my Windows PC. I will go long stretches where everything works fine; I can connect to the Windows PC through Mint and transfer files as I wish. Then something changes and suddenly, I can't connect anymore. It starts asking for a password to connect to the Windows PC despite that PC not having any password that I'm aware of. I can still access the Mint PC from Windows, so I can transfer things that way, but it's very annoying, particularly since I don't know what exactly may have changed to cause the issue. It's happened before and I don't remember if I did something to fix it or if it resolved itself as mysteriously as it started.

 

[Ringel05]

Here's a recurring problem I have with Mint : connecting to my Windows PC. I will go long stretches where everything works fine; I can connect to the Windows PC through Mint and transfer files as I wish. Then something changes and suddenly, I can't connect anymore. It starts asking for a password to connect to the Windows PC despite that PC not having any password that I'm aware of. I can still access the Mint PC from Windows, so I can transfer things that way, but it's very annoying, particularly since I don't know what exactly may have changed to cause the issue. It's happened before and I don't remember if I did something to fix it or if it resolved itself as mysteriously as it started.

Are you referring to transferring files via your home network? If so you had to set up a password (security key) or one was automatically generated for you when the home network was first configured, you can find it in Home Networking.
Besides, what anti-virus are you using? Norton, etc have to be authorized to open their firewalls.
Problems with Windows Vista Home Network...Asking for password

 

[Montrovant]

Here's a recurring problem I have with Mint : connecting to my Windows PC. I will go long stretches where everything works fine; I can connect to the Windows PC through Mint and transfer files as I wish. Then something changes and suddenly, I can't connect anymore. It starts asking for a password to connect to the Windows PC despite that PC not having any password that I'm aware of. I can still access the Mint PC from Windows, so I can transfer things that way, but it's very annoying, particularly since I don't know what exactly may have changed to cause the issue. It's happened before and I don't remember if I did something to fix it or if it resolved itself as mysteriously as it started.

Are you referring to transferring files via your home network? If so you had to set up a password (security key) or one was automatically generated for you when the home network was first configured, you can find it in Home Networking.
Besides, what anti-virus are you using? Norton, etc have to be authorized to open their firewalls.
Problems with Windows Vista Home Network...Asking for password

I use AVG.

Like I said, I've had Mint connect to my Vista PC for long stretches with no trouble, but once in a while, it changes on me. For a long time I had connected with no issues, then it started asking for my Mint password every time I connect because the key ring (whatever the hell that is) needed it. Now, it won't connect and wants a Vista password. I turned off password sharing in Vista and that didn't help.....but I didn't restart the Vista PC, so maybe that's what I need to do. I'll try that later, I'm on my Win7 boot right now.

 

[Ringel05]

Here's a recurring problem I have with Mint : connecting to my Windows PC. I will go long stretches where everything works fine; I can connect to the Windows PC through Mint and transfer files as I wish. Then something changes and suddenly, I can't connect anymore. It starts asking for a password to connect to the Windows PC despite that PC not having any password that I'm aware of. I can still access the Mint PC from Windows, so I can transfer things that way, but it's very annoying, particularly since I don't know what exactly may have changed to cause the issue. It's happened before and I don't remember if I did something to fix it or if it resolved itself as mysteriously as it started.

Are you referring to transferring files via your home network? If so you had to set up a password (security key) or one was automatically generated for you when the home network was first configured, you can find it in Home Networking.
Besides, what anti-virus are you using? Norton, etc have to be authorized to open their firewalls.
Problems with Windows Vista Home Network...Asking for password

I use AVG.

Like I said, I've had Mint connect to my Vista PC for long stretches with no trouble, but once in a while, it changes on me. For a long time I had connected with no issues, then it started asking for my Mint password every time I connect because the key ring (whatever the hell that is) needed it. Now, it won't connect and wants a Vista password. I turned off password sharing in Vista and that didn't help.....but I didn't restart the Vista PC, so maybe that's what I need to do. I'll try that later, I'm on my Win7 boot right now.

1. Open Applications --> Accessories -->Password and Encryption Keys
2. Right-click on the "login" keyring
3. Select "Change Password"
4. Enter your old password and leave the new password blank
5. Press ok, read the security warning, think about it and if you still want to get rid of the Unlock Login Keyring dialog, choose "use unsafe storage"

 

[Ringel05]

Okay, since there are "new" releases decided to try Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, surprisingly I prefer the Unity interface. Okay, it uses more resources so it's slightly slower than Mint 18 but not really by much and took a little longer to install and boot up, again not by much. Draw backs are mostly limited configurability as compared to other distros and windows control buttons being positioned on the left without the ability (yet) to move them to the right. Inorder to have the limited configurability is to install Unity Tweak Tool (in the Software Center). Everything that is default works right out of the box and uninstalling/installing apps is a breeze. Web suggestions is no longer activated in Dash by default, a major plus but the Software Center is still a little laggy, thankfully App Grid is a fast and stable replacement.
Why do I prefer Ubuntu Unity over the others? Frankly it's the Launcher, I like the convenience of it.

 

[Bleipriester]

I heard the regime finally allowed to relocate the unity bar

 

[Ringel05]

I heard the regime finally allowed to relocate the unity bar

I heard the Putin regime finally decided to put a Mcdonalds in your office.

 

[Bleipriester]

I heard the regime finally allowed to relocate the unity bar

I heard the Putin regime finally decided to put a Mcdonalds in your office.

According to Shuttleworth, Ubuntu is not democracy...

 

[Ringel05]

I heard the regime finally allowed to relocate the unity bar

I heard the Putin regime finally decided to put a Mcdonalds in your office.

According to Shuttleworth, Ubuntu is not democracy...

And.......?

 

[Bleipriester]

And now the regime backed down and allowed to relocate the Unity bar

 

[Bleipriester]

Muahaha, Ubuntu seems to be big bad spyware:


"For the following reasons don't install or recommend Ubuntu.

1. Development of Ubuntu is led by Canonical, Ltd. a UK-based "trading" company which generates revenue through the sale of "technical support" and "services."

2. By installing users agree to allow Ubuntu's parent company Canonical to collect user search data and IP addresses and to disclose this information to third parties including Facebook, Twitter, BBC and Amazon.

3. The adwares and spywares introduced in Ubuntu violates user's privacy and is one of the rare occasions in which a free software developer persists in keeping a malicious feature in its version of a program.

4. Whenever user searches the local files for a string using Ubuntu desktop, Ubuntu sends that string to one of Canonical's servers.

5. Ubuntu has received widespread objection from the open source community for violating free system distribution guidelines.

6. Canonical disgruntled upstream open source developers by introducing Mir, their own display server not derived from X11 or Wayland.

7. Ubuntu's policy prohibits commercial redistribution of exact copies of Ubuntu, denying the baseline freedom.

8. Ubuntu is basically Debian with extra "cool" look and is not binary compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS which are used for most scientific development."

Do not use Ubuntu !!!