The Minty Goodness of Linux Mint.

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Oh wow...Linux Mint. :)

I had it in a VM, but it was just another pretty bird in a cage for me. My main OS was Ubuntu 14.04 which is excellent, but the UI and the experience was somewhat awkward, and somewhat dated. Linux Mint changes all of that.

I know at least three of us are using Mint now, and as of last night I decided to make the main OS Mint and dump Ubuntu. BEST MOVE YET. :) Mint is so much more polished than Ubuntu 14.04, even though it is built on Ubuntu/Debian 14.04. This distro comes with all sorts of codecs for audio and video, and for me the biggest improvement was running Windows games. Specifically, Diablo III and Starcraft II. Those games played very well in Ubuntu, but not nearly as crispy and responsive as in Mint.

I have discovered the Themes option, and I think it's neat that you can download and install new ones so easily. Installing software was always free, but Mint makes it so easy to install from the Start Launcher (or uninstall any of them with a simple right click). You can even change the Mint start button icon to something else..

Lastly, all of the technical tools I use easily installed on Mint. I was able to install the games and Windows software I needed using Wine that comes with the distro.

For Windows users who are sick of the problems and the way Windows slows down and gets muddy over time, this is the Linux you want to try. The experience and the UI is so intuitive to a Windows user, the learning curve is like...15 minutes. You can actually do MORE things with Mint than Ubuntu with a minimum of clicks.

Spread the minty love! :smiley_joy:
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Oh wow...Linux Mint. :)

I had it in a VM, but it was just another pretty bird in a cage for me. My main OS was Ubuntu 14.04 which is excellent, but the UI and the experience was somewhat awkward, and somewhat dated. Linux Mint changes all of that.

I know at least three of us are using Mint now, and as of last night I decided to make the main OS Mint and dump Ubuntu. BEST MOVE YET. :) Mint is so much more polished than Ubuntu 14.04, even though it is built on Ubuntu/Debian 14.04. This distro comes with all sorts of codecs for audio and video, and for me the biggest improvement was running Windows games. Specifically, Diablo III and Starcraft II. Those games played very well in Ubuntu, but not nearly as crispy and responsive as in Mint.

I have discovered the Themes option, and I think it's neat that you can download and install new ones so easily. Installing software was always free, but Mint makes it so easy to install from the Start Launcher (or uninstall any of them with a simple right click). You can even change the Mint start button icon to something else..

Lastly, all of the technical tools I use easily installed on Mint. I was able to install the games and Windows software I needed using Wine that comes with the distro.

For Windows users who are sick of the problems and the way Windows slows down and gets muddy over time, this is the Linux you want to try. The experience and the UI is so intuitive to a Windows user, the learning curve is like...15 minutes. You can actually do MORE things with Mint than Ubuntu with a minimum of clicks.

Spread the minty love! :smiley_joy:
The 2012 ubuntu reminded me of using OSX and let's just say I don't like OSX that much and I hated my experience with unbuntu 2012. That OS was awful. It was buggy, it was slow, clunky and things didn't run that well. That's why I have avoided ubuntu entirely, but I like mint though.
I can't see a reason to go back to windows just yet other than gaming. Though wine doesn't run as smoothly, and certain apps that require .net framework, don't work either. However, overall, it's a great OS.



You won't get these types of conference for windows/apple though. They tackle problems with the OS and it's free, FREE! All thanks to the lovely passionate coders out there. I would really like to see more support for this OS though. I can already see why it's more secure than windows though and honestly it outshines windows in a lot of aspects. I love it how the skype of linux has no ads. LMAO! There is a lot less garbage running in the background which means this OS can run on older hardware and you aren't forced to upgrade to a new computer. This OS adds years to your computer and Chromium doesn't lock up like it does in windows. Libre office has also come a long way since I last used it.


If you have an old crippled PC that you want to continue to use but don't have the money to buy a new computer, load this OS on honestly. If you just use it to check emails/internet forums, and don't like to give microsoft 200 dollars every 3 years for a brand new OS, get this. It's legal and free.

Though installing stuff if you don't know what you are doing can be very tricky. Especially when it comes down to using terminal :P. I had fun using terminal though. It's a learning curve,but I like learning a new OS.
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
The 2012 ubuntu reminded me of using OSX and let's just say I don't like OSX that much and I hated my experience with unbuntu 2012. That OS was awful. It was buggy, it was slow, clunky and things didn't run that well. That's why I have avoided ubuntu entirely, but I like mint though.
I can't see a reason to go back to windows just yet other than gaming. Though wine doesn't run as smoothly, and certain apps that require .net framework, don't work either. However, overall, it's a great OS.



You won't get these types of conference for windows/apple though. They tackle problems with the OS and it's free, FREE! All thanks to the lovely passionate coders out there. I would really like to see more support for this OS though. I can already see why it's more secure than windows though and honestly it outshines windows in a lot of aspects. I love it how the skype of linux has no ads. LMAO! There is a lot less garbage running in the background which means this OS can run on older hardware and you aren't forced to upgrade to a new computer. This OS adds years to your computer and Chromium doesn't lock up like it does in windows. Libre office has also come a long way since I last used it.


If you have an old crippled PC that you want to continue to use but don't have the money to buy a new computer, load this OS on honestly. If you just use it to check emails/internet forums, and don't like to give microsoft 200 dollars every 3 years for a brand new OS, get this. It's legal and free.

Though installing stuff if you don't know what you are doing can be very tricky. Especially when it comes down to using terminal :P. I had fun using terminal though. It's a learning curve,but I like learning a new OS.

To address the .NET framework issues, just go into Wine Configuration > Install Components > install .NET. :) You can even download the redistributable and install it with Wine. I did it that way. But to solve it easily, just install Windows in KVM and have actual Windows available to you in Mint. You can turn on Desktop Integration and use those Windows apps in Windows but access them whilst in your Mint session. I use VMware Workstation for that. I was always an Ubuntu fanboy until Mint came along. My learning curve is finding out that many of the things I routinely had to add to Ubuntu are already installed in Mint out of the box. :) Im using the Metro theme (dont worry, it does not look like Windows 8 Metro :)) The interface I am using now feels and acts so much like Windows 7, I just forget that Im using Linux. My games are running flawlessly and some of the Windows programs that would not run in Ubuntu are running well in Mint (???). My games especially....

Click to enlarge:

Screenshot from 2014-08-24 15:53:40.png

NOTE: Tweaks made:

  • Using Metro theme. Search Themes > Get More Online > Metro
  • Adjusted bottom launcher to 50% size. Preferences > Panel > Panel size slider on bottom to halfway.
  • Drag new launchers from search menu in Start Pane, then you can place them where you want on the bottom launcher.
  • Using Wave background (comes with Mint)
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member

That video is showing Ubuntu with Unity which I used to use exclusively when running Linux, but Mint has changed that for me. I am now a Mint fanboy (but I still love you Ubuntu!). These are the commands (in a terminal)

Add the repository:

Code:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ehoover/compholio

Update Aptitude:

Code:
sudo apt-get update

Install Netflix Desktop

Code:
sudo apt-get install netflix-desktop

That's it!
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
FACTOID: Linux Mint is the 4th most used operating system in the world!

#1 - Windows
#2 - Apple Mac OS
#3 - Ubuntu (Debian)
#4 - Linux Mint (Ubuntu/Debian)

That means that it beats out Chrome, CentOS and all the other Linux distros except Ubuntu. Mint uses less RAM than Ubuntu and has a lower CPU overhead. The office Im working at is a Linux shop, but the majority of the Devs were running either CentOS with desktop or Fedora/Suse. We have a couple of Gentoo and Xubuntu users, but this week at least 2/3 of the office has switched to Mint. WOW. We can choose what we want on our computers. Windows gets no love here at all, and nobody has it running as their primary OS. But all company issued laptops (including mine) is running Windows 7. Good thing is that they only get used for email and corporate chats/teleconferencing.

 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
FACTOID: Linux Mint is the 4th most used operating system in the world!

#1 - Windows
#2 - Apple Mac OS
#3 - Ubuntu (Debian)
#4 - Linux Mint (Ubuntu/Debian)

That means that it beats out Chrome, CentOS and all the other Linux distros except Ubuntu. Mint uses less RAM than Ubuntu and has a lower CPU overhead. The office Im working at is a Linux shop, but the majority of the Devs were running either CentOS with desktop or Fedora/Suse. We have a couple of Gentoo and Xubuntu users, but this week at least 2/3 of the office has switched to Mint. WOW. We can choose what we want on our computers. Windows gets no love here at all, and nobody has it running as their primary OS. But all company issued laptops (including mine) is running Windows 7. Good thing is that they only get used for email and corporate chats/teleconferencing.

Yes, it's a good thing the work product and emails or on your least secure OS.
Shoot your bosses, NOW.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Yes, it's a good thing the work product and emails or on your least secure OS.
Shoot your bosses, NOW.

Not a small company. It is a global company based in Europe and does billions annually. :( My bosses are so far above me I have never met them face to face...they are in a different country. The global IT team handles those laptops, and they secure them pretty well. Also, the connections are secure as well as the hard drives encrypted. I think they did a good job, and still there is no network infrastructure competing with Active Directory (Microsoft). Linux networks are crude when it comes to ease of use.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Okay I am having trouble.Libre office doesn't do spell checks...

Yes, it does. :) Open Libre Writer, then go to Tools > Updates and there should be an update waiting for you (update all anyway). When you apply it, spell check will work fine. :). Find the button in the toolbar with the Ab and a checkmark beneath it.

Selection_017.png
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Okay I am having trouble.Libre office doesn't do spell checks...

Just a hint...I have not yet found anything that can be done in Word or other office programs that I have not found in LibreOffice, just that things are done in a different fashion. Takes some getting used to but most everything is there.

Recommended tweaks to LibreOffice Writer:

1. View > Toolbars > Drawing (puts Auto-shapes toolbar at bottom of documents like in Word)

2. Tools > Options > Load/Save > AutoRecovery change to 5 min from 15 min > Check box next to Automatically save document too > At bottom, change Always save as to Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP/2003 (not template)

3. Install tts-mscorefonts-installer (in Software center). This will allow you to install all TrueType (Microsoft) fonts in Libre Office.

Hope this helps. :)
 
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heisenberg

Earl Grey
Yes, it does. :) Open Libre Writer, then go to Tools > Updates and there should be an update waiting for you (update all anyway). When you apply it, spell check will work fine. :). Find the button in the toolbar with the Ab and a checkmark beneath it.

View attachment 30273
I know that, but when I type in rubbish like "jseroeroeworwe", spell check doesn't see that as an error. I have doubled checked to see if spell check is on and it is.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
More minty tweaks...

Want yourself a nice Mint Start button? Easy as pie.

Selection_001.png


Steps:

Right click the Mint start button and select Configure. Click the button to the right of the current selection:

Selection_003.png


Choose your image (I have provided the same one used in this example below :)). In the Text box, blank it out unless you want a word to appear to the right of the button. I blanked mine.

Selection_002.png


That's it. Here is the image for the button. Right click it and save it to your pictures folder. Select it when you browse for the image in the Configure step.

linux-mint-logo-button.png
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I know that, but when I type in rubbish like "jseroeroeworwe", spell check doesn't see that as an error. I have doubled checked to see if spell check is on and it is.

Do you also have the highlight spelling button on? Mine is working:

Selection_004.png


Word has the exact same behavior. I just verified it.
 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
Neither of you do, but if that's what you accidently type, there is a problem SOMEWHERE :D
 

Tripler

Well Known GateFan
Downloading Mint now . I was never able to install Ubutan . Lets see if I can get mint to work ! Installing it to a removable SSD

:) :) :)
 
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