TECH Linux Mint . . .

Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
I have at times made statements about Linux Mint. You can read much more about it here: http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20100222#feature

So far as I know, it ranks fourth in the list of most widely used OS's; behind Windows, Mac OS (whatever its name), and Ubuntu Linux. It is based on Ubuntu; which in turn is based on Debian.

I highly recommend it - especially for those who want to take out insurance against virus' and other malware.

I recently installed Linux Mint 8. It is quite solid and works very well.
 
blackjeep

blackjeep

The end times are here.
Linux has come a long way in the last couple of years. I've looked at some videos on YouTube of Mint with Compix (like Aero on Windoze Vista) and it's amazing. The hardware requirements for using Linux are very minimal compared to a computer running Windoze.

It's a real possibility that huge numbers of computers would be rendered useless by an orchestrated hacker attack based on Windoze security weaknesses, but Linux boxes would very likely remain functional

I'm considering building another computer that would be a dedicated Linux box. Mint's at the top of the list for the Linux version I would use.
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
One of my desktop computers is fully dedicated to Mint. I use it for all of my email and most of my web browsing. Mint also has a really good office suite that is compatible with MS Office.
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
I'm still waiting for the ultimate Linux distro, in which I never again have manually modify a config file, or run a terminal session for any client or server application.

It's 2010, and no app should EVER be distributed without a complete GUI config.


That said ~ Linux is still a beautiful thing. It's just young, still. So far, you can have a completely functional, "out-of-the-box" so-to-speak media-ready operating system. Most distros look lovely, too.
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
Aardaerimus said:
I'm still waiting for the ultimate Linux distro, in which I never again have manually modify a config file, or run a terminal session for any client or server application.

It's 2010, and no app should EVER be distributed without a complete GUI config.


That said ~ Linux is still a beautiful thing. It's just young, still. So far, you can have a completely functional, "out-of-the-box" so-to-speak media-ready operating system. Most distros look lovely, too.
Click to expand...

I generally go for months at a time without touching a terminal session.
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
Hacker said:
I generally go for months at a time without touching a terminal session.
Click to expand...

I made this comment in reference to Mint 6; which is now more than a year old.

With regard to Mint 8 (the current release), I am certain that there is even less need to use a terminal session.
 
Tristan

Tristan

TB Fanatic
Linux Mint 8 is a thing of beauty.

I haven't touched a .cnf file or a terminal session in months.

I spend far more time administering my children's Windows box than my several Linux boxes.
 
sy32478

sy32478

Veteran Member
Without a terminal session, there is no GREP.

If that doesn't strike fear into your hearts . . .
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Hahah Maybe I just install too many obscure apps and stuff. Can Apache and PHP be administered via GUI, now? I know MySQL has good admin tools, now. It's been awhile since I've played with some of them, though.

I've monkeyed with Fedora Core and Ubuntu a bit, but I've never seen Mint in action. Maybe I have a project to work on, today. :D
 
bluefire

bluefire

Senior Member
Hey Hacker, saw your post about Linux Mint, and although I've been happily using PCLinuxOS for over a year now, you inspired me to try it out in VirtualBox. I'm posting this from Helena installed with guest additions, and must say that it's been a very sleek, pain-free experience thus far.

I continue to recommend Linux to those I encounter who are fed up with Windows, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Linux Mint to a newbie. VERY nice.
 
denfoote

denfoote

Inactive
I've burned the installation CD, but I've been using Ubuntu (until my box died) for years and I'm not interested in learning another distro!!!
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
denfoote said:
I've burned the installation CD, but I've been using Ubuntu (until my box died) for years and I'm not interested in learning another distro!!!
Click to expand...

As you may know, Mint is derived from Ubuntu. There are many items that work the same. The differences tend to be in usability, and reliability - where Mint is superior to Ubuntu.
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Hacker said:
As you may know, Mint is derived from Ubuntu. There are many items that work the same. The differences tend to be in usability, and reliability - where Mint is superior to Ubuntu.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't by chance know what the system requirements are, for it - would you?

Looking through the manual, I'm not seeing it. Just says it works on most x86 boxes, but I have some dinosaurs, and was wondering how it would perform on 256MB - 512MB of RAM and ancient video cards.
 
chromaphase

chromaphase

Contributing Member
Linux Mint has been working great for my folks who are now in their 70s.

I was tired of the need to constantly monitor and clean up after their old WinXP install. I switched them to Linux Mint over a year ago when I put their last computer in. That version was Linux Mint 5 Elyssa. All in all, it has worked very well.

They don't have iPods or Blackberry type devices to sync up nor do they do advanced tasks with their computer. Browsing, billpay, videos, music, IMs and the like. I tried to make sure that the printer they bought had high-quality Linux drivers. Samsung and Brother seemed like wise choices and their Brother laser prints fine. I've got the built-in VNC server setup for remote shadow when necessary.

Last week, I bought an Acer Aspire Revo mini computer to deploy to them with the latest Linux Mint 8. The WinXP 'Nettop Edition' installed on it out-of-the-box was abysmal. Slow and loaded with a TON of trial apps and crapware. Linux Mint 8 to the rescue!

The little rig is impressing me with the latest versions of the apps they commonly use. Performance is decent on the Intel Atom/nVidia Ion combo as long as you do one thing at a time. Fits them exactly! Anything Flash based, especially video, is a hog but it was in Windows as well. Adobe is adding hardware assisted decoding for video in their player for all OSes. In fact, it's in beta now.

Give the Linux Mint 8 LiveCD a try... you might like it!
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
chromaphase said:
Linux Mint has been working great for my folks who are now in their 70s.

I was tired of the need to constantly monitor and clean up after their old WinXP install. I switched them to Linux Mint over a year ago when I put their last computer in. That version was Linux Mint 5 Elyssa. All in all, it has worked very well.

They don't have iPods or Blackberry type devices to sync up nor do they do advanced tasks with their computer. Browsing, billpay, videos, music, IMs and the like. I tried to make sure that the printer they bought had high-quality Linux drivers. Samsung and Brother seemed like wise choices and their Brother laser prints fine. I've got the built-in VNC server setup for remote shadow when necessary.

Last week, I bought an Acer Aspire Revo mini computer to deploy to them with the latest Linux Mint 8. The WinXP 'Nettop Edition' installed on it out-of-the-box was abysmal. Slow and loaded with a TON of trial apps and crapware. Linux Mint 8 to the rescue!

The little rig is impressing me with the latest versions of the apps they commonly use. Performance is decent on the Intel Atom/nVidia Ion combo as long as you do one thing at a time. Fits them exactly! Anything Flash based, especially video, is a hog but it was in Windows as well. Adobe is adding hardware assisted decoding for video in their player for all OSes. In fact, it's in beta now.

Give the Linux Mint 8 LiveCD a try... you might like it!
Click to expand...

I have found steaming video to work great under Mint 8/Firefox. I am not certain, but I believe that Firefox now has embedded all of the necessary streaming video players . . . . they used to come as plugins.
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
Aardaerimus said:
You wouldn't by chance know what the system requirements are, for it - would you?

Looking through the manual, I'm not seeing it. Just says it works on most x86 boxes, but I have some dinosaurs, and was wondering how it would perform on 256MB - 512MB of RAM and ancient video cards.
Click to expand...

Extracted from this page: http://www.linuxmint.com/blog/?p=1155

System requirements:

A minimum of 512MB of RAM is recommended. Once installed the system works fine with as low as 256MB RAM. The installation process deals with 2.5GB of data compressed on a 700MB CD and it can hang or fail on systems with less than 512MB RAM. If you have between 256MB and 512MB RAM you may have to try to install several times.
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Ever played with DSL? :D

It's the ultimate tiny linux distro, IMO. I installed it on a 400mHz Dell with 256MB of RAM and it totally sailed. I don't think that box even ran that fast when it was brand new, with Win98.

It has sort of a Win 3.1 feel, but it comes with FireFox, etc.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
UPDATE:

Just downloaded Mint and I'm installing it on a spare machine.

The install has been delightfully simple, so far, and my Dell Optiplex 745 is not protesting in the least. Can't wait to see how it does on drivers.

It sure is... green. :lol:
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
Aardaerimus said:
Just downloaded Mint and I'm installing it on a spare machine.

The install has been delightfully simple, so far, and my Dell Optiplex 745 is not protesting in the least. Can't wait to see how it does on drivers.

It sure is... green. :lol:
Click to expand...

It's "minty" (so to speak :lol:)

I have been really pleased with Mint - especially Mint 8. I no longer am concerned with malware.

A big issue for me is online banking. I have always been reluctant to do online banking with Windoz - because there is so much malware for Windoz and because Windoz' security is poor. With Mint (or any other Linux distro), I can do online banking with minimal concern for keyloggers and/or other malware.
 
pops88

pops88

Girls with Guns Member
I started playing with Linux around 10 years ago or more. I've tried so many different distros...ugh! The last time was about a years ago. I have never found one that could do all I needed or be configured for all my hardware. I think it's still too young and not keeping up, although getting better all the time. I currently am loving my Win7, although I'm still nostalgic for 3.5 and DOS ;)
 
chromaphase

chromaphase

Contributing Member
Hacker said:
A big issue for me is online banking. I have always been reluctant to do online banking with Windoz - because there is so much malware for Windoz and because Windoz' security is poor. With Mint (or any other Linux distro), I can do online banking with minimal concern for keyloggers and/or other malware.
Click to expand...
Boy, ain't that the truth. :D

It's so much nicer knowing you've got built-in protection no matter what you do or where you go on the interwebs.
 
blackjeep

blackjeep

The end times are here.
Aardaerimus said:
Just downloaded Mint and I'm installing it on a spare machine.

The install has been delightfully simple, so far, and my Dell Optiplex 745 is not protesting in the least. Can't wait to see how it does on drivers.

It sure is... green. :lol:
Click to expand...

The issue I've had with Linux from my limited experience has been determining the size of the necessary partitions. Does Mint automate this process?
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
blackjeep said:
The issue I've had with Linux from my limited experience has been determining the size of the necessary partitions. Does Mint automate this process?
Click to expand...

Right at the beginning of the setup it gives you like three choices for partitioning. I picked the first and most simple option - to wipe out everything and use the whole drive.

Can't get much easier than that.
 
Guns-N-Moses

Guns-N-Moses

Senior Member
Question on creating bootable Linux CDs

From what I have seen, I really like Ubuntu. I have dabbled with Linux-based operating systems on PCs that belonged to others, but haven't taken the plunge and installed it on any of my machines yet.

Awhile back, I tried to create a bootable CD with Ubuntu so that I could sample it on my Windows PC, but for some reason was unable to get it to work. (I decided to put that project on hold until I had more time to devote to it).

Have any of you have experimented with making a bootable Linux CDs?

I know there are many forums out there devoted to Linux (for example: http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php) but I was just wondering if you had any advice as to what you did and what problems you encountered (boot issues, OS configuration, hardware recognition etc.)

Thanks,
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
pops88 said:
I started playing with Linux around 10 years ago or more. I've tried so many different distros...ugh! The last time was about a years ago. I have never found one that could do all I needed or be configured for all my hardware. I think it's still too young and not keeping up, although getting better all the time. I currently am loving my Win7, although I'm still nostalgic for 3.5 and DOS ;)
Click to expand...

One thing that saddens me still, as a gamer, is that Wine is still in its infancy. I would REALLY love it if the OS community would put more effort into simplifying and perfecting cross-platform mods and emulators, like these.

I see many people say "I got this game working on Linux", but the amount of tweakery required is way beyond the *NixN00bs.
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Guns-N-Moses said:
Have any of you have experimented with making a bootable Linux CDs?
Click to expand...

All current Ubuntu distros do this now - and so does Mint, as I've seen today.

It's incredibly simple, too.

1.) Simply download the .ISO file for Ubuntu or Mint.
2.) Open your CD burning software (I used Nero, or Roxio), and burn the disk as a CD Image.
3.) Boot from the CD

One tiny tiny hiccup I've seen is that some PC's, by default, are set to boot from the Hard Disk before the CD-ROM.

This absurdity is very easy to fix by going into "Setup" (BIOS) right as you restart your computer. It usually says "Press DEL to enter Setup" or something.

In there, look for "Boot Order" or something similar and you'll find it's easy to set the CD-ROM as your 1st boot device. Then Save & Exit.

Make sure your bootable CD is in the drive, and you're golden.
 
Hacker

Hacker

Computer Hacking Pirate
Guns-N-Moses said:
From what I have seen, I really like Ubuntu. I have dabbled with Linux-based operating systems on PCs that belonged to others, but haven't taken the plunge and installed it on any of my machines yet.

Awhile back, I tried to create a bootable CD with Ubuntu so that I could sample it on my Windows PC, but for some reason was unable to get it to work. (I decided to put that project on hold until I had more time to devote to it).

Have any of you have experimented with making a bootable Linux CDs?

I know there are many forums out there devoted to Linux (for example: http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php) but I was just wondering if you had any advice as to what you did and what problems you encountered (boot issues, OS configuration, hardware recognition etc.)

Thanks,
Click to expand...

When you download an ISO image, there will be a validation code (or check sum) that you can check against the image file - this ensures that you received the right stuff.

Then, when you burn your CD, make sure that you have the burn software validate the contents of the CD - checking that what was intended was actually written to the CD.

I hope this helps. . . .
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Hacker said:
When you download an ISO image, there will be a validation code (or check sum) that you can check against the image file - this ensures that you received the right stuff.

Then, when you burn your CD, make sure that you have the burn software validate the contents of the CD - checking that what was intended was actually written to the CD.

I hope this helps. . . .
Click to expand...

And one thing to keep in mind, is that you don't have to specially specify that you want to make a "Bootable CD".

Simply burning the .ISO as an image extracts the contents of the ISO and automatically produces a bootable CD.

To verify your disk, go to "My Computer" and explore the contents. If you see multiple folders on the disk, you did it right. If you see the .ISO file on the CD, you need to redo it.
 
Guns-N-Moses

Guns-N-Moses

Senior Member
Aardaerimus said:
All current Ubuntu distros do this now - and so does Mint, as I've seen today.

It's incredibly simple, too.

1.) Simply download the .ISO file for Ubuntu or Mint.
2.) Open your CD burning software (I used Nero, or Roxio), and burn the disk as a CD Image.
3.) Boot from the CD

One tiny tiny hiccup I've seen is that some PC's, by default, are set to boot from the Hard Disk before the CD-ROM.

This absurdity is very easy to fix by going into "Setup" (BIOS) right as you restart your computer. It usually says "Press DEL to enter Setup" or something.

In there, look for "Boot Order" or something similar and you'll find it's easy to set the CD-ROM as your 1st boot device. Then Save & Exit.

Make sure your bootable CD is in the drive, and you're golden.
Click to expand...


Thanks Aardaerimus,

Actually, IIRC that is exacly what I did, my PC's boot order was okay (I have it set up to check CD first).

But for some reason it didn't recognize the iso file. I may need to try Hackers suggestion (about validation) but I thought I did that too.

Note: The only difference that I remember is that I was out of 800MB CDs, so I used a blank DVD. As you know, most burning softwares have the ability to create data cds using DVDs. But I wouldnt think that would matter. I used NERO and it seemed to work okay.

I guess I'll have to try it again.

I just wanted to make sure that the boot CD didn't require any extra files (like an autoexec / autorun file or some specific ini file.)
 
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Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Guns-N-Moses said:
But for some reason it didn't recognize the iso file. I may need to try Hackers suggestion (about validation) but i thought I did that too.
Click to expand...

Ahhhh That sounds related to my last post.

The .ISO is not bootable. Your burn software should automatically extract the .ISO files and it automatically makes a bootable CD with the contents of the ISO when you burn it as a "CD Image".

Nero and Roxio should have this functionality. Sometimes it's under "Disk Copy".

roxio.jpg
 
Guns-N-Moses

Guns-N-Moses

Senior Member
Aardaerimus said:
Ahhhh That sounds related to my last post.

The .ISO is not bootable. Your burn software should automatically extract the .ISO files and it automatically makes a bootable CD with the contents of the ISO when you burn it as a "CD Image".

Nero and Roxio should have this functionality. Sometimes it's under "Disk Copy".
Click to expand...



You hit it right on....


I just checked, and sure enough the Disc that I burned only has the .ISO file.


I am thinking about trying Linux - Adios. Have you used this release or do you know much about it?
 
Aardaerimus

Aardaerimus

Anunnaku
Guns-N-Moses said:
You hit it right on....


I just checked, and sure enough the Disc that I burned only has the .ISO file.


I am thinking about trying Linux - Adios. Have you used this release or do you know much about it?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I'm a total linux newbie. I've only tinkered and dabbled in various Linux distros, and I've never even seen Adios.

Sounds like a few of these guys are pretty Linux savvy, though.

I wish you luck! :D
 
chromaphase

chromaphase

Contributing Member
I typically make sure I finalize the CD and do DAO or SAO burning when doing LiveCDs.

I don't remember why I do this for LiveCDs or even if it's still necessary. Old habits die hard. :lol:
 
Guns-N-Moses

Guns-N-Moses

Senior Member
Not 100% sure this will work, but I may try to use a DVD/RW (so I can experiment & try different methods.

Also, so I do't keep wasting blank CDs / DVDs
 
pops88

pops88

Girls with Guns Member
Have you used this release or do you know much about it?
Click to expand...

I did a lot of research before installing Ubuntu and it was very nice compared to others I've tried. I would have kept it but my particular machine had sound and graphics issues. I'm big on gaming and those problems nixed it for me. I don't know about Mint, but at the time I was looking for the most user friendly, simplest to use distro. I love Linux, but it doesn't fit well with my personal computer use. When I set up my business network machine in 2002 I used Linux. After shelling out $$$ for Win7, it's staying on my laptop for a while. LOL.
 
almost ready

almost ready

Inactive
Thanks very much for the tip!

Right now using Linux Mint 8, after reading this thread today. You're right, of course, about how to burn the DVD. At 1.1G it doesn't fit on a cd. My NERO program made a bootable disk that gave me an interesting black screen and DOS command line when I had clicked the bootable disk choice. You have to go beyond that and tell it to burn an image onto a disk and you get a great result!

It's beautiful, and a quick check shows it had no problem finding all my drivers. Didn't have to help it find the keyboard, mouse, printer or whatever. It plays videos, links into google search by default with a quick key (I'll change that soon), and even found the printer and did a good fit-to-page printing. Mozilla firefox is automatically loaded and works great. It's a very polished package.

Now to find the games...ubunto has good solitaire games....

Of course, these are a necessity to do safe online banking, not to play around.....

:rdog:
 
J

jombo

Inactive
Thanks Hacker being a bored nix freak I will try it out. Ubuntu always to me was a mess. I use PCLinuxOS here on a couple old machines simply because it works good and easy to install from the live CD. But I am gonna look into Mint it is downloading now in fact.

I am a KDE freak also so we test this baby out here.

Well I'm not bored enough to spend that much time getting my broadcom wireless to be seen. It sure didn't like it lol.
 
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