DAZZD88 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Last night I picked up Linux Format again and decided to get on with installing a distro on my spare laptop, as that's what I acquired it for. So as I was reading through the magazine, I noticed that Linux Mint 10 (included on cover disc 140) was apparently loaded with media codecs. So I installed it, booted up and was greeted by an interface that seems to suit my liking without requiring a lot of fiddling. This little distro may actually see me moving further away from Windows. The biggest downside I've had in the past is the need to fiddle to get so many things working. With Mint however, my D520 needed nothing...apart from it could do with a memory upgrade and a bigger HDD but I have those if needed. Anybody else have a similar experience? Either recently or once upon a time.
TwoZeroAlpha Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I used mint a lot when it was 7/8. It was useful just to have everything work. I'm back on Ubuntu at the moment, but may give Mint10 another whirl. 1
koryo Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Yeah i use mint 10 on my spare laptop, its quick, easy to use, and so far i have had no problems on it. Other than trying to install Handbreak from source. However i was able to use the package manager and get it that way instead. Still don't know why the source wouldn't compile, but meh im sure i will get around to finding out one day. 1
DAZZD88 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 Exactly why I like it. Yeah I'm using a fairly well known laptop (a Dell Lattitude D520) but everything just works. It saw my wireless and the audio worked without having to be tweaked (not like an Ubuntu install on my Aspire 5051AWXMi). I fear I may be getting overly excited.
koryo Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I fear I may be getting overly excited. Nah, sounds like your having fun to me. The point is you want it to all/mostly work off the bat so you can then start fiddling and know that if it DOES screw up, you can get back to a working state quickly and easily. Fiddle time! ^_^ 1
CESIL Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I run Ubuntu on a Dell D610 and even with only 512Mb ram it installed fine and ran well as a basic web browsing machine. The original install was a pain to install especially getting wireless to work but once version 10 appeared even the wireless installed automatically. I have since put 2Mb in it and it's now even happier. It must be ok as my teenage son monopolises it to chat to all his 'friends' on multiple sites simultaneously and at least I am fairly safe from the sort of nasty downloads that used to mean clean ups on our main PC 1
FN-GM Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I have used mint before, its was pretty good. I think the great Geoff uses that distro. Myself i couldnt get into Linux. I have since moved to Mac OS i love it, although it is Linux really. 1
DAZZD88 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Posted January 13, 2011 It might be a stupid question but is there a way to find out a list of commands available to use?
localzuk Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 I have used mint before, its was pretty good. I think the great Geoff uses that distro. Myself i couldnt get into Linux. I have since moved to Mac OS i love it, although it is Linux really. It isn't Linux. Its BSD. Completely different OS. I don't quite know why people think you have to fiddle with Ubuntu. I've been using Ubuntu since its first release and yes, back then, you had to fiddle with everything under the sun, but now? It prompts you 'you don't have the codec for this, would you like to install the codec pack?' and then just does it when you click OK.
localzuk Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 It might be a stupid question but is there a way to find out a list of commands available to use? press tab on the console, and it'll list them all, but there will be hundreds, if not thousands. 1
bossman Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 +1 for Julia excellent work by the crew, the layout is brilliant and even on most legacy hardware it works tremendously well. Usually use Ubuntu but wireless problems which took some sorting with lots of workarounds led me to use Mint 10 for the duration. Cheers 1
DAZZD88 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Posted January 13, 2011 I don't quite know why people think you have to fiddle with Ubuntu. I've been using Ubuntu since its first release and yes, back then, you had to fiddle with everything under the sun, but now? It prompts you 'you don't have the codec for this, would you like to install the codec pack?' and then just does it when you click OK. I have to disagree with that. Previous installs of Ubuntu I had to fiddle with on my Acer Aspire 5051AWXMi becuase the audio wasn't working properly. It wouldn't mute the external speakers when headphones were pluged in. I tried every guide I could find and yet I still had to resort to manually muting and unmuting the external speakers. Also my latest install of Kubuntu on my desktop wouldn't detect the native resolution of my TV so I had to do numerous things to actually get it to work, things which I do not remember. I used to like Ubuntu but they've changed the latest versions and I'm not keen on the layout. Also, thanks very much for the tip. I had no clue it was that simple.
FN-GM Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 It isn't Linux. Its BSD. Completely different OS. . shows how much i know
DAZZD88 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Posted January 13, 2011 I always thought both Linux and BSD were unix based, so are fairly similar?
localzuk Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 I always thought both Linux and BSD were unix based, so are fairly similar? Similar, but different. BSD and Linux have completely different kernels, written separately. (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3610937031_0d3c07a0fe_z.jpg). They follow certain standards, but they are not really the same.
koryo Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 shows how much i know Here you go ^_^ FreeBSD: An Open Source Alternative to Linux ack! you two beat me to it! xD
somabc Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) press tab on the console, and it'll list them all, but there will be hundreds, if not thousands. Remember if you type man it will tell you how to use that command (press q to quit) Also without wanting to go into technical details BSD and OS X are Unix, Linux is similar to and based on Unix but it is not Unix. Edited January 13, 2011 by somabc
somabc Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 Sn0w L1nuX Based on the Super Leet URL this distro is going to be awesome! /s
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