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Thom, others? I'm thinking about Linux Mint for my computer.

by Joe Mobley
12 replies
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I'm looking at Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca".

Are you still using it?

Any recommendations?

I am going to build websites. Do I need to add LAMP or does it install with it?

Cinnamon or Mate?

Your thoughts and recommendations are appreciated.

Joe Mobley
  • Profile picture of the author ThomM
    Joe I'm using Mint 13.
    Reason being is my computer doesn't seem to be compatible with the newer versions of Mint, Ubuntu, Suse, and even Lubuntu.
    It's a graphics problem with me as in when I load any of those distros all I see on my monitor are little squares.
    Like Mint 17, 13 is supported up to 2017. By then I should have a new computer
    What I did was download the ISO image for all of them and ran them from a disk first to see what would work and if I liked it.
    When I do get a new computer I may choose a different Linux OS to run, but only for something different and not because I don't like Mint. I know I'll never go back to Windows.
    Not sure if you need LAMP or not. A few years ago I tried installing it and had some issues, but that could of been me.
    Assuming you'll be building dynamic sites I'd say you probably will need it.
    I also had trouble with WINE back then and have it installed now with no problems.
    I also have dyne:bolic on a DVD that I'm trying to learn how to use for the day I start recording some drum stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
      Thom,

      Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.

      I have one other thing to check out and I'll decide what route I'm going to take.

      Joe Mobley
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
    I tried the Linux route a few years ago. I liked the look, how fast my computer booted and a few other things. But in the end, you just can't beat the convenience of windows. Here's an example...

    I have 2 printers - both Dell. One regular laser and one color laser. The Linux I was using (Ubuntu, if I remember correctly) didn't have drivers for these printers. Although with another day of research, I found that they DID have the drivers for the actual manufacturer of the printers (Dell private labels Lexmark and Epsons).

    So, now I had the drivers, but it was STILL like 6 steps, and downloading of OTHER packages, just to get the damed things installed and working.

    Windows - plug in USB cable. Turn on printer. Wait about 60 seconds. Print. Sorry, can't beat that.

    The other thing that drove me back was first the lack of available software. There could be more now but a few years back, it was obvious that there were applications I used regularly in windows that did NOT have something comparable for Linux. Additionally, the learning curve to wrap my head around all the new software I DID get.

    The final issue was networking. In my house we have 7 computers. All windows and networked. Ubuntu claimed to be able to network with windows computers - I even read quite a few sites with step by step directions. But after 3 days of downloading OTHER packages and trying to connect, I gave up.

    I get it - windows gets hacked more often. It's constantly being updated. It's buggy. But after using pretty much EVERY version of windows dating back to 3.1, I know how to keep all our computers protected, networked, backed up and running smoothly. We have not dealt with a virus or trojan in roughly 3 years.

    Diligence. Good anti virus. A maintenance plan. No problems.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      If I remember Mike, we installed Linux around the same time. That was when I was able to install Ubuntu. The Linux O.S.'s have improved a lot since then. I don't know about the networking thing though. I imagine you would run Mint (or Ubuntu) off the disk and see if you could set up a network on that first.
      I've got an HP printer so there wasn't any problem installing the driver, just one command in the terminal.

      Same with installing LAMP also, just one command line in a terminal. LAMP in one command - Linux Mint Community
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      Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
      Getting old ain't for sissy's
      As you are I was, as I am you will be
      You can't fix stupid, but you can always out smart it.

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      • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
        Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

        If I remember Mike, we installed Linux around the same time. That was when I was able to install Ubuntu. The Linux O.S.'s have improved a lot since then. I don't know about the networking thing though. I imagine you would run Mint (or Ubuntu) off the disk and see if you could set up a network on that first.
        I've got an HP printer so there wasn't any problem installing the driver, just one command in the terminal.

        Same with installing LAMP also, just one command line in a terminal. LAMP in one command - Linux Mint Community
        I'm sure things have improved. When I went through the last one, it was better than the time I tried about 2 years before that when I tried Mandrake.

        But like I said to Paul - in my case I see no real advantage to making the switch.

        Mike
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        • Profile picture of the author ThomM
          Originally Posted by MikeAmbrosio View Post

          I'm sure things have improved. When I went through the last one, it was better than the time I tried about 2 years before that when I tried Mandrake.

          But like I said to Paul - in my case I see no real advantage to making the switch.

          Mike
          I get that Mike. If I was in your situation with multiple computers in the house already running windows I doubt I'd switch to linux either. I'm not all that computer literate, but it seems to me having all the computers on a network running the same O.S. would cause less problems then having one be an oddball.
          Signature

          Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
          Getting old ain't for sissy's
          As you are I was, as I am you will be
          You can't fix stupid, but you can always out smart it.

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          • Profile picture of the author seasoned
            Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

            I get that Mike. If I was in your situation with multiple computers in the house already running windows I doubt I'd switch to linux either. I'm not all that computer literate, but it seems to me having all the computers on a network running the same O.S. would cause less problems then having one be an oddball.
            You CAN get some software for windows to make it behave better with linux. And with Linux, you can get things like SAMBA to integrate better with windows. Just saying. IRONICALLY, windows is trying to little by little work more towards being more unix compatible. After all, the internet is built on such things. APPLES OS is built on UNIX,and a lot of hardware is.

            Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Mike,

    Sounds like trying to set up a SLIP/PPP connection on the Amiga before Miami.

    I look at that stuff as learning curve. Once you know how to do it, the machine is yours. You can make it do things most people will never get their systems to do.


    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

      Mike,

      Sounds like trying to set up a SLIP/PPP connection on the Amiga before Miami.

      I look at that stuff as learning curve. Once you know how to do it, the machine is yours. You can make it do things most people will never get their systems to do.


      Paul
      Well, I believe I only used PPP to do local networking over a serial connection, as the old MODEMS weren't made for networks. Happily, that isn't too likely to be needed these days, as "modems" ARE mostly made for networks. It IS ironic that apparently IPv6 is apparently somewhat similar to provide emulation and more flexible routing, but it is transparent.

      Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
      Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

      Mike,

      Sounds like trying to set up a SLIP/PPP connection on the Amiga before Miami.

      I look at that stuff as learning curve. Once you know how to do it, the machine is yours. You can make it do things most people will never get their systems to do.


      Paul

      Very true and I understood that even then. Which is why I spent 3 days trying to network

      But in the end, I had to weigh out the advantages of converting. For reasons I mentioned in my last post - and especially the fact that we have so many windows boxes here - I simply decided the learning curve wasn't worth it.

      I have no regrets

      Mike
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Steve, when was the last time you made a response that was actually relevant to the question asked?


    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

      Steve, when was the last time you made a response that was actually relevant to the question asked?


      Paul
      I guess THIS one is! Sorry, I should have gone back and looked, this seemed to be one I had mentioned before. I was curious how you would respond though.

      I have tried MINT though, and I liked it. I couldn't remember for sure if LAMP was included or not, but a community entry implies this stuff isn't installed.

      Installing LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) On Linux Mint - Linux Mint Community

      As for which version to use, that is a tough thing to answer. I PREFER the latest stable build, which Is Rebecca. If you use an earlier version, it may be because it better fits what you want to run, etc... Eventually, though, they will likely upgrade to the latest also.


      Steve
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