Posted on 12/12/2017 10:08:32 AM PST by dennisw
Linux Mint isn't just the best Linux desktop, it's the best desktop, period.
I run many operating systems every day, from macOS, to Windows 7 and 10, to more Linux desktop distributions than you can shake a stick at. And, once more, as a power-user's power user, I've found the latest version of Linux Mint to be the best of the best.
Why? Let's start with the basics. MacOS has been shown to have the worst bug I've ever seen in an operating system: The macOS High Sierra security hole that lets anyone get full administrative control. Windows, old and new, continues to have multiple security bugs every lousy month. Linux? Sure, it has security problems. How many of these bugs have had serious desktop impacts? Let me see now. None. Yes, that would be zero.
Oh, and by the way, in using Linux desktops for over 25 years now, I have never needed to use an anti-virus program because, for all practical purposes, there are no Linux viruses. Yes, I know you've read stories saying they exist. And, they do, but you must actively try to infect your system to get them.
Then, there's ease of use. Despite ancient FUD, Linux, especially the new Linux Mint 18.3 but really all current Linux desktops, are simple to use. Mint's Cinnamon interface uses a classic Windows, Icons, Menu, and Pointer (WIMP) interface. If you've ever used Windows XP, you'll feel completely at home.
Want to install an application? Sure you can use shell-based tools such as apt-get on Debian-based Linux distributions or yum on the Red Hat family of operating systems. But, ordinary desktop users need not bother with these. Instead, they can just use an app store approach such as Mint's Software Manager. You search for your app, you point, you click. Not very hard is it?
Want to update your system to a new one? With Macs and Windows, that can take hours. With Mint, it took me less than an hour and most of that was waiting for the download to complete. Compare that with Windows, where as a friend recently pointed out, just updating a Logitech mouse driver took about 10 minutes.
Linux desktops are also fast even on older hardware. High Sierra runs as fast as pouring maple syrup on a cold day on my maxed out Mac Mini with its 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 CPU and 16GB of RAM. Windows 10, on my Dell XPS 8700 with a 3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4790 processor and 16GBs of memory, runs fast enough to be useful, but fast is not the word I'd use to describe its performance. Mint 18.3, on my 2011 Dell XPS 8300 with its 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and 8GBs of RAM, charges along like a champ. I wouldn't waste my time trying to run Windows or macOS on a six-year-old box.
But enough about Linux vs. the others, let's talk about Linux Mint 18.3.
If you've never installed Mint before, you can download its ISO files from the Mint Downloads. There are still both 64-bit and 32-bit versions for the Cinnamon desktop, but unless you're running a really old system, just down the 64-bit version. Then burn the ISO image to a DVD using a tool such as ImgBurn. Or, you can put it on a bootable USB stick with a program like Rufus.
Then, boot your computer using the DVD or stick and make sure Mint works with your computer. If it does -- and I've never met a PC it wouldn't work on -- you can then install it. For further details see my How to install Linux Mint on your Windows PC article.
The one possible problem is if your PC has a newer NVIDIA graphics. In that case, for a better display, use NVIDIA's own drivers rather than the open-source ones provided by NVIDIA. To do this, take the following steps:
Run the Driver Manager Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed Reboot the computer
If you're already running an earlier version of Mint 18, click on the Refresh button in Update Manager to check for any new version of mintupdate and mint-upgrade-info. If there are updates for these packages, apply them. Then, refresh the packages and install any updated package. Finally, launch the System Upgrade by clicking on "Edit->Upgrade to Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia". Within an hour, you'll be running the latest, freshest version of Mint.
This version is based on Ubuntu 16.04.3. Like 16.04, it's a long-term support version. Mint developers will support it until April 2021. This distribution is based on the 4.10 Linux kernel.
Simple enough answer: because Windows is always pre-loaded on PCs. Nothing more complicated than that.
In recent years, manufacturers have offered Linux (generally Ubuntu) as an option for a PC that is custom-built...but that's it.
One other point: more than half the web servers in the world run on Linux. 100% of the supercomputers in the world run Linux. 100% of the mainframes run either Linux or Unix-like Z/OS.
And just so you know, yes, I am a Linux fan...don't mind admitting that a bit. Didn't start off that way. And what pushed me in the direction of Linux was...Microsoft.
try it either as disk only for awhile or as dual boot if you know how to set it up- if you don’t want win 10, you could just install right over it after trying it for a bit- it’s a pretty good os- just has issues like with windows gaming and running things like photoshop and such- but other than that restrictions, it’s a great os for general net browsing. email, video watching etc- and much safer than windows in terms of viruses- linux is ‘almost’ invulnerable to viruses- I’ve hit several sites by auto redirects from other sites that would have been instant viruses on my windows os but linux didn’t get infected because the viruses were written for windows only- almost all viruses are- That is one worry i no longer have
one reason it isn’t more popular too is because it doesn’t really run windows games and windows only apps well, unless you go through the steam app- that gives some games, but not all that folks generally like- IF linux could bridge this gap it would catapult the os pretty well i think- it’s what holds a lot of folks back too from trying it-
if you want to run windows programs in a virtual machine, You’ll need to install your windows version in virtualbox- or whatever one you choose- you’ll need to have the ISO for windows to install it to a VM (virtual machine)- IF you have windows 10 preinstalled, I ‘think’ you can download a windows 10 ISO and install it into hte virtual machine using your preinstalled key- but I’m not sure on that- I know you can run windows 10 without registering it but you will just lose the ability to personalize it some- but it’s no big deal- the personalizations that are crippled aren’t that bad, and the small watermark they put on down by the clock can be over-ridden
If you have a retail version Cd of windows 7 or 8 or 10, then you only need to install that CD to the virtual machine and use that key but not many folks have retail versions- most computers come with preinstalled windows nowadays-
you’ll have to dig into it a little bit- but it’s not overly hard to get a VM up and running
well here goes- gonna tr4y installing it on my dual boot system- no idea what’s gonna happen lol- did backup linux 18.1 though- hopefully it;ll work
welp i’m up and running- took about 10 minutes to upgrade- wanted to restore my firefox 54 so that the legacy apps would work- but the backup i did didn’t shjow up in my backup drive for some reason lol- shoudla checked that the4y were there before moving on- oh well, i can always downgrade firefox no problem- i don’t like the squared tabs in new firefox anyhow- My adblock plus does seem to be working though- so maybe I’ll stick with it a bit to see if it stops working-
Haven’t noticed much different with the new linux- but of course i just installed it- gotta try my virtulbox- see what if anythign changed there- looks like i have to update video driver first- screen is blank in VM- black- after it loads- will try updating and see if it works
ok yuppers that is what it was- just needed driver update for video- VM works fine now- just did a snapshot just incase soemthign goes wrong
Also folks- this new linux comes with timeshift- a backup program that allows you to take snapshots of your linux os and restore it all back in time if something goes wrong- take advantage of that- it has saved my hide more times than not- very valuable program- although i used Systemback which is similar to timeshift- maybe a tad easier- but harder to install- timeshift will install very easy from software manager
IF you should ever get a virus on your linux machine, timeshift will completely wipe it out by restoring your computer to a time before you got the virus- a very valuable thing indeed- TS will also quickly restore any lost file- and if you bork the os somehow- no worries- timeshift to the rescue-
How does one upgrade to Mint 18.3 without affecting ANY of the settings, installed programs, etc. Is it possible?
I've always taken a Laissez-faire attitude toward Linux upgrades but if there are significant improvement, I may consider it.
[[How does one upgrade to Mint 18.3 without affecting ANY of the settings, installed programs, etc. Is it possible?]]
I just did it yesterday- I thought i had backed up all the files and software settings etc- but turns out hte bakcup didn’t work- BUT when I did the upgrade (thinking hte backup files were done and ok) I did the upgrade, and when it got to desktop- all my installed programs and settings were preserved somehow- The only thing i had to do was rearrange desktop icons- and install the video card drivers for my NVidia card- which was easy enough
Now- I’m not saying you will have the same results- I don’t ant to say there is no or even little risk- and then have it not work for you- but just letting you know it went fine for me- I have several custom programs like easystroke (a mouse gesture program) and a few others that all remained intact with the update- I was nervous i’d lose the installed custom software and all my Internet settings and things like notepad settings etc- but i didn’t-
NOTE- I don;’t know if the backup i did had anything to do with the upgrade working as it did- but when i went to manually restore the settings, it wouldn’t- I think i messed up the backup somehow- but i don’t see how- it was all pretty straight forward and only a few clicks to do- but whatever- it’s working and all my settings (except video card drivers and desktop icon arrangement) are working fine
Anyone use yahoo search? When i did the upgrade- for some reason the font looks blockier- harder to read in the search results now that firefox has upgraded to 57.01- most other pages look fine- like the search results in free republic and such, but for some reason yahoo search results page is harder to read now? I’ve messed with font settings, zoom etc- but the font just appears different for yahoo search now-
harder to read in the search results now that firefox has upgraded to 57.01
_______________
I went back to firefox 56.0.2 and have been using Bing serach. I use google when Bing cannot find it
firefox 56.0.2 and turned off all means for updating. There are two or three
I suppose I could take an image and then upgrade. It it goes sideways then, just re-image and try something different.
coudl you tell me where they are located? I couldn’t find anything that said specifically that it was for updating firefox- infact mien never did update before i updated linux itself- The only update i coudl find in preferences referred to updating the search engine- (Which i assume means my yahoo search)
I’ll probably go back to 56 or whatever version i had before- I’m not liking the new tab layout in this new 57 version either- Don’t know why they gotta mess with stuff all the time (in regards to design- ) :(
i sued to use rollbackRX which was similar in windows- it owuld load at boot incase any viruses infected the os- you could rollback before windows even loaded- saved my bacon many times because i used to try software and mess with windows settings etc that would hose the system- and I’d just do a rollback and everything was back to normal again- There was also a time not long ago that viruses were really rampant on site that redirected visitors to infected sites- it seemed liek a lot of sites were getting hit- you’d do a search for say mountain lions- and go to what looked legit site and wham you got redirected- I had virus protection, but i always always always did a rollback just to be double sure I didn’t get virus-
Anyone using windows I woudl highly recommend rollbackRX-
i’d also recommend the systemback- I think i tried redo backup once before- but found systemback easier to use- it’ll even do a complete transfer to another drive but that gets involved- and can do complete backups which can be restored manually if needed
Hmm. I’ll have a look at System Back. Looks like a good tool to have in the ol’ kit.
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/56.0.2/
download >>>> Dir win32-EME-free/
you just install 56 0 2 over the new Firefox which is #57 onward. It will keep all bookmarks and settings
In Firefox options you must disable all updating
My intention is to go back to Firefox updating when they iron out some kinks plus I don’t like the new black look to it
I’m trying to figure out how to download from .tar file- instructions aren’t very clear online- I’ve CD’d into the /Downloads folder- extracted the file- but can’t figure out what to do next=-
One thing about linux is their ‘help’ is usually really techie stuff- something I’m not used to-
I’m running in linux so it’s more of a hassel to figure out how to install the durn thing- I’m doing a runaround- downloaded the file, extracted it, created a shortcut link to the firefox file within the extracted folder- placed on desktop- and now I can run it but i had to link the icon to the folder first-
What a pain- still isn’t the ideal way to run it as it’s not actually installed- it’s just kidna like running it in trial mode without installing it- running basically from terminal
This is the one thing that makes linux hard for us newbies— no easy way to just download and click an executable file and install like you can in windows-
I hate the new look of firefox 57- ugly boxy- and it borks my yahoo search results- the lettering has changed- but just on yahoo search for some reason- here in freerepublic, it looks fine and i can read it fine- in yahoo- the letters are now kidna crammed together, and much harder to read- unfortunately i don’t have another browser to try really- that isn’;t somehow linked to google (ie chrome, chromium etc-) -Won’t have anything associated with google on my comp if i can help it-
plus they have some dang pop up “Enhance your new tab experience now” that won’t go away- pops up every time i open the browser- have to click the ‘x’ every time- Gee- that’s a fun new feature- Bzzzzt! It’s like they are trying to annoy you into installing it-
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.