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Mint 11

gleneagles
Aspiring Legend
Posts: 11,105
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Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Mint 11

I Know nothing about Linux but was thinking about giving it a go, however when attempting to download I get the message that the file is 867 MB and will take nearly 3 hours to download at an approximate speed of 90Kb/sec.
Is it possible to get the latest release in one of the magazines or am I better to just go for it and download the file ?
We are born into history and history is born into us.
15 REPLIES 15
Waldo
Grafter
Posts: 473
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Mint 11

i think it's too recent a release to be in any of the available magazines; probably be in the next editions of some.
You  can probably get a quicker download by going for the CD and adding the DVD extras at a later date.
Choose a mirror which is geographically close; I generally get good speeds downloading from HEAnet in Ireland
VileReynard
Hero
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Re: Mint 11

An everyday story of an "upgrade" of Ubuntu 11.04 to Mint 11.....
I have an ancient PC (10+ years old) with 384MB of RAM and a 600MHz CPU, no internal disks and just one 36GB external SCSI disk.  Smiley
I upgraded this to Ubuntu 11.04 with the intention of finding out if it is possible to operate this rubbish Unity interface.
Ubuntu said my PC was too feeble and ran with a nasty theme.
So (since I had a separate /home), and despite not having enough memory for Mint standards, I downloaded Mint 11 via bit torrent.
I attempted to boot from the DVD, it failed so I rebooted with a "Alt + SysRq + B" (don't do this on a real system!!!!!!!!)
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key#.22Raising_Elephants.22_mnemonic_device)
It worked the second time.
I tried it out - very sluggish of course, so I installed it - after 5 minutes it failed, so I rebooted it and tried again.
Second time, it worked - but took about 40 minutes to install and it didn't seem to have any themes.
It didn't even have a Mint theme until I installed one - and this didn't seem to apply to Nautilus.
It's better than Ubuntu - but has more bugs in it and the program installer isn't as good as apt.
I suspect my other Ubuntu PC's will be heading MINT-wards...
[edit] All timings & most of the failings are likely due to insufficient memory [/edit]

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Waldo
Grafter
Posts: 473
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Mint 11

Quote from: A
I have an ancient PC (10+ years old) with 384MB of RAM and a 600MHz CPU, no internal disks and just one 36GB external SCSI disk.  Smiley
I upgraded this to Ubuntu 11.04 with the intention of finding out if it is possible to operate this rubbish Unity interface.

Bodhi would be a better fit on that hardware.
Mind you, Enlightenment isn't GNOME - you might find its interface to be as 'rubbish' as Unity  Grin
HairyMcbiker
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Registered: ‎16-02-2009

Re: Mint 11

Quote from: A
t's better than Ubuntu - but has more bugs in it and the program installer isn't as good as apt.

Sorry what program installer isn't as good as apt - Mint USES APT!  (& Synaptic)
More bugs in what area?
I have been running mine for nearly a week now and haven't found any bugs - other than no splash screen - but apparent;y that is a feature as it loads so fast.
HairyMcbiker
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Registered: ‎16-02-2009

Re: Mint 11

Quote from: gleneagles
Is it possible to get the latest release in one of the magazines or am I better to just go for it and download the file ?

It will probably be in the Linux Format Mag next month - or d/l it via bit torrent - or go for the cd as already mentioned (but I don't think it is much smaller) - Be aware the mag version will be the "international" version with most of the codecs disabled - fixed easily but annoying if you aren’t aware of it.
I got mine via bt and it came down in an hour or so - YMMV.
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Mint 11

If you don't want to download it you can buy a CD at small cost from the Linux Mint website. Or try eBay. There are people who will sell you a CD for a pound or two.
VileReynard
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Re: Mint 11

Quote from: Hairy
More bugs in what area?
I have been running mine for nearly a week now and haven't found any bugs - other than no splash screen - but apparent;y that is a feature as it loads so fast.

See http://linuxmint.com/rel_katya.php#upstream
Quote
Known issues
Gnome theme failing to load
Because of a race condition between the GDM and session calls to gnome-settings-daemon, Gnome can load without a theme.
For more information you can follow this bug report.
As a workaround, you can modify /etc/xdg/autostart/gnome-settings-daemon.desktop and replace 'Exec=/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon' with 'Exec=bash -c "sleep 20; /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon"'.
Note that "20" is an arbitrary value. You might have to fine tune this value and find the one that's right for you. If the session call is too soon it will fail because the GDM one is still alive. If it occurs too late it will only theme your panel but fail to theme your desktop and nautilus. In Virtualbox we found "20" to work quite well. On real hardware this value is likely to be smaller. The slower your computer is, the higher this value is likely to be.
Compiz Fusion
If you experience problems with the window manager (with window borders, focus or mouse clicks) launch "Fusion Icon" from the menu, and use the Fusion tray icon to switch your window manager to "Metacity".
Upstream regressions affect the "Cube" plugin in particular. It is recommended not to activate this plugin in Linux Mint 11.
Battery status indicator
The battery status indicator doesn't show the charge percentage. A few workarounds to fix this problem are detailed in this article.
Moonlight
Moonlight was removed from Linux Mint because of a bug that made Firefox crash. The bug was fixed upstream and you can install the Moonlight plugin from the project's website.
Other issues such as the Themes are a problem.
Linux Mint 11 is based on Ubuntu 11.04. Make sure to read the known issues related to this release.

I don't have a battery and I don't use Moonlight

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

gleneagles
Aspiring Legend
Posts: 11,105
Thanks: 2,459
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Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Re: Mint 11

Thanks for the responses, some of them are a bit scary in regards to the problems encountered as the whole thing is like a foreign language to me.
I have gone for the e-bay option (£1.20 including P&P) will see how I get on with it when it arrives.
I always have windows to fall back on if I have too many problems.
I will also buy a couple of mags to try and increase my knowledge of Linux which at the moment is zero.
We are born into history and history is born into us.
Steve
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 6,853
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Registered: ‎13-07-2009

Re: Mint 11

Quote
Linux Mint 11 is based on Ubuntu 11.04. (But more polished and just generally better ) Make sure to read the known issues related to this release. We don't deal with viruses we deal with bugs, And most Is because of ooobooontooo/ Mark Shuttleworth/ Canonical Cheesy

@gleneagles, Just remember that Linux Is completely different from windows and everything you learnt from windows Is of no use to you, Let us know how you get on with mint, I think you will love It. Also here Is a handy link for you.  
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=14361
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
HairyMcbiker
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Registered: ‎16-02-2009

Re: Mint 11

@SteveM not completely different surely. They are both ways of using computers via a GUI and so on  Wink
The main differences for new users is the way you install s/w - DON'T DOWNLOAD it from a web site (usually not needed) but via a package manager in Mint & Ubuntu/Debian we use Synaptic (Or the new "Software Manager" app) to install s/w this means that it is trusted (no virus'  etc) and they disk layout is different - not usually a problem if you have only one drive but when you have multiple it makes things easier (I think, no more multiple drive letters just folders)
You don't USUALLY need an AV/Malware scanner - there are some available but they find M$ virus' not Linux ones (which are like hens teeth) so your PC will be faster BUT the downside is your favourite program may not work in Linux. (Unless it is Firefox/Thunderbird etc which all work the same) but you can usually find an alternative - it may  (probably) will not be a straight swap (due to copyright issues) but it will probably do similar things.
Look for free ebooks/pdf's about starting with Ubuntu/Linux and stay away from anything over 2 years old as it will be too out of date.
VileReynard
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Re: Mint 11

When is the Mint 12 install release due?
Ubuntu 11.04 is badly flawed and 11.10 has been promised to be delivered in an even more broken condition.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

gleneagles
Aspiring Legend
Posts: 11,105
Thanks: 2,459
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Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Re: Mint 11

If I understand it correctly when you first install mint you get a choice of wiping your drive and just installing mint or have the option of a dual boot system.
My plan is to start from scratch using a Linux program that will wipe my drive, install windows, install Mint and then install any programs which are unlikely to work in Mint under windows so on the rare occassions I need to access those programs I can still get at them.
I presume a firewall and anti virus program installed under mint will also cover my windows installation.
Apologies if any of this sounds daft as I am way out of my depth but am itching to have a go and will follow up on the excellent links others have given in earlier posts.
Thanks
We are born into history and history is born into us.
Heloman
Grafter
Posts: 519
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Mint 11

Not sure why you want to wipe Windows and then re-install it. Why not just install Mint alongside Windows in the first place?  The Mint installer will recognise the existing Windows, and when you subsequently start up you will get the option which to boot to.
I don't personally use Mint now, but I can say for certain that you will definitely need to maintain your normal Windows firewall, AV etc.
When you boot to Windows you will not be protected by Linux!
When I first started with Linux I found the easiest way to avoid worry was to buy an external usb drive and install Linux to that. The Linux installation will still recognise Windows on your HDD and it saved any problems with resizing partitions.
The thing that nearly put me off using Linux was the apparent necessity to be familiar with using Command Lines, to which I am definitely allergic. But I can assure you that with modern distros I have managed quite happily without that ability.
Hope all goes well for you. I've never regretted changing.
Steve
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 6,853
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Registered: ‎13-07-2009

Re: Mint 11

Quote from: Hairy
@SteveM not completely different surely. They are both ways of using computers via a GUI and so on  Wink
Look for free ebooks/pdf's about starting with Ubuntu/Linux and stay away from anything over 2 years old as it will be too out of date.
Yes that's true but there Is a learning curve, It depends on the user really and what they want from the OS, Its much better than windows, much faster and more secure, I thought my link was quite good and some of them over 2 years old but I think still relevant and helpful.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.