Posted on 02/03/2016 11:22:43 AM PST by dennisw
I was handed an old C2D, 2GB laptop running Vista, and installed Linux (I went with Xubuntu rather than Mint, because it's supposedly the lightest full-featured distro). Performance is good with RDC, Citrix, and VNC, and the latest Firefox is supported in iCloud; all in all, a very capable thin-client laptop from hardware that would be painfully slow in any recent version of Windows. Basically, the equivalent of a pretty high-end Chromebook, but for free.
And then I booted to find that the screen had dimmed to about 20%. I went to Google expecting to find out which control panel pane the slider was in. Instead I found twenty different approaches to the problem, none consistent with each other, most for other *buntu variants, all involving the terminal and some involving recompiling the kernel. Turns out the only way (apparently) is with the brightness keys on the keyboard; they weren't very clearly marked on this particular laptop. The Dell Web site answered the question the Linux community couldn't.
I may try Mint to see if it's finally the Linux distro that we've been promised for the last 20 years, one that's locked down and has something remotely resembling a consistent user experience. More likely, I'll try Chrome OS next. I'm having fun with the project, and it's nice to get new life out of cast-off technology, but it's no real threat to my MacBook Pro.
I run Windows 7 and Virtual-Box with XP SP3. In honor of this thread I’ve just installed a Linux Mint 17.3 Virtual Machine (VM). I can be in all 3 at once using Windows audio, Linux web browsing and XP gaming. THAT is what I call multi-tasking. Doing more stuff than I can track. And mint 17.3 is supported thru 2019. It’s polished, with online resources, updates and package installs much like a tablet or smart phone.
I use Oracle’s (free) Virtual Box and install OSs into virtual machines. They can run windowed or full screen. I like windowed since it’s quicker to bop between OS applications. I can have as many OSs as I want as long as I have the disk space and licenses (or not). I run 20-year old 16-bit software on my virtual XP machine within a Windows 7 session.
Makes a miserable laptop OS though.
Linux might identify about half the hardware in a new laptop and isn't going to have any kind of sustainable battery life. Your support team for devices is some post-grad Finnish computer dweeb named Ruuki at the University of Helsinki. Good luck with that.
I've said it once, I'll say it again: Linux is absolutely the wave of progress going forward in the back office server world -- and God bless it -- but anyone wanting Unix on the desktop would be lots better off just going to the Apple Store and getting an iMac or a MacMini.
Anyone demanding Unix on a laptop/notebook has only one option: MacBook Pro Retina. You're kookoo for cocoa puffs crazy if you choose something different. I'd even contend that if you want a Windows-only laptop, you're best off with a MacBook Pro Retina -- but the Microsoft SurfaceBook runs a pretty close second place I will admit.
Thanks to dennisw for the ping!!
That was true in the past, but what you describe and fear is 5-10 years out of date. 10 years ago Linux drivers were a frustrating disaster (bootleg generic drivers and all that -- I remember well!), and even 5 years ago it wasn't nearly up to Windows or OS X standards.
But these days Linux driver support for most (granted, not all) peripherals is pretty much on a par with Windows and OS X.
But to each their own, I always say. It'll take another 10 years for Linux to escape its past reputation of being hard or even impossible to configure. If you need an excuse reason to continue doing what you're doing, that's as good as any. :-)
I’m a Windows and Exchange admin. It won’t do anything I need done that W7 or 10 and PS won’t do better.
It's tons better than it was even just a few years ago. And no you don't have to do anything at the command line. It's through the desktop GUI 99 times out of 100 (there'll always be somebody new who hasn't got their GUI going yet).
Now, THAT is honestly one of the funniest damn things I've read in months.
Given that the only thing that's lacking on Linux are Windows GAMES, I rather think it's the other way around, FRiend.
And tens of thousands of serious system administrators will disagree with you on that as well.
Windows is fine for administering Windows systems. And for GAMES.
But if you want a system that's intended and designed for serious work, look to Unix/Linux. It's been that way for 40 years, but surely you know that...
Or are you new to serious computers?
That’s fine for mass market office apps (though Open Office still lags MS Office in some areas), but a lot of industrial apps only come for Windows (so far). No way I’m staying with the Win ecosystem past W7, so I’m probably going to end up on Linux running a lot of VM’s. (I run a lot of VM’s even under Windows stop the programs don’t step on each other) I may try Mint as a candidate for the host. Would it be pretty lightweight in that role?
I am running mint 17.3 on an older laptop and it was a nice improvement over the MS OS I was running. I don’t play games, so that is a moot point for me. My son runs mint on his laptop. He was given a broken lap top to fiddle with, turns out all it needed was a hard drive. He pulled one out of my stash of old parts and installed it. It needed on OS and not wanting paying whatever it costs to get windows, he tossed mint on it and is quite happy with it. For games we have an XBox.
I have a windows machine that I use most of the time. It is an older machine and runs like it. I keep it around because it is what most of my crew is comfortable with.
I run Linux on the smaller machines, (old laptops) I can really get a few more years out of them, I have one dedicated to programing radios, and running ham radio stuff.
I even have a mac that my daughter uses, some reason collage kids NEED apple products. (iPhones, iPads, etc.)
All have a place and use. IS one better then the other? Depends on the user and what you are doing with it. I have used various distros of Linux for the past 20 years, and Mint is one of the best.
Mint is great for daily surfing. My only complaint so far was going around my elbow to manually update it to run Silverlight.
I run OSX El Capitan + xubuntu with xfce at home because I want to. < |:)~
Run Windoze 8.1 at the office because I have to. < |:(~
What is your definition of serious work?
Thanks for this ping!
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al I couldn't resist. Here is where you get Linux Mint KDE.
I downloaded Steam, very few Linux games there when I had it.
From time to time Mozilla places announcements and a video window on the Firefox Startup page. Here is how to prevent those announcements and video window from appearing.
In Windows 10 or Linux, Firefox:
In the Firefox URL field type:
about:config and press ENTER.
Click the "I'll be careful, I promise!" button.
In the search field type: snippets
locate the following string:
browser.aboutHomeSnippets.updateUrl
double-click on above string.
clear the URL in the "Enter string value" popup window.
click OK
-----
On the Firefox Menu Bar click
Help, Troubleshooting Information,
On the page that opens scroll down to:
Application Basics, Profile Folder, click "Show Folder" button
A window showing Firefox folders will appear.
click on /storage folder
click on /permanent folder
Leave this folder window open.
-----
Using the Firefox Hamburger Menu icon in Firefox (the 3-Line Icon on upper right) "EXIT Firefox" using the circle-with-a-line-through-the-top icon on bottom-right of popup menu.
-----
Go back to the open folders window.
now delete the /moz-safe-about+home folder
Close folder window.
-----
Now restart Firefox and the Mozilla announcements / Video window should be gone from the Firefox Startup page.
I am guessing you have at least 16gb memory. What processor does the above computer use? An i7 is my guess.
Well, I finally got a (used) replacement for my lost PC.. i5 laptop (this time.. no AMD, since they didn’t side with nVidea :p), and the first thing I did was to format Win7 off and install Mint KDE Rosa ;^)
No problems at all, and the time from formatting to fully install KDE was less than 20 minutes. NO problems at all :)
I just got a copy of Homeworld (original) for linux.. Haven’t gotten around to installing it yet, but I may have to do a few tweaks to get it running.
I used to love that game (on XP).
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