Linux Mint 8 has been released

[Kadarin]

http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Just FYI. Running version 7 here for the past few weeks and for the most part liking it, and I will at some point do a complete reinstall to check out the new version.

 

[Jodell88]

You liked it so much you had to post it twice?

 

[Loop2kil]

I've got 7 on my laptop and like it for the most part...The layout of the 'start' menu is the best I've seen so far. Just install Ultimate 2.4 on my desktop and really like it...wished it had the Mint menu

 

[Kadarin]

Yeah, the Mint Menu is pretty nice. Other things about Mint 7 I liked: Everything pretty much worked out of the box, and I didn't have to go hunting for codecs or drivers. Network browsing (connecting to my Vista box and my MBP), Compiz, and even Wine all have worked fine so far. I gave an old (2006 era) PC to a good friend for her young teenage daughters to use, and they report that Mint is working just fine for what they do (yahoo mail, IM through Pidgin, and myspace). Even her wireless USB network adapter just worked when she plugged it in.

 

[Kadarin]

You liked it so much you had to post it twice?

Yeah, yeah... The forums were a bit glitchy earlier today.

 

[Gillbot]

Yeah, the Mint Menu is pretty nice. Other things about Mint 7 I liked: Everything pretty much worked out of the box, and I didn't have to go hunting for codecs or drivers. Network browsing (connecting to my Vista box and my MBP), Compiz, and even Wine all have worked fine so far. I gave an old (2006 era) PC to a good friend for her young teenage daughters to use, and they report that Mint is working just fine for what they do (yahoo mail, IM through Pidgin, and myspace). Even her wireless USB network adapter just worked when she plugged it in.

When linux gets to the point (it's close IMHO) that this is the case, it WILL become more mainstream. More and more users fear switching because it's different and everyone "knows" windows. I put Linux on my wife's old PC and at first she was skeptical, but after using it she enjoyed it. Sadly, when we upgraded her PC to a laptop, she went back to windows but o-well. it was fun while it lasted!

 

[Nothinman]

When linux gets to the point (it's close IMHO) that this is the case, it WILL become more mainstream.

That has nothing to do with Linux's adoption rates. Windows is much, much more work to get everything working and is much more work to keep it running over time.

More and more users fear switching because it's different and everyone "knows" windows.

And because they know the Windows-only stuff that they're used to using, like games, won't work without jumping through hoops if at all. Macs are still in the <5&#37; area for the same reasons. People want to like and use them but would rather deal with Dell/Windows for their games and MS Money installations.

For the people who don't care about things like that, Linux and OS X are good options, but most people aren't there yet.

 

[Gillbot]

That has nothing to do with Linux's adoption rates. Windows is much, much more work to get everything working and is much more work to keep it running over time.



And because they know the Windows-only stuff that they're used to using, like games, won't work without jumping through hoops if at all. Macs are still in the <5% area for the same reasons. People want to like and use them but would rather deal with Dell/Windows for their games and MS Money installations.

For the people who don't care about things like that, Linux and OS X are good options, but most people aren't there yet.

I respectfully disagree there.

I still build systems and urge the typical "internet/email" customers to at least TRY linux at first to save them money. Most are all for it as long as they can plug in their new device, have it detected and working with minimal effort like windows does. As soon as there is a hiccup though, that's the end of linux and I'm called to buy a copy of windows and install it for them. When everything "just works" though, they stick to it.

 

[Nothinman]

I respectfully disagree there.

I still build systems and urge the typical "internet/email" customers to at least TRY linux at first to save them money. Most are all for it as long as they can plug in their new device, have it detected and working with minimal effort like windows does. As soon as there is a hiccup though, that's the end of linux and I'm called to buy a copy of windows and install it for them. When everything "just works" though, they stick to it.

What do they do when it doesn't "just work" in Windows? Because IME that's what happens most of the time.

 

[Gillbot]

Usually, adding something hardware wise such as a printer. Plug-n-pray is better in windows than linux and it's easier to get a solution for issues in windows than linux, especially for the non-anandtech type user.

 

[SunnyD]

What do they do when it doesn't "just work" in Windows? Because IME that's what happens most of the time.

Just about the only time that "it doesn't just work" in windows is if you're using really old legacy hardware or software on current OS's, and even then it's a stretch. Using legacy anything in Linux is downright painful, and using modern software and hardware under Linux for most lay people is anything but intuitive.

 

[Nothinman]

Usually, adding something hardware wise such as a printer. Plug-n-pray is better in windows than linux and it's easier to get a solution for issues in windows than linux, especially for the non-anandtech type user.

I'll have to disagree, I can't remember the last time I plugged something into my Linux machines and it didn't work. Although printing on every OS is pretty horrible so it just varies by the type of shit.

Just about the only time that "it doesn't just work" in windows is if you're using really old legacy hardware or software on current OS's, and even then it's a stretch. Using legacy anything in Linux is downright painful, and using modern software and hardware under Linux for most lay people is anything but intuitive.

No, unless you're using Vista or Win7 you'll have to spend at least 15-30 minutes looking for and downloading drivers and even that's hit or miss. The last time I setup an XP machine or Win2K3 server I had to download a half-dozen different video and NIC drivers and put them on a USB stick because there's no easy way to tell what's in the thing since places like Dell like to have 3-4 hardware configurations for each model.

In Linux I can at least run "lspci" and see what model/chipset just about everything is.

 

[Gillbot]

I'll have to disagree, I can't remember the last time I plugged something into my Linux machines and it didn't work. Although printing on every OS is pretty horrible so it just varies by the type of shit.



No, unless you're using Vista or Win7 you'll have to spend at least 15-30 minutes looking for and downloading drivers and even that's hit or miss. The last time I setup an XP machine or Win2K3 server I had to download a half-dozen different video and NIC drivers and put them on a USB stick because there's no easy way to tell what's in the thing since places like Dell like to have 3-4 hardware configurations for each model.

In Linux I can at least run "lspci" and see what model/chipset just about everything is.

You are also speaking from the perspective of a heavy linux user so of course it will be "easy" for you. Think about your friends mom setting up and running linux, It would be worlds different.

 

[Nothinman]

You are also speaking from the perspective of a heavy linux user so of course it will be "easy" for you. Think about your friends mom setting up and running linux, It would be worlds different.

None of my friends' moms could do it in Windows either so I'd rather give Linux if I'm going to be the one helping them.

 

[Gillbot]

But that's still YOUR preference, not theirs. Most will opt for windows because its easier to get support and help for, aside from what YOU do for them. I try to set my machines up so they don't need me to work on it. If they decide to go elsewhere, that's fine with me.

 

[Nothinman]

But that's still YOUR preference, not theirs. Most will opt for windows because its easier to get support and help for, aside from what YOU do for them. I try to set my machines up so they don't need me to work on it. If they decide to go elsewhere, that's fine with me.

It's not like I'd just reload their machine and run without talking to them about it...

 

[Gillbot]

That's not what i'm saying at all.

 

[Rifter]

as soon as the 64bit version is out ill upgrade. With computers going the way they are they should release the 64bit versions first now, most people are running 4gb+ of ram nowdays.

 

[Nothinman]

as soon as the 64bit version is out ill upgrade. With computers going the way they are they should release the 64bit versions first now, most people are running 4gb+ of ram nowdays.

It's not difficult to install a 64-bit kernel with a 32-bit userland to give you the benefits of both being able to use all of your memory and not wasting memory on 64-bit processes that don't need it.

 

[Rifter]

good to know, but since i know little about linux i think ill wait for the real 64bit version. My linux knowelege could all be fit into one blank page thats why im running Mint its super easy to use. I dont even know what userland means? is it the real estate the user is taking up when on the computer?

 

[Binky]

I recently installed Linuxmint 8.0 for my girlfriends computer (110&#37; computer illiterate) and I'm VERY impressed. I've dabbled with Redhat, Ubuntu, and still I've got a Centos server running, but Linuxmint is just packaged so much better for the average Windows-based person. It installed without a hitch and it's very well laid out. I was just tinkering, and Vitsa Ultimate is already installed, but I may just leave Linuxmint as her primary OS.

 

[Rifter]

Just installed it on my server computer.

I Had MAJOR video issues with the default drivers and AMD 780G Intergrated graphics.

Would crash hard(not able to use keyboard to reset) in less than 45 seconds on the desktop with crazy colored lines all over the screen. Solved this by downloading the ATI drivers 9.11 on my other linux box and renaming the file to a short name so i could run it quick from command line and then booting it up and running the drivers right away before it crashed. It actually did crash but after the drivers had finished running. Has been on for over a hour now with no crashes, just finished getting all the updates. Looking really good and feels faster than 7, which is wierd since im running Mint 7 on a AMD PH II 940 and my server has a 7750BE.

 

[Gillbot]

Well, so far i'm not a fan of linux mint 8. I downloaded the ISO, ran the CD and it went right into the "updater" and proceeded to load a bunch of updates. After that, it rebooted on it's own to a login screen, which would be fine if there were a default login or it actually let me set up a username. I tried three times with the same result so I trashed that ISO and decided i'll try another distro tomorrow.

 

[Binky]

Still no problems here. I have a 785g chipset (like rifterut) and my updater works great. Gotta love that the media programs and open office are already installed and configured.

 

[Kadarin]

Sunday night I did a reinstall in order to put Vista on a separate partition (games), and I've had no issue. I forgot to activate the closed source nVidia video drivers, so I'll have to do that the next time I plan to reboot.