Linux Mint - Making Linux easy

Linux Mint 8 also simplifies the desktop by doing away with the dual-menubar layout preferred by Ubuntu in favour of a single menubar across the bottom of the screen. Mint also trims down the tripartite Applications/Places/System menu of Ubuntu and condenses this into a single Main Menu flyout. This adds a layer of simplicity to the Mint desktop and mimics the style of the Windows desktop, with which most users are familiar.
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While I think Mint is great, I actually like the Ubuntu menus and menubars. I like that all my places are in one menu, applications are in another and system settings are in yet another.

Putting everything in one pseudo-start button just further obfuscates and means I have to click one more time :wtf: to gain access to what I am looking for.

Gentoo also did the whole one menubar, one start button approach and I much prefer the Ubuntu approach. Although I may be biased by the whole "constantly compiling so that you can never use it" approach of Gentoo...EMERGE!!!
 
If you don't like Mint's menu, just remove it from the bar and add the default gnome menu back which is what you essentially have in Ubuntu.

Personally I like GnoMenu (which is what Mint uses to get that menu), you can have it look like XP, Win7, Vista, Kde or whichever menu you really like, and that is basically why I like it.
 
Tinuva said:
If you don't like Mint's menu, just remove it from the bar and add the default gnome menu back which is what you essentially have in Ubuntu.

Personally I like GnoMenu (which is what Mint uses to get that menu), you can have it look like XP, Win7, Vista, Kde or whichever menu you really like, and that is basically why I like it.
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I acknowledge that it is customisable and I wasn't saying that someone shouldn't choose Mint because of the menus, if you don't like the menus as you say just change them. I am just saying that the article uses the menus as a beacon of user-friendliness and IMO that layout is not more user-friendly. I actually find the Ubuntu menu layout more user-friendly once you get used to them.

User-friendly != "same as Windows".

EDIT: I really wouldn't want my menus looking like Vista, that was the most confusing system I have ever seen. Don't even get me started on that crowning turd in the waterpipe: "Windows Networking and Sharing Center"
 
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Heck, all I know about UNIX/Linux is a tiny smattering of AIX and that's nothing. Always been Micro$oft-based. How would anyone recommend this Linux Mint to a total newcomer to the OS? Can I still run all my Windows applications but on a Linux Mint kernel? Is it more stable and quicker than Windoze? Does it come in a 64-bit version, or is it already 128-bit? I would test it on my HP Laptop rather than any of my desktops in case of a crash, or maybe replace the old XP-Home desktop with Mint. Where can I source recommendations?
 
g-d-zilla said:
Heck, all I know about UNIX/Linux is a tiny smattering of AIX and that's nothing. Always been Micro$oft-based. How would anyone recommend this Linux Mint to a total newcomer to the OS? ... Where can I source recommendations?
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I used Mint when I was just getting into Linux, then moved to Ubuntu. Now kinda moving back to Mint. Not only is it easier to get into, but I just can't resist the clean interface and themes (I know I can make Ubuntu look and act the same, but Mint already does.)
So at the moment I have Karmic on my PC and Mint Helena on my laptop.
I'd definitely recommend Mint to a newbie, though.

As for where to get recommendations, you could read reviews till you're blue in the face but the only way is to download it, install it or try the LiveCD (not as good though, rather go for a full install, or a LiveUSB, that's much faster than the CD)
 
Um, you know what a LiveCD is? It's kinda like that, but on a USB. :cool:

A Live distro (whether on CD or USB) allows you to boot into the distro and try out Linux on your computer, without altering your computer at all. ie When you're done playing, you shutdown, remove the CD/USB and boot back into windows. A Live system is a little slower than installing linux properly, but it's great for trying stuff out.

Mint FTW.
 
I tried Mint not too long ago, but wasn't too impressed with it. Maybe one gets attached to a particular distro and how things are done :confused:
 
I've given many distros a chance on my PCs, but Mint stayed the longest. My daughter (8) uses it, so it can't be all bad. ;)
 
dabbler said:
I tried Mint not too long ago, but wasn't too impressed with it. Maybe one gets attached to a particular distro and how things are done :confused:
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IMO once you are familiar with Linux in general it isn't that difficult to change from one distro to the next. I haven't used too many distros and in fact all the distros I have tried have been Debian-based, but still :p.

The main thing Ubuntu has gong for it over other distros is the massive community support. When I was starting out with Ubuntu there was no issue that the forum couldn't help me with.

Also IMO the Ubuntu community seems to be developing very well. I used to frequent ubuntuforums.org and I couldn't believe how many "how do I delete this file from the trash it says I don't have permissions" threads there were in the Absolute Beginners section. That just showed how few users understood the Linux permissions system. Nowadays that section is filled with threads with titles like "how do I properly configure my MySQL server to keep it local only" which is IMO far more advanced that deleting stuff from trash.

Raithlin said:
I've given many distros a chance on my PCs, but Mint stayed the longest. My daughter (8) uses it, so it can't be all bad. ;)
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Yea it seems Linux has become quite user-friendly as of late. My girlfriend uses Ubuntu just fine and she still refers to the firefox desktop launcher as "the internet".
 
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