thinking to change from Vista Home basic to Mint7,pros & Cons

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elvin

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I'm thinking to change to Mint 7...
Is this a good idea, I'm totally new to Linux.


how will the change from windows to Linux be? would you advise this move?
Thanks !
 
Mint7 ? What major linux distro is that based on to start off with?
Pain is relative to what programs you are used to and what hardware your machine has.
 
never heard of mint before, but sure as eggs, it exists, how does it compare with ubuntu?
i hate to admit but if u gaming u should go for Win7, do a dual boot to Linux/Win
 
Linux Mint has been around for a while now. It is based on Ubuntu.

It's been touted as a slipstreamed Ubuntu. More useful things come pre-installed, a few core modules are rewritten, etc.

It's worth giving a go, and the Ubuntu documentation will apply.

But for specific problems you might encounter, you'll get less response in forums than if you were running Ubuntu.

To see whether it's a good idea for you to try it out, you should list you full system specs, as well as what you want to use the computer for.
 
Drake2007 said:
Mint7 ? What major linux distro is that based on to start off with?
Click to expand...

It's a refined Ubuntu.

http://www.linuxmint.com/about.php
Linux Mint's purpose is to produce an elegant, up to date and comfortable GNU/Linux desktop distribution.

Excerpt From DistroWatch.com:

Linux Mint is one of the surprise packages of the past year. Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release. DistroWatch has spoken to the founder and lead developer of Linux Mint, Clement Lefebvre, about the history of the distribution.

Some of the reasons for the success of Linux Mint are:

* It's one of the most community driven distributions. You could literally post an idea in the forums today and see it implemented the week after in the "current" release. Of course this has pros and cons and compared to distributions with roadmaps, feature boards and fixed release cycles we miss a lot of structure and potentially a lot of quality, but it allows us to react quickly, implement more innovations and make the whole experience for us and for the users extremely exciting.
* It is a Debian-based distribution and as such it is very solid and it comes with one of the greatest package managers.
* It is compatible with and uses Ubuntu repositories. This gives Linux Mint users access to a huge collection of packages and software.
* It comes with a lot of desktop improvements which make it easier for the user to do common things.
* There is a strong focus on making things work out of the box (WiFi cards drivers in the file system, multimedia support, screen resolution, etc).
Click to expand...
 
I do like anti-bloat ware, that distro sounds just like it.
As to the OP, it depends what software do you mainly use in windows atm/
 
I use Mint at home, and it is very nice.

Of course, if you've never used linux before, the usual disclaimers apply. Most importantly, linux is NOT windows. It is an alternative, not a replacement. It will not run your windows programs, and you will be frustrated if that's what you're expecting.

Having said that, Mint is an awesome distro and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to someone new to linux.
 
I tried mint... But switched back to ubuntu, IMO ubuntu is more refined while mint will appeal to a certain group of users.
 
Aqua_lung said:
I tried mint... But switched back to ubuntu, IMO ubuntu is more refined while mint will appeal to a certain group of users.
Click to expand...

Have to agree. I preferred Ubuntu. Maybe it was just me, but I also found Mint a bit buggy. That having been said it seems to be receiving rave reviews.
 
Drake2007 said:
More buggy than the average distro?
Click to expand...

I've yet to attempt to boot a Mint system (last I tried was Elyssa, though) that, without modifying the boot parameters, didn't crash to a BusyBox when trying to run the Live disc
 
I recently bought a laptop that came with vista business. I had never used Vista prior to this. What a useless excuse for an OS! I just had to get something else installed quickly as vista just wasn't my cup of tea. A couple of hours later I installed mint 7 and I've been happy since. The only reason for mint in my case was the little extras that it came with over vanilla ubuntu. Both would have done the job just fine. chiskop mentioned some fine points above - its not for everyone, but its a great distro.
Try out the live cd and see if you're comfortable with the OS before committing to install it.
 
The best is always to dual boot for a while and see if you can get to grips with Linux, after you are well versed, then you can only use Linux.
 
sn3rd said:
I've yet to attempt to boot a Mint system (last I tried was Elyssa, though) that, without modifying the boot parameters, didn't crash to a BusyBox when trying to run the Live disc
Click to expand...

LOL, so you couldn't boot an older Mint on you system without modifying boot parameters = Mint 7 buggy? :p

Mint is a very polished distro.
 
Here are my PC specs:
80G disk
1.5G Ram
1.75 Ghz
Pentium dual core
Windows vista home Basic

The only program that I need to work on mint is MS Office 2007(need Powerpoint)....will it work on Mint7?
 
elvin said:
The only program that I need to work on mint is MS Office 2007(need Powerpoint)....will it work on Mint7?
Click to expand...

MS Office won't work - it is a windows application. The linux equivalent that Mint includes is Open Office. I forget the name of the Powerpoint analogue (Presentation?), that may be able to do what you need it to do. OO can save to MSOffice formats.

What make PC, and most nb, what wireless card does it have?
 
chiskop said:
LOL, so you couldn't boot an older Mint on you system without modifying boot parameters = Mint 7 buggy? :p

Mint is a very polished distro.
Click to expand...

/queue overuse of newest smiley

:erm::erm::erm::erm::erm::erm:

I never said it was buggy...

I was just providing my own experience from long ago :erm:
 
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