Mint OS Mini-Review
A full featured Linux distro intended for ease of use
DISCOVERY
My goal was to find a Linux distro that would be as close as I
could get to Windows as this was my first foray into the Linux world. I researched and watched YouTube
videos to determine which ones might be worth exploring. Mint OS was #1 on everyones list as being goood
for making the transition from Windows to Linux. I also learned that Mint is a spinoff of the popular
Ubuntu Linux and shares a lot of code.
INSTALLATION (2.5 Installations)
First, I downloaded the newest ISO file for Mint
from the official Mint website. For testing purposes I started by installing Mint (#1) on a Hyper-V
virtual machine using the ISO. This was mainly to do a quick review and compare it with Windows. I liked
what I saw so I decided to put Mint on actual hardware. I dug out a really old HP desktop (Core i3 Gen
2) that I previously saved for parts and had been in my closet for years. The desktop was missing a
couple components. It needed memory, so I installed 8 gig of memory that was salvaged from another
retired desktop. Then, I purchased and installed a new 512G SSD. Belana Etcher was used to create a
bootable thumb drive from the ISO following instructions I found online. I installed Mint again
(Installation #2) from the thumb drive onto the old i3 desktop. Suprisingly, the performance is quite
decent on a 12 year old computer! It was much better than I expected. I was able to make a working Mint
computer that I could lean on for a grand total of $35!
UPDATE: (Installation 2.5) I have since
moved the SSD with Linux Mint to a somewhat newer Core I3 Gen 10 desktop that a client abandoned. (They
were called multiple times.) It had been sitting here almost 2 years and they never picked it up. Mint
detected the change in processor and worked with no issues. Moving the drive in this manner is possible
ONLY if you go from Intel processor to another Intel processor. In other words don't crossover from
Intel to AMD or you'll have issues.
PRINTER DRIVER
Mint auto detected the Brother Laser AIO printer on the
network. No driver install was necessary. Printing simply worked and I didn't need to do a thing. NOTE:
I have NOT attempted to use the scanner. I am assuming I would need to get software from Brother to make
that work.
WI-FI
There was no initial Wi-Fi connectivity. I tried a TPLINK EXTERNAL USB Wi-Fi:
I had no luck finding a driver and I eventually gave up on it. My second try was to Locate and install
a TPLINK internal Wi-Fi card with an Intel chipset. This worked first try and was recognized by the OS.
Lesson 1: Installing Wi-Fi is easy if you have Linux drivers for your Wi-Fi card. If you don't have
correct drivers, it becomes more difficult but some users are able to make it work. Lesson 2: It's my
understanding that Mint natively supports all wifi cards that use an Intel chipset.
SAMBA SUPPORT
Installs easily via the command line using instructions provided online. It works as expected. The fist
connection takes the longest as it searches and then you need to put in a password to the network share.
Your good to go after that. I have yet to figure out how to make a persistant network connection and
bypass the password prompt.
SOFTWARE
Using the software manager I looked for applications that I was familiar with in Windows. I installed
various apps including: OBS, VLC, LibreOffice, VSCode, Steam, Minecraft, Mahjongg etc.… All of these
worked as expected and appear to be identical to their Windows counterparts. Finding software to do what
you want takes some exploring as there seems to be less software available. I found out early on, that
Adobe Acrobat isn't available for Linux. A person needs an alternative PDF reader. I ended up using
FoxIt reader. Once you find the alternative software you need; you may have another learning
curve.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF MINT CINNAMON:
Mint is the easiest Linux distro I have tested
to this point. Setup was just as fast if not faster than a Windows 10 installation. Operation is
quite similar to Windows and therefore good for beginner Linux users. All in all, MINT continues to
be my best experience in the Linux world.
OVERALL IMPRESSION OF LINUX IN GENERAL:
System requirements for any of the Linux
distros are much smaller than that of Windows. It's a great way to repurpose older Windows machines.
Linux Mint appears to be very stable and reliable. I have yet to experience a system crash. It just
works. Some software is available on both Windows and Linux and it works and looks identical. Because
Linux is a different world my goal is to work with and use the command line (terminal) as much as
possible to gain experience. The Linux command line is vastly different than Windows. The learning curve
involves using Google and YouTube to search for the answers I need and learn as I go along. At this
time, I don't feel confident that I would make the switch from Windows to ANY version of Linux as a
daily driver.
SIDE NOTE:
As a beginner Linux user, I have been compiling a list of notes for Linux (primarily Mint) that answer
basic questions. It contains items I had to lookup along with the solution for each item. I may include
some of this information in a PDF file once I verify everything and refine the wording.
