I'm really discouraged with new laptops.

[Steve A.]

Terry:

I'm ready to swap out the HD and install Linux. What version of Mint(sp?) do you recommend? That would have all of the same drivers as Ubuntu, correct?

Steve

[Steve A.]

So now I'm looking at Chrome books at least the OS makes more sense. I'm a little concerned with storage space though. They mostly have small solid state storage devices instead of a hard drive.

The OS is much smaller than Windows and I believe that for additional storage you would use a USB 3.0 external drive. Have you checked out Start8 that R.G. recommended? It is really slick and gives you the basic Win 7 start menu. If you want the 8.1 tiles the top left entry on the start menu goes to the stock 8.1 start menu. There is a 30 day free trial and hopefully the grand jury will vote for indictment. Whoops- wrong thread!

Steve

[big_teee]

Terry:

I'm ready to swap out the HD and install Linux. What version of Mint(sp?) do you recommend? That would have all of the same drivers as Ubuntu, correct?

Steve

Hi Steve:
I'm running Mint 17 XFCE they have since issued a mid-year version 17.1.
You have the choice of 4 desktops. with 17.
Cinnamon, Mate, XFCE, and KDE.
Mint 17.1 has a newer desktop for Cinnamon, Mate.
You might as well try 17.1 Cinnamon, or Mate.
Cinnamon is the most popular, and has a newer look.
If you like traditional look go with Mate, or XFCE.
I recommend staying away from mint KDE.
I never liked KDE.
You want a version with all the codec's.
Some don't have them.
This is a german site, but It will allow you install in English.
LinuxMint.de - Aktuellste und archivierte Versionen der bekannten Linux Distribution

[dmartn149]

The OS is much smaller than Windows and I believe that for additional storage you would use a USB 3.0 external drive. Have you checked out Start8 that R.G. recommended? It is really slick and gives you the basic Win 7 start menu. If you want the 8.1 tiles the top left entry on the start menu goes to the stock 8.1 start menu. There is a 30 day free trial and hopefully the grand jury will vote for indictment. Whoops- wrong thread!

Steve

I re-ordered the $299 Dell, it was a really good deal. I'm using it right now. Thinking about start8, or running Mint in Virtual Box. Anybody here tried VB?

[big_teee]

I re-ordered the $299 Dell, it was a really good deal. I'm using it right now. Thinking about start8, or running Mint in Virtual Box. Anybody here tried VB?

Do you have a link to your Dell?
I would like to see what you got.
I'm going to buy another laptop for my wife, and give my granddaughter my wifes HP.
Tnx,
T

[dmartn149]

Teee I guess they are out of them. It's like this one,but witha dvd writer.
Dell Inspiron 15.6" Laptop Intel Pentium 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive I35313225BK - Best Buy

[big_teee]

Teee I guess they are out of them. It's like this one,but witha dvd writer.
Dell Inspiron 15.6" Laptop Intel Pentium 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive I35313225BK - Best Buy

Thanks,
That looks similar to the last toshiba I bought.
I'll probably wait and see what's on sale after New Years.
**Edit
Here's a good deal on a Lenovo.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-1...&skuId=9647107
I own and I've had good luck with Lenovos.
I may go and see if they have one of these in my BB store.
It has a TB drive.

[überfuzz]

Terry:

I'm ready to swap out the HD and install Linux. What version of Mint(sp?) do you recommend? That would have all of the same drivers as Ubuntu, correct?

Steve

If youre unsure of the drivers just try a live cd, or whatever media you prefer. If there some drivers missing look and see if you find them.

Historical Linux dists often had weak support of different wi-fi cards. But the last five years or so i never ran into such gnarlies.

[Steve A.]

If youre unsure of the drivers just try a live cd, or whatever media you prefer. If there some drivers missing look and see if you find them.

I was planning to do that. Do I need an OS on a hd to run linux on CD or USB thumb drive? Any versions that you would recommend me trying?

Thanks!

Steve

[DrGonz78]

I was planning to do that. Do I need an OS on a hd to run linux on CD or USB thumb drive? Any versions that you would recommend me trying?

You do not need to have an OS on a HD to run any of it live. Just need to have a bios boot menu that allows to boot from USB drive or DVD drive. When running the live CD it will not run as fast as it would after you install on a hard drive, you probably knew that already.

Editions for Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" - Linux Mint

I love the Cinnamon desktop btw!

[überfuzz]

Steve - I'd say it's foremost a matter of taste. A bit like recommending an amplifier to a guitarist. :-) Anyhow, the last 5 years or so Ubuntu and later Mint has seen a lot of usage worldwide. I myself is a long time user of openSUSE, which probably has the beefiest fresh installer of all Linux dists, at least of the ones I know of. With openSUSE you get the whole works, more or less, when you install it. Saying that I got a bit fed up with the holistic approach of openSUSE and started to use a lighter installer of Ubuntu a couple of years ago.

Try figure out what you need and want in you computer. Then it's probably easier to choose a suitable distribution. (If looks is important to you just google; KDE, gnome etc so that you can choose a nice look.)

[big_teee]

How's it going Steve?
On new laptops, You're down to just a few distros that will work on them.
Depending on the laptop.
Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Opensuse.
The first two are the easiest to load for those used to windows.
You can get one running, then you can dowload another to a USB Stick, and try it later.
For us Distro Hoppers, it can be an on going adventure.
Like DR said, Cinnamon is probably most popular.
I would start with Cinnamon, mate, or XFCE.
I ran Mate for a long time, then switched over to XFCE, it is my Desktop of choice.
Later you can try another on a USB, or CD.
GL,
T
** edit
Don't get discouraged, and don't be surprised if you end up installing it several times, to get the hang of everything.
One advantage you have is that you have multiple computers.
You can download and research from one, while you're working on the new laptop.
The absolute worse scenario is to only have one computer, and try working on it.
Having multiple computers, multipe hard drives, etc. makes Linux life much easier.
Things I use a lot, are multiple laptops, extra hard drives, USB memory sticks, and a 2.5 inch SATA USB enclosure to house extra hard drives for the ease of transferring files.

[Steve A.]

Don't get discouraged, and don't be surprised if you end up installing it several times, to get the hang of everything.

With XP I might run install 3 times until I had everything set up perfectly.

BTW the Lenova laptop at BestBuy does not come with an optical drive, which is becoming very common in ones under $350. For the "best buy" anyone can sign up for email bonus codes at Fry's and they have free shipping for orders over $34. (I've always felt sorry for people who didn't live near a Fry's store but now anybody can partake of their special deals.)

Steve

[DrGonz78]

One of my favorite parts about my linux machine? Each time I install updates it never has to reboot!! yay! How many times have you accidently hit reboot now in the middle of working on something important? Maybe it's just me...

[überfuzz]

Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Opensuse.
The first two are the easiest to load for those used to windows.

Wrong, if you intent default shipped distribution. KDE is the most Windows like desktop you can have, as windows nicked more or less all they could while mustering Win 7. I'm pretty sure openSUSE is the only one shipped with KDE, the other are shipped with gnome. Then again, with a little read up one finds kubuntu, mint Rebecca, etc..

Don't get discouraged, and don't be surprised if you end up installing it several times, to get the hang of everything.

Not from my experience, I'd say Linux is like the game Othello. Easy to get going, hard to master. Just install it and run it, no virus, one click installs, etc.


Big tee touches an important point in his post. You can, or I encourage you, to down load multiple linux distributions. Then when you have the time just go wild with the distributions you downloaded. With some distributions it won't be love at first sight, but be patient. You be appalled by the crude looks of XFCE, but if you give it a proper try you might love how speedy it is.