Sunday, August 28, 2011

Linux Mint

So I changed from Windows Vista to Linux Mint. It's a fascinating change. Linux has become even more user friendly since I used it last, and when you tweak it, it becomes even more so. My latest installation is Cairo-Dock, which is very fluid and works rather like the Mac dock. Talk about convenient. I'm a fan. :)

2 comments:

No Flour No Sugar Diet said...

Hi-
I'm actually an unsatisfied Vista user myself, esp. when I heard in an interview that Vista is one of the worst of the Windows platforms...
do you have to be super tech-savvy to switch up your whole system to Linux?
thanks,
Michael

Anthony Smitha said...

Well, it's not the easiest switch in the world to make, since a majority of the programs that you are used to running in Windows will not run on Linux. But if you're tech-curious and willing to learn (and realize that with Linux, you get what you pay for and you get what you put into it), it's not difficult. It has a GUI (graphical user interface), so it's like Windows in the point-and-click aspect. Aside from that, it's an adventure. Fair warning, it can be really frustrating if you are new to Linux. Dedication, Google searches, and a willingness to figure it out will pay off, if you plan to install Linux.

The really nice thing about Linux is that Mint is simply one distro. There's tons of distros (Ubuntu is the most common, OpenSUSE is probably second, Fedora, Debian, Slackware, to name just a few), which can be overwhelming when you're trying to figure out which is the best for you, and then there's the question of which interface (GNOME, KDE, XFCE, LXDE, etc.).

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

This is a good link to help you figure out which of the popular distros will suit you best. The interface depends on your hardware and your preferences. Your newest computers will run great with any interface; GNOME is very pretty, somewhat heavy, and has an easy interface; KDE is very feature-rich but runs well on slightly older computers (say 2-4 years); XFCE and LXDE is designed to be very lightweight, works very well on older computers (say 5+ years) and still looks good, but is not as feature-rich as either GNOME or KDE.