The Perfect Desktop - Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) - Page 2

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Submitted by falko (Contact Author) (Forums) on Thu, 2009-05-28 16:48. ::

3 Update The System

When you log in for the first time, you will most likely see an open lock icon in the lower right corner which means that updates for the installed software are available. Open the main menu and click on the All applications button:

To install the updates, go to Applications > Administration > mintUpdate:

Type in your password:

mintUpdate tells you which updates are available. Click on Install Updates to install them:

The updates are being downloaded and installed (this can take a few minutes):

When the update is complete, click on Close and leave the mintUpdate window:

The lock icon should now be closed. The system is up-to-date.

 

4 Flash Player

Linux Mint 7 installs the Macromedia Flash Player by default. To see if the Flash plugin is working, start Firefox (Applications > Internet > Firefox Web Browser). Then type about:plugins in the address bar. Firefox will then list all installed plugins, and it should list the Flash Player (version 10.0r22) among them:

 

5 NVIDIA/ATI Drivers

If you have an NVIDIA or ATI graphics card and want to use 3D acceleration (e.g. for Compiz-Fusion), you must install the proprietary NVIDIA or ATI driver. To do this, use the Hardware Drivers Manager (Applications > Administration > Hardware Drivers):

 

6 Inventory Of What We Have So Far

Now let's browse all menus under Applications to see which of our needed applications are already installed:

You should find the following situation ([x] marks an application that is already installed, where [ ] is an application that is missing):

Graphics:
[x] The GIMP
[ ] F-Spot
[ ] Picasa

Internet:
[x] Firefox
[ ] Opera
[x] Flash Player
[ ] FileZilla
[x] Thunderbird
[ ] Evolution
[ ] aMule
[x] Transmission BitTorrent Client
[ ] Azureus/Vuze
[x] Pidgin
[ ] Skype
[ ] Google Earth
[x] Xchat IRC

Office:
[x] OpenOffice Writer
[x] OpenOffice Calc
[ ] Adobe Reader
[ ] GnuCash
[ ] Scribus

Sound & Video:
[ ] Amarok
[ ] Audacity
[ ] Banshee
[x] MPlayer
[x] Rhythmbox Music Player
[ ] gtkPod
[ ] XMMS
[ ] dvd::rip
[ ] Kino
[ ] Sound Juicer CD Extractor
[ ] VLC Media Player
[ ] Helix Player
[x] Totem
[ ] Xine
[x] Brasero
[ ] K3B
[ ] Multimedia-Codecs

Programming:
[ ] KompoZer
[ ] Bluefish
[ ] Quanta Plus

Other:
[ ] VirtualBox
[ ] TrueType fonts
[ ] Java
[x] Read/Write support for NTFS partitions

So some applications are already on the system. NTFS read-/write support is enabled by default on Linux Mint 7.

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Copyright © 2009 Falko Timme
All Rights Reserved.
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Gloria and the Nvidia 3D driver
Submitted by AndrewB (registered user) on Tue, 2009-06-02 05:26.

The last time I was actually able to install and use the 3D Nvidia driver was way back at Mint 4 (32 bit op-sys) Since then, on 5, 6 and 7 I've had no succcess. There is actually little real help in mint's forum or Ubuntu's for that matter as all the help speak much the same thing. It's not that I have a video card that is way out there or anything; it's listed as being supported on Nvidia's site (Gforce 7350LE). A stock install with no fiddling at all on my part will not engage the 3D driver. I've tried to compile it to the kernel as per Nvidia's site instuctions and tried ALL the different approaches from all help files with no luck. Yet in Mints documentation it states the drivers are fully tested and compatible. The driver DO install correctly in Mint's # 6 version in 64 bit mode from a stock install - go figure! So I wait for the nest version to come out..

 

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2 problems
Submitted by Anonymous (not registered) on Sun, 2009-05-31 23:39.
I have 2 problems with Linux mint. First of all, even if you keep it updated, you will always have to install a new version when it comes out. With other distros, as long as you keep things updated, you do not need to install a new version, you already have it (with the exception of the default graphics, which are easy to install if you want them). Second, Gnome is the primary GUI. They do have a KDE version, but usually it's release lags far behind the Gnome version. And in my opinion, KDE4.2 with whatever problems etc...still is far far better than Gnome. For those switching from Windows, I have two distros to suggest. For those who are less computer literate, and prefere not to have to tweak things, Mepis is the best choice. For those more adventurous folks or those who want to be on the bleeding edge, sidux is the best choice. .
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Re: 2 problems
Submitted by Steve (not registered) on Tue, 2009-11-03 06:53.
3rd problem:  I think it's dangerous to tell people that any Linux distro is a fully fledged M$ Windows replacement.  It is NOT.  There are many, many applications written for Windows that simply will not run on Linux.  No way, no how; not even under WINE or CrossOver (Windows emulators).  And to suggest that someone switching from Windows to Linux just trash their Windows installation and use the whole HDD is even more dangerous.  I use Linux (Ubuntu 8.04) as my primary platform, but still need to boot to Windows for some things.  I think a How To for a dual boot system is a far safer option for anyone migrating to Linux.
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