Linux 1st time user

Associate
Joined
19 Mar 2011
Posts
816
So today i decided after watchin a youtube video to install linux on my windows laptop, been 63yrs old i do have moments of madness :)
I installed linux mint cinnamon edition and i am thinking is this the simplest to install for a freshie to learn? my main desktop is still windows 11 i have no idea what i will use linux for, i think i just want to try something different
other than windows.

what software would you suggest i need to install if any at all

thanks for looking any advice appreciated
 
Mint is a great intro to Linux especially if you’re coming from Windows as it’s a similar menu set up. Use it as you’d use Windows - it’s just an OS after all.
 
So today i decided after watchin a youtube video to install linux on my windows laptop, been 63yrs old i do have moments of madness :)
I installed linux mint cinnamon edition and i am thinking is this the simplest to install for a freshie to learn? my main desktop is still windows 11 i have no idea what i will use linux for, i think i just want to try something different
other than windows.

what software would you suggest i need to install if any at all

thanks for looking any advice appreciated
What software do you currently use on Windows 11? I might be able to suggest options if I know what you are currently using.
 
So today i decided after watchin a youtube video to install linux on my windows laptop, been 63yrs old i do have moments of madness :)
I installed linux mint cinnamon edition and i am thinking is this the simplest to install for a freshie to learn? my main desktop is still windows 11 i have no idea what i will use linux for, i think i just want to try something different
other than windows.

what software would you suggest i need to install if any at all

thanks for looking any advice appreciated
Nice one, I haven’t tried mint but i installed Ubuntu on an old thinkpad last year. The GUI is very easy to get on with so easy transition from windows and/or MacOS.

There’s a ton of guides if you want to get more in depth with using the command line to work with the system or just use via the gui. I’m still very much a newcomer with Linux too but I’m pretty impressed- I honestly think it should be the default for everyones technophobe relative as they can’t accidentally install malware etc which you then get called upon to fix! Even if they do manage to screw it up just wipe, reinstall, add the apps they need and they’re good to go again.

You may already have the libreoffice suite but, if not, i would start there. Gimp if you want to edit pics, thunderbird as a mail client. VLC media player. I assume you already have firefox on it, i am trying to recall if that was installed with ubuntu (of course if may be different with mint).

Enjoy!
 
Linux Mint comes with LibreOffice, Firefox & Thunderbird. Gimp used to be part of the install but they now install a simpler app by default (Drawing) as they found a lot of users struggled with the UI and complexity of Gimp (I think those were the general reasons). Celluloid is the default media player. VLC and Gimp are available in the repository for those that prefer them :)
 
Linux Mint comes with LibreOffice, Firefox & Thunderbird. Gimp used to be part of the install but they now install a simpler app by default (Drawing) as they found a lot of users struggled with the UI and complexity of Gimp (I think those were the general reasons). Celluloid is the default media player. VLC and Gimp are available in the repository for those that prefer them :)

I can understand that, i had the same experience of gimp tbh - just couldn’t get on with the interface- but i’d put that down to my own impatience.
 
I do like the features of Gimp though I don't use (or need) too many of them. For me the Drawing app was too much in the other direction, though I guess it's probably only really supposed to emulate MS Paint. It's probably fine but I'd gotten used to the Gimp GUI by that time :)
 
Last edited:
What software do you currently use on Windows 11? I might be able to suggest options if I know what you are currently using.
got a few hours off work so still playing with mint, its actually very nice found most of the stuff i used on pc is also on linux and that works very well too.
Currently i am running it dual boot alongside win10.
What i would like to know is how this fella on youtube got his desktop to like this short youtube video i have linked at the bottom
Other than that so far so good :)
Oh 1 thing i cannot seem to get working is the num keypad on my laptop, it works fine with windows but not my current install, not sure why, its an asus rog lappy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTwajCnCSTs
 
got a few hours off work so still playing with mint, its actually very nice found most of the stuff i used on pc is also on linux and that works very well too.
Currently i am running it dual boot alongside win10.
What i would like to know is how this fella on youtube got his desktop to like this short youtube video i have linked at the bottom
Other than that so far so good :)
Oh 1 thing i cannot seem to get working is the num keypad on my laptop, it works fine with windows but not my current install, not sure why, its an asus rog lappy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTwajCnCSTs
Looks like he has moved the task bar to the top and added Conky to display the CPU etc usage, his video provides a link to the conky theme he is using. That sort of desktop theming is not my cup of tea so not massively familiar with it.
 
Back
Top Bottom