Re: Linux Mint 20

I'm sure you are right and Linux would be fine for most people but like you I'm happy enough to continue using Windows. The last time I tried Linux was on one of those cheap laptops with a low power processor and 32GB ssd that isn't a proper ssd and can't be replaced - an HP Stream 13 which I'd picked up very cheap. Keeping it updated was a pain because the disk was so tiny that feature updates didn't work and had to be manual fresh installs each time. It wasn't all that fast either and I thought Mint would run better. Well it was no faster and the on board WiFi wouldn't work despite lots of messing around so I just put Windows back on it. I still have it but the need has gone as I wanted it as a very lightweight travel computer and I don't need one of those now as tablets are good enough for that purpose.

Re: Linux Mint 20

I think a lot of us install Linux on old spare computers just out of interest thinking it will work OK. It does (sort of) but if it is to be used full time, it needs to be installed on a computer with reasonably good specifications. I discovered that a while ago when the graphics card overheated in a Desktop computer it was installed on. An upgrade of the card cured that.

Now I have Mint installed on an Intel NUC (see previous posts). It boots up fast and programs open very quickly.

I don't intend switching to Linux Mint full time and I'm no expert on it but I like to keep up with the development. Linux is probably still thought of as being a bit geeky but I find it has come a long way over the years towards being more suitable for general public use.

Re: Linux Mint 20

I think that if I had an old computer struggling under the weight of Windows 10 I would install Android as the operating system rather than Linux. Instead of being a lightweight alternative the latter is trying to compete with Windows and we know how well that turned out for OS2.

Android is familiar to most people, relatively lightweight and has plenty of support by app makers. Certainly worth trying as an alternative.

https://www.android-x86.org/

Re: Linux Mint 20

Thanks Bruce. I'll try that on the laptop that has Linux on it at present.

Re: Linux Mint 20

Have a look at a Youtube video because there is one tricky entry that you have to make when activating it. I forget exactly where or why but it is merely editing a command line. Apart from that it looks pretty straight forward.

Re: Linux Mint 20

I downloaded the Android x64 iso, since the target laptop computer is 64-bit. A bootable USB stick was made from the iso and I tried booting up the computer using it.

Unfortunately, the laptop doesn't recognise the USB stick as a boot drive. It doesn't have any trouble recognising a Linux USB boot drive, just this Android one.

The problem is only with the laptop though. If the USB stick is plugged into a NUC, it is recognised as a bootable drive. Having just installed Linux on the newer NUC, I don't want to upset that just yet. I might try burning the Android iso to a DVD to see if the laptop will recognise the files and boot up from that.

I've shelved the Android OS for now but will have another go soon.

Re: Linux Mint 20

It was possible to create a boot disk on a DVD and install from from it (didn't just run it from the live DVD). The opinion is that the OS needs work before it's ready for general release.

It isn't so intuitive to install or set up at present as Linux is. Once up and running, it synced OK with my tablet apps but then stuck in a loop of trying to update. It says it can't find the wi-fi, yet it was just using it. All in all, it's behaving a bit weirdly.

Have you tried this on a PC yourself with better results?

I may try it again without reinstalling content from the Cloud but I think this is more than most who want to change from Windows on their PC would be willing to do or be capable of.

This Android OS (rather than just an emulator) might eventually be good but it isn't yet in my initial experience of it.

Re: Linux Mint 20

Personally I have never installed it on a PC as I don't have one old enough to need it. I gave away my old Dell which had a lite version of Linux on it (I forget which). I came across X86 Android when watching a Youtube Channel I subscribe to - hence the comment I made about a tricky bit in the installation process.

I think I have already mentioned that I do have an Android X96 Mini TV Box which runs quite satisfactorily. It was originally bought for my camper but then I picked up a secondhand WD TV Media Player on eBay which is an obsolete but excellent player.

I occasionally get the X96 out to play with, last time was to install Netflix. Netflix doesn't like these TV Boxes since they don't have DRM protection and Netflix is a content provider. It was an interesting work round to get Netflix to work on the device but it did however now the device is back in its box until something else interesting crops up.



or



Can't remember which one I watched

Re: Linux Mint 20

I did try it again and got it to run more or less how it should with one exception. It wouldn't boot up without the DVD inserted. The installation offers to install GRUB, which I accepted but the boot files can't have been transferred to the HDD. That part was OK the first time I tried it.

The look and feel of the OS when up and running is OK but everything looks rather big and chunky, a bit like it isn't the correct resolution. I might have been able alter that but didn't look into it.

It was an interesting experiment and I don't give up on these things. I'll try it again a couple of releases down the line. At the moment though, I'd still say Linux (Mint) is best option for those who dislike Windows 10 and want to get away from it but still use their existing PC ..or get a new PC with an alternative OS pre-installed.

The HP laptop computer I use for these things is fairly old but with reasonable specifications (i5 processor and 8GB RAM).