Skip to main content

Linux Mint 12 Live DVD

After a lovely Thanksgiving, I plugged in the Linux Mint 12 live DVD, 64 bit version (on my System 76 desktop unit.

It seems rather obvious and intuitive to use. On the one hand, there's the familiar panel below (with Window pager), and the familiar start button. This is Mint's response to the outrage and outcry of Linux users who can't deal with Ubuntu's Unity or Gnome's latest version (3.0).

On the other, I can ignore all that and just click on the infinity symbol (upper left) and find myself in the middle of Gnome 3. Which is also rather obvious and intuitive, although it may take an extra click or two.

Linux Mint 12 started rather rapidly, and seemed to have no trouble at all finding the network; it even felt a little faster than 11.

I can take a screenshot of the usual (familiar desktop), but can't find a way to take one of the newer Gnome one. But this may be because I've been sick, and have run out of steam. Time to turn in early.

Of course, it still can't display my modest 1280x1024 screen size, which sucks. So there's no compelling reason to jump on the train now. Still, another day, another download, another distro.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Uncle Bobby's Wedding

Recently, a library patron challenged (urged a reconsideration of the ownership or placement of) a book called "Uncle Bobby's Wedding." Honestly, I hadn't even heard of it until that complaint. But I did read the book, and responded to the patron, who challenged the item through email and requested that I respond online (not via snail-mail) about her concerns. I suspect the book will get a lot of challenges in 2008-2009. So I offer my response, purging the patron's name, for other librarians. Uncle Bobby's wedding June 27, 2008 Dear Ms. Patron: Thank you for working with my assistant to allow me to fit your concerns about “Uncle Bobby's Wedding,” by Sarah S. Brannen, into our “reconsideration” process. I have been assured that you have received and viewed our relevant policies: the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read, Free Access to Libraries for Minors, the Freedom to View, and our Reconsideration Policy. The intent of providing all tha...

Installing Linux on a 2011 Macbook Pro

I had two MacBook Pros, both 13" models from late 2011. One had 4 gigs of RAM, and the other 8. Both of them were intolerably slow. In the first case, I wound up installing CleanMyMac , which did arcane things to various files, and put up alerts to warn me about disappearing memory. But it made the machine useable again, albeit not exactly speedy. I changed some habits: Safari as browser rather than Firefox or Chrome. I tried to keep tabs down to four or five. The second Mac had bigger problems. Its charger was shot, but even with that replaced, the battery tapped out at 75%. More importantly, the whole disk had been wiped, which meant that it wouldn't boot. Recently, I had downloaded a couple of Linux distributions ("distros") on USB drives. Elementary OS 5.1 (Hera) was reputed to be a lightweight, beautiful distro that shared some aesthetics with the Mac OS. So I thought I'd give it a try. Ahead of time, I tried to read up on how difficult it might be to...

The First Year: 5 strategies for success

[The First Year: 5 Strategies for Success, 1 of 8] Over the past several years, I've had the pleasure of coaching several new public library directors. For a  variety of reasons, many directors are stepping into the role for the first time. Often, particularly in smaller or more rural libraries, they haven't even had a lot of supervisory experience. I tell new directors that the two big advantages of confidential access to someone who has walked in your shoes is that (a) you can ask the questions you might feel embarrassed to ask your board or staff, and (b) you have the advantage of someone else's mistakes. To be clear, everybody makes mistakes. It may be the most powerful learning tool we have. But I've thought about my mistakes, and I can help you identify the old ones, and with luck, make new ones. There's no good reason to make the same ones! I believe that there are five key constituencies the public library director must satisfy:  your boss  (usual...