Sunday, June 9, 2013

Mint 15 Live or Install DVD

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With Microsoft's continual change of Desktop layout's a look at the alternatives could be worthwhile. Linux Mint 15 would be a good choice for those familiar with XP, as it keeps to the basic XP layout. It is a free download and has an installation time of around 15 Minutes. I tested this distribution on an entry level single core Toshiba laptop that came with Windows 7 preinstalled, that I considered to be too slow to be usable. Boot time over 2 minutes compared to Mint's 35 seconds. Mint was ready to go on broadband Ethernet, and wireless with just knowing the wireless password. A laser printer and Multifunction printer scanner installed themselves without any intervention. Firefox with flash, Thunerbird E-mail, Libreoffice 4, VLC media player and DVD burner software was already provided on the distribution. I added Cheese camera and Skype applications which immediately worked. Virus checkers are not required. The only drawback is for iTune users as this is not supported.