New features in Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" Cinnamon Edition

Computer Help and Discussions Software
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For those Linux interested tragics like me I recently installed Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" 64bit Cinnamon Edition on my trusty USB flash drive.

After downloading the 1.6gig ISO file I used the following SW to install Mint 18 "Sarah" on my flash drive: http://www.linuxliveusb.com/en/download.

Complete details, what's new/features etc. and 32bit/64bit downloads can be found here: https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_sarah_cinnamon_whatsnew.php

For me personally I was speechless when I discovered that my music and my movies "had sound" straight "out of the box". Well.............not really but almost. Once I had booted to the Mint 18 desktop, selected some mp3 music files (whilst connected to the Internet which is advised in the install notes) following a 15 second SW download I not only had wonderful sounds emanating from my attached sound system I also found that my next step...............playing a MP4 movie favourite of mine "14 Blades" produced both excellent video and sound.

My previous experience with Linux SW variants which I enjoy using on a day to day basis except for music and movies.......which never seem to work. This version of Mint is nice and fast, even has a similar bottom task-bar to Windows.

So Folks, for those interested in using/experimenting/testing or trying something different to Windows and Mac give this one a go..............................I'm impressed so let me know what you think.

NB: Booting and running from my USB flash drive is surprisingly fast and very very usable.

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I have came to the conclusion many years ago that no Linux system is a good replacement for Windows/Mac systems. Linux will always be its own system. I mean I know there are some Linux branches, like ZorinOS, that try to mimic Windows/Mac systems as much as possible, but even those I don't find as good replacements. Linux systems are just Linux systems and is best to just categorize them as that.

Anyways, Linux Mint is a pretty neat system, but it's more of those tech savy/programmers only type systems, in my opinion.

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You are quite correct ROCKNROLL with all of your comments....................however as a 70 year "Ole" retired geek and still building business/gaming PC's I also love experimenting with alternate OS's and believe me when I say this Linux version is worth looking/working with as they have made some excellent improvements. This version is definitely worth looking under the hood when time permits...............many user tweaks available.

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Thanks, Tas, downloading the cinnamon version now.

Have you ever used YUMI to install several distro’s on a single USB stick? I did in the past, and iirc you could not get persistence. Now the site says you can if the distro supports it.

Still, I agree in part with ROCKNROLL. Most Linux distros are not ready for prime time yet.

And Linux will always be Linux. Imho that may be a good thing, not a drawback.

Linux developers are indeed trying to create “windowish” OSs, because that’s what’s familiar.

Success in that will really help the popularity of Linux.

The two biggest problems with using Linux distros used to be compatibility and the learning curve.

Both are improving fast.

For the past few weeks I have been in combat with win 7 through win 8.1, and the win 10 giveaway fiasco.

Windows doesn’t seem much easier than Linux these days.

As a not so tekkie computer user, all I want is an OS that just works and doesn’t jump all over the place once a week. :lol:

I have been using computers since before there WAS windows, and haven’t found it yet

In any case, the price is OK for Mint. Free.

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I've been waiting far too long for Linux to get their act together and make a complete Windows-worthy competitor.

In all their many years of trying, across all the distros, they get close but never enough that you can say "OK, this one's good enough - I can ditch MS now"

For me, it's always the lack of drivers and having to delve into the terminal commands that wrecks it.

Then there's the software lack of choices and differences once you do find something.

Maybe I'm a closet MS fanboy, but I really don't see anything too wrong with Windows.

More often than not it just works. I'd rather spend a few minutes getting to grips with Win10 than the many hours it would take to bend Linux to my needs.

but like a sucker, I keep trying Linux every few years, the last being Ubuntu LTS, so I think I shall take you up on your recommendation Tas and give this one a crack.

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I do indeed agree with both login123 & mta, Linux is not yet anywhere near good enough for the average punter to say "goodbye" to MS Windows of any version or Mac.

However this version of Linux Mint 18 Sarah Cinnamon 64bit is getting closer, probably several years away still but with either dual booting or running it from a USB flash drive this one's worth the effort folks (my humble opinion only).

So far I've had no problems with things like sound, video, mouse, keyboard, graphics, USB printing, internet, Gmail, installing other various apps using default deb packages.

Next I will attempt to test things such as writing DVD's, operating things such as my Logitech F710 wireless game-pad, my web and vehicle dash cam, video editing and my network TV media player.

Even at this early point in time I am much more interested in this OS version than I was with Ubuntu 14.04LTS, it somehow just feels better which is probably such a silly thing to say.............but as they say nothing ventured nothing gained.

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All Linux systems depend on Wine as a compatibility layer to run Windows games/software on Linux systems. I think that is probably the closest Linux will get to being like Windows, in my opinion.

Anyways, people always misunderstand Linux. They think Linux is trying to replace Windows and all, when that is not the case. It was never designed to replace Windows and it probably never will be. Both Linux and Windows are very different, probably the exact opposites of each other, so it's hard to like them both. People who are Linux fans will find it hard to like Windows and people who are Windows fans will find it hard to like Linux and it probably will always be like that. Besides, Linux doesn't have a worldwide marketing gimmick like Windows does, so new comers to the PC world don't even know Linux exists until they are already use to Windows, so Linux never had much of a chance to replace Windows, to begin with.

I think the best setup is to just dual boot. 1 OS for Windows, 1 for Linux.

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I do indeed agree with both login123 & mta, Linux is not yet anywhere near good enough for the average punter to say "goodbye" to MS Windows of any version or Mac.

. . .

Politely said, Tasgandy.

Actually, there are a couple that would serve my purposes as a full time OS right now, but then there wouldn't be much to talk about on here. :lol:

Mta, just because you favor one OS over another doesn't make you a fanboy, just a thoughtful evaluator.

The great thing about this forum is that by and large one can disagree without creating a furor.

Windows breaks down a LOT, but it has a huge infrastructure to correct problems.

(With win 10, that's everybody.)

And they DO have fanboys who border on fanatical. And fire breathing lawyers, and lots of money.

But the biggest thing they have is a head start.

Consider what would happen it the Linuxes and windows started even today.

I guess I'm doomed to cheer for the underdog, but I'll keep trying out those Linux distros.

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For those interested in installing Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" 64bit Cinnamon in a Dual boot situation it is vitally important to read/follow this link re Pre installed Win 8.0 / 8.1 / 10 OR you intend to do a "fresh" Windows OS install.

How to Install Linux Mint 18 Alongside Windows 10 or 8 in Dual-Boot UEFI Mode

http://www.tecmint.com/install-linux-mint-18-alongside-windows-10-or-8-in-dual-boot-uefi-mode/

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As ROCKNROLL said "I think the best setup is to just dual boot. 1 OS for Windows, 1 for Linux."

Well folks I have done and completed just that..........installed Linux Mint 18 Sarah 64bit Cinnamon alongside my Windows 10 game PC.
However I did decide to follow the easy instructions/guidelines as listed above in my initial post.
My PC is based on a Gigabyte BIOS/UEFI MOB with a AMD A88XFCH CPU, 16GB of RAM and MSI AMD Radeon R7 370 GPU with 4GB of RAM - built last May 2016. MBO production date of Dec 2015
In my case I needed to make some space on my small 128GB SSD HDD as there was not much space left as I had about 69GB of Steam Games sitting there, so I needed to move them. This was an operation that I have never performed before however following Steam's instructions, 2 cups of coffee and about 45 minutes of "I hope I've done this correctly" feeling, I crossed my fingers and logged into my Steam account to perform the update and verify my cache profiles and....Yahoo.............all OK. Tested one of my driving games just to make sure.......all OK............a win for me but I am as they say "waiting for the other foot to drop.".
Next shrink my Drive C partition by 25GB, disable the "Fast Boot" in the BIOS and re boot the box with my USB Flash drive plugged in. press the old F12 function key, up pops the complete boot menu including listing my USB Flash drive containing my USB installed Mint OS.
Once the Mint desktop had loaded I proceeded to launch the icon titled "install Linux Mint". This process commenced at 14.37 hours and was completed asking me to restart at 14.45 hours.That's what I call a quick install.............assuming it worked. Well yes it did I rebooted, selected F12 and both Linux Mint OS and Windows OS were listed, I proceeded to test/run Mint 18, shut it down. Cold restart to test/run my Windows 10 OS which I ma happy to say worked as it should. I was also connected to the net and several updates also took place.
So all's well that ends well.................well so far that is, next I will install Steam OS and a game or two to test my F10 wireless gamepad.
Some of you may remember my last effort some 18 months ago when I ran Win 7, win XP Pro and Ubuntu 14.01 LTS side by side which if you remember was a much more complicated process and time consuming although eventually all went well. That time I used "Easy BCD" boot loader and I have only just 3-4 months ago re built that PC as a Ubuntu 14.04 stand-a-lone. This PC is now on loan to a Uni student that had a broken laptop that could not be repaired or replaced and that box is being used daily and still running well. Interesting that the user normally uses a Mac............go figure, she loves Ubuntu.
Hope the above helps someone.
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Helped me, for sure. Thanks, Tas.

I'm near the end of a long day, will sign back in tomorrow and read tht post more carefully.

I'm on here right now using Mint 18 on a USB stick and Firefox.

Haven't had time to tinker with it much, but it's fun. :)

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I forgot to say that there's one very important item to remember login123.......................before doing a "side by side" Mint 18 / Windows OS install if you decide to take the next step beyond USB Flash drive, on a empty HDD, install Windows first.

When it comes to installing Mint 18 OS on an existing HDD (Windows installed), do a Backup before you do anything (Macrium Reflect if your using it).........but I'm sure you thought of that............dam what a silly thing for me to say to me Ole Mate.

By the way I've just completed a No2 install on another PC with the same (so far) excellent results, so let me know how you go Cobber. Tas.

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For those interested in a review of Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon I just came across follow this July 2016 link: http://www.hecticgeek.com/2016/07/linux-mint-18-review/

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I will back up first, for sure, thanks. I TRY not to take anything for granted.

But some times just forget, or sometimes something just goes blooey in spite of following the instructions.

For example, on this xp box, after booting up the Mint 18 USB stick a couple of times, when going back to xp the wrong time shows in the system tray.

Small problem, easily fixed, but it might be enough to send a rookie user into a tailspin.

Also raises questions in my mind how did it do that? What else might it have changed?

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For example, on this xp box, after booting up the Mint 18 USB stick a couple of times, when going back to xp the wrong time shows in the system tray.

Small problem, easily fixed, but it might be enough to send a rookie user into a tailspin.

That's just a side effect of it using UTC time and Windows using LocalTime. https://mikebeach.org/2011/04/10/windows-linux-dual-boot-system-time-issues/

Probably easier to set Mint to use LocalTime.

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Kodi - Powerful media centre for Linux Mint: https://mintguide.org/video/469-kodi-powerful-media-centre-for-linux-mint.html

Kodi is designed to be the perfect companion for your HTPC (abbreviation: Home Theatre Personal Computer), a personal computer, equipped with software and in some cases hardware, allowing to use it as a computer for home theater

I have just completed the KODI (XBMC) media centre install on my Linux Mint 18 Sarah "64bit Cinnamon" and I am pleased to say the install was simple and all testing so far has proved A1.

KODI also runs excellently on Android 5.1, 6.0 and Win 10 as a media player, plus many other advantages whilst connected to the Net...........look up "add-ons" once you've installed KODI

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..and here is an up to date write up and list of the Kodi add-ons

http://www.techradar.com/how-to/computing/the-best-add-ons-for-the-kodi-media-player-and-how-to-install-them-1329170

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I downloaded Mint 18 and made a USB installer but it wouldn't boot on my system. Probably my GPU was the culprit (GTX 1080) but I didn't get any kind of interface to load after I selected to boot the live version.

This pc is primarily a gaming PC so I may try it on another pc later but I doubt it.

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That's disappointing to hear rridgley as I thought I might have trouble with my "Pov' GPU a MSI AMD Radeon R7 370 GPU with 4GB of RAM.

However as my installed Mint 18 is not using any proprietary GPU drivers I would assume the "live" USB boot would be the same.

As my Mint 18 installed OS is operating well at this stage I have not bothered to chase down other drivers for my GPU. Not sure how I am going to go when it comes to installing Steam and my driving games with wireless Logitech game controller.

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Kodi - Powerful media centre for Linux Mint: https://mintguide.org/video/469-kodi-powerful-media-centre-for-linux-mint.html

Kodi is designed to be the perfect companion for your HTPC (abbreviation: Home Theatre Personal Computer), a personal computer, equipped with software and in some cases hardware, allowing to use it as a computer for home theater

I have just completed the KODI (XBMC) media centre install on my Linux Mint 18 Sarah "64bit Cinnamon" and I am pleased to say the install was simple and all testing so far has proved A1.

KODI also runs excellently on Android 5.1, 6.0 and Win 10 as a media player, plus many other advantages whilst connected to the Net...........look up "add-ons" once you've installed KODI

I use Kodi and it is actually quite nice, though it isn't just for Linux mint. It is completely cross-platform. Anyways, it's like you are getting free TV and movies and all that.