Ishi well done for 3 months ago, always best when you do not have to do a re-build.
Is there much of a difference (that matter's) between Ubuntu & Linux Mint 9?
I have just recently installed Ubuntu 10.10 (as a dual boot) to my existing Win7 home premium (32 bit) test box, I suppose I did this to kinda keep my hand in.
Re "Wine" installed on Linux, by the sound of it all your Windows apps are working well? exactly which Windows apps have you installed?
Are you running 32 or 64 bit OS?
I am of course running a 32 bit system. I have a 30 GB partition where all three of my operating systems can share and access.
There are of course a number of similarities and differences.
Linux Mint 9 has the taskbar on the bottom of the screen by default.
If I open the Menu option on the taskbar, there is a quick search function like on Windows 7, but I only got it to search for installed programs, not individual folders and files. Of course it comes with Open Office.
I also love the Control Center, because it has similar things grouped.
Linux Mint 9, has a lot of graphics enhancement tools, particularly, fading effects, application switcher and my fave is ring switcher and I can even make custom controls on those. But you have to enable them first and get a driver update for your video card on Linux which I did. Posted screenshots for that below.
Linux Mint 9 also comes with a Software Manager (like many Linux distros nowadays, I assume) which allows me to download and install applications without the tricky packaging things. I installed Wine this way.
Wine is also compatible with most of the Linux distros, I believe, of course Ubuntu is included.
What Wine does is that it creates a virtual C: drive in your Linux filesystem. Inside the C: Drive, I saw a "Program Files" folder which is where Windows compatible programs are installed by default. It also has a "Users" and "Windows" folder. Wine even has its own Registry. Wine also comes with its own version of IE and Notepad by default.
I was able to install Windows programs like MS Office 2007, Google Sketchup, CCleaner, Disk Cleaner, DevC++ and Adobe Photoshop 7.0, on Linux Mint 9 using Wine. Games Like Quake III and Warsow also worked. I even used CCleaner to clean the Wine's Registry.
Most installers will not work if you have these .exe files stored in your Linux Filesystem, but I discovered that if you move these .exe installers on another partition or a USB, then try to run them from there, they will most likely proceed with the install setup like on Windows. But not all programs will work, some will crash, especially older programs.
Peppermint OS, is still on its infancy in terms of development. It doesn't even come with Open Office by default and its ISO is only 400+ MB in size. But you can install Open Office via the Software Manager. Wine also works here.
But what I love about Peppermint is that it comes with a lot of cloud apps by default.
Both of these operating systems still have a few bugs. But its good to try. If you have questions on how to do maintenance tasks on these systems to keep them running smoothly, I can give ways for you.
![post-31341-094680000 1287456203_thumb.png]()