Linux Mint 8
Sound and Multimedia
One of Linux Mint’s biggest strengths has always been that it comes bundled with codecs that make it work beautifully for multimedia. This is one of the reasons why I usually recommend it over generic Ubuntu for desktop use. Why bother downloading additional stuff to get multimedia working properly? Linux Mint makes it about as easy as it gets in Linux.
YouTube & Flash
I fired up Chrome and headed to YouTube. This time around I searched for Led Zeppelin – one of my all time favorite bands – and blasted the Immigrant song. Sound and video quality were good. I had no problems enjoying Zeppelin on YouTube.
DVDs
I decided to keep going with the Zeppelin thing so I pulled out my Led Zeppelin video DVD and popped it in. I used Totem Movie Player to play the disc. I was pleased to note that the opening screen had sound and the video played fine. But when I clicked to watch a particular section all I got was video. The sound didn’t work right. Here and there I got what seemed to be a blurb of sound but then it stopped.
Thinking that the Zeppelin DVD might be the problem, I grabbed another DVD to check it out. This time around I picked Spinal Tap. It started fine though the screen was black for a moment as the actors goofed on their “black” album. I saw the menu load and I clicked “play” to start the movie. The movie played fine.
I’m not sure what the problem was with the Zeppelin DVD. But that DVD has a crappy menu structure and I don’t know if that had something to do with it or not but I’ve never liked how it is organized or how a viewer is forced to navigate it.
Problems & Headaches
Beyond the multimedia burps, I didn’t encounter any really significant problems to note in this section of the review.
I have seen feedback from some folks who thought that Linux Mint 8’s boot time could be faster but I didn’t see much to complain about there. It seemed acceptable to me.
If you ran into any problems installing or using Linux Mint 8, please note them in the comments below so others may benefit from knowing about them and there might even be a comment or two posted that could be of use to you in solving your problems.
- The Immigrant Song playing on YouTube.
(26 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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Good detail on the install vs. running requirements. Most folks would have never caught that.
Speaking of rolling your own. I noticed over at the Susestudio.com site that if you choose openSuse 11.1 Gnome, you get a very similar desktop to Mint with the menu on the bottom etc… I just wonder if there is some cross collaboration going on there or something?
Interesting that you find Chrome to be a better browser. I’ve found that with a few tweaks (found here http://www.tuxradar.com/content/make-linux-faster-and-lighter) that Firefox smokes Chrome on Mint 8. Chrome is noticeably slower loading pages…plus I don’t care much for its interface. I think Firefox is the way to go for the installed browser with Chrome available through the Software Manager.
hmm Very nice post and pic thx…
I just said again over on the ExtremeTech site that Mint remains my choice for first-time Linux people. It really does “just work”, at least on my hardware. (System 76 laptop. Same experience with Asus laptop) This the best Gnome implementation and until KDE 4.3.2 came along I had called it the single best Linux desktop. (Not that I am an authority on such things!)
Mas, I am not sure Mint and Suse collaborate. The Suse “slab” came earlier. Looks to me as though Clement saw it and decided to go it one better. And he did. But we ought to let a Mint person tell us if you are right.
Jim, your new format is good, thank you for that. If anything is missing it is an assessment of wireless capability, but I understand the virtual machine problem. Still, with more and more laptops being sold it is a concern. And easy wireless remains a question, though if Mint uses Network Manager it will not be a problem.
Codecs? Well there is this question of legality for Americans. It seems to me Linux needs some solution other than the “across the pond” dodge. Distros concerned about the legal exposure n the U.S. do not install them by default. Silly situation? Yup, but so it is.
Linux Mint is a great distro for beginners. Of course as stated before the legality of some codecs in the U.S. is always a concern.
It really sucks in the U.S. because of government stupidity but that’s another story. 
I’m not really a fan of the Mint menu setup but it is great for someone coming from the Windows environment. They get the superiority of Gnome with the familiarity of MS Windows. The only problem I have with Linux Mint is the way it handles software updates and software installs. Mint doesn’t really go for the newest software updates and is kind of conservative in that regard like Debian. That is just find and dandy and not a bad thing. Just don’t update using something like Synaptic. Just use their tools and there should be no problems. I use Ubuntu on my computer and my wife using Linux Mint and Windows XP.(She is hooked on hidden object games and uses XP for that)We do have Mint in the house. Overall Linux Mint 8 is a very nice re-spin and deserves the score it got.
Linux Mint is one of three distributions that ought to be on the short list of consideration for those who want a plug it in and it works kind of experience with very simple management. Mint is one; SimplyMEPIS and PCLinuxOS are the other two. A few others come close.
What, no Superman DVD this time? What about the classic Led Zeppelin with the “chainsaw” guitar, “Whole Lotta Love”? :-)
The lack of Chrome Browser is a Pro, not a Con, as the Chrome Browser is absolutely and undeniably a 5th rate browser, and nowhere near ready for use. It does not render websites correctly, is nowhere near fast, and crashes constantly. Firefox 3.7 Pre-Alpha is a better browser.
“In Mint Synaptic is crippled. It shows all the software updates but the Select All Updates button is greyed out.”
Apparently someone doesnt read much. That button has been removed because upgrading outside of “Mint Update” (ie using apt-get upgrade or synaptic) can cause problems with Mint. You can still use it to install any and all applications that are available in your selected repositories, you just cannot use it to upgrade. Use Mint Update and you will have a much more stable system.
I have Chrome on my Mint 8 install, but I always revert back to Swiftfox (a custom version of Firefox geared towards specific proc. families!). If you haven’t tried Swiftfox, then give it a spin, I wish it was the default browser personally!
All in all though, Mint 8 is GREAT! Can’t wait until Mint 10 though, that will be the LTS for Mint.