Linux for beginners

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by Krusty, Jul 2, 2016.

  1. reasonablePrivacy

    reasonablePrivacy Registered Member

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    I use shortcuts:
    ctrl-k : search bar (it was hidden, by can be recovered by about:config)
    ctrl-l : address bar
    Maybe they work?
     
  2. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Code:
    browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll;true
     
  3. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    That's gotta be easiest. Thanks vasa1, will check that one out.
     
  4. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    If you don't mind using the terminal,
    Code:
    dpkg -l | grep "ii linux-image"
    will provide you with concise information re. the kernels on your system and
    Code:
    uname -r
    will tell you which kernel is in use.

    BTW, Mint has a policy re. kernel updates that you should keep in mind.
     
  5. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    That did the trick.
    Thanks. I think I'll leave things alone for now so I don't mess anything up.
     
  6. Keatah

    Keatah Registered Member

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    Looks like a lot of trouble to get Linux up and running. I need an OS I can depend on all the time. The article did scare me.
     
  7. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Linux Mint Mate is up and running nicely at the moment. That machine may dump Windows permanently.
     
  8. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    Linux Mint on a cheap pen. This thing is been gold when Windows blows a cork which is been more than a few times.

    Rock On Linux Mint!
     
  9. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    That won't mess up anything. It just provides information in a concise manner.
     
  10. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Understood. ;)
     
  11. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    I guess updates for Firefox and Chrome will be offered to me in the coming days?
     
  12. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Just today:
    Code:
    $ apt policy google-chrome-stable 
    google-chrome-stable: 
     Installed: 67.0.3396.79-1 
     Candidate: 67.0.3396.79-1 
     Version table: 
    *** 67.0.3396.79-1 500 
           500 http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb stable/main amd64 Packages 
           100 /var/lib/dpkg/status 
    $ 
     
  13. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    I haven't actually installed Google Chrome. I installed Chromium, but I'm not being offered updates to that or Firefox when I check.

    I believe I can enter a command in Terminal but I won't for now. I want to see if I am prompted automatically. I have received several other updates since I installed the other day.

    This is the version I have currently installed.

    Version 66.0.3359.181 (Official Build) Built on Ubuntu , running on LinuxMint 18.3 (64-bit)
     
  14. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Chromium, at least on Ubuntu-based systems, often lags behind Google Chrome in terms of version number. I don't know why. What you have is the latest available.
     
  15. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    OK, thanks again. Firefox isn't updating to 60.0.2 yet either. I'm not too worried but that version does contain security fixes, and I still have Windows user paranoia about vulnerable software.
     
  16. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    Firefox in Linux is usually provided by the distro. Certain modifications could be applied such as custom bookmarks or search engines. That takes some days, depending on the team strength. There are also situations in which an update doesn't apply to Linux systems. However, 60.0.2 is being prepped :)

    You can get a sneak peek, at least for Ubuntu, by visiting https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/bionic-changes/2018-June/date.html (changing bionic to xenial and the month, as appropriate) to see what's in "proposed" and what's been moved to "updates" or "security".
     
  17. yeyo

    yeyo Registered Member

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    You can update FF and all other soft with these 2 commands:

    Update repositories
    Code:
    sudo apt-get update
    Install updates
    Code:
    sudo apt-get upgrade
     
  18. SnowWalker

    SnowWalker Registered Member

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    For what it's worth, I was just offered and upgraded to Firefox 60.0.2 today on MX Linux.

    One difference between Mint and MX seems to be that MX seems to have more updated apps, and upgrades available quicker.

    For instance I'm on LibreOffice 6.0.5.1 which is apparently a release candidate. It all seems to be working fine, but I wouldn't mind having a little more conservative update policy in between Mint's and MX's, like maybe the latest "Still" version, as I think LibreOffice calls it, and there may be a way to do it. Overall I think I like MX's policy of more updated apps as I haven't had problems with it yet. I especially like that the updates come more often, rather than a huge update of over a GB or so as Mint seems to suddenly upgrade pretty much everything at once.
     
  19. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    I finally received Firefox 60.0.2. I guess I will just have to be patient when new versions are released.
     
  20. Uitlander

    Uitlander Registered Member

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    Try MX Linux 17.1. I had been using Puppy Linux to teach myself the OS for about a month, but it was a constant struggle just to get the dang thing to connect to the internet, then more of the same afterwards. Someone told me to try MX Linux 17.1, and after looking at some review vids about it on Youtube, I bought a LiveCD from OSDisc.com ( https://www.osdisc.com/products/mx). I'd rather pay $10 for a LiveCD than fool with downloading, making it bootable, checksum, and all that blather. Anyway, its a joy to use. As a LiveCD it connects to the internet for me, and does pretty much everything else 'automagically'! Looks like my beloved XP Pro may have some competition for my affection.
     
  21. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    To burn a live CD, all you have to do is download the ISO and then you can burn it using Windows. You don't have do anything else. I do get that $10 is very little to pay. But, for future reference, there's absolutely no need to spend anything more than the cost of a blank disc.
     
  22. Uitlander

    Uitlander Registered Member

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    I spent around a hundred dollars for a backup install CD of XP Pro, so $5.95 for a Linux LiveCD is fine by me, plus I heard somewhere that MX Linux gets some sort of kickback from OSDisc, and last night I donated $10 via the website (https://mxlinux.org/). For anyone interested, I've been testing out the other distros (I have about 20 LiveCDs from OSDisc), and none are trouble-free like MX Linux is, so I've decided to have my tech guy install it to my secondary HDD next month....I'll continue to use it as LiveCD til then.
     
  23. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    You can also get XP ISOs for free.
     
  24. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

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    I'd call myself pretty much a Linux newbie. Couple of days ago I finally got round to installing LM (18.3 cinnamon ) onto a USB thumb drive. I downloaded the iso a while ago. Couldn't use the recommended tool from the Mint site as I did it from XP so used Universal USB installer. It looks really nice. Install went smoothly enough though I didn't download codecs and stuff. Just wanted to see what it looked like and have a little play around.

    @Uitlander, how is the speed of your live CD? My USB2 Thumb drive is pretty slow and certainly not good enough for serious use, though admittedly its just an elcheapo.

    I would like to eventually do a multiboot with my XP, but heard there can be issues with the MBR and that Windows needs to be installed first. Right now I have 2HDD each have 2 partitions. The 2nd partition on the disk with the system drive (XP) is empty and about 90GB. Would it be better there or on the 2nd HDD? Would there be a difference in how the MBR and grub work in each of these options?
     
  25. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    So, what's the go with AppArmor? Should I enable it for Firefox? What about Chrome?

    This shows it is enabled in Mint Mate 19.1 by default:
    Code:
    sudo apparmor_status
    This page explains how I can enable it for Firefox. I don't really understand Profiles.

    Be kind. Remember, Linux newbie here.

    Thanks.
     
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