Comments by "Michael Wright" (@michaelwright2986) on "First look: Linux Mint 21 beta, on a 10 year old Mac!" video.

Linux Mint persuaded me I could use Linux on my main computer. I'm just trying a few other distros to make sure before the Big Switch, and a lot of them are failing the First Half Hour test: a bug, or some basic set-up item that is too hard to work out, in the first encounter. Mint doesn't do that. The language of "for beginners" or "first distro" obscures the fact that you point out: most regular folks don't want to think about their computer, they just want to use it to do stuff. Windows 2000 (and XP) was like that, and Mac OS X for quite a while while the company was run by an obsessive perfectionist. Now, it seems like it's Linux Mint. BTW, thanks for the mention of KDE Connect (or is it Konnekt?)--I must check it out.
9
@budgetkeyboardist They say with office programs that most people only use 10% of the features, but different people use a different 10%. I looked at Office on the web, and there's like one or two features that matter to me that aren't in the web version. I assume MS will never port Office to Linux, because that would damage their OS monopoly; what I don't know is why Wine has trouble with Office, but they don't even promise a good experience with it. Libre Office works well most of the time, but there's just enough uncertainty about whether it will be fully compatible with latest update to Office that you would be brave to specify it for a corporation. This is not accidental.
5
Yes, it would be nice if LibreOffice at least got to 7.x.x.
2
I've come back to this excellent video after having installed LInus Mint 22.0 (Wilma) on a mid-2011 MacBook Pro. The video remains awesome. What I find this time round is that Mint now seems to include the Broadcom drivers, so I didn't need to futz around with cables or a USB wifi adapter. OTOH, the Mac's Bluetooth adapter seems unable to connect with Bluetooth mice. But what I think is really distinctive about Linux Mint is the attention to the installation and set-up packages. They have really thought about someone who just wants to use their computer to do real life stuff, and does NOT want to learn about an OS.
1
@VeronicaExplains Well, flatpak (or dare I say, Snap) makes that a lot easier these days. But that won't happen unless somebody who can afford even nastier and sharkier lawyers than Microsoft wants it to happen.
1
The problem with Windows these days is not polish, but that it's always nagging you about something that will give money to Microsoft. Mint just quietly lets you do stuff. And I just had a really bad experience with OneDrive: it would be over-dramatic to call it ransomeware, but that's what I was thinking, and it took me a long time to get my data back.
1