a couple of questions

[banko]

I've been on peppermint two for a couple of weeks now and still impressed, almost too much so, I've been downloading things I don't really need, tweaking the desktop, using the terminal, so during the next week i want to do more, even  if it kills my desktop and i have to re install.

so if i re install, I take it it will be the same as before (without the werewolf bit)

in the terminal i entered "apt upgrade" which resulted in reams of code, at the end I couldn't see any thing anywhere about what I'd done, only when i rebooted I had no wallpaper and something else i can't remember, this concerned me a little, but when I re install i won't do it again without going through it with Mark.

The one thing that stands out about linux is the amount of operating systems and if i put peppermint on my desktop as well as my netbook, what happens if the developers pull the plug. I dont want to go changing all the time. or do I?

I've learnt so much during the last couple of weeks, I had never heard of dropbox, now i will use it as a back up when i re install. how secure is dropbox?

i feel almost confident in linux, so much so I was going to duel boot on the desktop but now, once i know theres no windows things i need ie drivers etc I'm going to wipe off windows and put a linux system on it, which brings me to my next question.
What extra will either ubuntu or mint give me over peppermint and if i put say ubuntu on my desktop computer will all the things i have on peppermint work ok via dropbox.

I've been using chromium and like the speed, if i continue using it will things like flash players automatically update?

hope I'm not asking too many questions but want to get it right.

thanks,

Keith

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

so if i re install, I take it it will be the same as before (without the werewolf bit)

Linpus Lite (fedora 8 werewolf) will NOT get back onto your system unless you specifically re-install it .. a Peppermint reinstall will just put Peppermint back on.

in the terminal i entered "apt upgrade" which resulted in reams of code, at the end I couldn't see any thing anywhere about what I'd done, only when i rebooted I had no wallpaper and something else i can't remember, this concerned me a little, but when I re install i won't do it again without going through it with Mark.

Dunno what happened there .. there is no command "apt" (on its own) .. and running "sudo apt-get upgrade" should have just upgraded any installed applications to the latest versions .. which shouldn't have caused an issue.

The one thing that stands out about linux is the amount of operating systems and if i put peppermint on my desktop as well as my netbook, what happens if the developers pull the plug. I dont want to go changing all the time. or do I?

I think it unlikely that Peppermint will disappear any time soon, but if you're concerned about it, you could try Lubuntu (LXDE version of Ubuntu) or Linux Mint LXDE edition.

I've learnt so much during the last couple of weeks, I had never heard of dropbox, now i will use it as a back up when i re install. how secure is dropbox?

As secure as any other online service .. and as secure as your dropbox password.

What extra will either ubuntu or mint give me over peppermint

The fuller featured GNOME and or Unity desktop (and the extra weight that entails) .. it is easier to do *certain* things through the GUI in Gnome or Unity (rather than LXDE) like adding startup apps, or creating symlinks (shortcuts) etc.

if i put say ubuntu on my desktop computer will all the things i have on peppermint work ok via dropbox.

I don't really understand this question .. but if you mean "when I place something in the dropbox will it be accessible on both the Ubuntu AND Peppermint boxes" .. erm, YES, that is the whole point of dropbox

I've been using chromium and like the speed, if i continue using it will things like flash players automatically update?

Google Chrome comes with flash buitl in .. so as long as Chrome is the latest version, so will flash be .. and Chrome should stay up-to-date through the Update Manager.

Even if you used Firefox, as long as you insalled flash through your package manager(s), flash will auto update through the update manager, so will always be the latest version .. this is one of the major benefits of Linux, ANY software installed from the repositories will be kept up-to-date automatically, all from one place.

hth.

[banko]

Mark
thanks for the reply, i know some questions are "simple" but every answer makes the whole easier to understand.
I think I'm almost there,
btw it was def apt upgrade I input, as on  the user guide on peppermints site.copied and pasted.

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Strange .. on Ubuntu "apt upgrade" returns -

mark@mark:~$ apt upgrade
The program 'apt' can be found in the following packages:
 * openjdk-6-jdk
 * openjdk-7-jdk
Try: sudo apt-get install <selected package>

So "apt" on its own isn't a recognised command (more a group of tools for manipulating APT, such as apt-get and apt-cache).

BUT on PeppermintOS  "apt upgrade" prompts for your password, then does exactly the same as "sudo apt-get upgrade" (I must say .. I didn't expect that)

But it's still only the equivalent of using the Update Manager to update any installed software that may now have a more recent version in the software repositories .. so shouldn't have broken your system

[banko]

looking back it could have been something else i did, i didnt find out till i rebooted,
the good thing is i'm not worried about doing something wrong like i was b4. i've been downloading, trying new things and everything seems really sound, so different to linpus, so i'm going to spend the next few days carrying on doing the same, learning as i go and the good thing is the help thats there if required.
I've grown to like peppermint and will stick with it and still recommend it to anyone who still is on linpus

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Yep, bit of a "catch 22" situation .. you'll break ANY OS if you mess too much when you're beginning .. but that's also the best way to learn.

At least Linux doesn't cost you anything during the break/learn cycle .. and it's usually an easy fix.

Couldn't agree more about Peppermint .. Fits the AA1 like a glove, and is SO much easier to "tweak" to your requirements than Linpus .. being based on Ubuntu it has all the latest software in the repos, and software installation is a breeze.

Haven't met anyone yet (that has tried both) that says Limpass Lite is better

[banko]

Hi Mark
I've tried my best (or worse) to "break" peppermint2, but it still runs perfect, which goes to show it's pretty robust,
all my problems I've solved by reading the archives on peppermint2 website, some have taken a while but in the process' I think I've learned the system well. I was looking forward to re-installing but will not now have to,

does uninstalling software in the software manager leave bits of that software on the system, or does it do a fairly clean uninstall?

in my previous post regarding dropbox, what I was really asking  is all software on linux, compatable ie from fedora and ubunto and on differant platforms ie gnome kde etc, i installed a kde game and it took an age to download, then i read in a review someone said he wouldn't download a kde software because it installs so many other kde things (sorry for the non technical speak)

So i've got it as good as i can at the moment, and am more than happy.

So a big thanks

Keith

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

does uninstalling software in the software manager leave bits of that software on the system, or does it do a fairly clean uninstall?

Removing an application through the package managers will generally ONLY uninstall the application itself (and config files if "Complete Removal" is selected)


Removing an application through the command line will generally ONLY uninstall the application itself (and config files if "--purge" option is used)

NEITHER will remove dependencies .. as in Windows these are left in case they are being used by another application.

It *IS* however possible to use:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get autoremove

which will remove any packages that APT thinks are "orphaned" dependencies .. but have a good look through what it says it is going to remove before accepting the changes .. just in case.

So far I've not had the above command remove anything it shouldn't have .. APT seems well able to track dependencies .. but there is no guarantee that you haven't manually compiled/installed software that APT is unaware of, so the final decision is placed in your hands.

is all software on linux, compatable ie from fedora and ubunto and on differant platforms ie gnome kde etc, i installed a kde game and it took an age to download, then i read in a review someone said he wouldn't download a kde software because it installs so many other kde things (sorry for the non technical speak)

This is really a multi part question .. lets break it down

> is all software on linux, compatible ie from fedora and ubuntu]
Yes, No, and Sometimes .. hehe, not too helpful that eh ?
OK, first you should be installing (the vast majority of) your software from your distro's default software repositories through your package manager(s) .. in which case the answer would be NO the Fedora repositories are NOT compatible with Ubuntu, for one thing they use different package management and format (eg. Fedora uses .rpm packages and Ubuntu uses .deb packages)

You should NOT (in general) be going off downloading software from the internet as you do in Windows .. that is a BAD Windows habit you'll need to break .. the Linux package manager/software repository system is MUCH better than the Windows model of binary executable installers .. all the software comes from one place that can easily be checked for malicious code and the software contained there is pretty much well tested for compatibility with your distro, and software installed in this way will have any necessary dependencies automatically sorted for you.

lets shorten that a little -
> is all software on linux, compatable
YES applications designed for Linux will run on any Linux distro WITH A FEW CAVEATS
a) it is in your distro's default repositories .. so any dependencies are there too.
b) it comes pre-packaged in the correct package format .. you may have to manually satisfy any missing dependencies
c) you compile the source code yourself .. again, you'll have to manually satifsy and dependencies necessary to compile it and run it.

As for KDE apps in Gnome (and vice versa) .. YES they will run as long as the dependencies are met ..  by default Ubuntu doesn't come with a lot of the KDE libraries installed by default .. they ARE all there (in the repos), so if you install a KDE app from the repos the dependencies are likely to be automagically installed for you, but expect there to be a LOT of dependencies that need to be downloaded too.

It may all seem a bit complex at first .. but you'll grasp it quickly enough

As I said, if you use your package managers to install your software, you don't really have to worry about dependencies unless you want to clear any orphaneed dependencies from your system .. Windows leaves dependencies (think .dll's) behind too, but doesn't even attempt to track them, so there are NO included tools for removing them even if you wanted to.

[banko]

thanks for the clear reply, it clears a lot of what was on my mind,
i only use the software manager or your codes ie google earth,to download, all which work perfect,
so i don't think i will have to post much now,
 i dont think i've enough memory on my windows m/c to mess around with ubuntu, so I am installing pp2.

Again a big thanks

Keith

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

After re-reading my response I wasn't sure if it was clear or not 

Anyway .. Good luck with your PeppermintOS (Two) install .. if that's what you mean by pp2