Multiple Bugs in Linux Mint 16

H

Hadesdude

Guest
Hi there, pretty new to the Linux world,

but right now I'm typing from Windows 8.1 that launches in dualboot with Linux Mint 16 with KDE, both 64 bits.
That's because I got several bugs with Linux, but I'm happy they're less severe than with Mint 15 Cinnamon.

The bugs are the following (for as far as I know):
1. The sound controls are not linked: for example when I launch Skype and I set the system volume to 10%, its sounds are still loud. That's not good when someone's sleeping.
2. Fonts are of different sizes and sometimes blurry. In the start menu, they're tiny and blurry. In firefox, they're acceptable and in the system control settings they're huge, even though they're all set to a height of 12p.
3. I installed Google Earth twice using the software downloader but it didn't appear in the start menu. No idea where to launch it then, and I hope it won't act crazy like in Mint 15! (instead of zooming in at the selected location, it flew to Namibia or South Africa, somewhere in that region).

For points 1 and 2 I tried different settings where I could find them but none really helped...even changing the actual fonts...

So although I like the interface of Mint, I'm pretty fed up with the bugs I experience in it, which makes me wonder if there is a better distribution of Linux available where I don't get that kind of...crap?

This is the system I have:
CPU: Intel i7 3770 3.4GHz
MB: MSI Z77A-GD55
BD-RW: Optiarc BD-5300S
SSD (OS Drive): Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
HDD: Western Digital Black 1TB 7200rpm
GPU: Gigabyte NVidia Geforce GTX670 2GB
PSU: OCZ ZT-550W
Audio: Asus Xonar DGX
 


You can try any of the distros. One is not necessarily worse or better than the other. Ones that I have had good luck with are xubuntu, Opensuse, and Debian. Fedora has been a mixed bag of results for me personally.
 
Well I read Debian is the next best distro (like least buggy) but since Mint is based on Debian...well ok that's doesn't mean much.

I also found a 4th and very annoying bug: I got quite a lot of music by now, and each time I start up the system, Amarok forgets the location of each song, having to load it every time again... This happened in Mint 15 as well, in many music players. And I actually saved the settings before shutting down, since that appears to be an option ;-)
 
since Mint is based on Debian
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. There is a community version based on Debian, but in the main it is based on Ubuntu.

If you decide to try Debian than go for "Stable" - Wheezy.
 
but since Mint is based on Debian...well ok that's doesn't mean much.
In addition to arochester's explanation, "based on" does mean much. Based on does not mean the same. Any system that is "based on" another, uses the original as a base and makes changes to it. Because of that, it is not a surprise that derivatives usually have more bugs than the original. Ubuntu cannot be judged by using Debian as a model and Debian cannot be judged by using Ubunut a model. They are different systems.
 
I don't know if I would consider any other these issues as true Mint "bugs", but thee are a few thigs you could try:

1.) Without doing much research, I'd think it is most likely a bug with Skype integration rather than Mint. Skype has always been terribly integrated on Linux and with its Micro$oft acquisition I wouldn't expect it to get much better any time soon (it is literally three full releases behind the Windows version, and I wouldn't be surprised if Linux version is EOLed as soon as M$ can justify it):
http://www.itworld.com/open-source/...rted-skype-acquisition-may-impact-linux-users
There are some Skype alternatives, but unfortunately won't integrate with Skype users since it locks its users into using only their proprietary protocols:
http://www.itworld.com/unified-communications/166637/5-skype-alternatives-linux-users

2.) What fonts have you tried? Blurring can often be fixed with AA/Hinting settings
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=89414
The below post mentions an infinality patch that helps smooth pixel rendering as well:
http://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...windows-like-font-rendering-on-linux-mint-kde
This article is a bit dated, but details linearly configuring fonts across applications (and addresses the different size issue) I haven't tried it myself though:
http://www.karakas-online.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4145


3.) Without much information as to how you installed it, you may want to try from the command line using apt-get and see if you get any errors that don't pop-up in the GUI installer. I also found this note regarding Earth, which could have something to do with it:
Special Note: Download the Google Earth 32bit version and install using gdebi for Linux Mint until Google decides to repackage Google Earth. Or just downgrade to a previous version of Linux Mint OS for now. The real reason for this problem is the non-existent meta package in Linux Mint called (ia32-lbs). Pure debian systems probably still use it though.
From:
http://debianhelp.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/to-do-list-after-installing-linux-mint-16/

If you don't want to go through all that and just want a fresh start try Ubuntu as it may offer more "out-of-the-box" support, but Ubuntu and Mint are about as user-friendly as you can get.
A "flawless" Linux install is difficult to come by because you're installing a full OS, not just another software application. When you buy a PC with Windows it has already been pre-configured (I guess one of the "benefits" of the $100+ they charge you), but you don't get that luxury with Linux. I hate to say it, but your problems are fairly benign compared to what many people experience (i.e. hardware not even registering)
 
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