A recent system upgrade gave me a spare SSD for my laptop. I decided to install Linux Mint on it given my good experience on the Ubuntu based OS.
Here are some tips/thoughts related to this install:
Gnome 3 = Full Retard mode
It’s been a while since Ubuntu introduced Unity as the default display manager and it still feels sucky. The mere fact that I can’t change the number of workspaces easily on Mint 12 Gnome was enough to make me format the drive and try again with Mint 11 (which is still Gnome 2).
So I suggest you give Mint 12 a try first for a couple of hours and see if the “simplified” desktop appeals to you. If you’re not satisfied, just go with Mint 11 or Mint 12 KDE.
Lenovo wifi bug also happens on Mint
Remember that post about wifi not working in Ubuntu on my Lenovo laptop?
The same thing happened on my Mint installs. And the same solution still applies.
Changing lockscreen and login background on Mint 11
Remember that post about changing your lock screen on Ubuntu?
While that solution works, there’s also a simpler solution:
$ sudo ln -sf /path/to/another-background.jpg /usr/share/backgrounds/linuxmint/default_background.jpg
Note that, unlike in the old post, this only changes the background and not the whole lock screen.
As for the login background, some people might say that the default background trick will work but unfortunately it doesn’t. The real solution is an old trick from Ubuntu, namely:
$ sudo cp /usr/share/applications/gnome-appearance-properties.desktop /usr/share/gdm/autostart/LoginWindow
Logout. The appearance window will appear on the login screen and will allow you to change the background. After making your changes and logging in, prevent the window from opening again at login by doing:
$ sudo unlink /usr/share/gdm/autostart/LoginWindow/gnome-appearance-properties.desktop
