Moving to New Computer and Windows 8.1

[easysurfer]

Sorry it did not work out for you. What is the version of your Linux Mint?

On an older P4, I went with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Update:
Try this, then repeat the Maxthon install.

$ sudo apt-get install libgtkhotkey1

It worked for me.

Target,

Still no go, with a dependency problem. I appreciate your help. But it's okay as installing Maxthon isn't that critical as I'm just test driving Linux Mint for now. I'm using the current version which is 17.1.

My biggest problem is finding physical space to play around with Mint as I got a table set up on a desk in my already crowded living room. What I need is a cheap, old laptop that runs Mint 17.1

 

[target2019]

Surprised that did not work. Your error during the first install must have been different than mine.

Cheap and old is what my kids call me!

 

[ERD50]

...
That is of course not for the faint of heart since you actually have to use the command prompt to do the install. (that is what the dpkg command on the second line is all about)

As a little aside, I would not describe going into the terminal as 'not for the faint of heart'.

I've been using Linux/Ubuntu/Xubuntu on my main machine(s) for almost 5 years (and on a side machine for another year or two before that). I customize my installation quite a bit, and I'm still a total klutz with terminal commands.

For the most part, when I do need to use them, it is because I found a solution from a web search, and they included the commands as part of the answer. As in the previous example, just two commands to cut/paste into the terminal:

$ wget dl.maxthon.com/linux/deb/packages/i386/maxthon-browser-stable_1.0.5.3_i386.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i maxthon-browser-stable_1.0.5.3_i386.deb

And the machine does the rest (well, usually - I see there were dependency issues with that installation of Mint, which I guess I've gotten a few times, but IIRC, those were usually fixed with another quick search).

When I first got into Linux, I was kind of put off by all these answers in forums with terminal commands, it looked scary. And I'd often find there was a very simple GUI already in the system which did the same thing with just a mouse click to check a box. For a while, I just thought these were geeky show-offs with their 'secret' terminal language, trying to look all superior.

But then I learned the real reason - give someone a terminal command, and it is copy/paste and you are done. The terminal commands are very stable, and common across many installations.

But try to tell someone how to open that dialog box, navigate to such and such tab, scroll down until you find the right box to check takes a lot more words, and 9 times out of 10, their dialog box will be a slightly different version, and the check box was moved to some other tab, or something.

So the terminal is really just an easy way to communicate very specific instructions, with less chance of error. Just make sure you are on a reputable sight, so you don't enter some dangerous code from some jerk. I've never seen that, but they warn about it.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

Surprised that did not work. Your error during the first install must have been different than mine.

Cheap and old is what my kids call me!

If I play around with things more, perhaps I could get that to work. But I'll hold off and just put my "Linux Mint" computer in the closet until another time when I'm in the mood to poke around.

Anytime thinking about moving to another OS or upgrading, I think about what programs I really need and if I could find an equivalent with a change. For example, I really like the password manager which I use on Windows. I may find something somewhat similar in Linux but if that adds a couple of keystrokes or mouse clicks each time use my id/password, that's a deal breaker for me.

That said, there experience was nice not having to worry about looking for a proper driver and web browsing didn't pause every so often like the way my machine does with Win 7.

 

[easysurfer]

As a little aside, I would not describe going into the terminal as 'not for the faint of heart'....

-ERD50

Not gonna quote your entire post.

The way I look at the terminal thing or not is similar to some who are fine with/prefer to drive a stick shift vs an automatic. For some, driving a stick is natural, they like the manual control, for others they want to just keep things very simple and have nothing to do with a stick shift.

I see both sides.

 

[kgtest]

Windows 8.1 is a complete resource hog. I sure hope Win10 is developed with that in mind.

I got so frustrated with Win 8.1 I was about to sell my laptop when I decided to go back to my unix roots and installed Ubuntu. I was fully compatible (minus my bluetooth) in about 20minutes flat. I had all the needed codecs and software to do anything I could do on a PC. I will be sticking with Ubuntu for now. Only complaint is lack of power control for laptops.

 

[jimbee]

Thanks for the link. I tried in the terminal screen but no go. Got some type of dependency error. That's okay as I'm not quite ready to jump ship anytime soon to a different OS.

That's strange. I'm running Ubuntu 14.10. This is how I installed Maxthon using the gui.

1. I surfed to the Maxthon website.
2. Clicked on free download.
3. Selected 64-bit.deb.
4. Waited for the download to finish.
5. When finished, navigated to my download directory using the mouse.
6. Double clicked on the 64-bit.deb file.
7. The Ubuntu Software Center automatically started and showed me the information on Maxthon.
8. Clicked on the install button.
9. Entered my password when prompted and Maxthon installed. No shell needed, although the shell is a lot faster.

To run Maxthon, I clicked the Dash button, and type max. The Maxthon icon showed up, I clicked it and Maxthon was running.

Not sure why the process wouldn't be similar using Mint.

 

[easysurfer]

That's strange. I'm running Ubuntu 14.10. This is how I installed Maxthon using the gui.

1. I surfed to the Maxthon website.
2. Clicked on free download.
3. Selected 64-bit.deb.
4. Waited for the download to finish.
5. When finished, navigated to my download directory using the mouse.
6. Double clicked on the 64-bit.deb file.
7. The Ubuntu Software Center automatically started and showed me the information on Maxthon.
8. Clicked on the install button.
9. Entered my password when prompted and Maxthon installed. No shell needed, although the shell is a lot faster.

To run Maxthon, I clicked the Dash button, and type max. The Maxthon icon showed up, I clicked it and Maxthon was running.

Not sure why the process wouldn't be similar using Mint.

Thanks for the step by step instructions.

I had the dependency error each time I tried with the terminal.

I didn't try to downloading into a directory and then clicking.

Well, as of now i put my computer in the closet so this will be a continued at another time thing .

 

[rbmrtn]

It would help to see the dependecy error. It might be related to which window manager version of mint you have.

You might try the apt-get command, this will search and install missing dependencies
Here's a link with example

Enjoy new type of browsing experience with Maxthon Cloud Browser, Install in Ubuntu/Linux Mint/other Ubuntu derivatives - NoobsLab | Ubuntu/Linux News, Reviews, Tutorials, Apps

 

[bUU]

Windows 8.1 is a complete resource hog. I sure hope Win10 is developed with that in mind.

I'm sure it is, but do keep in mind that it is a consumer product, intended more for the general user rather than the power user, so usability is far more important than performance. The usability failures of Windows 8.x are prodigious and we can rest assured that far more effort at Microsoft will be directed at resolving those issues. What good is a fast computer that you can't use?

 

[ggbutcher]

Windows 8.1 is a complete resource hog. I sure hope Win10 is developed with that in mind.

That would have been my assumption, based on the linear increase in burden the Windows OS has placed on the computer over the years. But our IT folk at w*rk tell me it's actually less burdensome on "smaller" computers than Win7. I tend to take their word on such, because our megacorp IT mafia actually has folks digging into the internals of the Windows offerings before they foist them on us toadies.

I recently bought a cheap Atom-powered tablet with Win8.1 on it, 4-core 1.3Ghz, 2MB RAM; it works well enough to do field post-processing of individual digital photos. Definitely enough oomph to do basic tasks - email, browsing, reading on the airplane. My ConOps for using such a device is to treat it as two separate machines: 1) as a tablet, and use the Metro interface, and 2) as a laptop, and use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse on it's desktop. Trying to do screen-touch on the small desktop screen is just not productive. But, I really like being able to carry one computer that does both tablet and laptop, at different times...