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The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

blog.linuxmint.com

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Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#21

Post by crumblan »

nabilt wrote: post #5
crumblan wrote: post #2

For anyone thinking of trying Mint; they will install customized search engines in your Firefox and Chromium, it is a shit experience, and it is irritating to remove or avoid. I would suggest you do not use Mint if you plan on doing any internet searching.

Did they install it after you installed your browser? If they did then that sucks. Otherwise it's not that bad. Probably a source of funding for the project.

It is a source of funding, which would be fine with me, but it was also basically unusable, and it would give me weird results that I didn't get on regular Google. I also had a bit of trouble removing it. So bad experience for me overall.

Edit: no, they weren't so sinister as to install it with another package, it's part of the Firefox extensions in the default install.

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#22

Post by crumblan »

dbaupp wrote: post #7
crumblan wrote: post #2

For anyone thinking of trying Mint; they will install customized search engines in your Firefox and Chromium, it is a shit experience, and it is irritating to remove or avoid. I would suggest you do not use Mint if you plan on doing any internet searching.

This is a little ridiculous: you can trivially add the DuckDuckGo (or Google) search provider; e.g. on the right-hand side of the DDG search page[1] there is a "Add to Firefox" (and presumably similarly for Chromium) link that you can just click, and it just works. [1]: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=add+a+search+engine

I know, but I wanted Google, and I found it difficult to remove the branded search and switch to basic Google. It's not a ridiculous complaint, I just think if they are willing to treat their users like that it will only get worse in the future. I jumped off of Ubuntu because of Unity, though, so I might be feeling very "once bitten..."

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#23

Post by DanBC »

nabilt wrote: post #4

My family just got an Apple TV and I'm very impressed at the fit and finish, but I was disappointed at the lack of features. I would love a more open device where I could install whatever I want. For example I would love to mirror my display, have better integration with Android and web browse directly on the box. Any recommendation for good media center software to install on the mintBox that can do this?

GeeXboX (http://www.geexbox.org/)

OpenElec (http://openelec.tv/)

XBMC (http://xbmc.org/)

None of them have particularly good "elevator pitches" for what they are or do. I hear people like XBMC.

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#24

Post by hack_edu »

tikhonj wrote: post #17
fingerprinter wrote: post #11

I'd love one of these...though I would put Ubuntu on it...but at those prices? I don't think so. The mintBox is available in two versions. mintBox Basic ($476 + shipping, duty & VAT): 250GB HDD APU G-T40N (1.0 GHz dual core + Radeon HD 6290 – 9W) 4GB RAM Flat metal case mintBox Pro ($549 + shipping, duty & VAT): 250GB HDD APU G-T56N (1.65 GHz dual core + Radeon HD 6320 – 18W) 8GB RAM Ribbed metal case

I'm curious: what do you see as the advantage of Ubuntu over Mint? My understanding is that Mint is just Ubuntu with a different default desktop environment and some multimedia codecs. Do you just like Unity? (For what it's worth, I actually like it as well.)

Ubuntu has a huge community that makes any question you have easily Googlable, as well as a much more mature ecosystem in general. Even if they're built on the same foundation, these little things really make a difference and ease headaches.

And really, you can't write off the simple fact that its been around and strong for so many years. You can rest assured that it will continue to be.

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#25

Post by cheatercheater »

The most amazing thing about it: the photos.

The photos are made with a cheap digicam with no lighting. I'm not saying this to complain, but to praise.

That's because the photos prove (at least to me) that the project is done in someone's bedroom at almost no cost at all.

That someone at this level of business development can defy laws of business and offer something like the mintBox is amazing and is a sign of how the times have changed.

Ten years ago, no one would have dreamt of this sort of thing.

Then again, forty years ago they would have. That was also the most amazing time for computer science, when the seminal advancements were being made that still continue to resonate with the world. So maybe, with the whole maker crowd, and statup biz, and this sort of mintBox ramshack business mentality, we're looking at another golden age?

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#26

Post by dbro »

Depending on what you're planning to use it for, there are some less expensive devices that are worth considering, eg. for about $90 shipped to the US

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/546571245-Mele-A2000-TV...

I just received one and installed Debian squeeze on it, following the instructions here http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000...

Shipping took about a month, but now that it's here it's as good as I expected.

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#27

Post by noonespecial »

In the course of my business, I deal with dozens of different embedded PC's. There's one thing I wish players in this space would keep in mind: If you want to take a shot at this window of power and performance (the level at which people start thinking "set-top box") you really have to beat out the $250 netbook I can get at walmart. If my first thought is, "nice form-factor but a netbook/mini-itx/mac-mini solves the problem for the same price", you pretty much lose just because the others are easier to get.

This is what really caught my attention about the Raspberry Pi. It was OpenWRT sized and priced, but promises netbook sized abilities. I just wish I knew how to get a case of them.

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#28

Post by JaggedJax »

crumblan wrote: post #20
ImprovedSilence wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Is there no way around that? Ie just change your browser search settings? I was looking to try out mint, cuz Ubuntu is leaving something to be desired these days.

I tried Mint for the same reason, and this search default really soured me on it. I didn't find it easy to remove, either. Just wanted to warn others.

I found it about ten times easier than changing the default search in IE. Clicking the Search engine icon in FF and then clicking "Get More Search Engines" takes you to: http://www.linuxmint.com/searchengines.php#siteinfo-legal

From there you just have to click the icon of the one you want. They should put them at the top of that page and not the bottom though (I added the anchor to the bottom of the page).

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#29

Post by drostie »

noonespecial wrote: post #27

In the course of my business, I deal with dozens of different embedded PC's. There's one thing I wish players in this space would keep in mind: If you want to take a shot at this window of power and performance (the level at which people start thinking "set-top box") you really have to beat out the $250 netbook I can get at walmart. If my first thought is, "nice form-factor but a netbook/mini-itx/mac-mini solves the…

Yeah, the one big thing that this one has going for it is its noiselessness due to using its case as a heat sink. Torvalds has also talked about how he wants a "whisper-quiet" computing environment; I'm surprised that so few companies treat this as a design target. It's probably more popular among computers designed to be used as thin clients, which it looks like the mintBox is.

It's nice to see how much you can compress into that small package, though.

Re: The mintBox, a Linux Mint computer

#30

Post by tuananh »

noonespecial wrote: post #27

In the course of my business, I deal with dozens of different embedded PC's. There's one thing I wish players in this space would keep in mind: If you want to take a shot at this window of power and performance (the level at which people start thinking "set-top box") you really have to beat out the $250 netbook I can get at walmart. If my first thought is, "nice form-factor but a netbook/mini-itx/mac-mini solves the…

So true. At this price range, i'm just gonna buy a Mac mini.
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