Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa first impressions

#1

Linux Mint team have released 19.1 code named Tessa. A list of the new features are found here: https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_tessa_cinnamon_whatsnew.php so I won’t be going into them in any depth as others will do this. I am giving my personal impressions as an average users who just wants something to work and work well.
There are two ways to get 19.1, the first being download the full ISO and do a complete new install. On my other hard drive, I tried this out and found that as with all previous versions it was easy to and very quick to do, less than 10 minutes including the reboot. I have always loved this about Mint, the ease which the ordinary person can install and get things running without jumping through hoops. Once installed, the welcome screen will soon have you up and running, it is then up to you to decide what you want to add. If you use Thunderbird as your email application, you need to be aware of the fact that you might need to know your configuration settings for your email provider. I found this very frustrating and a right pain and there is not much help on line. I suggest that you take a note of these before installing as it will save the pain later. This is not really a Mint problem, as Thunderbird is from Mozilla and from what I read has caused similar problems in the past.

The second way of getting 19.1 is to upgrade. The instructions for doing it are found here: https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3715 . This I chose to do on my main drive as I already have 19.0 Tara installed and everything set up the way I want. Following the instructions, it really was a breeze to do and the only thing to really remember is that you have to download the upgrade so ensure you have enough bandwidth left to do so. This method took longer, I would estimate about 25 minutes to complete, but most of that time was down to having to wait until the download had completed, once that was done the install was very quick less than five minutes to complete. If you are doing it this way the most important thing to remember is to do a TimeShift in case anything does go wrong or you want to go back to the previous version.
Okay so, I like the new Cinnamon 4.0 it is very clean and fast and the visual improvements are great. I like the fact that you can choose your panel size, you can even resize it via the panel settings, if you want to do. I have kept the classic look, because I like it and for no other reason. Having done the upgrade, most of my settings were in place, if you have not done so then you will have to do them. I had to remember to turn on the firewall which wasn’t automatically turned on. So far I have not found out how to change the screen saver, I had Noof on before which I liked, but 19.1 doesn’t seem to have any choices. This really doesn’t matter as you don’t really look at your screen saver any more than you do your desktop back ground. Talking about which Tessa has some really great ones to choose from.
What I have always loved about Mint is that it just does everything you want and allows you just to get on and do things. Tessa is no different in that respect, it is great and easy to use and it is no wonder that Mint is so very popular amongst Linux users. When you look at the improvements made, you go wow that’s great, but if you are like me, none techie most go above your head anyway. Clem and the team have delivered another winner without taking anything away from what makes Mint great, its ease of use. I really hope that they keep this up and don’t forget that the majority of users just want what Mint does now a great OS that doesn’t crash and just works.

I can not fault Tessa, to be honest I wasn’t expecting to do so. Would I recommend it to everyone, most definitely without missing a heartbeat. Nothing is perfect, but for me this comes as close to it as anything I am likely to come across and for me and my needs she is a perfect fit.

I have edited this which I originally posted on my blog as I am not promoting my blog but wanted to give a general idea for others who might be considering Mint 19.1

#2

My experience is about the same. With my hardware Mint 19.1 just works. no real problems other than having to install a couple propitiatory drivers for wifi , etc. had it up and running in less that 20 minutes. Great job by the Mint Dev. team :slight_smile:

#3

About Thunderbird settings - Yes, one should take note from their ISP about incoming and outgoing server etc, beforehand and just input those into your NEW account on Thunderbird. That too is actually an easy and straightforward task.

#4

I installed Linux Mint 19 Mate edition a few months after four years with Ubuntu (which I loved and never had an issue with and I would still be with them if they had stuck to the Unity desktop) and so far Mint has performed well except for the fact that I cannot get it to print out PDF files. It only prints half the pages. IE, my credit card statement is only two pages but Mint only prints one page, if I try to print a PDF off the web such as a recent scientific paper I wanted, it only printed the first 6 of 12 pages. I have no idea how to fix this but going by blog statements this is a common problem with both Linux Mint 19 and Windows. There were a few other niggles but I managed to fix these. I sure would appreciate any suggestions on fixing this problem.

CPAST

#5

Please don’t think that I am being insulting by making this suggestion. If you’ve not gone to the print settings, just go there and you can set them to do double sided prints - I also set to down load the pdf file and do it from there. I have had no problems doing it this way including my tax return which was over 12 pages long: However I looked at this sight and is great to look at btw. and found this solution for you: https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/p/bugs.html#ID15 - The information here is always trustworthy and should help you solve this.

#6

Try installing and using evince as your pdf reader see if it will print properly then.
PDF readers can be quite tricky I also use Master PDF found here and it works well too.
Master PDF
download the .deb file and install with gdebi - Good luck.

#7

Thanks for the reply. I have already installed XPDF viewer and that too does not allow me to print all the pages, even when there is only two pages. I am sure it is something to do with CUPS but I did have the same problem with Ubuntu Budgie and Ubuntu Mate and when I tried to install a different CUPS command I had no printer at all. It could also be connected to Gnome and that is why I am hoping that Ubuntu Budgie changes to QT on its next release. Oh how I miss for the Unity desk top. Never failed me. I also cannot see any setting to print double sided. I use a Brother monochrome laser printer.

CPAST

#8

Thanks but I already have both of these viewers installed and problem still exists. Master PDF is certainly impressive though.

#9

In master pdf when you hit print on the dialog box that comes up make sure actual size is checked.
see if it then prints the whole page.

#10

Just my 2cents…
I upgraded my acer today from 18.3 to 19 to 19.1 without problems.
(Thanks for the link)
There was just a little hickup with gconf2 that I solved with help from here

Next will be my MintBoxMini (Fitlet2)…

And yes, I did a TimeShift Backup beforehand… :wink:

#11

Good to know - thanks :+1::+1:

#12

Nothing seems to work, would not even print one page. I will just not use PDF until I next change my system. I am still sure it has something to do with CUPS but I always have big problems whenever I mess with CUPS. I hope to change to Ubuntu Budgie when they next release an LTS version and hopefully it will be using QT. Maybe that will fix this problem. This PDF problem seems to be quite widespread going by the number of comments on the Linux Mint forums. A now LTS system like Mint 19 should be able to print PDFs out of the box. Thanks anyway.

CPAST

#13

On another forum a Windows user decided to install Linux Mint…

#14

@cpast if you are still looking for possible solutions, you might consider posting your issue as a separate thread. that way someone who might not look in this one may be able to offer a different thought :slight_smile: one that crossed my mind was live booting from a usb just to see if another distro might give you a better experience in this one particular area.

#15

Good idea @cordx as I started this specifically with Mint 19.1 in mind and although I expected some “problems” to be highlighted this particular one about the pdf does deserve a different thread so it gains a wider audience and hopefully someone will be able to help there

#16

I visited this thread wondering how “first impressions” could be solved…

#17

Unsolved :point_up_2: Have a great 2019 @Akito

#18

Thanks for that, I certainly will be live booting any distro that appeals to me before I install it as I did with Ubuntu Mate and Budgie but they both shared this common problem. I will let this matter slide and try some new distros later.

CPAST

#19

I upgraded to 19.1 as soon as I received the notice. No difference on my computer in terms of speed, ease, etc. Not sure what the upgrade entails beyond bug fixes. Mint works because its base is Ubuntu. Mint still cannot install wireless network card automatically, like Ubuntu. But the drivers are there and I installed it manually.
Thanks.

#20

That’s interesting to know. I have had not problems with wireless connection. I think the good thing about Mint is that there is so much behind that the average user won’t notice much difference.