Linux iterations

fred royce

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I don't know where else to blow off steam about this, so here goes. everyone prepare your brick bats.
First of all, my background. I am 70+ years old, have an associates degree in CE, a BS in economics, and if the university hadn't lost my records, a minor in Industrial Engineering. I use computers to enhance my interests in writing, photographing wildlife, travel, kayaking, canoeing, archery, biking, travel and other assorted interests. I am not interested in spending most of my waking hours on a computer.
For years I have been able to do what I wanted with Linux by looking up instructions on my I Pad, and following them on the Linux computer. No more. Linux in their endless tree of iterations of iterations of iterations is changing things so fast, that by the time something is explained on the internet, the instructions are obsolete.
v Example: After fighting all week to install Ubuntu and following dead end leads, I bought a Linux magazine and installed the latest iteration of Mint. When I tried to use "Courier" font, got a message that "Courier" font wasn't installed, and a substitute was available. Now, this is surprising, since "Courier" font is much more widely used than the gigantic list of other fonts that ARE installed.
Well, "no problem", I thought, and dug out the old I Pad and Googled how to remove unnecessary fonts and install Courier. The instructions said to go to Software Manager and click on "installed". Well. someone in their wisdom decided the "Installed" button should be removed, so another dead end. This is typical anymore of trying to do anything with Ubuntu or Mint.
A simple process that should have taken ten minutes, at most, ends up being a mornings exercise in frustration.
Linux used to be my salvation from Microsoft and Apple, and now it seems that casual users such as myself don't belong here.
 


G'day fred, and Welcome to Linux.org

I must admit I have never had need to change fonts.....but after reading your blurb, I decided to give it try.

I am running Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon.

Clicked on menu...typed in fonts......hit enter.......and there it was. I am typing in that font now.

Not sure what is going on with your Ubuntu install, but normally it is a fairly straightforward process. A run through from some of the people here will probably clear up the mess for you.

An 'installed" button in software manager..I am not aware of that. I just opened software manager to be sure......


Why dont you use the Linux PC to google your questions ?

Very late where I am.....others will check in with you.

Hang in there fred...we'll get you sorted out.

Just for the record....I have been using Linux for 3+ years.......and I love it. Very intuitive.

I stand corrected.....clicked on software manager to open it.....and beside the seartch box in the top right hand corner there are three short horizontal lines....click on them.....and you can then click on "show installed applications"....!!!!!

We learn something every day !!

However....in terms of finding a particular font....do as I suggested above....menu>>>.type in fonts >>>hit enter.....and you should have it. I am fairly certain that the 'fonts' are included as a default application.....so depending on the version of linux you are running, you should not have to install them
 
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No worries, Fred... we won't beat you up over this. And welcome to the forums!

If you haven't found it already, when you open Mint's Software Manager (at least in the Cinnamon edition).... there is a "pancake icon" (3 horizontal lines) beside the search box in the upper right corner. Clicking that icon gives you the option to see your installed software.

Mine is a fairly fresh install too, and I only have 9 apps installed from the Software Manager... and one of them happens to be the ttf-mscorefonts-installer which provides Courier and all the other typical fonts you're probably used to seeing. Linux Mint Cinnamon also has a Fonts app (two actually, but I'm referring to the one with the darker green icon)... and this app lets you choose the default font, desktop font, document font, and others. After setting this up you might not have any further issues.... but no guarantees! :D

Good luck!
 
Hey, that's why we're here... we like to help, if we can. And sometimes we are prompted to learn new things, or to change our ways too. With your post, I also looked at my font situation and found TONS of fonts I don't need or want in the /usr/share/fonts/ folder... so I deleted a bunch of them. I also found a tool called font-manager in the Software Manager app... it may be helpful, but I'm not familiar with it at this point to offer any recommendations or tips on using it.

Having a nice community here can also provide other ideas and opinions on things that may help you.

Cheers
 
Here are two thoughts:
When I first started using Linux, it was a HUGE relief from Apple. Less problems, user friendly. Now, I have ten times the work to keep Mint working as I do keeping my Mini Mac doing what it's supposed to do. Personal observation, I am likely the only person in the world to see things this way, I am sure.
Secondly, from five years ago, till now, I can't see one single thing I can do better or easier on Shotwell or on Office Writer. Yet, there have been so many updates, that if I look for instructions on how to do something, the icons have changed or the screen has changed so that any instructions that I find can't be followed because the screen on the instructions don't match the screen on my computer.
Hate to say it, but I am going to go back to Apple, as much as I detest them. And, right now, I am going to British Columbia to hopefully photograph grizzly bears, elk and deer instead of searching internet forums to try to understand the latest iteration of Office Writer.
 
Here are two thoughts:
I am going to British Columbia to hopefully photograph grizzly bears, elk and deer instead of searching internet forums to try to understand the latest iteration of Office Writer.

Your will do very well sir. Once you will be back, let us see some nice photos.;)
 
Hate to say it, but I am going to go back to Apple, as much as I detest them.

Sorry to see you go, but you gotta do what you think is best for you. I've never used a Mac, so I can't compare it with anything, but I have followed Windows long enough (from version 3.0 thru 10) to realize that nothing is static. They employ programmers to make "improvements" that may or may not be well-liked, but it gives them something to do and keeps them busy. I will hazard a guess that is true of Apple also. Perhaps Linux is worse because it offers hundreds of different distros and probably a dozen or more different Desktop Environments and Window Managers. I have heard many complaints that there are too many choices, but I don't feel that way... I'm glad to have so many options available to me. :D

"The only thing that is constant is change." --Heraclitus

Best of luck to you, Fred! Stop in anytime!

Cheers
 
Hi Fred, here's some Courier

UDJYn60.png


SCREENSHOT 1 - WIZARD'S LIBREOFFICE ON MX-17

and here's what it is on


cNxpWhv.png


SCREENSHOT 2 - MX-17 DESKTOP

(Wizard appears in a puff of smoke, standing on his head trying to do a rapdance ... well he is Australian ... fails dismally)

Late for the party it seems? :(

While you have Linux onboard is the ideal time for you to see if anything else suits your fancy.

You have nothing to lose by reading here

https://www.linux.org/threads/more-assistance-sought-with-multibooting.19817/#post-58867

... here

https://www.linux.org/threads/ready-to-dive-in.19830/#post-58868

... and then here

https://www.linux.org/threads/most-...o-for-new-users-in-sep-2018.19827/#post-58874

... which last instance has details of MX-17. MX-17 does. ;)

MX-17 is based on Debian 'Stretch' is solid and stable, and you can see with the "Conky" (system processes), using about 400MiB RAM.

I am not here to do you a hard sell, and we are not an official organ of Linux, but you are welcome to blow off steam, and we accommodate that.

See what you think

Avagudweegend

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz and over 60 years of age.
 
Here is an example of what happens when I try to do something on Linux, whether it's due to my senility or something else, I don't know.
I wanted to clean off my hard driver.
Linuxquestions.org told me to run the following command: dd if=/dev/zero of=dev/hda bs=iM.
So I run that command and get the reply "no such file". Okay, so I figure I probably need to replace "a" with "c". I replace it. Get the same response.
So, now after 5 minutes of trying to do what should be relatively simple, the only thing I have done is grown more frustrated with the whole dang mess.
I would GLADLY pay to be able to sit down, format a piece of writing and begin writing, whether it was to buy Word, but another computer, or something else. It's frustrating enough so that I am seriously considering buy an old fashioned typewriter. At this point, it would be much more time efficient for this addle brained old f*rt.
By the way, Wizard, thanks for your imput, and thanks for the cordial responses I have gotten here.

Fred
 
Fred, hi just a tip from the start - in that command, near the end, it is bs=1M ... not an i or capital I :).

Did you write the command or copy and paste? If the former, then it is better to copy and paste to prevent syntax errors.

From the manual, which you can access at Terminal

Code:
man dd

bs=BYTES
read and write up to BYTES bytes at a time (default: 512); over‐
rides ibs and obs

... so it is like a bit sampling rate - 1M means 1 Megabyte at a time.

Do be very careful, though with dd - it has an unfortunate nickname of "The Data Destroyer", and if you make a mistake you can wipe your system.

Cheers

Wizard
 
One more syntax error... you need the / in both places, /dev/zero and /dev/sda.

This command may not work to wipe the hard drive that you have booted on, or may work unexpectedly. Best to run it from a live USB or DVD. And as Wizard noted, you must be sure that sda is indeed the correct hard drive... there is no "undo" and it will destroy data.

Cheers
 
:oops: - thanks Stan, need my 3rd morning coffee o_O

Wiz
 

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