Dammit, NOW I have to create a new terminal prompt 
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I used to use it, totally forgot about it. Thanks!
Here you go.
PS1=‘C:\\W>’
I know this was meant to be funny, but I admit, I glance at my clock after I read it. Funny.
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I agree that that premise of this thread is ridiculous. However, the bashing of Mint as a some how inferior distro is just not necessary. There is utility in taking something that someone has already learned and still using it. Mint takes many familiar conventions from Windows and uses them. Mint is not adverse to 3rd party proprietary software or drivers. Mint brags about having proprietary software available out of the box. You see, Mint is a good alternative to Windows, and with it, you don’t have to abandon all that you know. You can still benefit from some of that experience.
On top of this most things tend to work on it, because it is following in a very established and defined development path. Things like VMWare Workstation, Codeweaver’s Crossover, etc. just work and work well.
Cinammon is an excellent DE as well that is very compliant with this Windows experience.
I love OM, and I have been able to get it working with most of the things I need. It is also the ONLY distro I have used that will configure hibernation out of the box. That is massive right there and it is under talked about.
I am just pointing out that Mint is so successful because of their approach, not just because it is the baby Linux distro. (Seriously though, tell me one thing you can do on OM that you CAN’T do on Mint).
Edit: And just so I am clear, I prefer OM. I think it is a better distro.
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Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a forum where these questions could be resolved in five minutes… “so many things.” 
Bye Bye
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To me it does not seem it happened.
Those who mentioned Mint (in reply to @context presenting it as a good example of what OM should be or become) basically just said that it is different.
Which is exactly what we are well aware about, while the OP clearly does not.
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Coming away from Mint after giving it several days of testing and not being impressed is hardly the same as bashing Mint. I will admit that it was a little too much like Windows for me, and I was looking for a DE that was a much less rigid than Cinnamon.
But I will agree that being the distro that is closest to Windows and loading it full of third party software and drivers has worked to the favor of Mint for those coming from Windows, need “Linux training wheels,” and/or don’t want to learn anything beyond how to open a browser, check email, and perhaps do some office work. Many people want exactly what they are acclimated to being familiar with.
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Thank you kind sir
FWIW, almost all of the people that I have “converted” to tux wanted as little change as possible. They want to do what they want to do and then get away from the computer.
And when you’re talking about a production machine (or more than 1), workflow is really important.There was just a couple threads last week (Hello From Texas! and Working with SMB shares and SMB shared printers). And thus far I’m still using mint on my daily driver desktop (OM on a laptop). Hopefully this weekend I’ll get to swap over 
Then the laptop gets Qubes 
so I can play with that (https://www.qubes-os.org)
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Exactly! It’s a tool!
Which it’s why you should learn how it works otherwise it can cause some disastrous situations.
Do you grab a chainsaw and just start trying to cut down trees with it?
Do you grab a drill and start poking holes in everything?
Do you hop in a car and just start driving it and expect it react and operate just like another one?
No, you dont do any of those things without first learning how to use them.
Why should a operating system be any different?
“Making it easy” is going to be the downfall of Linux and most likely all of “open source”. Because it invites big tech and mega corporations to throw money at it and ultimately they are the ones that guides the direction of these distros. Not the community.
I would say that most people using these tools don’t really know how they work.
Ask your average chainsaw owner how he’s adjusted the kerf.
Ask your average drill owner if the drill is brushed or brushless, or of the plastic its made of is fiber reinforced.
Ask your average car owner if his car engine is port injection or direct injection.
I feel that making things easy to use is a good thing, but making the inner workings accessible, configurable and repairable is also important, and these qualities are not mutually exclusive.
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The point isn’t about building or repairing those things. Its about how to use them and their limitations.
You dont have to understand how the internal combustion engine works to operate the car. But you do need to have some moderate understanding of the size, weight and handling of the car to operate it.
You dont need to understand what makes the chain spin on a chainsaw. You need to know what it can cut and not to stick your finger in it.
What people need to understand that its not windows or mac and software created for windows or mac will not work on it.
When it comes to distros There are thousands of different distros. They are all different in one way or another.
Saying they should all work and be exactly alike is just stupid.
Because if they did there wouldn’t be thousands of different distros. There would just be one.
Call me an old curmudgeon if you want, but I’m just tired of the gas lighting trolls trying to create stupid drama when there is none.
ie, when Canonical stated they were going to move to snaps. Then they actually started moving to snaps people flipped out. Why? They gave almost a 2 yr warning. Then people cried about it and continue to cry about it. Seriously? Dont like snaps rip them out of Ubuntu yourself or stop using Ubuntu. Lol.
Still to this day people cry about snaps in Ubuntu.
Its dumb.
I admit that trolling can be fun. But gas lighting trolls are just dumb.
People that leave posts like the OP are 1 of 2 things.
- Do not, did not or is not willing to understand that there is a difference in distros and why that difference exists.
- They are 100% a full on troll looking to get some engagement because they are bored or looking for attention.
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I think this whole thing goes back to the question, what is a computer? I have a class I have taught in a homeschool co-op where I challenge the students on this question. With the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, Apple was seeking to change people’s view of a computer fundamentally, by making it into a toaster.
A toaster is a simple machine designed for one purpose: making toast. Unfortunately, the view that has now become prevalent about computers is that they are like toasters: you turn them on and they should work perfectly to do specific things, like check email, do online banking, write documents, and print some photos. That’s what computers are for to many people. These things are all pre-configured and pre-designed activities: you use the computer to do them, and they should work all the time. If it breaks, you replace it.
But computers, of course, are not toasters. They are programmable machines that can do whatever they’re programmed to do. People used to understand that; they don’t anymore. That’s where this idea of “this isn’t the same as what I had before” comes from. To most people, a computer is a much more static thing than most of us seem to think of it as. And if a new system doesn’t do things exactly the way they expect, they get upset and think it’s broken.
The difference is when a person is willing to say, okay, this doesn’t work exactly the way I’m used to, but is there a way I can achieve my goal? If program X doesn’t run, can I use program Y? If the task bar is on the top instead of the bottom, can I adjust? Because a new system is different, doesn’t necessarily make it worse than what you’re used to.
Fighting a system that’s been set up one way in order to make it work like another system you’re used to is a task for someone who knows the system well. Get to know the system well before you attempt it. If you’re not willing to do that, then don’t fight the system. Get to know it and how it works. Adjust yourself. Eventually, you’ll acquire enough knowledge to understand whether the new system’s way works better or the old system, and you may have learned how to adjust the new.
Virtual machines or older computers are fantastic tools for that. In my class, we use a Commodore 64, an Apple II, an Atari 800 and their successors: an Amiga, an old Macintosh, and an Atari ST, as well as some older PCs to explore not only how computers work, but also the interfaces for computers. And I think it gives kids a much more open mind about computers and what they can be used for.
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Indeed.
Related is a standard tale from tech support:
Customer says “But it worked before.”
Agent replies “Almost every tool ever developed by humanity, since someone first knapped a piece of flint into a knife, shares this property of working at one point in time and then not working at some later point in time.”
Not related is telling a customer: “I’m going to put you on hold for a while, and while you wait, I want you to think about what you’ve done.”
Additional insight from another computer user currently testing OM:
All I know is that I have a list of tasks I need to do with a computer. These things are not optional and my mortgage, vehicle payment, utilities and food bill depends on them being done.
VITAL QUESTIONS
Is it possible to use the software to successfully complete the tasks every time, every day?
Is the software going to help me get those tasks done or is it going to tell me I don’t need to do those tasks and that I should do something else instead?
Is the software going to fight me every step of the way?
Is the software going to waste many hours of productivity each time I need to add a new task to that list?
I am still trying to answer them for myself currently regarding OM, it is not readily apparent either way.
These are the real questions that devs should ask from the point of view of a user. These are really the only things that matter when talking about an operating system.
I almost never see any Linux discussions addressing these vital questions. It always comes down to expecting people to accept limitations and spend many hours learning software that may or may not get the job done in the end.
I don’t mind investing hours to learn, but the juice had better be worth the squeeze in the end. That is be determined as of yet, but I am hopeful. I would prefer OM to meet my needs. But if it does not, it will not be my fault. I am spending way more time than I should on this “switch to Linux” project. It is a testament to my hatred of Windows 11 more than a love of Linux.
Always remember that this is not a hobby, this is serious.
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This is why I install a Plasma desktop when someone asks me to convert their computer from Windows to Linux. With Plasma, I just need to install the proper “Windows theme” and they are happy. Windows XP? Piece of cake. Windows 7? No problem. 10? Yes, I can do that. This is something that is lacking in the Cinnamon desktop. It just appears “too different.” They don’t worry about hardware compatibility because I deal with that for them, including setting up CUPS for their brand of printer. Which is a gamble when you don’t have the printer plugged into a USB port. Then I set up Samba, test it, and now their phone is able to share files over their local network.
So far, zero complaints other than with LibreOffice. Now, if there was a way to theme LibreOffice to make it look and feel like MS Office, it could gain more market share.
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Qubes looks pretty awesome! I am going to check that out for sure! Looks like something that might be able to solve a computer problem or two.
I will admit I never thought of that. Cinnamon always seemed close enough to Win 7 and Mate to XP.
But my converts all seem happy (once I got their printers and other gizmos working etc. 
)
Be sure to check out:
Website
https://explainingcomputers.com/
Qubes Specific:
His videos are pretty good. And if you look on his “Linux Videos” page on the website he’s got a whole series on switching.
Also, Tom over at “Switched to Linux” has good stuff too. In fact, it was one of his videos that made me re-look at linux after a 15 year hiatus.
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