Now that I've read several more entries, I shall get myself an armored tank to hide in. I expect some serious blow-back from all you dudes and dudesses who REALLY know Linux. I'm just a poor end-user who needs instructions for opening a Coke bottle. Sorry to whine at you all. The problems I've had are "real" but the reality may be - I admit - more inside than outside my head.

Hu, Humbled.

Here's 2 Cents from a Distant Peanut Gallery:

I have Linux Mint 17.2 at work and at home. I work at the university where MS rules (of course). I would not have that but for a very technically competent friend who showed me that LM would extend the life of my old lappy by several years. (I did not need the latest in bells and whistles anyways.)

But things periodically gone BOING from nearly the get-go. Here are only the latest crimes against sanity:

1. The techies where I work made changes to the network such that I can no longer connect to anything on the Net while in LM. I know: that doesn't make sense since my office PC CAN connect to any URL. The techies, sadly, don’t think my problem is their problem (and are probably the world’s worst forensic network scientists anywho).

2. I had upgraded to LM 18 but gave me such trouble that I was forced to go backwards to 17.2 (NOT xx.3) for the re-install so as to avoid those troubles - that on recommendation of my LM techie friend.

3. I had lots of little issues with LM that added up to a chronic, low-level pain. I never experienced that stability and consistent behavior that Linux-heads claim Linux has over Wimpdows.

4. For anything mission critical, such as a PPt or spreadsheet, I'd need to check the product over in Billy Gate's baby before using it in public, so to say. As good as LibreOffice is, I could not assume compatibility. And it hung and crashed a lot. And I mean A LOT – especially Writer, the app I used most. (By the bye: LibreOffice for Windows is much more stable, in my limited experience. And I use its Calc because the interface is NOT the hellish soup of icons that Excel pushes at you.)

5. IF and when I can afford it (Yeah, I'm a poor boy.), I'll buy a box DESIGNED for Linux. But even then, I'll likely go dual-boot and grumble obscenely every time I boot up.
End of Whine.