I hate to admit it, but 17 seems to be a definite step in the wrong direction. It was a challenge getting grub2 set up and then MATE was an issue.

Does anybody have any idea how to get the official oracle version of java to install? Crashplan just refuses to work with OpenJDK for some reason and Mint doesn't appear to support the Oracle version. Trying the instructions that I've found on the web for using the tar.gz just isn't working.

Haven't worked with Java in ages and never used Mint, but isn't Java part of the APT database for your distribution?

I took a quick peak at Wikipedia and it seems Mint uses APT also.

EDIT:

Just took a quick look: http://java.com/en/download/linux_manual.jsp?locale=en

You definitely don't want the RPM packages as that's Fedora/Red Hat.

Haha, clicked on the other link and it seems to apply to the entreprise versions of Linuxes. Sellouts :P. http://java.com/en/download/help/linux_x64_install.xml

Ah, found this link which seems to date back to a year ago. Looks promising. Not really interested in installing Java, but you should probably try it out: http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/1091

I haven't personally tried it but Web Upd8's PPA should work in Mint. *insert warning about using unfamiliar PPAs*

Hi guys, thanks a lot.

I was hoping that I was missing something as installing from that 3rd party ppa isn't really helping the situation out. As much as I like Mint, it's a bit surprising to me that they aren't providing access to the official implementation in any sort of convenient way.

Anyways, I've contacted support to see what they can suggest, but it seems rather poor to require a proprietary version of Java rather than Open Java.

Is mint pulling an ubuntu now? Something about becoming less user friendly so that a new distro can take its place. :P

I'm not really sure what's motivated this. I was also a bit surprised that they don't have the standard java in the repo.

But, it's an LTS release, so there being a few kinks right now isn't that big of a deal as I won't have to upgrade again for several more years.

Oracle changed the license in a way that prevents distributions from distributing the Oracle Java runtime or JDK. Around that time, they basically said OpenJDK was "good enough" for Linux users and no one bothered to create a package for the archives that downloads it like the Flash package does.

A quick search turned up this and numerous other articles mentioning the change.

I see that does make some sense. Although it does make me wonder why anybody is targetting the proprietary version of Java when Oracle is apparently not interested in making sure that the changes are consistent with the open source model.

I've never been a particular fan of Oracle, but Larry Ellison is pretty much a complete asshole in a way that Gates never was. Don't get me wrong, I disliked Gates, but Ellison seems to be an asshole for the purpose of being an asshole and more than willing to let Oracle get a bloody nose just so that he can push people around.

I had this problem earlier with my online banking, it required Java, and it wouldn't work with Open Java on Mint. After I installed that webupd8 thingie (I think it was the same one) in order to get Oracle Java, I was able to use that online banking once again in Mint Linux.

Luckily they later changed the online banking so that it didn't require java anymore. Most probably this was so that the web pages would work fine also on tablets and such. They have separate Android and iOS apps too, but they are missing many features and options in the web browser version (like the ability to transfer money abroad).

Here we are, once again saved by the mobile platforms. They dragged Microsoft kicking and screaming to create a browser that is standards compatible, and now, they rid us of java crapplets

I did wind up getting it fixed, but I'm somewhat in the dark as to what the actual problem there was. OpenJDK had been working for me, but for some reason there was an issue with the Ubutu derivatives.

As this is somewhat solved now, I'll hijack this :).

I am still on LInux Mint 13, the previous LTS release. Always disliked (and got tired of) the 6-month re-install cycles with most Linux versions - and am much in favour of rolling releases in principle. Played around with Arch Linux in virtualbox, a bit, but as I only have one computer and no other way to access internet never really went for a proper install: I can handle working with terminal, but not without access to all the guides and advice on the inet out there, during installation.

Am intrigued by Manjaro as a not quite as DIY intensive variant, but with the rolling release advantages of Arch. Anyone out there that used Manjaro for a while? Experiences? What edition (KDE / Openbox / XFCE) did you use - and why that one?

Feel free to hijack away, this is as resolved as it's going to get.

Anyways, my advice to you is to make sure you have a working install on a thumbdrive or similar. That way if things go wrong you can more easily recover from it. I had to do that several times recently because of some unexpected speed bumps from trying to upgrade.

Rolling releases aren't inherently good or bad, it depends a great deal on who it is that's controlling them. Personally, I'm sticking with an LTS release on this computer just so that I won't have to upgrade for a few more years.

Oh, yes, of course. I have a number of old Linux versions (variety) around on DVDs - so always something I could fall back on temporarily; and ye, rolling releases aren't necessarily perfect. I am intrigued by Manjaro's 'build on Arch Stable' and then test some more philosophy, though. In theory it should be fairly stable - and some reviews out there suggest that - but especially with rolling releases it'd be great to hear from folks that actually used it for a bit / tested that.

LTS are fine, but fall behind in software upgrades a lot, unless I add specific repositories with all the negatives that brings. Darktable, a program I use a lot, was, for example, stuck at a way old version in the official Mint 13 channels; a version that was way inferior and clumsy compared to the more up-to-date ones available out there.