Linux Mint Update Catastrophe

When it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it and things were working just fine. I had a certain version of Linux Mint installed on my laptop, I don't even know what version, and I unwisely decided to update. I assumed it would be to the latest version (Virginia 21.3) but instead it was updated to Vanessa (21) and that's when that laptop was definitely broke. The entire hard drive became read only and I couldn't add or delete anything.

I commonly take screenshots and the app worked just fine but I couldn't save the screenshots to the hard drive. I couldn't even open this blog for editing because Blogger needed to save to the hard drive. Checking on the Internet, I found that the problem is well known but a solution is not so easy to find. This is the reason most people use Windows or Mac OS. They don't want to be bothered by annoyances of this sort.

I'm coming to the same point of view. To experience such a basic and catatrophic mishap after an upgrade is unforgiveable. I'll never use Linux Mint again and will now revert to Ubuntu that used to be my Linux distribution of choice. I thought it might be possible to upgrade from Vanessa to Virginia but that's not currently possible for some reason.  Fortunately my trusty Raspberry Pi 400 is working just fine and so I'm able to remain productive and even update this blog.

The wired connection to the Internet has ceased to work on the laptop and the battery is showing a 0% charge, even though it's fully charged. Whoever the brains were behind this upgrade, they need to be fired. While I'm sure I'll get the laptop operational again, I'm not going to make the same mistake again. Once a working OS is installed, that will be it, no more upgrades. As a matter of principle however, I'll never use Linux Mint again and never recommend that anyone else uses it.

Currently I'm downloading Ubuntu 22.04 to the SD card on the Raspberry Pi and my typing freezes intermittently as I'm typing this. So it goes. I guess what I'd like for my forthcoming birthday is an up-to-date mini PC or a more recent laptop, such as an M1 Macbook Air with 16GB of RAM. One can dream, can't one?

Well the Ubuntu download failed due to insufficient disk space so I've opted for the smaller Elementary OS which should fit on the SD card. It should be said that the card in question also holds the Raspberry Pi OS and the computer boots off that card. Google's Gemini recommended this operating system when I put the following question to it:

What is the best Linux-based operating system for a 2013 Macbook Pro with Retina Display? I had been using Linux Mint but when I upgraded the result was a disaster. So don't recommend that please. 

While there isn't a single "best" option, several Linux distributions can work well on your 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display. The best choice for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. Here are some options with some considerations:

Distributions with good Retina display support:

• Elementary OS: Known for its user-friendly interface and polished visuals, which might offer an experience similar to your previous Linux Mint setup. However, keep in mind that it's based on Ubuntu so might have encountered similar upgrade issues.
• Manjaro KDE: KDE Plasma offers excellent customization options and generally good high-DPI scaling support. However, some users report scaling issues specifically on 2013 MBPs, so checking compatibility beforehand is recommended.
• Ubuntu: A popular choice with good hardware support and a large community. However, its default Gnome desktop environment may not have the best scaling experience for some users. Look into alternative desktops like KDE Plasma or XFCE on Ubuntu for potentially better results.

Other noteworthy options:

• Fedora: This distro focuses on cutting-edge features and updates, potentially offering a more modern experience. However, it requires more technical knowledge than some other options.
• Solus: Emphasizes ease of use and stability, with good high-DPI scaling support. However, it has a smaller community and may have fewer available software packages compared to larger distros.

Well, the bootable USB containing the Elementary OS has been created and it's time to check what files I need to save from the laptop. There won't be many. I keep most of my important files on Google Drive. I'll be surprised if the installation goes smoothly but I remain hopeful.

After shutting down my laptop, I found that it wouldn't reboot and so I had to abandon any attempt at retrieving files. No matter, I'm typing now on my laptop using the Elementary OS that seems to be functioning quite well. The webcam is not operational but that's been the case with all the Linux installations and it's no problem for me because I rarely have cause to use it. Apart from that all seems well. Fingers crossed. 

I'll close this post by reiterating what a complete disaster my attempt at a Linux Mint update was. For a major Linux distributor, this was unforgivable. The upside was that I got a new OS that seems to be functioning as OS's should.

My Ailing Laptop

Lately, my late 2013 MacBook Pro is refusing to stay connected to the household WiFi which is a source of irritation. It had been flaky for a while and one might suspect the laptop's WiFI but it connects just fine to the WiFi from my iPhone when I use the latter as a hotspot. I'm currently running a ten metre cable from the household router to it so all is well. I don't move about much with it anyway so it's not really an issue.

It's back to the old pre-WiFi days
for me as my laptop lapses into senility

Ever since I installed Linux Mint on my laptop to replace the Mac OS, the Bluetooth has not worked but that didn't bother me. I replaced the ten year old battery with a new one when I was in Australia earlier this year and that has really given the old laptop a new lease on life. There's no doubt however, that the device, like its owner, is showing its age. Last night, I discovered that closing the lid placed the laptop in permanent suspension from which it would not awake. Once the lid closed, I needed to restart it. However, by changing preferences so that closing the lid had no effect, I was able to remedy that little glitch.

I've lately found my misplaced USB cooling pad and so I now rest the laptop on that to keep it cool as it can often overheat if placed under even minimal stress. Overall, despite its current quirks, the machine is quite sufficient for my needs and I've grown quite attached to it after using it regularly for over nine years now. It may even see me out. Who knows? In the meantime I still have my Raspberry Pi 400 keyboard computer as a back up in case my primary device has a heart attack. 

My backup device
Raspberry Pi 400

There is a Raspberry 5 out now but no sign of a Raspberry Pi 500 as yet. Regardless, such a device would be superfluous to my needs at the moment. As the year draws to a close, I must note that my output this year of 26 posts falls far short of my output for 2022 when I made 47 posts. However, it's consistent with my output in other years since my output for earlier years was:

►  2021 (27)

►  2020 (22)

►  2019 (17)

►  2018 (16)

►  2017 (24)

►  2016 (16)

The average number of posts for the years 2016 to 2023 is a little over 24 posts or almost exactly two per month.

Laptop Connectivity Problems

A problem that I encounter almost daily on my 2013 MacBook Pro is a connectivity issue. Whether I'm connected wirelessly or wired via an Ethernet cable from a repeater, I lose the connection and am repeatedly prompted for the password to the WiFi network if I'm connected wirelessly. After a short while the problem goes away and all is well. The problem is annoying but doesn't seriously trouble me.

Nonetheless, I'd like to get to the bottom of it and there are plenty of requests on Internet forums from Linux Mint users for solutions to exactly this problem. The fact that it doesn't make any difference whether I'm connected via WiFi or cable rules out the WiFi hardware driver as the problem. Neither does it matter whether I'm connected to the WiFi repeater or the WiFi router.

The Internet router that I'm using is an ancient one and only operates on the 2.4 Ghz frequency with no support for 5 Ghz or any other frequencies! I don't use Bluetooth on this laptop so I've just now turned it off and I'll see if that makes any difference. It shouldn't but who knows. It's worth a try. Overall, I should be happy that things are working as well as they are given the antiquity of the technology that I'm using.

The operating system that I'm using is Linux Mint 20.3 Cinnamon with the Cinnamon version being 5.2.7. This means that the system is up-to-date. My WiFi adapter is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

I'd like to say that things worked flawlessly when I had Mac OS X installed on this laptop but that wasn't the case. Right from the beginning I had IP conflict alerts whenever connected to a repeater. I first encountered the issue when I stayed at a hotel in Singapore that was clearly using a repeater. In my own bedroom, where the WiFi signal was weak, I encountered the same problem when I installed a repeater. I solved the problem by connecting an Ethernet cable from the repeater to my laptop.

Raspberry Pi 400 (2020) versus MacBook Pro (Retina 13" late 2013)

I have two computing devices with keyboards: one is a Raspberry Pi 400 released in 2000 and which I bought in April of 2022; the other is laptop, my MacBook Pro, released in late 2013 and which I purchased in August of 2014.

The specifications are as follows:

MacBook Pro Retina 13" with 2560-by-1600 resolution at 227 pixels per inch and 2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache. It has a 256GB SSD and 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory. The Intel Iris Graphics support dual display and video mirroring, simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on up to two external displays, both at millions of colors. There is a 720p FaceTime HD camera.

The Raspberry Pi 400 contains the same general specifications as the Raspberry Pi 4 but is tweaked for this new form factor. Thanks to work on the device’s thermal performance, the processor on Pi 400 has an increased clock speed over the base Pi 4. As a result, the Pi 400 has an increased clock rate from 1.5 GHz to 1.8 GHz. Meaning you should get slightly better performance when using this device. Unlike the Pi 4, there is only one variant of the Raspberry Pi 400. You can only get 4GB of memory with this device. Another change with this device is that it only has three USB ports. One is a USB 2.0 port, and the other two are USB 3.0 ports. The rest of the specifications of the device remains the same as the Raspberry Pi 4. You have access to the same GPIO pins, gigabit ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth as the base device.

It's probably not fair to compare the two devices but, as I use each of them daily, I will. In its day, the MacBook Pro was a premium device and it still holds it own. I've installed Linux Mint, replacing the Mac OS, and am quite satisfied with its performance. Mind you, I don't demand much of it nowadays. At most I'd have twenty tabs open in Google Chrome at any one time, sometimes watching YouTube videos or playing music in the YouTubeMusic tab. I may do some editing in Google Docs. The laptop sometimes runs hot and the fan works overtime but only when processor intensive tabs are opened like AirTable. The only hardware problem I have is the camera which ceases to function under Linux. For me this is not a problem but it might be for others who want to use programs like Zoom or the like. The battery of course after all these years is very weak and is rapidly depleted when not connected to an AC power outlet.

The Raspberry Pi 4 performs well enough given that it is a budget device. It could definitely benefit from 8GB of RAM instead of only half that. At times there is a noticeable lag in keyboard response if too many tabs are open in the Chromium browser. The Bluetooth is faulty and I've been unable to connect wireless earphones to the device. This is a problem since for some unknown reason there is no earphone jack. I've created a workaround that I've discussed in an earlier post. The keyboard is far less satisfying than the one of the laptop. The lack of a fully fledged browser like Chrome is annoying but with the Raspberry Pi OS that's what you get. I've tried booting into Linux but things didn't go and again I've described the experience in earlier posts. There's no battery for the Pi, it must be connected to an AC power supply but its form factor makes it very portable. To function, it just needs power and a monitor or TV.

The MacBook Pro model that I have is currently selling for about US$250 on Amazon while the Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit is selling for about US$100.

Raspberry Pi: Blogger and Netflix

There is definitely something weird about the Raspberry Pi and Blogger. Using Chromium, I tried to access my Pedagogical Posturing blog on Blogger but all attempts failed. I checked if Blogger was down and it wasn't. I checked on my Staying Healthy blog on Wordpress (that I haven't used since August 2020) and it opened instantly. So did the BBC website. I opened Firefox and things were exactly the same. 

It's not the browser then, it's to do with the interaction between the Raspberry Pi OS and Blogger. I recently created a post titled From Blogger to WordPress? in which I discussed the possibility of switching from the former to the latter. This current experience has only strengthened my resolve. I don't think Google is properly supporting its blogging platform and that may be the reason for my difficulties.

Figure 1

Anyway, I switched to my 2013 MacBook Pro running Linux Mint and tried to access my Pedagogical Posturing blog using Chrome. It opened instantly. This means that for the moment I'll be doing my blogging on the laptop and not the Raspberry Pi. To be honest, the monitor to which the Pi is attached is ready to be replaced. It's very hard on the eye and there are no speakers for the HDMI connection to take advantage of. There are some good monitors out there for about A$200 so that is a likely purchase in the not to distant future. Figure 1 shows a Raspberry Pi 400 running dual monitors.

As for getting Netflix to run on the Raspberry Pi, it's not easy. There's a lot of help out there but all of my efforts failed using the Chromium browser. I then switched to Firefox and encountered the same problems. In the end I gave up. I can run Netflix on my iPhone, my laptop and TV so it's not a big deal. However, it was frustrating to not be able to get it running.