MIcro SD Cards

Having bought a 128 GB micro SD card, I could not find an adaptor to insert it into, even though I knew I had some laying around somewhere. In the end, I ended five of them online (the smallest number that could be purchased). Unfortunately, the SD card reader on my laptop doesn't recognise the card and two old USB 2 card readers that I found where also of no use. I'll purchase a USB 3 card reader and hope that does the job.

The reason for my purchase is that I want to store my Calibre e-book library on a storage device other than my hard drive. When my laptop crashed after updating Linux Mint, I lost all the data on my hard drive and even though I had a backup on an external hard drive, it was sadly out of date. It was quite a tedious and slow job to back up the library which is why I procrastinated in doing it. 

The SD card, even with the adaptor, is more compact than a thumb drive and can sit less obtrusively in my USB hub that currently hosts a fan and a dongle for my mouse. There are two slots left. My laptop has two USB 3.0 ports, one hosts my TP-LINK WiFi dongle and the other hosts my USB hub. 

It would be nice to have everything working on my laptop but that it's nearly 11 years old now I can't complain. Currently my Elementary OS that I have installed doesn't recognise the internal WiFi card, the webcam or, seemingly, the SD card reader. Nonetheless, I'm happy with the current performance of the laptop.

Elementary OS: Initial Impressions

Given that I've just recently install Elementary OS on my 2023 Macbook Pro (see previous post), it seems appropriate to make some initial observations about its functionality. The OS doesn't come with much software installed and my first order of business was to download the Chrome browser which is my browser of choice and upon which I am heavily reliant. That proved relatively painless thanks to Google's clear instructions. The OS has a so-called App Centre but Chrome was not listed there and so was of no help whatsoever.

The App Centre Software Categories

Next I installed my ExpressVPN and once again that was easy enough thanks to their very helpful website. No help of course from the App Centre but typing "torrents" into the search bar of the same brought up Gabut Download Manager that supposedly handles torrent files and I needed that. Happily, the app works fine when I downloaded a test ebook but that's when the awful realisation downed on me that I'd erased my Calibre library of ebooks. For some reason it didn't cross my mind and given that the laptop wouldn't reboot, the library was probably lost anyway. 

Opps! I forgot to keep my eLibrary backed up

I do have a backup of the library but my last back up was quite some time ago so many books have been lost. I got out of the habit of backing up regularly and have paid the price. The library is too large to back up online. Calibre is not listed at the App Centre but I happened to notice a small link that leads to Flathub and a message that apps can be side-loaded from that source. The download was successful. I also noticed that Chrome and a great many other apps are available on Flathub so that's probably the best place to retrieve apps from. 

The native video player opened an AVI file that I'd downloaded but played only audio with no video. However, VLC from Flathub came to the rescue and I had video as well as audio!

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.