Naw, I got it, rokytnji. Thanks for your patience.

I think I might be almost done with it, but I suppose I'm trying to balance out my aggressive motivation with fantasy. I think it really helps to let myself get distracted.

I don't think I'll start a proper thread just yet, but I think I'll look to help someone else out if they're having a similar problem.

Hahaha. I kind of like getting PO'd like this, right here. I hope you and the other two aren't totally turned off by it because obviously you don't need to feel anything about that at all. But I really believe if Linux is to be truly successful that this kind of thing can't happen. We need to have an operating system that is superior to Windows and OS X in EVERY SINGLE WAY, but most importantly, Linux has to be appropriately user-friendly. I don't want a lot of overhead for that, but proper documentation, helpfully constructive and specific-enough warnings (unlike the two I got) and a genuine community of people that find it _easy_ to deal with a real and apparently very common problem like screen tearing. Screen tearing should be a very easy problem to fix, something commonsense.

I realize that for Linux to be successful it needs a lot of cooperation from outsiders, like hardware manufacturers, Nvidia and AMD being two pretty important examples given gaming and the importance of high-quality hardware at the top end of things.

But, with some true effort, clear documentation and attention to relevant details would do wonders for usability and ease. At no point should someone like you or I get genuinely stuck trying to figure this stuff out. It makes a lot of sense the way Linux is designed. I believe that. But as far as ensuring we know what's going on without viewing the source code? We need that. We really do. This isn't a specifically user-friendly operating system like Windows or OS X could probably claim to be. But it should make sense. There seems to be a rather steep learning curve and without a lot of time and initiative ~ as if learning another language or culture ~ we end up sacrificing usability, as with screen tearing, something that is actually exacerbated by having high-end graphics as I doubt Intel's open-source drivers experience these problems nearly as much.

Anyway, if I want to do something right, I've got to do it myself. Maybe I will. I'm a damn fine writer when I put my mind to it, and my pissed-off attitude also puts me in touch I think with those in the hacker community and their no-nonsense attitude, cutting the crap and getting to what matters.

Well, I think I've taken my break. Better keep at this Nvidia thing. I still shudder at the thought of being a Windows 10 user :-o

YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!! WWOOOO-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! IT WORKED!!!! I had to create root and open nvidia-settings and create the appropriate xorg.conf file through that then edit it as and administrator and alter it then reboot... BUT IT WORKED!!!!

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=174237

... Alas, for some weird reason, Google Chrome is running at a lower resolution than everything else :-p

Another problem to solve after the tearing went away. Perhaps if I just do updates it'll go away... but it started with the Nvidia card as neither onboard nor ATI graphics did this but it has happened at least a few times, every time I've used the Nvidia card... which I think I'll keep.

But this low-resolution browsing is for the dogs.

Well. After mucking around trying to find a solution to Chrome running at a lower resolution with the Nvidia card... I switched to the beta channel and all is as it should be. NO TEARING and everything else seems fine for now.

You know what I find best about this introductory thread? I really think anyone reading it will have a good idea of what I'm like. Hahahahahahaahahahahahahaaha :-D

Thanks for the acknowledgements, you three. I hope I'm more of a help than a pain in the ass. And I certainly don't intend to give people in this community a hard time. I have better things to do if it's not going to work out for me or benefit anyone else.

But I'll probably be back soon. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, still. It still motivates me to try and get things right.

Cheers,

Tim

Btw, when I let out that celebratory cry, I meant to post a video for dramatic illustration... which seems extra appropriate as a metaphor for working on Linux. I will try to remember this the next time things don't go my way. Because right now, I have a well-running computer and am installing lots of Linux games from the repository that I can remember would never work for me on my first Linux computer.

It's all worth it. I'm not running Microsoft Windows or trapped in OS X. I'm running the best operating system in the world.

So yeah, here's the video, a key scene from Back to the Future:

https://youtu.be/AM5EYO5wWMA