A very in-depth review of Linux Mint

[miggols99]

I have reviewed Linux Mint 6, since I have been using it for a few months. Have a look here:

http://archux.com/page/extensive-review-linux-mint-6-felicia

[Twitch6000]

Nice review!

I agree with what you said on the Mint Art lol..

However I must say I find the Mint Tools to very easy to use :p.

[swoll1980]

I think you spent way to much time comparing it to Ubuntu. Sounds like a little kid with a vendetta wrote it, or a Linux Mint salesman trying to get me dump Ubuntu, and switch to Mint.

[miggols99]

I think you spent way to much time comparing it to Ubuntu. Sounds like a little kid with a vendetta wrote it, or a Linux Mint salesman trying to get me dump Ubuntu, and switch to Mint.
I'm comparing it to Ubuntu because Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. I'm trying to show that Linux Mint isn't just Ubuntu + codecs like most people think it is.

[swoll1980]

I'm comparing it to Ubuntu because Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. I'm trying to show that Linux Mint isn't just Ubuntu + codecs like most people think it is.

But then it sounds way less like a review when this is your main goal. I read tons of Ubuntu reveiws, and none of them were focused towards, telling people how much different it was than Debian... Just saying.

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm comparing it to Ubuntu because Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. I'm trying to show that Linux Mint isn't just Ubuntu + codecs like most people think it is.

All the review seems to have determined is that it's Ubuntu + codecs + slightly altered update/install interfaces. It's still the same dang system. If you don't find synaptics difficult to use and are capable of typing "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras", what will Mint give me?

[Mehall]

Am I the only one who thinks that mintinstall looks EXACTLY like Synaptic.

Not simplified, but with options removed. :/

re: the "ubuntu1" etc. stuff. This is stuff where Ubuntu/Canonical have changed the package from the Debian version, and that is used to identify Ubuntu version chnages, while still retaining original version numbering.

Mint does that too, you'll find, for some packages.


MintMenu: is it just me, or does openSUSE have that?

I stand by my old convictions: Mint = Ubuntu + restricted-extras + artwork (that I would change in short order anyway.)

[swoll1980]

If you don't find synaptics difficult to use and are capable of typing "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras", what will Mint give me?

An unintuitive slab menu.

[Paqman]

what will Mint give me?

A couple of years back, setting up all this stuff wasn't as straightforward as it is now. That's why things like Automatix and Linux Mint sprang up, they were trying to fix the bits in Ubuntu that were broken.

Now though, most of the problems they were trying to address have been sorted in regular Ubuntu. Things like installing graphics card drivers and multimedia codecs are trivial now.

[toupeiro]

A very nice review. Thank you for sharing. I've been considering reviewing mint myself for quite some time, but I care more about HAL, handling of multiple screens, etc etc. For the points I'm looking at, I don't think mint will be any different than ubuntu. I recently attempted a revisit to fedora for the first time since core 3, and I was greatly disappointed. Right off the bat, resizing the NTFS partition on my work laptop destroyed the 64-bit vista enterprise installation to the point that it wasn't recoverable. Outside of that, Fedora is still hellbent on ogg standardisation, and that is a point of contention with me as my filetype of choice shouldn't be the concern of your OS framework and delivery.

Truth is, out of SuSE, Fedora, and Ubuntu, in my opinion, ubuntu takes the trophy. I'm fairly excited about opensolaris (OMG ZFS Timeslider!!), but its going to take more time until it can deliver the content ubuntu can.

[Twitch6000]

All the review seems to have determined is that it's Ubuntu + codecs + slightly altered update/install interfaces. It's still the same dang system. If you don't find synaptics difficult to use and are capable of typing "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras", what will Mint give me?

Wasn't it you that said and I quote"mint detected my ati card out of the box when ubuntu didnt".

If you did you kind of answer your own question,Mint has great hardware detection,great tools,decent themes(not the best for sure),and imo a better community then the ubuntu community.

[SomeGuyDude]

Wasn't it you that said and I quote"mint detected my ati card out of the box when ubuntu didnt".

If you did you kind of answer your own question,Mint has great hardware detection,great tools,decent themes(not the best for sure),and imo a better community then the ubuntu community.

On one machine, yeah, but the thing is that's never been actually explained. And frankly I don't think a single data point is enough to jump to conclusions.

[Mehall]

Wasn't it you that said and I quote"mint detected my ati card out of the box when ubuntu didnt".

If you did you kind of answer your own question,Mint has great hardware detection,great tools,decent themes(not the best for sure),and imo a better community then the ubuntu community.

This is going to come across overly catty (and no doubt you will use this as a proof of what you said, but)

then why are you here?

[SomeGuyDude]

By the way, quick note.

What is really wrong with "ubuntu's" tools? Is Synaptics that hard to use? Has anyone ever found themselves befuddled with the updater? The menu? As for themes... wow. I know themes matter, but barely. This isn't OSX or Windows, if ya don't like the theme you can change it with less effort than it takes for me to type that you can change it.

Mint has one feather in its cap so far and that's version 3 detected an ATI card that Gutsy didn't. Now we're on Jaunty and Mint6 so if Jaunty can do ATI cards I think Mint lost its only advantage.

[BuffaloX]

Nice review. :popcorn:

I tried Mint when it first came out, and I actually liked it very much.
It had a few extras that made life a little easier.

It's nice to see that Mint is still working to make life easier for Linux users, and I hope they will continue to make improvements.
I don't care if some of their features are borrowed from other distros, thats what open source is all about.

I'm back on Ubuntu now, but my Mint experience was a good one.

[Twitch6000]

This is going to come across overly catty (and no doubt you will use this as a proof of what you said, but)

then why are you here?

Just like anyone else to be helped and help others :).

Just because I use another distro or os does not mean I cannot be here you know :P.

[Mehall]

I never said that, I was questioning why you would use this community when you prefer another, but since it's to help, I guess I understand that one.

[I-75]

If anyone is interested... Linux Mint has its own podcast.


http://mintcast.org/


(mintCast is "a podcast by the Linux Mint community for all users of Linux." Keep up to date on the latest happenings in the Mint community along with reviews and tutorials on how to get the most out of you Linux system.)

feed

http://mintcast.org/podcasts-only/rss2.aspx

[Paqman]

BTw, if anyone's looking for an Ubuntu derivative that has all the multimedia stuff sorted but without changing the themes and menus i'd recommend Kiwi Linux (http://www.kiwilinux.org/en/).

[toupeiro]

I think too much emphasis is put into things like "omg the codecs are there for you".. Getting the codecs in ubuntu is easier than most application installs in windows, and aren't much more difficult than any other application install in ubuntu. Would it be nice if they were in ubuntu by default, sure! However, there are legal reasons why they are not and I can respect that. I don't think mint is a better OS because it doesn't respect that. I also don't believe an OS is better than the other because it comes with better wallpapers or one minor version release higher of a specific application.. There is a definite place for mint, but unless it has something truly innovative about it that sets it aside from ubuntu, then I really don't even see a point to debate which is better. Let me give you a few examples:

Fedora: btrfs, miniGW, Packagekit

OpenSuSE: KVM, best mono implementation of any linux distribution, great server-side toolsets

Ubuntu: DKMS, first to deliver ext4 (jaunty), best aircard support of any distro I've ever used, great user community, high visibility distro (conjecture, but probably more heard of today than fedora)

OpenSolaris: ZFS, Timeslider

These are just some examples of significant differences between distro's. Mint doesn't deliver featuresets like this, which in my opinion means it should be treated more like its parent distribution, ubuntu, and less like an independent OS.

[dspari1]

7.5/10 is too low of a score for a distro as good as mint.

It's basicly Ubuntu+Convince+New Menu+New Tools+Art. The only thing Ubuntu really has over Mint is a corporation with a marketing department. However, not to be ungrateful, I admit that Mint is reliant on Ubuntu to be what it is now and in the future.

[gn2]

I'm trying to show that Linux Mint isn't just Ubuntu + codecs like most people think it is.

Quite right.

Really it's Ubuntu + codecs + a few utilities + different artwork minus decent 64-bit support, an Alternate install CD, a Minimal install CD and a server version.