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View Full Version : Effects of Ubuntu Feisty on Linux Mint?



ThinkBuntu
April 13th, 2007, 08:42 PM
What will happen to Mint if Feisty makes it sufficiently easy to install codecs, etc, this being one of Mint's main draws? I suspect that we'll see more features such as mintDisk, and that the Ubuntu project will continue to copy the improvements of Mint...

Thoughts?

cantormath
April 13th, 2007, 08:55 PM
There is nothing wrong with this, they all work together anyway. Plus, there is always Automatix if codecs is what you are looking for. ubuntu ships FOSS so none of that stuff is included.

ThinkBuntu
April 13th, 2007, 08:58 PM
There is nothing wrong with this, they all work together anyway. Plus, there is always Automatix if codecs is what you are looking for. ubuntu ships FOSS so none of that stuff is included.
Nothing wrong with what? My concern/curiosity is regarding the health of the Mint project if some of its key features can clearly be found in Ubuntu. Nobody's going to go for a distro that's largely Ubuntu with a different theme.

aysiu
April 13th, 2007, 09:01 PM
Well, all I can say is, wait and see.

Any one of four (or more) things could happen:

1. Feisty isn't exactly the same as Linux Mint, so demand for Linux Mint continues
2. Feisty takes the place of Linux Mint's appeal, so Linux Mint changes to offer a different appeal
3. Feisty takes the place of Linux Mint's appeal, and no one wants to use Linux Mint except the maintainer, and the maintainer continues to maintain Linux Mint, so Linux Mint doesn't die
4. Feisty takes the place of Linux Mint's appeal, and the maintainer stops maintaining Linux Mint

Only time will tell.

igknighted
April 13th, 2007, 09:06 PM
Mint has many draws that feisty doesn't... for one it looks nice, then theres mintDisk and mintWiFi. Both of these look great. Mint isn't just Ubuntu with codecs. They have an OSS version as well, some might say that is Ubuntu, but I think it is its own distro, so it will survive by its own merits. Plus they have an Xfce and a KDE version (beta already out) coming soon.

ThinkBuntu
April 13th, 2007, 09:19 PM
Anyone with a head on their shoulders can easily turn Ubuntu into Kubuntu, Xubuntu, EnlightenmentBuntu, FLuxBuntu, or any other -Buntu. I imagine it's not much different with Mint, so I'm always skeptical of Debian distros offered in different desktop flavors.

The only value in these are desktop-specific utilities, but those don't need their own install disk in my opinion...

igknighted
April 14th, 2007, 01:12 AM
Anyone with a head on their shoulders can easily turn Ubuntu into Kubuntu, Xubuntu, EnlightenmentBuntu, FLuxBuntu, or any other -Buntu. I imagine it's not much different with Mint, so I'm always skeptical of Debian distros offered in different desktop flavors.

The only value in these are desktop-specific utilities, but those don't need their own install disk in my opinion...

The problem is Ubuntu refuses to offer an install disk that lets me choose my DE/WM. Sure I could do a server install and build from there, but a for distro that is "linux for humans", thats not a reasonable choice. And making me install gnome to get KDE is ridiculous as well. So until they offer an install that lets me choose (multi-cd or DVD), then I have no problem with X/K/Ubuntu.

ThinkBuntu
April 14th, 2007, 05:40 PM
Well, I installed Mint on my ThinkPad yesterday evening, and I'm convinced that it won't be going away anytime soon regardless of what Feisty proves to be. I've noted the following positives:

1) Boot is faster than Feisty was. Menus run faster, applications launch faster...I'm not quite sure how this could be (since it is largely a modified Ubuntu), but it blows away Ubuntu in the speed department.

2) Granted, I can do this myself, but it came with a sensible application, applet, and settings configuration. Amarok is the best media player, and it's installed to work with iPods, etc. The distro comes with the OpenOffice quickloader, hell, even Firefox came configured so I didn't have to change the Backspace key to go back!

3) The default theme is nicer than anything I've been able to find on gnome-look.org. No contest there.

4) The "Bianca" menu, which behaves like a KDE kicker, is very useful. I do enjoy having this without all the bloat of KDE, because it's probably my favorite KDE feature. And being a Mac guy, I'm not much into Windows' Start Menu, so this surprises me.

So, I was very surprised to find a distro good enough to take me away from Debian, but unless I encounter some serious unpleasantries in the way of stability, I think I may be a Mint convert.

inigmatus
April 16th, 2007, 03:29 PM
I would have to agree. After a relationship with Ubuntu since Hoary, I've switched to Mint on 4/14 - Mint just does it all at once. No more weird automatix-ubuntu partnership dance, this is a distro with a commited "ignore-the-politics-and-just-totally-work-out-of-the-box" mantra. It was by far the quickest, easiest, and most enjoyable conversion.

With Mint (I'm using Bianca 2.2 Gnome version), boot time is under 20 seconds to get login prompt, and 20 more seconds to load to desktop. Applications seem to load faster than they ever did in Ubuntu; and I have more applications pre-configured for use (no more hunting for codecs), so I was off and running right away.

With Ubuntu, XP was my default OS.

With Mint, I haven't opened up XP since - and now Mint is my default.

I think that alone is significant in how much I've become enamored with it. Granted the in-love feeling will pass soon with the first sign of trouble (none yet), but I think I'll be keeping Mint over Feisty for now.

ThinkBuntu
April 16th, 2007, 03:38 PM
I average 40 seconds to login screen, and 3-5 seconds to my desktop. This is pretty similar to the times I got with Ubuntu, but significantly faster than MEPIS. I agree with you: I'm a long-time Mac user, and I usually would turn to my Mac if I was disappointed by any of various distros. But with Mint, I've been able to do it all...play songs from my iPod, work with my iPod, web development, I mean the whole deal. All I have left to do is use the very easy ndiswrapper frontend so that my WiFi can pick up signals better.

MetalMusicAddict
April 16th, 2007, 03:52 PM
and that the Ubuntu project will continue to copy the improvements of Mint...

Thoughts?

My thought is thats the funniest thing Ive heard in awhile. I'm sorry. Your a little ignorant on things. LinuxMint includes things Ubuntu legally can't in alot of the world. LinuxMint pulls alot, if not all of its packages from Ubuntu.

Do you know why LinuxMint includes these things? Because of their want to give everything users want to them. Thats fine. LinuxMint can afford to take this legal risk. Nobody would care if got wiped off by a cease and desist order. Ubuntu cannot take this chance. Its not about "politics" so much about legality.

Know the facts. Everything you can do in LinuxMint you can do in Ubuntu. Just takes a couple of more hoops.

ThinkBuntu
April 16th, 2007, 04:29 PM
I take it that you have yet to use Mint. It includes additional graphical front-ends, as well as a Menu that resembles the KDE kicker, only simpler. I am well aware that the media plugins, wireless drivers, etc. can be easily had in Ubuntu (I've added them myself), but there are other improvements outside of this.

Also, no matter how brazenly Mint includes codecs (or other proprietary software) it will always be available in the US. Few, if any, websites are ever blocked, and as long as it's legal in one nation or province in the world, it will be tongue-in-cheek available in America.

MetalMusicAddict
April 16th, 2007, 05:51 PM
I take it that you have yet to use Mint. It includes additional graphical front-ends, as well as a Menu that resembles the KDE kicker, only simpler. I am well aware that the media plugins, wireless drivers, etc. can be easily had in Ubuntu (I've added them myself), but there are other improvements outside of this.
Oh Ive used it. Its my job to. ;)

Also, no matter how brazenly Mint includes codecs (or other proprietary software) it will always be available in the US. Few, if any, websites are ever blocked, and as long as it's legal in one nation or province in the world, it will be tongue-in-cheek available in America.
Make no mistake about it. People use LinuxMint because its Ubuntu that has all the proprietary items included. Not because of a couple GUI-frontends. If the people really wanted to do some good they would join the Ubuntu team and make whatever packages the do have that are custom available in Ubuntu instead of working outside of it.

ThinkBuntu
April 16th, 2007, 05:58 PM
I appreciate that these things come pre-installed, just as I appreciate that it includes the OpenOffice quickstarter and Amarok. However, that's certainly not enough to keep me with a distro...I've chosen Mint because it runs faster than Edgy or Feisty on my laptop, it has a superb theme, and the mintMenu is great.

allforcarrie
April 17th, 2007, 08:16 AM
i am debating installing mint next to feisty, i am liking it alot.

Adamant1988
April 17th, 2007, 12:18 PM
I appreciate that these things come pre-installed, just as I appreciate that it includes the OpenOffice quickstarter and Amarok. However, that's certainly not enough to keep me with a distro...I've chosen Mint because it runs faster than Edgy or Feisty on my laptop, it has a superb theme, and the mintMenu is great.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't "mintMenu" just a supped up USP?

ThinkBuntu
April 17th, 2007, 01:16 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't "mintMenu" just a supped up USP?
I suppose, but they do a very good job with it. I know nothing about adding a USP to a GNOME panel.

groggyboy
April 20th, 2007, 06:44 PM
I suppose, but they do a very good job with it. I know nothing about adding a USP to a GNOME panel.

USP is a 3rd Party Project, with it's own space on the Ubuntu forums. A great thread detailing how to get the latest version and explaining how to customize it is here: Guide to USP2 SVN (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=365147). And when I say customize, I mean customize. It's incredibly flexible, and very slick looking. Far better than SUSE's SLAB menu, if you ask me.

As far as LinuxMint is concerned, that distro's repositories are completely compatible with Ubuntu Edgy & Feisty. If all you want are mintMenu, mintWifi, etc, then just add the Bianca repositories to the APT sources of your existing Ubuntu install (http://www.linuxmint.com/wiki/index.php/Upgrade_from_Bea_to_Bianca_Stable#Add_the_Bianca.C 2.A0repositories_to_your_APT_sources)!

cheers,
groggyboy!

ThinkBuntu
April 20th, 2007, 08:00 PM
But if you want to run Mint, you're better off running Mint. Very snappy performance, and I imagine it's been optimized by Clem (the main developer) in some way.

Pobega
April 21st, 2007, 05:03 PM
What will happen to Mint if Feisty makes it sufficiently easy to install codecs, etc, this being one of Mint's main draws? I suspect that we'll see more features such as mintDisk, and that the Ubuntu project will continue to copy the improvements of Mint...

Thoughts?

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents here. Just because one OS/distro borrows the idea of another doesn't mean they're stealing it; Look at Ubuntu. Ubuntu borrowed a good majority of it's source code and package management software from Debian.

The reason people develop is to create new ideas, not draw users. If Mint Linux really cares about GNU/Linux development they wouldn't worry about their user base, they'd worry about coming up with new ideas and innovations to make the userland better.

benuski
April 21st, 2007, 07:55 PM
Make no mistake about it. People use LinuxMint because its Ubuntu that has all the proprietary items included. Not because of a couple GUI-frontends. If the people really wanted to do some good they would join the Ubuntu team and make whatever packages the do have that are custom available in Ubuntu instead of working outside of it.

By that logic, shouldn't all the Ubuntu developers go back and join Debian? Thats the glory of the free software community, that anyone can start their own project, and if other groups like what they're doing, they can borrow it for their own project.

izizzle
May 9th, 2007, 02:25 AM
Does the latest version of Mint come with desktop effects (woobly windows, 3D interface, ect.) like ubuntu does?

CocoAUS
May 9th, 2007, 09:36 AM
The latest release--Cassandra--has Beryl and Compiz installed by default, yes.