Linux Mint is like Ubuntu, but without the aggressive development and corporate approach. It uses Ubuntu repositories and installer. It is more conservative in that it is not following either GNOME Shell or Unity, but is sticking with classic GNOME for now. Unfortunately GNOME classic is going to be available but not developed further than 2.32 and it is already over ten years old. So that makes Linux Mint following a regressive path whereas Ubuntu is looking forward.
However, Mint's take on GNOME is very different than even older Ubuntu versions. The panel is at the bottom like in Windows and KDE whereas the main GNOME panel is at the top. The menu is Mint's own. It is a slab menu like KDE's, if you are a fan of that (I'm not). I use KDE and get rid of the slab menu and move the panel to the top. They also have the codec's installed by default, but the latest versions of Ubuntu just have a check box to install them at the time of installation. Mint also has some tools of its own like Net Nanny and its Software Centre is leading the way with lots of features. My own opinion is that I prefer Ubuntu. Mint is nice, but very over-rated. Installing the codecs is not as hard as Mint users make it out. So the advantage is not really an advantage. I don't like Mint's look and feel and Ubuntu is much easier to customise. Having the Mint structure on top of Ubuntu's is a complication that most people do not need. I like newbies to keep it simple. However and it is a big one, GNOME 3 and Unity complicate things. The pressure is on Mint for future versions to eventually back one of these horses. That is going to disappoint a lot of Mint users who see Mint as a calm and mature distribution compared to Ubuntu's more brash leadership. Eventually Mint is going to have to take sides and choose a desktop with a future and that is going to divide users. I admit that I have never understood the attraction to Mint. I have used it extensively (every version) and have it installed on one of four computers. I am not a newbie and for someone like me it offers nothing new and it is not easier to use. Things that people point out as advantages to Mint such as pre-installed codecs are lame IMO. If you can't install codecs then you are not going to be successful in Linux because no Linux user sticks with the default installation. You have to learn to install and it is not hard. I like an edgier distro and while I dislike Unity and disagree with many Canonical decisions, I respect what they are trying to do. I cannot say the same of Mint which is trying to live off the back Ubuntu and make gains from Ubuntu's decisions. I don't like this approach to Linux. Ubuntu is not trying to raid the base of other distros, but to make the Linux pie bigger. Mint exists only as an alternative to Ubuntu, IMO, and is content to live in its shadow. This is going to PO some Mint fans, but it is my opinion and I follow these things closely. Mint users can only blame themselves who have always made the comparison to Ubuntu and branded Mint as Ubuntu done right. We know where Ubuntu is headed with Unity and Wayland, but we do not know what decisions Clem is going to make with Mint. He waits to see what Canonical does and then responds. I don't think that this is in the best Linux tradition. Roy Using Kubuntu 11.04, 64-bit Location: Canada On 12 June 2011 14:54, Traveler <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi William, don't know what advantages are but I just installed Mint 11 and > really like it. Kurt > --- On Sun, 6/12/11, William V <[email protected]> wrote: > > From: William V <[email protected]> > Subject: [LINUX_Newbies] Linux mint > To: [email protected] > Date: Sunday, June 12, 2011, 11:26 AM > > > > > I was wondering what the advantages are runing linux mint over any others > if there is any at all.. I have used Ubuntu and lubuntu but I my computer > mint is working the I've only been using Linux for about a year so I'm new > to it ...GUI On mint is the best iv used so far > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from this list, please email [email protected] & you will be removed.Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
