I run Mint with the Cinnamon window manager which is in the default repositories but not installed by default, its one panel at the bottom with clock and notification on right and "start" button on left like Windows OS. Mint does a release every six months or so with package updates for 18 months and LTRs with 3 year package updates. Mint doesn't have an upgrade path like Ubuntu because they don't want to make it too easy to break your working system, avoiding the call from grandma over the weekend. You can point apt to the new release manually or use their mintbackup installed by default. My take on making a distro decision is do you like the package management, upgrade handling, is your window manager easily installed, and are the packages maintained. Good luck.
Matthias
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College Jun 6 - Why the Web Needs HTML5 Jul 11 - Mad Science Fair - Open Hardware Expo Aug 1 - Pimp My Network
