Linux Mint - Quick Review
I had never tried Linux Mint before but had always heard good things about it. Mainly the reason that I never bothered trying it was because I was already fairly familiar with Ubuntu from where it was derived. I was aware of some differences such as obviously Linux Mint uses a different theme, includes some codecs and such as well as a different menu style for Gnome borrowed from SuSE but customized into its own style for Linux Mint.
I had recently installed FreeBSD and as in the past, eventually became tired of the ports system so I decided use that disk space to install something else. I had recently been fairly bored with Operating Systems so I was a bit more flexible with trying out something else. In came the Elyssa 0.5 Revision 1 Gnome version of Linux Mint…
The Install
Installation is quite easy, pretty much the same as Ubuntu where you can install it from the live cd boot. It offers custom partitioning which is a must and also adds some extra configurations post install like a small window box for setting up your optional root password and such.
Applications
The usual line up you would expect is here. You get the Gimp for detailed image editing, Brasero for cd/dvd burning, Firefox, Openoffice, Pidgin, Transmission (for torrents), Rhythmbox for audio, Totem for video and a host of other Administrative configuration tools. Linux Mint adds a few extras as well in their control center such as Envy for propritary drivers and also a tool for managing Windows Wireless drivers which I personally think should be default on any distro wanting to gain mass acceptance.
Package Management
Mint comes with its own method of updating but also includes Synaptic which is great to have some variety but could be confusing to newer users who may not know which one to use. I know Ubuntu has both Synaptic and also the Update Manager which are both great tools, but it might be better to combine them into one since they can do some of the same things. Of course its up to the user to decide which is best and choice is always nice, but perhaps having a one time wizard after the install to configure your preference would be a good idea. Having said all that, I’ve had Linux Mint installed for a couple weeks at least and using Synaptic I have noticed that there have not been many updates at all. I will need to look into this more, but I would have thought that there would have been more package updates at least for the applications.
Stability and Performance
Overall, I have found Linux Mint very stable and actually it is faster than I expected. I would definitely say it is faster than Ubuntu even. This was rather surprising to me as I had a preconceived notion that it would be slower if anything since it had some of its own tools added and had a reputation for being more complete out of the box after the install.
Longevity
A lot of times I install distros and then later on, I will install something else over top of it. I don’t plan on doing this with Linux Mint. I am interested in seeing how well it gets maintained, updated and enhanced.
Overall
If you are considering installing a new distro and want something easy with good performance, Linux Mint is definitely worth a look. The only concern I have with it compared to Ubuntu is longevity. I hope it continues to be maintained. Canonical has proven that they are here to stay with offering 5 years of support for each of their LTS versions of Ubuntu. I hope Linux Mint can enjoy the same kind of long term success.