Linux Mint - Anyone use?

[fusi0n]

I have been using Arch linux for some time now, but I mess a Debian based distro.. I really loved Ubuntu and used that, but it has very bloated for my taste.. I like using MATE because I like the older "feel". After doing some research, it seems Linux Mint has a great bit of users and has a distro with Mate.. Anyone use this? If so, what can you tell me about it?

[f0rk_b0mb]

I have been using Arch linux for some time now, but I mess a Debian based distro.. I really loved Ubuntu and used that, but it has very bloated for my taste.. I like using MATE because I like the older "feel". After doing some research, it seems Linux Mint has a great bit of users and has a distro with Mate.. Anyone use this? If so, what can you tell me about it?

Try it out! Only you can make the decision of whether you like it or not. If I were you, I'd try it out on virtualbox before you wipeing your machine. If any problems arise, just quote my post here and I'll get back to you.

Also, if you feel up to it, try out the Ubuntu 13.04 daily build. It is very snappy and very polished. My only gripe with it was not being able to get Steam up and running. It would install, update, and never finish updating. Everything else I tried out was a blast. I'm sure this problem will be fixed in the future.

[medhunter]

Reviews of Mate 14:

http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2013/01/02/linux-mint-14-mate/

http://www.linuxtoday.com/upload/review-linux-mint-14-mate-edition-130121123506.html

[Nothing Here]

Try it out! Only you can make the decision of whether you like it or not. If I were you, I'd try it out on virtualbox before you wipeing your machine. If any problems arise, just quote my post here and I'll get back to you.

Also, if you feel up to it, try out the Ubuntu 13.04 daily build. It is very snappy and very polished. My only gripe with it was not being able to get Steam up and running. It would install, update, and never finish updating. Everything else I tried out was a blast. I'm sure this problem will be fixed in the future.

Plus, the installer on 13.04 has a tendency to fail.

[tim_s]

I can see someone within the Linux Technician team using Mint right now. - Ubuntu is still the more popular choice but mainly as people have to support their own machine and on some level - people are comfortable with the quick install time as a solution for when all else fails.

For quite sometime I was using Slackware (As an all-in-one) and Arch (For my primary) but I had to bow down and live with the fact my specific role requires me to use Windows.

[Karl L.]

Linux Mint is a great Ubuntu-based distro, but don't expect it to be "lighter" than Ubuntu. If anything, its much heavier. Also, Linux Mint's default MATE configuration looks much different than upstream's: it has only one menu bar (on bottom) and uses a different menu. It can be customized to look and behave like upstream MATE without too much hassle though.

[f0rk_b0mb]

Plus, the installer on 13.04 has a tendency to fail.

Really? Never experienced this bug. Good to know though.

[fusi0n]

Thanks for the replies. I have been trying it now, and its not too bad.. are there any other debain based distros worth trying?

[redvamp128]

Thanks for the replies. I have been trying it now, and its not too bad.. are there any other debain based distros worth trying?

Well for me I use ubuntu with the cinnamon desktop it is clean instead of unity or full gnome.

[medhunter]

If you love KDE, you might try Mageia .It is not Debain based, tho

[Growled Member]

If you like the Ubuntu base but want something lighter, try one of these.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions#Ubuntu-based

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

Or...

http://distrowatch.com/search.php?ostype=All&category=All&origin=All&basedon=Ubuntu&notbasedon=None&desktop=All&architecture=All&status=Active

[simonlang]

If you like the Ubuntu base but want something lighter, try one of these.....

http://en.wikipedia....ns#Ubuntu-based

i would give lubuntu a try. its very fast and simple. i miss some graphical stuff still, but its so fast :D

[(Account no longer active)]

I've removed Mate/Cinnamon, and replaced it with LXDE, resulting in much faster performance, and less memory usage.

Lubuntu is Ubuntu with the LXDE interface as default. If you've already got Ubuntu installed, it's a piece of cake to remove GNOME/KDE, and replace them with LXDE or some other lightweight desktop environment.

Fancy desktop effects no longer appeal to me. A lot of people say Ubuntu is slow. No, GNOME 3 is the problem - Ubuntu's kernel (based on Debian) is actually very fast/efficiant.

[Growled Member]

Fancy desktop effects no longer appeal to me.

I thought I was the only one who felt that way. Just keep it simple and let it just work. In that regard you can't beat LXDE.

[simonlang]

I've removed Mate/Cinnamon, and replaced it with LXDE, resulting in much faster performance, and less memory usage.

Lubuntu is Ubuntu with the LXDE interface as default. If you've already got Ubuntu installed, it's a piece of cake to remove GNOME/KDE, and replace them with LXDE or some other lightweight desktop environment.

Fancy desktop effects no longer appeal to me. A lot of people say Ubuntu is slow. No, GNOME 3 is the problem - Ubuntu's kernel (based on Debian) is actually very fast/efficiant.

same here. the first ubuntu version i used had still gnome 2 included and was fast and easily customizable. it went worse with every version. (a bit like windows, i remember a big xp themes section also in this board, on deviantart etc. and you could quite customize it, since win 7 the word customize means changing the colors of the window-frames and using a different wallpaper - ridiculous!)

and it became slow with unity. i think a dual core and 4 gb ram should be ennough to run a system fast and if not, then i wont upgrade the hardware but switch the system.

i will try today cinnarch, frugalware and porteus as they all look good to me. imho, it will be either gnome 2 or lxde for me. lets see.

[sevensage]

You may want to give #! a try, Debian based distro which you should feel right at home.

Crunchbang