Since Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, I'm posting this here.

Over the last several weeks, I have looked into 5-10 different distros and ultimately have decided that Linux Mint looks like a prime choice. It has the great software repository and community of Ubuntu, plus it's got an elegant touch that has really fascinated me. I was going to stay away from Ubuntu altogether, because I like openSuSE and possibly PCLinuxOS better, until I discovered Mint.

I'm certainly willing and able to tweak things when necessary (a.k.a. not afraid of the command line) but I don't want to have to struggle with every piece of software that I want to install (I failed many attempts to install various applications on SuSE).

Does anyone here use Linux Mint, and if so, would you recommend it to technically-savvy new Linux user like myself? Does it hold up well over time?

Also, I know that in Ubuntu it's possible to install both KDE (Kubuntu-desktop) and Gnome. Does anyone know if this is possible with Mint and Mint KDE edition? Is it just as simple as installing the KDE core using Synaptic?

I put Mint on my grandsons computer because he kept getting those little nasties with XP and I was always having to reinstall it for him. Its been about 3 weeks now and he's blowing and going! No more viruses etc. and he is getting pretty good with Linux. The mp3/DVD support out of the box was a big factor + a 1 click DL site full of software made for kids like him. As far as I can see whatever you can do with Ubuntu you can do with Mint.
I think it's great!

Ubuntu is bloated enough, let alone Mint. If you like, thats OK. But, if you want to learn alot...


Debian = deb files, easy package management (Ubuntu based on this)
Gentoo = source, time-consuming, but some like it
Slack = tgz, not bad, universal so its kinda nice
CentOS = RedHat Enterprise copy, rpm based, very cool, little support though

I don't know why anyone would "disapprove" of using it. Its a good distro, stable, etc. I don't care for its GUI, as I prefer a more traditional Gnome environment, but other than that, its fine by me.

As for bloat, almost all modern, "work out of the box" distros are bloated because they have to be made to work on such a wide variety of hardware. Suse, PCLInuxOS, Mandriva, Ubuntu, the list goes on.

IGF

True. You can get rid of most software after the setup, though, and usually disabling unneeded services etc. is a matter of a few clicks (as in Ubuntu). However most distributions, big or not, still come with a huge kernel - of course it has to include a lot of stuff so it's able to run after the setup independent of the hardware present. I myself usually recompile the kernel right after the installation to get rid of the things I don't need (like a driver for some obsolete piece of hardware I've never even heard of, not to mention owning one)..that speeds up things a bit.

Ubuntu is in the middle cast of "bloated operating systems"; it has a lot in it, but still it's media fits in one cd, and it tries not to install several programs for one need (compared to Fedora, for example). Therefore, if an average person is in question (i.e. not a nerd, but still knows what 'mouse' means with computers), I recommend something like Ubuntu, Mepis or Mint.