This time I tested the 32-bit Mate version. As usual, the live session loaded without any problems and the installer was quick and simple. The only complaints I could make were that the Mint manual is not on the installation disk and that it doesn’t discuss installing from USB stick. Unlike the Debian-edition installer, this one allows you to encrypt /home, of which more later.

The main programs provided on the disk were Firefox, Pidgin, Thunderbird, Xchat, LibreOffice, Gimp, Banshee, Totem, Gnome-mplayer, and VLC, together with the media codecs, Java, and Flash. Running from the CLI, only Totem gave a critical warning; funny, because it was Gnome-mplayer that didn’t work. This time the “mp4 from hell” foiled both working players, although all the other test files played.

Mate was set up with Mint’s own menu, which looked too Ubuntu-ish for me, but a few clicks replaced it with the real one. As usual, Mint didn’t put a pager on the panel, even though 4 desktops are enabled. Configuration was easier than in LMDE. The Mint configuration editor was installed, as was a services manager; the sound tool enabled me to use my USB speakers, and I could even choose my input method.

The only problem was at re-boots: I got an error message that the disk wasn’t ready, and was dumped into a CLI! Normal service could be restored by logging in and using “startx”. The only cure I could find was to re-install without encryption. I haven’t seen anyone else with the problem, so I suspect it may only occur if /home is not on a separate partition.

The only problem I've found with this distro so far is that wireless is slow to the point of being almost non-functional on my 4-year-old Gateway laptop with an Atheros wireless chipset (not a problem with Ubuntu 10.04 or Debian 6.0.5). This is the only reason I don't give it a 10.

Works perfectly on every other machine I've installed it on. Mate is the perfect successor to Gnome 2.

Again Linux Mint has brought out another worthy LTS in Mint 13 and the one which I have installed is using the MATE desktop environment. which seeks to be as close to the Gnome 2 environment as possible yet including some of the features of the Gnome 3 hood underneath.

The intuitive installer based on Ubuntu's is still as easy to use for everyone from beginners to more experienced users. Great list of applications and plugins pre-installed and ready to use making it one of the most simple to learn and fully featured Linux distributions. The only downside is the software manager that Linux Mint uses which is still heavy on resources and at times laggy compared to other software management programs from other distributions such as Ubuntu's Software Center.

Linux Mint 13 MATE is definitely one to try for beginners and casual to experienced users.

I have installed the 64 bit version of Cinnimon and have tried both the Mate and Gnome DT. I like both, but lean toward the Mate version because of oldschool learnings. I have this OS working as a dual boot with Windows 7 Pro, and I like the fact that on install I was offered the choice to incorporate LM 13 with the Windows file system. I can see all of the Windows files from mint, cuts down on having to boince back and forth. I had a bit of a print setup issue, but I do beliebe it was the type of printer (Brother) that I was working with. In my opinion, Brother printers do not work well in a linux enviroment. I am still looking for suggestions on the best printer brand that supports Linux machines, comments welcome.

So, in summary, LM 13 is great, no issues that are not easily solved, I would encourage any person that wants to experience Linux (Especially beginners) to start with LM 13, it is Too Easy!

great distro. Good job guys

Really good top class distro ... clear and precise ... everything works. What more do we need from an Operating System that is this good and secure. This is the best Linux OS for learners and techies I have tried, and I have tried a lot.

My only complaint; Why the (approx) 45 second blank screen at start-up? Surely it could have been filled with something more interesting than a void. Apart from that a "brilliant" OS.

I'm currently using Mint 13 with the Mate desktop.

I'm a along time novice linux user. I started with Redhat 6.0 and worked through all of the revisions, all the way to Fedora 17. My favorite linux saying, "S**t breaks with updates". With Redhat/Fedora I was always dreading the 6 month marker, because I knew it meant another upgrade and serveral hours trying to fix what had been previously working. Allegedly, Mint provides fives years of support with their distro. Also, obtaining all of the codecs to get media support working in Fedora was a pain, but eventually became tollerable. Well it works right out of the box with Mint.

Mint comes with what I'd say, "the essential" minimal packages out of the box, instead of several variations of the same application. They seem to pick the right applications too, at least for my taste. The Fedora team can't seem to decide which default applications they like, and the chosen media app will likely change with the next revision. In Fedora, I considered it necessary to install more than one variation of the same application, and then trial and error would have me pick the one that crashed the least under the gnome desktop.

I like Linux in that I do not have to upgrade hardware every other year to take advantage of the operating system. I've had the same laptop running linux for over 6 years. Moving from Fedora 14 to Fedora 17 saw a slowing of the system and sluggish running. I won't even get into Gnome 3 or Fedora's new desktop environment. With Mint I can use my laptop again and my hardware is "in date". I like Mint so far and don't see myself going back to Fedora.

After a month of testing many different distros on my IBM Thinkpad T60, I have decided that Mint 13 will be the perfect replacement for Ubuntu 10.10 on both of my production machines (T61s). With the classic Gnome 2.X desktop, DEB repositories and 5 years of support, it will allow me to continue working with no additional learning curve. I rate it 10/10.