Mint or Ubuntu?
 

Sorry if this has been discussed, im inclined to believe it has. Im getting that new machine on Friday and plan to create the partition immediately and install either one, i only said Ubuntu because i havent tried Mint (yet).

So would you mind telling me why you like Mint or why you like Ubuntu and why you prefer the one over the other. I will download some Mibt ISO's tomorrow, i have plenty Ubuntu's, CentOS, OpenSUSE, Kali, Gentoo and a cple others, just not Mint..

Also, i am in MPLS/St Paul, willing to pay for some help to tutor me around a couple config issues (cash-in person, perhaps a coffee shop meeting. (I hope thats not breaking a rule, i just need to tweak a cple issues and would love some hands on experience.

Thanks in advance

~cheers
Randy

Mint.

It is an all-around better distro. I wouldn't use Ubuntu on a bet since Unity, but I use Mint every day.

Ubuntu lost me when they decided that the Unity desktop was the bee's knees and the cat's meow. Not only I, but also the bees and the cats disagreed.

Mint will also include all the media codecs you might want to use. I usually install Mint-MATE desktop flavor, but then install and use Enlightenment as my preferred window manager.

Just my two cents.

+1 Mint.
Though I encountered a bug or two with Mint 17 XFCE.

Mint is usually out-of-the-box for finding hardware and installing appropriate drivers.

The only 'buntu I'd recommend nowadays is Lite 2.2

-:-Go with Linux Mint-:-

I was glad that I did-;)

http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

As far as 'hands on experience' install Linux and use it everyday. As you become more acquainted with your distribution and develop your skills with the techniques of package management and command-line you'll be there before you know it:-

For the configuration issues and the things you'd like to tweak you could always post those issues the specifics and details of them in another thread and get assistance that way. (just an idea)

Definitely Mint.

Easy to use and very reliable.

Avoid Ubuntu's Unity. It is the Linux equivalent of Windows 8.1 in my opinion.


I use Linux Mint 17.1 MATE and Ubuntu 14.04 MATE, both Long Term editions.

http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.co.uk...te-review.html

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/u...opic-mate.html

Hi RandyGG,

As the others have said I think you won't go wrong with mint, I particularity like their mate desktop version.
Happy computing.
Cheers!

I prefer Xubuntu, have always ran into issues with mint.

Mint's very nice; I like Cinnamon, and I like Nemo better than Nautilus. But there are a few reasons why I prefer Ubuntu over Mint, including the following:

- I like Unity better than Cinnamon, and I have no interest in using MATE because I don't miss GNOME 2 at all.

- Mint is based on Ubuntu and uses the Ubuntu repos. When I ran Mint, I found myself referring to Ubuntu's documentation much of the time; I felt that Ubuntu had superior documentation, and that much (if not most) of it applied to Mint.

- With .deb distros, I prefer to use Synaptic, but Mint cripples Synaptic (no "Mark All Upgrades" button). Major annoyance for me. I don't like Mint's system of holding back Level 4 and Level 5 updates.

Wow, sounds like id be missing out if i dont go with Mint! Thanks everyone, i will download some iso's today and prepare for my new toy tomorrow!very appreciated my friends.

~cheers

RGG

This site rocks!

I used Ubuntu up to 10.04 lts, it was great and did everything I wanted to do easily, then my BIOS went on the fritz and the PS would no longer boot. I replaced the Mobo and, as 10.04 lts had gone end-of-life during the rebuild, I changed to 12.04 with Unity desktop...
Like most of the posters above, I could navigate round it but didn't like it, plus I was having to try and sort out video drivers, nVidia or Noveau? Loads of problems. I tried Mint 17 from the free DVD on Linux Format magazine and was pretty impressed, I've since installed it and all is now back to being sweetness and light.

Let us know how you get on and what you think. :)

Play Bonny!

:hattip:

I vote for Mint 'cos they're doing to Shuttleworth what he did to Debian...

And I really like their MATE desktop.

Mint

Ubuntu went to shit after 10.04. Mint takes Ubuntu, strips out all of the buggy crap, switches to a better DE (anything would be better than Unity), improves driver/hardware support, and just cleans and straightens things up all around.

Mint = ease of use. Especially with Cinnamon.
You could try the LMDE version if you want it based more on Debian.

for what is ??? ???

:mad::doh:
:banghead:

Thanks everyone! I got the machine today (a day early), I am going with Mint, but now comes the next question, Cinnamon or Mate ;)

If I go Cinnamon, would it be easy enough to switch over to Mate?

Thanks again!

I have just a couple other simple questions, lets say I decide to go with the one Linux OS as the dual boot for now, can I install some of the pen-testing tools required for classroom exercises, such as kismet and wifidog? My guess is yes, but like I said, I never used Mint and I know that some distros use slightly different terminology like centOS and openSUSE (Gentoo and slackware were both a bit challenging for a newb like me).

~cheers

Randy

MATE -- it's less demanding of hardware than Cinnamon, it looks better (IMO) and it's simpler to configure.

http://packages.linuxmint.com/search...ny&section=any
http://packages.linuxmint.com/search...ny&section=any

You could just install Kail on a USB stick...
http://docs.kali.org/installation/ka...ve-usb-install

I've been running Linux Mint for about 2 months now and I have never had any problems with the Cinnamon DE.
http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2014/01/10...namon-or-mate/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKrWD8bSgj0

Damn Skippy ;)

Install both cinnamon and mate, pick which one you want to use when you log in.

I'd second MATE; it's my preference between MATE and Cinnamon. Once you finish installing the OS, you can install additional Desktops/Window Managers and try them out. There are no issues in having multiple DEs/WMs and switching among them on a Linux machine.

I have MATE and Enlightenment on my machine. Just as a point in fact, Slackware comes with six GUI environments out of the box in a default install.

I played around a little with slackware for a class Im taking, I needed a distro that uses Lilo, it seems that there's still a lot of slackware users and fans out there.

The installation went great, i pit it on my first "lab machine". I still have yet to make room for Kali which is up next, off the top of my head I dont think Kali requires much space.

Thanks for the advice, and what exactly is Enlightment?

Have a great weekend
-Randy

I'd suggest going with cinnamon, then installing mate. Then use both (switching at login screen)

There is no correct answer as to which is better. They are designed for different purposes.

Thanks! Looks pretty interesting.

I like Mate like most of the people here, but unlike them I really like Unity.

I have been trying different DE on Mint whenever I installed it onto other peoples machines.

At this point I tend to always default to Cinnamon. I have the impression that it gets by far the most development attention from Mint and has the best out-of-the-box experience.

i'd go with ubuntu, actually i'd go with debian jessie. but if your choice is ubuntu vs mint, i'd go with ubuntu. now you must decice what DE to use.

mint is nothing but ubuntu LTS running mate or cinnamon and all downtream. they do not provide any upstream input.

ubuntu has distros/spins for different DE, just google for the url.

xfce = xubuntu
gnome - ubuntu gnome
kde = kubuntu
mate = ubuntu mate
unity = default ubuntu
e18 or cinnamon can be installed via ppa's

You forgot LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) which is a distribution based on Debian.
It’s available as a live DVD with MATE or Cinnamon.
The purpose of LMDE is to look identical to the main edition of Mint and to provide the same functionality whilst using Debian as a base.

I have a lot to learn! So many options, so little time! Im glad i bought my "lab rat"..

Cheers!

Most of my labs tend to be on Ubuntu, it seems very user friendly, but i really dont know the difference between the different "spins". This has been the most linux action ive seen (the past 2 yrs back in school). I appreciate all the advice. Thanks!