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!