Mint 15 is only supported until the next version (because of a policy change by Ubuntu) so if you don’t want to re-install at the end of the year, use the LTS version 13 Maya.

It’s available with the Cinnamon and Mate desktops, and I tested the 32-bit Mate. Mint hasn’t changed greatly since version 14, so I shan’t repeat what I said in my last review. Gnome-mplayer is no longer included. LibreOffice is now configured for your locale, so no more dictionary hunting.

The keyboard configuration tool still won’t register shortcuts using Super, and after an update it stopped working completely, with a segmentation fault. I was sorry to see that Mate has followed Gnome 3 in switching to a machine-code configuration file. That is not Unix practice and it should’t be Linux practice either; even OSX doesn’t do it. The editor is not installed, but is available in dconf-tools (not that you’d learn that from Synaptic or the Software Manger). Alternatively, the command dconf will export it to a text file and import it after editing.

Despite the niggles with Mate, Mint’s still one of the best distros, especially for beginners.

I'm using 32-bit Mint on my old laptop and it feels like it's given it new life. I was using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and wasn't able to upgrade to the latest version and I didn't like the direction of the window manager.

The Mint window manager is very familiar and easy to use.

Everything I needed was pre-installed (Firefox, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, etc.).

I previously had issues with the wifi driver on my laptop but Mint was able to detect it and enable it with one click in the driver manager.

This is the first LM version that would not connect to my WiFi. If it won't automatically connect, I won't use it.

I don't honestly think Mint is a bad OS. it is always being updated, and they at least listen to there users (unlike the legacy OS). I am just saying that if you are like me, and you are constantly using the CLI, needing root access, etc., than this is not the disputation for you. Basically, that is not what Mint is here for. It is, however, one of the better only-GUI Linux Disputations I have tried. It also runs quite snappy. I will say, however, it does not run super great under older hardware, so if you want to run this on older hardware, read no farther. Tried it myself.

There are a few different desktop environments that can be installed. The "normal" version is the Cinnamon desktop, but you can also install the KDE desktop, Xfce desktop, MATE and a few others. I do believe the MATE desktop uses the least resources, and is one of the faster of the few ( to what I have read, only tried the Cinnamon).

does not want to use the CLI, this disputation might be one of the ones you should consider.

As a recent escapee from Windows, I appreciate the GUI. I also appreciate easy access to the command line through Terminal.

Best of all, it does not force one into the latest 'improvement'. That bad habit of Windows was what sent me to Linux in the first place.

So now my slow, cranky, Vista laptop is now a simple, elegant, Linux machine.

I would like to have it recognize my wifi, but meanwhile I can get to the internet with the ethernet cable.

I did not come to Linux in search of a hobby or calling. Like most current refugees from Windows (pfui!), I was looking for what Windows (pfui!) once boasted of being--a stable, easy-to-use platform from which to launch productive software.

After considerable research, I concluded that Mint 16 Cinnamon met that definition. I have had no reason to regret that choice. Mint runs briskly on my Toshiba netbook, linked automatically with my wi-fi and perhaps because I installed it in the same partition as Windows 8 (pfui!), I have full access to all my data files.

An Office suite equivalent, a familiar Web browser and a good photo editor cover probably 90 percent of my computing needs, and Mint 16 has them all. The occasional need to reboot to get to some Windows-dependent package is no great burden. If I ever get Wine sorted out, I may well dump Windows (pfui!) altogether.

I did find Mint's default theme artwork to be rather clunky, but a search through the the Mint artwork turned up a simple, elegant wallpaper titled, appropriately, Olivia, which dropped neatly into its place.