My mane is Charlie and I've only been playing with Linux for a short while now. I got my first computer in 2000, a Dell with a P3 running Win 98SE which I finally replaced in 2011 with the used Dell I'm running now - XP Pro on a P4, 1GB RAM. I'm no computer guru, so whatever I replace Windows with had better be pretty intuitive. (Which btw, is probably where most Windows users are at. lol)
I'm totally tired of maintaining the OS with the laborious M$ updates, keeping the anti-malware pgms up to date, constantly running cleanup software to clean up the mess Windows leaves in it's wake, etc, etc...
After doing some research and contemplating various distros of Linux (Of which there are waaay too many btw, lol) I tried Zorin OS 6.1 - but couldn't get it to run live from a USB (External HDD or 8GB Flash) or a direct install to the external USB. So tried Zorin Lite, which ran well live but only "sort of ran" on a full install - go figure? On to Ubuntu... Which did seem to install the live version, but was totally unusable, slow & hanging - which was OK 'cause I didn't much care for the interface anyway - Which brings us to Mint (Mate Nadia)
This OS seems [to me] to be everything Windows always wished it could've been, but somehow never achieved! (Multiple workspaces, the mouse buffer copy features and general responsiveness in Linux to mention a few. And the Mint main menu is way cool, no more desktop cluttered with icons - NICELY DONE!)
The User Guide is one of the most informative, comprehensive, and well written I've ever seen - BRAVO!!!
(I only wish there were a Part II - Getting into Linux Mint? Any chance we can get that guy writing again? 
)I do have some concerns however... So I guess I'll be seeing some of you over in the newbies section.
Bottom line though is I think Mint is a GREAT distro and many thanks to all those responsible! And if we can get some inconsistencies ironed out, or at least get ALL the info one needs to actually use the system in ONE place - it'll surely be the beach for the masses that aren't willing to give up their old hardware, or their hard earned cash (for the next big thing [that won't work right] from M$) to land on next year when XP support ends.
Geeze that was a mouthful. Sorry for being long-winded.
Charlie
