Ubuntu vs. Mint: Which Linux Distro Is Better for Beginners?

[PcMojo]

I've had a difficult time getting many people over to Linux until Mint with Cinnamon. To me the DE makes quite a bit of difference for the novice user and Clem has done a awesome job with the usability and general intuitiveness. I've had a few older folks without much pc experience but with more knowledge of tablets, pads and smart phones prefer Ubuntu with Unity, but not many. I find it hard to believe that more new people would like Ubuntu over Mint if they had the same desktop, since Mint works better right out of the box than Ubuntu (which was one of the main purposes of creating Mint in the first place).

[Jonathan Spearman]

I've had a difficult time getting many people over to Linux until Mint with Cinnamon. To me the DE makes quite a bit of difference for the novice user and Clem has done a awesome job with the usability and general intuitiveness. I've had a few older folks without much pc experience but with more knowledge of tablets, pads and smart phones prefer Ubuntu with Unity, but not many. I find it hard to believe that more new people would like Ubuntu over Mint if they had the same desktop, since Mint works better right out of the box than Ubuntu (which was one of the main purposes of creating Mint in the first place).

I always have some issues with folks that find linux hard to use, That may have been the case in the slackware days, but now if you can use windows, you should be able to use linux.

I have never really caught on to Ubuntu, I don't know why, but I really don't care much for that distro. Before Linux Mint, I was using Suse or Mandrake ( Now Mandriva), I tried Red hat and I like the way the icons and os looks, but it does have a steep learning curve.

I have found Mint to be the best for beginners and the most solid out of all the nix's I have used. Others may have more corporate backing and be more suited for the enterprise, but Mint is just a great all around OS.