LMDE 2 really working out well!

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exploder
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LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by exploder »

I decided to try LMDE 2 Cinnamon on my laptop today since I like it so well on my desktop. My laptop is pretty low end and very few distros run all that well on it. The laptop has an AMD E1 processor, it's slow and the on chip graphics do not help things either. Surprisingly LMDE 2 Cinnamon runs just fine on it! I had a little trouble with the gtp partition, mostly because I deleted it but after making a new one the install went smoothly.

I set the laptop up the same as my desktop with the panel on top and Docky as the launcher and it looks great! Everything works just like it should and it runs pretty quick even with the processor only running at 1.4 GHz. The open source graphics drivers seem fine, the display looks crisp and bright. Sound, wifi, everything works great. Resource usage looks good and the laptop is not running hot so I am pretty happy!

My desktop has been running great too with LMDE 2 Cinnamon. I am still amazed at how well the open source drivers are working with the NVidea GT 220 I installed. I expected random freezing like with the Ubuntu based editions but the system has been running fine for over a week now without a single problem. It's funny, the Ubuntu based versions of Mint did not work very well on my desktop or laptop but LMDE 2 works perfect on both of them!

I sure am glad I tried LMDE 2! :D
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killer de bug

Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by killer de bug »

I should give a second chance to the Nouveau driver. I haven't tested it since Jan 2012 but I read good comments about it.
Last edited by killer de bug on Sun May 03, 2015 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Pierre
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by Pierre »

my Leveno T61 came up well, too.

both with the Mate DE and then with the added XFCE DE too.
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k357k9
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by k357k9 »

@exploder
It's funny, the Ubuntu based versions of Mint did not work very well on my desktop or laptop but LMDE 2 works perfect on both of them!
I guess it is still true that the only way to know for sure is to try it on your hardware.
How current are the packages compared to LM 17.1 and *buntu 15.04?
exploder
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by exploder »

@ k357k9

The packages in LMDE 2 are a little newer than 17.1 but some are a little older than the ones in Ubuntu 15.04.
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by k357k9 »

@exploder
Does that newer list include things like geany, abiword, and gnumeric or just the primary packages like firefox, thunderbird, libre office, and the desktop?
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by exploder »

I do not know about Geany, Abiword or Gnumeric, we would have to compare them because I use LibreOffice. At the moment LibreOffice is newer but 17.2 is supposed to get the newer version according to the road map. Firefox, Thunderbird, etc are maintained by Mint so they should be the same across the board.

I was drawn to LMDE 2 because of the Debian stable base more than the idea of newer packages. New Cinnamon releases will make it into LMDE 2 first and I do kind of like that. :D
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by k357k9 »

Is there a list of which packages are maintained or kept up to date by LM for both the debian and ubuntu versions?
killer de bug

Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by killer de bug »

k357k9 wrote:Is there a list of which packages are maintained or kept up to date by LM for both the debian and ubuntu versions?
Yes it's listed here:

http://packages.linuxmint.com/
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by k357k9 »

@killer de bug
Thanks. :D
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by exploder »

After running LMDE 2 Cinnamon for a while I really notice how fine tuned the Debian base is! Memory use is consistent and does not climb after hours or days of use. Other than the Intel issue I worked around by installing an NVidea graphics card LMDE 2 has been flawless. Cinnamon is so refined and feature rich these days too. :D I feel like I have the best of everything with LMDE 2!

I thought at first that I might miss using ppa repos but after seeing how smooth and stable everything is I like things just the way they are. I do get updates for Cinnamon, Firefox, Thunderbird and the Mint tools and these are the things I look forward to the most. Moving LMDE to the stable base was brilliant because it allows for development in more important areas while maintaining a very rock solid system.

I am still blown away at how well the open source NVidea and ATI drivers work! Both my desktop and laptop run great with the open source drivers and I do not have to worry about updates breaking anything. I think this is where Debian's two year development cycle really shines! Clem did an amazing job with making applications blend in and all look like they belong too.Using the older version of Totem for example rather than go with the newer version.

The older version of Totem has the same functionality, looks native and does not have the bugs I find in the newer version. I really appreciate this kind of thought and the time it took to provide it. I appreciate the effort that has gone into improving Cinnamon too. Cinnamon has gotten lighter and faster, it gives me a modern look without all the bloat. It is so simple now to make the system look just like I want with just a couple of mouse clicks.

I am really glad that Clem took this new direction with LMDE 2! I feel confident that I can run it for the foreseeable future without breakage. :D
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by k357k9 »

Did you try the Mate version?
exploder
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by exploder »

The Mate version looked well built and right on par with the main edition. I chose Cinnamon mainly because I liked the menu better. Nothing wrong with the menu in the Mate version but Cinnamon just looked a little more modern. I know that some people prefer the mint menu in Mate though because it has more features. The edition with Mate was rock solid and complimented the Debian base very well.

I will look at the Mate edition again when Mate 1.10 arrives because it could possibly make my low end laptop run better. Thinking back now I really should have given the Mate edition more consideration with the laptop. My desktop can run Cinnamon effortlessly but the laptop is noticeably slower. The laptop has an AMD E1 processor @ 1.2 GHz so it is never going to run as well as my desktop with an Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.93 GHz.

If I find some spare time I might just compare how the Mate version runs on my laptop. I might be able to just customize the menu a little and get a little better performance out of the laptop.
Crewp

Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by Crewp »

Exploder, I agree with everything you said about LMDE 2 w/ Cinnamon. Those are my thoughts exactly, we have the best of 2 worlds, the stability of Debian and the function rich tools of Mint. :)
killer de bug

Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by killer de bug »

Crewp and Exploder, I totally agree with you! I am fully convinced by Betsy :)
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by Condorman »

Really pleased to hear your experiences here with LMDE Exploder, and indeed everyone else. I'm really tempted to give it a go, but two things stop me. One being that my current Mint 17.1 is running absolutely fine with no trouble at all. The other being that I like to use emulators such as Retroarch with Linux and I cannot add the PPA with the Debian Edition. But I'm glad to hear it's working so well and I'll certainly look at it for family PC's. :)
exploder
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by exploder »

Hi Condorman!

I had problems with 17.1 and my graphics cards, Plymouth issues, weird glitches with the menu displaying and screen flicker. None of these problems happen for me in LMDE 2. :D Also, I always worried about Ubuntu pushing out an update that might break something, now I hardly give it a thought. For me LMDE 2 was the perfect choice! Debian spent 2 years developing Debian 8 and the quality really shows.

All the work that has gone into Cinnamon really shows too! Since going with a stable base for all editions Clem and the other developers have been able to focus on refining Cinnamon rather than making it compatible with new releases. Cinnamon, Nemo, MDM, Mint tools etc have really matured quickly because of this. The length of support for all editions is excellent too.

LMDE 2 seems more resource friendly to me because memory use does no go up over time like the Ubuntu based releases have for me. This is my favorite release since Mint 3! I had Mint 3 installed and configured just perfect until a lighting strike destroyed my at the time brand new computer... With LMDE 2 I know that the system I have configured just the way I want has a great deal of support time.

I am looking forward to Cinnamon 2.6 arriving too! I see more refinements and improvements coming, Cinnamon is really getting feature rich compared to other newer desktop environments. :D
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by k357k9 »

exploder
I chose Cinnamon mainly because I liked the menu better. Nothing wrong with the menu in the Mate version but Cinnamon just looked a little more modern.
Yep. And, the layout is a lot cleaner.
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Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by mr_raider »

I tried it on an old Atom powered Asus EEEPC netbook and Mate brought the thing to it's knees. Switched to 17.1 xfce and does much better. Too bad Mint LXDE is gone
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GermanyChris

Re: LMDE 2 really working out well!

Post by GermanyChris »

I liked LMDE2 it's good stuff
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