Alright convince me to go mint...

[Sunny Rabbiera]

well since my husband is curious about linux mint as I got him on ubuntu and he is wondering about mint as well.
Now heres the thing, I think mint is pretty nice. I have toyed with it over its varied releases but really until never considered it until now that is...
I have been a Ubuntu user for a while now, and I also have used things like PCLinux, Mepis, Suse, Mandriva and Yoper.
I have had a varied experience with linux, some good, some bad and really I am tired of distro hopping.
So what really makes Mint so great, what really does it add to the ubuntu experience?
Is it just a mere redress or can i look at mint as its own project?
Now yes, Ubuntu spawned off of Debian
Mepis also spawned from debian
PClinux spawned from Mandriva
and Mandriva from redhat... sorta
so what breaking feature that mint can really offer me?
I am really curious here

[67GTA]

Hello Sunny. Former Ubuntu user. I still help out on the forums some though. I came to Mint because of the community. We all help with Mint as opposed to just watching it happen. Even the artwork came from users.You even get to talk to the boss A list of things that are unique to Mint:

mintinstall: similar to opensuse one click install
mintupdate: install updates according to priority
mintupload: mint upload space for users
mintdesktop: lets you tweak a few settings for desktop
mintwifi: wifi assistant with common drivers

I'm sure Clem and the developers will continue to innovate Mint, and eventually fork from Ubuntu as much as possible. Mint is growing quickly. We need people with your experience to help out all the new users. Mint "just works" plus "just feels right".

[JTAL604622]

As a former Ubuntu user, I can say this much; Mint 4.0 is much better than Ubuntu 7.10 by itself. the changes that have been done created a unique experience that is so stable, and refreshing. I use Daryna 4.0 Gnome, installing software through the portal is refreshing (just like Suse one click), no hunting for codecs or other drivers, everything was there and works perfectly.

The community is fantastic, we are usually around on the IRC channel answering questions every night and contributing to the experience.

I have been using Linux for about 5 years and Mint is the real deal. If speed is your thing there is always the 4.o XFCE version.

Jonathon

[Sunny Rabbiera]

well the only thing that doesnt wow me is actually what you mentioned already, mintinstall...
for me there isnt really too much too it (as I saw it on the live), and honestly I hardly touch the add/remove applet anyway as I have grown used to synaptic...
in fact synaptic is what got me into linux, synaptic's pretty brainless.
really one click installation is a non issue, even for my hubby who is used to the windows side of thing.
gdebi and kpackage do the job pretty well on their own

[Kynan]

To be completely honest here.

For me its primarily a looks/polish thing, i like ubuntu alot but i just hated its overall look and feel, mint on the other hand is much more pleasing to the eye and i love the mintmenu and the artwork. hence the "from freedom came elegance"

Aside from just looks i also like the preinstalled apps that it includes alot more, so i dont have to install as many new programs when i upgrade, tho there are a few that i do prefer to install (exaile, azureus, skype, k3b, vlc).

and as JTAL604622 and 67GTA said, the community here is really good and if you suggest an improvement theres a chance it will change. You can help change mint for the better.

As for:
mintinstall: I'd like to say i use mintinstall to do it but ususally i dont because i like to get the very latest versions of programs so i find i go to the website itself to get them bypassing synaptic aswell. But its pretty much same versions as synaptic so if i were to choose id use it over synaptic.

mintupdate: i use this all the time a great safe way to install updates.

mintupload: I've never really found a use for it yet since it only uploads for 2 days, perhaps if you could add image uploading services like imageshack to it and then upload pics using it then i would use it...

mintdesktop: Nice simple app, quite useful.

mintwifi: Havent used yet.

But what you see has happened in such a small time frame just over a year and its already climbed the ranks to be one of the best desktops, so i can imagine that as it grows its just going to get better and better.

The wiki on linux mint has some more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Mint
and a review on distrowatch has some more info http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20071126#review

[GrayWizardLinux]

Maybe try not talking yourself out of Mint instead of letting your inner self make the ultimate choice. I tried to be an Ubuntu dude - but too many issues and never got it working and their forums are a nightmare for real help overall. Mint just works and works and works...and the forum - great bunch of folks!