Will Linux Mint now be Debian not Ubuntu?

[macosxp]

Will Linux Mint 10 be based directly on Debian? Or will there from now on be two distros of Linux Mint, one Debian and one Ubuntu. When will the Debian version be "up to speed"?

[proxima_centauri]

Linux Mint 10 will be based on Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. The Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a separate project. More development may occur on the Debian edition at a later date, but right now the focus is Linux Mint 10.

[tdockery97]

I can only dream that the day will come.

[mzsade]

I am too comfortably ensconced in my Isadora nest, i think i'll give Julia a miss (didn't quite take to the name either).

[jesica]

the more people using the LMDE the quicker the switch will be

I have tried LMDE but i still don't like it, it still needs one or two fixes then I will switch

[tdockery97]

the more people using the LMDE the quicker the switch will be

I have tried LMDE but i still don't like it, it still needs one or two fixes then I will switch

I'm using both LMDE and Mint 10rc, and love them both but not for any technical reasons. The feel in using them is different, kind of like flavors. Sometimes I'm in the mood to use my Julia with the cool cairo-dock, and sometimes my more basic LMDE. I am glad that I have choices within choices.

[jesica]

for one, I can not updates LMDE, it says fix broken packages first, and my mouse pad does not double click with it, and the software install packages manager does not give me a option to install the programs I want

[Mad_Sunday]

for one, I can not updates LMDE, it says fix broken packages first, and my mouse pad does not double click with it, and the software install packages manager does not give me a option to install the programs I want

Try this....

Uninstall the broken packages, update and then re-install those packages.

Pete

[telenux]

Linux Mint 10 will be based on Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. The Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a separate project. More development may occur on the Debian edition at a later date, but right now the focus is Linux Mint 10.

Separate project based on what? It's too bad they don't move it to Debian. But, it doesn't look like there's much interest from devs from what I have read here.

There's lots of info on Mint 10 Julia and so people know what to do as its' based on Ubuntu. But, there's tons of distros based on Ubuntu.

I don't know if Linux Mint Debian Edition is using Debian Testing or Sid or if it uses one with extra repositories or backports or if is compatibile with any Debian repo or what. Can you upgrade packages by adding Debian repos? I am guessing, yes, but where is additional info?

[tdockery97]

Linux Mint Debian is a Debian Testing distribution. It uses the same repos as regular Debian Testing.

[grey1960envoy]

I have been using LMDE for about 3 weeks now and don't see much difference with Mint 9 or 10 ...even the apps seem to be interchangeable. I' m one to give a distro a few weeks to decide if it stands up for me or if it is another coaster awaiting a glass...this one is destined to stay on my laptop for a while . Even Cairo Dock works like a charm.

[sgosnell]

I don't know if Linux Mint Debian Edition is using Debian Testing or Sid or if it uses one with extra repositories or backports or if is compatibile with any Debian repo or what. Can you upgrade packages by adding Debian repos? I am guessing, yes, but where is additional info?

Additional info is here. It's linked on the first post of the first page of the LMDE forum sticky.

[hoshi411]

Personally, I came to Linux because of all the trendy hype that it was a user friendly ubuntu. If it's not ubuntu anymore I think youre gonna lose a lot if noobies jumping on the band wagon.
Since I've never heard of debian, if mint should switch to it, this is going to cause me to give straight ubntu another look.

[spider2097]

Personally, I came to Linux because of all the trendy hype that it was a user friendly ubuntu. If it's not ubuntu anymore I think youre gonna lose a lot if noobies jumping on the band wagon.
Since I've never heard of debian, if mint should switch to it, this is going to cause me to give straight ubntu another look.

My guess would be that people should ask themselves why they want to use a particular OS. In my experience, LMDE & the Main editions seem very similar - but that's because I'm not really a code tinkerer, I just want a nice user experience from my machine. One that does what I want, when I want & quickly! Mint does that. And IMO, Mint looks great. The Mint community really makes it for me, if you have a question then a quick visit to the forums will quickly reward you. I recommend Mint to anyone with any interest in computers - the great advantage being the Live DVD aspect which allows them to use Mint (and other distro's) without them fearing they're going to break their machine or lose all their files. If you test an OS, if you like an OS, why does the base ultimately matter? It's the Mint devs and their wonderful work I'm enjoying. Admittedly the Debian devs & Ubuntu devs provide a great base from which the team start but I don't really notice much of difference whether I'm using LMDE or the Main edition. At the moment, I'm really enjoying Mint. That may change but until it does I will keep trying each version of Mint & recommending Mint to colleagues & friends.

[OldManHook]

Personally, I came to Linux because of all the trendy hype that it was a user friendly ubuntu. If it's not ubuntu anymore I think youre gonna lose a lot if noobies jumping on the band wagon.
Since I've never heard of debian, if mint should switch to it, this is going to cause me to give straight ubntu another look.

just some FYI
Never heard of Debian Why not Google it Maybe you will fine that Ubuntu is based on DEBIAN-Funny sometimes what your Trendy band wagon IS.
Also you might want to Compare Ubuntu and Mint,I think you will find that it's more than a user friendly buntu

[Jix]

Yes, it is more user-friendly now. But will it still be as user-friendly when and if it switches to Debian-only? That's the question.

[spider2097]

Yes, it is more user-friendly now. But will it still be as user-friendly when and if it switches to Debian-only? That's the question.

I'm sure that's what the Mint Team are striving for. After all, they're trying to bring a consistent feel to the whole Mint experience I can't speak about the coding/scripting differences between Ubuntu & Debian (with little to no interest on that side of things, other than creating launchers for specific apps) so I wouldn't know how much the Mint Team can do about easing that side of things. Again, I would argue that as a way of using a computer the way most people seem to - for Office apps, audio, video, internet etc - Mint is a great OS for doing that. It truly depends upon the reason for trying Mint, but I find this type of argument

Personally, I came to Linux because of all the trendy hype that it was a user friendly ubuntu. If it's not ubuntu anymore I think youre gonna lose a lot if noobies jumping on the band wagon.

to be misleading. I don't want to start another OS v OS flame war, and I also mean no disrespect to hoshi411, but for a straightforward "out of the box" experience with day to day tasks then I don't see why the base that Mint uses is a stumbling block. My main problems with regards to using Linux (whether it be Mint, Ubuntu, Fedora, whatever) are mainly to do with lack of support for (or should that be from) my various gadgets which seem to only want to play nice with a Windows PC.

[Jix]

I was just being the devil's advocate in my previous comment. I don't think most newbs will know or care if it runs on Ubuntu or Debian. As long as it's easy to use, clean and has all the functions it has now it will be popular. Mint by default won't disenfranchise its core users too much by changing the architecture because its users aren't too Linux-savy (I know I'm not). Although, I did try the previous Mint-Debian version and there were a few things lacking. I switched back to Gnome. I hope the Mint team does whatever they can do make it work like Gnome as much as possible in future versions.

Also, we're talking like Debian-Mint is a done deal. Is it? I didn't hear any official announcements.

[proxima_centauri]

Although, I did try the previous Mint-Debian version and there were a few things lacking. I switched back to Gnome. I hope the Mint team does whatever they can do make it work like Gnome as much as possible in future versions.

To clarify on a point that appears to be confused:
Linux Mint Debian Edition uses GNOME and has a Debian base; Linux Mint Main Edition uses GNOME and has an Ubuntu base.

Also, we're talking like Debian-Mint is a done deal. Is it? I didn't hear any official announcements.

The Linux Mint Debian Edition will continue to be developed. Linux Mint Main Edition will continue to use Ubuntu as it's base.

[proxima_centauri]

Ubuntu is based on DEBIAN-Funny sometimes what your Trendy band wagon IS.
Also you might want to Compare Ubuntu and Mint,I think you will find that it's more than a user friendly buntu

Sure, but the differences between Debian and Ubuntu far outweigh the differences between Ubuntu and Linux Mint. It might be more accurate to say that Linux Mint is based from Ubuntu, and Ubuntu is a fork of Debian.

but for a straightforward "out of the box" experience with day to day tasks then I don't see why the base that Mint uses is a stumbling block.

Ubuntu has been developing many user-level improvements beyond the vanilla Debian GNOME experience, such as hardware drivers utility, startup disk creator, notification area and indicator applet for instance. If you switch bases, it means you lose the improvements that Ubuntu has brought to the table. Of course not everybody appreciates Ubuntu's contributions, but I think it's easier to use a base where you can pick and choose enhancements, rather than start from scratch.

The advantage to using Debian testing as a base is the continual rolling release philosophy, as opposed to Ubuntu's 6 month major release schedule - since major dist-upgrades have been under scrutiny for causing problems (part of the reason Mint advocates the mintBackup + fresh install method -- although I think Ubuntu is making strides to improve the upgrade procedure).