Differences between Debian and Standard edition ?

[mychance]

I am probably launching an outrageous question here but after having heard so many people favoring the LMDE edition over the "standard" Mint edition, I decided to give it a shot by installing it.

I try to see why LMDE would a better alternative. On my machine doesn't boot any faster, I don't notice any speed gain in the use and it seems to have less choices in the software repository.

I certainly miss the point or something.

I admit I am not an expert and had only a very short time in experimentation.

[Aging Technogeek]

On an Acer Aspire One netbook, the advantages of LMDE over Main Edition Mint may not be as noticeable as on a Desktop or more powerful laptop.

The basic differences between the two are detailed here

http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php

in the FAQ section.

For more information, check the Mint Blog here

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1527

[DrHu]

I try to see why LMDE would a better alternative. On my machine doesn't boot any faster, I don't notice any speed gain in the use and it seems to have less choices in the software repository.

OK, and boot speed is not what I would even consider as making a better distribution, not that important to me..

Give it a little time for a comparison

say 1month 2month 3month up to the next distribution release cycle you would be comparing it with, seeing if you then discover any differences or improvements that are automatically available in the rolling release verses having to do it yourself..

The difference is between a rolling release and a periodic release as Ubuntu does, a new version is available every 6 months as per their release cycle

The advantage of a rolling release is that you should never have to reinstall the OS, after that first install, provided you keep rolling forward with their updates..

And possibly more rapid updates for applications or kernels..

[mychance]

Yes, you are right about the roll-over feature and forgot to mention it. I have always wondered why you can't roll up to the next version with the Ubuntu based Mint edition. Ubuntu does, or at least used to have this feature.

[craig10x]

On a rolling distro like LMDE, you can get 500 updates in a week (and always chances for "breakage" to occur) where as with a 6 month cycle like standard Ubuntu (which mint main is based of course) you might get 500 updates in 6 MONTHS....Also, much less chance of breakage with the 6 month cycle type vs the rolling...

So while it is true, you may never have to re-install..there may be many bumps along the way

I was using LMDE for a few months but decided i preferred the pretty stable and reliable environment of mint main edition...
If you love to "tinker" a lot then LMDE will be better for you...depends on what you like...

[mychance]

On a rolling distro like LMDE, you can get 500 updates in a week (and always chances for "breakage" to occur) where as with a 6 month cycle like standard Ubuntu (which mint main is based of course) you might get 500 updates in 6 MONTHS....Also, much less chance of breakage with the 6 month cycle type vs the rolling...

I remember also having my Ubuntu all messed up after having been rolled to a new version. I think users usually agree that a fresh install is always preferable to a "soft upgrade"

[nunol]

You can upgrade Mint: http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/2

But I only like to do fresh installs.

[aljoriz]

a quick question does the dist-upgrade replace old version or do they overwrite them?

I'm asking this since all updates since December last year would have amounted to a DVD iso

[nunol]

Usually it replaces packages but sometimes it needs to remove old packages that are no longer needed or install new packages.

When you dist-upgrade it will inform you of what is going to be replace, removed or installed.

[AlbertP]

And possibly more rapid updates for applications or kernels..

Hmm, Debian is very conservative with kernels, even in Testing. There are so many LMDE people out on the forum with 2.6.32, which is already more than a year old. The latest Mint Ubuntu (when not counting RC's) uses 2.6.35. And there are more outdated things in Debian's testing repo. Plus Ubuntu supports PPA's to get newer packages if there's something too outdated.

[t3g]

Software selection on Ubuntu seems to be more up to date and is in the main repositories while Debian requires the user to hit up the unstable (sid) packages which may or may not conflict with the other software. Even though Ubuntu is based off of Debian, there are more contributors overall for Ubuntu.

[tru23]

If i'm not mistaken, it's possible to use the Ubuntu repos under LMDE, so what's the problem again?

(Not sure, i'm happy about corrections)

[AlbertP]

Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can use an Ubuntu PPA or .deb in LMDE. But it may mess up dependencies when you have to do an update. These files just are not made to be used in a rolling release.