Why Mint 12 Will Rock The Linux World

[KBD47]

I've been thinking about just how Much Mint has rocked the Linux world even before Mint 12 RC and the official Mint 12 release comes out, with Mint climbing to the top of distrowatch and so many Ubuntu/Unity and Gnome 3 refugees looking for a user-friendly Linux distribution and coming to Mint. I think the explosion of Mint interest will truly go ballistic with Mint 12 release.
I'm pretty much willing to learn new things and mess with different distros, but Linux newbies and those folks who are interested in moving from Windows to try Linux for the first time are going to want an easy-to-use intuitive desktop, and that's why I think Mint use will explode.
While other desktops are chasing the illusive tablet and phone market, Linux Mint 12 takes advantage of newer features but remakes them into a desktop any Windows users can sit down to and click on the familiar left-bottom of the desktop and easily find their applications. Their familiar minimized and opened Windows will show up on their desktop, they will find Mint 12 familiar and yet something more.
OK, but what about those who are not happy with an easy-to-use desktop, who want hidden menus and all the problems some geeks thrive on? Guess what, you still have Gnome 3 with all its crazy alt-this and alt-that it is there beneath all that Mint goodness. So Mint 12 accomplishes the impossible, user-friendliness and a nice level of geek complexity. Mint 12 will succeed because it offers so much.
My two cents.
KBD47

[tdockery97]

Totally agree with the above. For some reason some people either don't see it, or aren't taking the time to really explore all the things available in this release. Yes there are some bugs. This is an RC, meant to be used and have bugs reported so that they can be fixed before final release. There are still a few things not there yet, like the real Mint Menu, which may be in the final.

[KBD47]

Since that first update to the RC it is feeling very stable to me. No more freezes or desktop disappearing. I would like to see MATE get some much needed attention before the final release, but besides that and some needed improvement with the panel icons, I think Mint 12 is looking very good. Clem and his team really took the right course with Mint 12 I think.
You are correct that some people will not see it, because they won't take the time to really give Mint 12 a chance. They will come to it with Expectations of it being Gnome 2 and will be disappointed. But if they understand what has occurred with Gnome, and how much has gone into making Gnome 3 usable with MGSE, they really should appreciate it.
KBD47

[linuxviolin]

I don't agree with this and I think Unity is better than GNOME 3. The Linux users will use programs like MSGE if they want absolutely stay with GNOME but this is a proof of the stupidity of GNOME 3... As said by SJVN:

If GNOME’s developers don’t rethink their basic design, their interface will be just interesting bit of open-source history.

For me, on my new laptop, I use exclusively Win 7. No Linux installed for now and probably ever. And after many years with just Linux, I will probably never look back on this laptop... We'll see.

But I have still desktop(s) with just Linux on them... for now at least.

[z06gal]

I agree with the OP. I gave up on Windows after with the arrival of Vista which was absolutely horrid. It was one crash/virus/trojan, etc after the next. We then bought a desktop [primarily for my husband's work] and it has been the same experience as we had with Vista. I bet you it has thrown no less than 50 bsod's. If I knew how to set up citrix and dragon naturally speaking on Linux, I would install Mint in a heartbeat. Windows has been an awful experience for me. I'll roll with Mint

[KBD47]

I don't agree with this and I think Unity is better than GNOME 3. The Linux users will use programs like MSGE if they want absolutely stay with GNOME but this is a proof of the stupidity of GNOME 3... As said by SJVN:

If GNOME’s developers don’t rethink their basic design, their interface will be just interesting bit of open-source history.

For me, on my new laptop, I use exclusively Win 7. No Linux installed for now and probably ever. And after many years with just Linux, I will probably never look back on this laptop... We'll see.

But I have still desktop(s) with just Linux on them... for now at least.

I think I just read that article and generally agreed with it.
But we will have to agree to disagree on Unity. I used it for two months and my wife put up with it for a month, that was long enough to decide we were better off with a sane desktop

[Chibana]

I had been a big fan of Ubuntu for quite a while now. I'm a long-time UNIX/Linux head (NetBSD on an Amiga 1200, anyone?). However, the last two installations of the latest versions of Ubuntu on my desktop (64-bit dual-core AMD Athlon with nvidia 7300GT) were incredibly buggy. The Unity interface was all but unusable for me, and no fixes ever happened. I don't have time anymore to be doing a ton of testing and reporting back to the community (although I'm trying to get back into that again). I started looking for alternatives. I don't remember how I stumbled upon Linux Mint. I think it may have been through my interest in Commodore OS. So far I'm loving Mint and it's interface. I had 11 installed on my main partition, and 12 RC on my play partition (Commodore OS is currently on the main partition, but I'm going to put Mint 11 back on it). I'm actually kind of excited about Gnome 3, but then again, I've always been an OS and GUI geek. Although I've always had a Windows install at home, I've never used Windows as my main OS. First it was Commodore 128, then a string of Amigas, then PC hardware running Linux (through many distributions over the years). I'll take Linux over Windows every time.

[exploder]

I think that Mint 12 will be extremely successful because Clem is giving people what they really want. Gnome 3 is the future but Clem is making great use of extensions and making the new Gnome seem as familiar as what everyone has enjoyed for so long. Clem has watched the trends and paid attention to peoples reactions to Gnome 3 and Unity. Testing the CD editions was a good experience for me. I expected to encounter errors like I did with Ubuntu 11.10 but that was not the case at all. I am glad to see Clem taking his own direction with Mint, that's why Mint became popular in the first place. Clem is giving people what they have been asking for and doing a terrific job making Gnome 3 seem familiar and user friendly.

[KBD47]

I started testing 12 RC from the first day it was available, it was buggy that first day, got an update the next day, and it has been solid since. Further updates have improved it, especially the MATE desktop. I think when the final release come out people will like it very much.
KBD47

[exploder]

KBD47, you really put in some time with MATE!

[Paul_Vandenberg]

I've been using MATE since the 12 RC came out. I think it is great! There were some stability issues with Caja in the 64 bit version, so I switched to 32 bit. Smooth sailing ever since. I noticed that the 32 bit version uses significantly less memory. After boot up, the 64 bit version was using over 300MB of RAM, the 32 bit seems to only use half that after boot up. I knew 64 used more memory, but I was quite surprised at how much more. Since I only have 2GB of RAM on my Dell Inspiron 1501, I think I may stick with 32 bit for now.

[KBD47]

KBD47, you really put in some time with MATE!

I think it was 2-3 days after the RC first came out that an update made MATE available. Then just a couple of days ago the Mint menu became available for MATE, so it has been gradually improving even since the RC came out. My only issues with MATE right now are that I would like to see the font rendering improve, and the sound control needs the option to control it with the keyboard rather than just manually from an icon on the panel. The power control icon is needed on the panel. Other than those things MATE is functional, and I think it will be continually improving. Probably by the time of the Spring release of Mint 13 MATE will be much more polished.
KBD46

[Steerpike]

I think Gnome 3 shell is far, far better than Unity. In fact, it is safe to say that I'd use just about anything before Unity. I like Gnome Shell, but I am looking forward to giving Mint and MSGE a shot. Over the years, I've basically stuck with Mint, Fedora, and Ubuntu, and Mint 12 looks like it might very well swing me back in the Mint direction

[MALsPa]

I think Unity is better than GNOME 3

I think Gnome 3 shell is far, far better than Unity.

I like them both. I think there are some things about Unity that are better, and some things about GNOME Shell that are better.

I'm typing this from GNOME 2 in Debian Stable, by the way. And I still use GNOME 2 in Ubuntu 10.04. I'm interested to see MATE, but I'll probably wait until Mint's next LTS version, and then run it in a live session and see what I think then.

When Wheezy goes to Stable, and when Ubuntu 12.04 comes out, that'll be it for GNOME 2 here. I don't think I'll miss it much, though, and I guess that's why I'm not really all that excited about MATE. But as the quotes above illustrate, different strokes for different folks!

[craig10x]

malspa...i like unity better then gnome 3...except for what Clem did with Gnome 3 which makes it more familar and i also very much like....but when talking "raw" gnome 3 shell vs unity...at least to me...unity is smoother and more "polished"... other then the lack of customization options (at least at this point in time) i think ubuntu did a nice job with it...

[bimsebasse]

Well (warning - Mr. buzz kill strikes again), I think there's a bigger chance Mint 12 overall will lose users than gain users. Gnome 3 is not a finished product and it's too far from what people are used to and generally were happy with. A fully functional more than just an almost there gnome-panel heir MATE could have been a success and drawn hapless traditional desktop Linuxers to Linux Mint, but it's not quite there yet and for now more like a consolation. I think the biggest winners since Unity and GS are KDE, Xfce, LXDE - and Windows. Both DEs were rushed out before they were ready. In a few years time, both Unity and GS are gonna be brilliant, right now they are very much works in progress, and no distro championing either will take anything by storm - this coming from someone who uses and likes Gnome Shell

[MALsPa]

I'm not one of those who is really all that much attracted by something because it's like what I'm "used to." I'm more interested in trying out new things and new ways of doing things. Other people feel the opposite way, which I can understand.

From what I gather, MATE appeals to those who'd like things to stay the same, but to me, it sounds like "the same old, same old." Nothing innovative, as far as I know, so I guess that's why I don't find it attractive or interesting. I can go with Xfce if I want a "traditional" desktop.

I don't know if bimsebasse is correct in thinking that there's a bigger chance that Mint 12 will lose more users than it gets, but I understand the reasoning. I just can't escape this "been there, done that" feeling I'm getting. I think I'm in the minority in feeling this way, but I'd rather see Linux Mint break some new ground here.

I think it's safe to say that Mint 12 won't rock my world.

[KBD47]

My guess is that people come to Mint because they want a familiar, easy to use desktop. Not so much for innovation or an outside-the-box distro experience. I don't think Mint will lose a lot of users, and I would expect it to gain quite a few. For those expecting the exact same Gnome 2 experience in Mint 12 that they have been used to--they may be disappointed. After kicking this thing around every which way I have concluded that Gnome Classic/Fallback is going to come closest to pleasing those people. There is a Mega Thread on the Ubuntu list about tweaking Gnome 3 Fallback and I think if the Classic/Fallback mode in Mint 12 had a bit of tweaking and the Mint Menu most Gnome 2 users would easily adjust to using alt-right click to get many of the same options they had in Gnome 2. I think Classic/Fallback will probably make it into the LTS versions next Spring, and if it does that is 5 more years of Classic Gnome desktop and, Lord willing we all live so long, I expect many polished alternatives will be available by then.
KBD47

[exploder]

I think it is more than just familiarity that is attracting people to Mint 12. I looked at Ubuntu 11.10 and my experience was not very good. I got errors on the Live CD and I never could get it to install. Mint 12 would install and I did not encounter any error messages or crashes when I was testing. Mint 12 is also more customizable than many Gnome 3 based distros. You can have full blown Gnome 3, fallback mode or MATE. Unity looks nice but there are some very noticeable bugs at least in my experience. Mint 12 was much more stable for me and multitasking just seemed more natural in it.

I like new and creative ideas but Unity seemed more like a step backwards, it actually reminds me of Windows For Workgroups in a way. These are just my opinions and who knows, Unity might get better but I am not going to hold my breath on that. Pretty much, Clem saw a need and filled it and that's the way to be successful.

[MALsPa]

Well, you guys make some good points, and I can understand how you're looking at things.

(exploder, I haven't tried installing Ubuntu 11.10, but I had no problems installing 11.04 -- or any other Ubuntu version so far -- and Unity works out quite well here.)

While I may not be feeling excited about Mint 12, I might be more interested in comparing the next LTS version to Ubuntu's next LTS. I'd like to take a look at MGSE, but I'm really more of an LTS guy, so I'll probably sit back and wait a bit. No doubt MGSE will be better in the next release. That's generally how things go with any environment, so I figure the same will probably be true of Unity.

I like the approach Mint is taking. It might not be the best fit for me, but it'll please a wide variety of users, and that's a good thing for the Linux world in general.