The best Linux 14 distro

[rmcellig]

I am currently using Mint 14 xfce on one of my laptops. I like it but I was wondering which of the Mint distros offer the most complete experience and straight forward user experience for newcomers to Linux.

[xenopeek]

In my opinion Cinnamon is easier to pick up and, again in my opinion, gives a better first impression. I'd guess MATE and Xfce look dated to users coming from Windows 7/8 or OS X? KDE is also very nice, perhaps more suitable to power users that have specific needs for configuring every aspect of their desktop's behavior. My current favorites are Cinnamon and KDE, with Xfce for older machines and servers because it is a little less demanding on the graphics card.

After having used GNOME 2 and MATE for many years, I've been on Cinnamon now for a few months. MATE uses more memory than Cinnamon and feels much slower. To me its no longer a contender, but I know a lot of users are very happy with it I'm interested to see what the MATE developers come up with next and in which direction they will take MATE.

[rmcellig]

Thanks for your comments. I agree with everything you mention. Has Cinnamon been stable for you?

[Orbmiser]

For me found some strange issues with Cinnamon 14 like tray icons coming up invisible or all blocked out squares. And required a cinnamon restart. Also for some reason half the time my external usb drives wouldn't show in Nemo tho rebooting or logging out back in solved the issue and magically appeared.

Now using KDE and liking it over Cinnamon. As has a few things important to me. Like remember window size & position on dual display. Also things like remember session so log out or reboot and desktop starts up with my 3 main programs open ready for use.

I keep reading KDE is bloated and far as I'm concerned that is plain FUD! Cinnamon on desktop startup idle was clocking in at 700-800mb with a few applets like weather & gmail.

On KDE am starting up desktop clean at 462mb'ish which is quite a difference to Cinnamon. Using same startup applets weather and kgmail.

Loading up a Term,Dolphin file manager (Puts Nemo to shame Tho Nemo is still a baby and developing quite nice).
Also Firefox with a few tabs cranks KDE up to 750-800mb and on Cinnamon that goes to 1.1mb or so.

And KDE is just a tad larger footprint over xfce and comes with all kinds of desktop effects and customizing. Also found KDE faster and more responsive than Cinnamon 14.
.

[igor83]

For me found some strange issues with Cinnamon 14 like tray icons coming up invisible or all blocked out squares. And required a cinnamon restart. Also for some reason half the time my external usb drives wouldn't show in Nemo tho rebooting or logging out back in solved the issue and magically appeared.

Now using KDE and liking it over Cinnamon. As has a few things important to me. Like remember window size & position on dual display. Also things like remember session so log out or reboot and desktop starts up with my 3 main programs open ready for use.

I keep reading KDE is bloated and far as I'm concerned that is plain FUD! Cinnamon on desktop startup idle was clocking in at 700-800mb with a few applets like weather & gmail.

On KDE am starting up desktop clean at 462mb'ish which is quite a difference to Cinnamon. Using same startup applets weather and kgmail.

Loading up a Term,Dolphin file manager (Puts Nemo to shame Tho Nemo is still a baby and developing quite nice).
Also Firefox with a few tabs cranks KDE up to 750-800mb and on Cinnamon that goes to 1.1mb or so.

And KDE is just a tad larger footprint over xfce and comes with all kinds of desktop effects and customizing. Also found KDE faster and more responsive than Cinnamon 14.
.

I like KDE too, but the KDE wallet has gotten to be an annoyance. It pops up everytime I boot my laptop in a remote location where I want to connect to the local wireless. The password for the wireless network is already stored. I don't understand why I have to enter it everytime. Why can't KDE remember the password for me? Mate could... it is like KDE has a problem remembering passwords. I had a similar issue on my desktop. Everytime I loaded Kmail, up came KDE wallet asking me for my email password. Yet everytime I clicked on the checkbox that said "Remember password," but it didn't. Eventually I uninstalled Kmail and went with Thunderbird; problem solved. I think KDE wallet is the weakest link in KDE. I would like to know how to disable KDE wallet permanently in every KDE system I have. I don't need the security. Didn't have it before and don't need it now.

I was hoping you might know a solution....

[xenopeek]

Cinnamon has been very stable for me, no issues. I've had one problem with desktop icons not being shown, needing a restart of Cinnamon, but after further investigation that was being cause by the game Trine 2 Perhaps it depends also a bit on your hardware, I have an Intel graphics card so is problem free graphics wise.

[catweazel]

Has Cinnamon been stable for you?

I moved full time to Linux Mint & Cinnamon over the Christmas break. I've been a Windows developer since the beta versions of Windows 1.0 while working at Ashton-Tate (dBase), so my entire working career has been based on DOS & Windows. I can tell you, if there were stability issues I'd be the first to complain, and I'd have chucked Mint in the bin, as I've done with so many other linux distros over the years.

The only trouble I've had with Mint has been caused by my messing around and learning the guts of it, compiling my own kernels and doing other crazy stuff, but a clonezilla disk image came to the rescue.

I absolutely love Mint and Cinnamon. The UI is crisp and clean, which I prefer. I can't stand KDE; I see it as a grossly over-bloated mess.

That's my 2c worth. Keep the change

[igor83]

Has Cinnamon been stable for you?

I moved full time to Linux Mint & Cinnamon over the Christmas break. I've been a Windows developer since the beta versions of Windows 1.0 while working at Ashton-Tate (dBase), so my entire working career has been based on DOS & Windows. I can tell you, if there were stability issues I'd be the first to complain, and I'd have chucked Mint in the bin, as I've done with so many other linux distros over the years.

The only trouble I've had with Mint has been caused by my messing around and learning the guts of it, compiling my own kernels and doing other crazy stuff, but a clonezilla disk image came to the rescue.

I absolutely love Mint and Cinnamon. The UI is crisp and clean, which I prefer. I can't stand KDE; I see it as a grossly over-bloated mess.

That's my 2c worth. Keep the change

Well, I was loyal to Xfce and Mate until I ran into various limitations with the default file managers. A KDE fan told me to try Dolphin. Once you try Dolphin, you never go back. Now it's KDE all the way. Dolphin and K3b are my main reasons for using KDE. That and the fact that KDE makes it a lot easier to customize the desktop just the way I like it; I'm very picky about the desktop appearance.

[rmcellig]

I just installed Cinammon 14 on my laptop. Works well. I never tried Mint 14 KDE so maybe I will install it next to Cinammon and see if I like it.

[homerscousin]

I can't stand KDE; I see it as a grossly over-bloated mess.

KDE makes it a lot easier to customize the desktop just the way I like it; I'm very picky about the desktop appearance.

KDE can be a little confusing and overwhelming at first or even tough to remember "how the heck did I change that" from 2 months ago. But, if you're like me and would rather mess with your desktop and create something unique looking than doing other boring things, KDE is the only way to go.

[jsalpha2]

I',m a linux newbie, have been using Mint 14 Xfce for only a few weeks. "Xfce look dated to users coming from Windows 7/8" That's why I like it. For years I've tried to un-update the new versions of Windows. Some allowed you to switch to Classic version. Windows 8 was the final straw. I was happy with the Windows 2000 desktop. Also Xfce works better on older hardware and seems snappier. I just tried the new Linux Mint Cinnamon 32 bit Release Candidate on a flash drive and it seems nice, but I'm going to wait for the Xfce edition.


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Hello, my name is Jsalpha2 and I'm a newbie.

[3fRI]

Everyone has a favorite distro and good reasons for his or her preference. I've tried all of the Mint flavors during the past 3 years or so, but I prefer a minimalist distro. For me, less is more, so I go with Xfce with Mint.