Can we please have a Linux Mint bare bones release?

[Pete2919]

Starting with this post the topic is "Can we please have a Linux Mint bare bones release?". Therefore this new thread has been split off from the thread: Why are my applications not the latest possible version?

I have been a windows user from Windows 95, I am switching to Linux now due to problems with AV programs slowing my PC down to a snails pace and the growing number of highly sophisticated viruses out there.

Linux Mint has been on my radar for years along with Mepis, both have been impressive for a long time but I am disappointed with all the "bloat" in the packages of nearly all the distros.

Just about every single program installed by default would not be my first choice of application. Windows has Linux beat hands down here, on a fresh install you have the bare minimum and can then install the programs that you actually need, want and use, not someone else's Christmas list. Windows on a fresh install is massive I admit but its not choked with someone else's choices of software, I know this is because Microsoft want to sell you every extra you can think of, but its my preferred scenario.

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

I have used many "modded" Windows releases that come with huge pre-installed "work out of the box" installations to then have to spend hours deleting all the stuff I didn't want in the first place and spoiling the fresh install on the day I start using it with all the left over files missed by the un-install process.

It didn't work for those projects and it wont work for Linux either, and its totally unnecessary, with a high speed internet connection Linux can be personalised far faster and easier than Windows.

One distro I came across gave the option of building you own ISO containing your own choice of software bundle, fantastic idea.

This is my first post so feel free to give me a good kicking lol

[clfarron4]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Ubuntu Minimal CD?

[austin.texas]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Thank you, Pete. I agree 100%

Mageia has an enormous 3.7GB DVD download with about every desktop you care to mention, but they also have several other options all the way down to a 27MB - yes, twenty-seven MEGABYTE - installation iso.
https://www.mageia.org/en/downloads/

I think there should be a CD size iso. And I would prefer not to have to install the programs that I don't use.

[Don_Pedro]

Pete2119 and Austin I disagreed 100%.
Very comfortable for newbees to have everything at hand.
Easy to uninstall for geek.
Software manager--->All packages
Very useful
Cordially

[av8r0023]

I struggled with the topic of this thread and in doing research, I have come up with the following method of having up to date software that is not in the repos.

1) Do a search and see if the desired project/software has a PPA. If not:

2) See if you can find a .deb extension file that has the latest software with which you can install with GDebi package installer by right clicking. If not:

3) As a final resort, find and download the .zip or .tar.gz archive from the project's website. Extract the files. Find the bin file that launches the program, it usually is the name of the application or run.sh or something similar. Right click -> properties -> permissions -> check the box "allow executing file as program." Now run Nemo as root by right clicking in a blank space. Move the whole extracted directory to /usr/local/bin/ Finally, make an alias so you can launch the program easily in a terminal. For example, I downloaded the latest version of PDFSAM. To make an alias I would open up a terminal and type:

Code: Select all

alias pdfsam='cd /usr/local/bin/pdfsam/bin/ && ./run.sh'

This way I could easily launch the program by opening a terminal and typing:

Code: Select all

pdfsam

[austin.texas]

Pete2119 and Austin I disagreed 100%.
Very comfortable for newbees to have everything at hand.
Easy to uninstall for geek.
Software manager--->All packages
Very useful Cordially

The point I was making by giving Mageia as an example is that you don't have to limit it to one option.
A DVD is great for people who have limited internet access, who may need to buy a DVD.
A CD would be nice for the geeks or for someone who does not have a DVD drive.
And something like Mageia's 27MB installation could be very useful to some people in some situations.
Why limit it to just one available .iso size?

[Pete2919]

My neighbour and I are both Windows/Linux users, he's still on dial up and I have a 30mb connection.

I download large files for my neighbour, the all inclusive DVD distros are right up his street. I on the other hand can install most anything directly from the internet, I don't need or want anything other than the OS and a browser to get going, in fact anything more is just frustrating. Each and every program I am not familiar with has to be researched and tested to see if it is what I need, whereas I know that just a click away is the exact program that I am familiar with and will do the job I want it to do and I don't have to figure out how to get the results I want all over again.

There has to be more choice in this day and age, and the release I want is already there languishing at the back of one of the developers hard drives.

[Pierre]

the issue with starting with a complete distro,
& then having to remove / UN-install some software,
is that it can break the O/S installed.

- have seen that, when a large 4Gb distro, is even slightly down-sized.

as has been pointed out, those big DvD's are useful to those on a slow connection,
& there are plenty of people in that situation,
but a medium sized distro, actually has it's place.
- and a few of them, have been released, - just this year.

[Distro-Don]

Pete2119 and Austin I agree 100%.

[killer de bug]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Here you are! Enjoy! you're welcome of course.

[austin.texas]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Here you are! Enjoy! you're welcome of course.

Yes, we could make a long list of distros which come in smaller formats - but that does not help the person who wants Linux Mint in a different format, does it?

[Distro-Don]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Here you are! Enjoy! you're welcome of course.

Yes, we could make a long list of distros which come in smaller formats - but that does not help the person who wants Linux Mint in a different format, does it?

DITTO

[mr_raider]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Ubuntu Minimal CD?

Exactly. The Ubuntu server or minimal CD does a simple command line install. Then you can choose to pull in the desktop of your choice (KDE UNity or XFCE) with the tasksel command.

Mint could use that. KDE already has some standard packages like kde-minimal, kde-standard, kde-full.

[xenopeek]

Can we please have a bare bones release? I can then start quietly building up my software bundle from scratch.

Linux Mint is defined by having a good selection of default installed software. Many more advanced users remove something or add something, but for most users the defaults means they are up and running with their OS directly after installation. If you remove all default installed software, then in all honesty what was the point of picking Linux Mint?

The Linux Mint developers are trying to cut down on the amount of work maintaining ISOs (read the blog), not increase it by adding another edition.

As for "bloat" -- a fresh install of Linux Mint needs just 6 GB disk space, which includes all the default software. Compared to a bare bones install of Windows taking 20 GB disk space, which of the two is bloated?

[killer de bug]

As for "bloat" -- a fresh install of Linux Mint needs just 6 GB disk space, which includes all the default software. Compared to a bare bones install of Windows taking 20 GB disk space, which of the two is bloated?

That's XP or Vista. 7 is even bigger. Windows 8 I don't know, I run away too fast...

[xenopeek]

The 20 GB is from Windows 7 and Windows 8 system requirements.

[killer de bug]

Yes, we could make a long list of distros which come in smaller formats - but that does not help the person who wants Linux Mint in a different format, does it?

Yes it does. As stated on the Linux Mint website and as said by xenopeek, Linux Mint is intended to be used out of the box by newcomers. So what the point in making the most complicated install ever?

If you think Mint is too big, then you are not using the right distro. Use a minimal Debian install or Arch or... But not Mint.

The 20 GB is from Windows 7 and Windows 8 system requirements.

For sure my professional laptop with Windows 7 was bigger than this. I include MS office of course and Program Files. What's the point of having Windows alone... In Linux software are counted so I count them on Windows too.

[xenopeek]

What's the point of having Windows alone...

IDK, but that is what OP wants -- just Notepad and nothing else

[killer de bug]

If he just want to use the calculator, then it's maybe cheaper to buy one in the supermarket...

[xenopeek]

Enough shenanigans though. A bare bones edition doesn't make sense for Linux Mint, but there are plenty of other distros that are bare bones (quickly come to mind Arch Linux, Debian, Gentoo, Slackware -- there are probably a lot more). IDK if there are any bare bones Ubuntu derivatives though; Ubuntu dropped the alternative installer ISO a while ago.