What are the differences between Linux Xfce 19.x LTS and Xubuntu 18.04 LTS?

[patday8472]

This thread is to not to debate the differences or to say which is best each person can decided that on their own. With that said I would still like to know what are the differences between Linux Mint Xfce 19.x LTS and Xubuntu 18.04 LTS?

To me they almost seem the same. It is hard trying to decide which one to keep.

[smurphos]

This thread is to not to debate the differences or to say which is best each person can decided that on their own. With that said I would still like to know what are the differences between Linux Xfce 19.x LTS and Xubuntu 18.04 LTS?

Presumably you mean Linux Mint 19.x. They are very similar but there are differences,...

A non-comprehensive list of things Mint has the Ubuntu doesn't off the top of my head.

1) Mint's Update Manager with more granular control over updates / kernel management features etc.
2) Timeshift out of the box.
3) Mint's Software Manager with flatpak support out of the box.
4) Xapps and supporting libraries (eg. Xed, Pix, Xreader etc etc)
5) Different default themes and artwork.
6) A friendlier and more versatile apt command.
7) A Mint branded Firefox that works with dark system themes.
8.) Various other Mint specific or tweaked apps (Mintstick, Software Sources, USB writer etc)

A few things that Ubuntu in general has that Mint doesn't

1) Optional hardware telemetry at install.
2) Snap support out of the box.

[Hoser Rob]

You said Mint 19.x, and you'd find that 19.1 and 19.2 ship with different kernels than Ubuntu 18.04.

There are other differences but for me the BIG one is that Xubuntu is only supported ofr 3 years and Mint Xfce gets the full 5 years. That's actually the reason I installed Mint Xfce in the first place. I mostly use KDE now but stay for the update policies.

[karlchen]

With respect to Linux Mint 19 xfce and Xubuntu 18.04:

To me they almost seem the same. It is hard trying to decide which one to keep.

This is why I keep them both.

[patday8472]

This thread is to not to debate the differences or to say which is best each person can decided that on their own. With that said I would still like to know what are the differences between Linux Xfce 19.x LTS and Xubuntu 18.04 LTS?

Presumably you mean Linux Mint 19.x. They are very similar but there are differences,...

A non-comprehensive list of things Mint has the Ubuntu doesn't off the top of my head.

1) Mint's Update Manager with more granular control over updates / kernel management features etc.
2) Timeshift out of the box.
3) Mint's Software Manager with flatpak support out of the box.
4) Xapps and supporting libraries (eg. Xed, Pix, Xreader etc etc)
5) Different default themes and artwork.
6) A friendlier and more versatile apt command.
7) A Mint branded Firefox that works with dark system themes.
8.) Various other Mint specific or tweaked apps (Mintstick, Software Sources, USB writer etc)

A few things that Ubuntu in general has that Mint doesn't

1) Optional hardware telemetry at install.
2) Snap support out of the box.

I am currious to know how apt is more versatile in Linux Mint xfce. I thought XUbuntu didn't have the optional telemetry.

You said Mint 19.x, and you'd find that 19.1 and 19.2 ship with different kernels than Ubuntu 18.04.

There are other differences but for me the BIG one is that Xubuntu is only supported ofr 3 years and Mint Xfce gets the full 5 years. That's actually the reason I installed Mint Xfce in the first place. I mostly use KDE now but stay for the update policies.

What I could never figure out since Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. How can Linux Mint have a longer support life?

[patday8472]

With respect to Linux Mint 19 xfce and Xubuntu 18.04:

To me they almost seem the same. It is hard trying to decide which one to keep.

This is why I keep them both.

That what I decided to do. I just got Linux Mint 19.1 installed and configured on one of my computers. Now, I will have triple boot system. Until I can decided which to keep. That what I am going to do. Windows 7 sp1 32 bit, Linux Mint Xfce 19.1 64-bit and Xubuntu 18.04 64-bit. I just got to do a system back again. I will use a windows backup program for this. Which I really like.


On my laptop I have Window 10 32-bit & Linux mint 64-bit xfce 18.3. Let me tell that wasn't easy to doing this on a laptop. When grub2 is installed, Windows 10 will mess up their own boot loader after each major release or something that updates their boot sector. My fix is I installed an old "grub for dos" program from puppy Linux cd. It works fine. The grub file is easily editable in windows 10.

[gm10]

You said Mint 19.x, and you'd find that 19.1 and 19.2 ship with different kernels than Ubuntu 18.04.

Nonsense. There is no 19.2 and 19 and 19.1 ship with the same kernel as 18.04.

There are other differences but for me the BIG one is that Xubuntu is only supported ofr 3 years and Mint Xfce gets the full 5 years.

Yeah well, on paper. In reality nobody on the Mint team is going to patch Xfce packages so the practical difference here is zero.

[altair4]

It depends on what you mean by support and what is being supported.

The part of Xubuntu that is made up of Ubuntu "core" for want of a better name is "supported" beyond 3 years:

altair@xub1804:~$ ubuntu-support-status
Support status summary of 'xub1804':

You have 1553 packages (81.6%) supported until April 2023 (Canonical - 5y)
You have 309 packages (16.2%) supported until April 2021 (Community - 3y)
You have 2 packages (0.1%) supported until April 2021 (Canonical - 3y)

[patday8472]

It depends on what you mean by support and what is being supported.

The part of Xubuntu that is made up of Ubuntu "core" for want of a better name is "supported" beyond 3 years:

altair@xub1804:~$ ubuntu-support-status
Support status summary of 'xub1804':

You have 1553 packages (81.6%) supported until April 2023 (Canonical - 5y)
You have 309 packages (16.2%) supported until April 2021 (Community - 3y)
You have 2 packages (0.1%) supported until April 2021 (Canonical - 3y)

altair4 ubuntu-support-status does not work in Linux Mint 19.1 Yes, I installed and then I removed it. Since, it didn't work. I also used autoremove as well.

[gm10]

altair4 ubuntu-support-status does not work in Linux Mint 19.1 Yes, I installed and then I removed it. Since, it didn't work. I also used autoremove as well.

His point wasn't that you should run it, but that the 3 years of support are only about the community maintained parts, notably the desktop itself. The core system gets 5 years from Ubuntu regardless. Which was also my point above. Mint doesn't develop Xfce, so despite 5 years of support on the label don't expect actual 5 years for everything inside.

PS: ubuntu-support-status in a Mint 19.1 MATE VM (don't ask me how, it doesn't matter).

Code: Select all

$ ubuntu-support-status
Support status summary of 'vbox':

You have 1588 packages (78.2%) supported until April 2023 (Canonical - 5y)
You have 260 packages (12.8%) supported until April 2021 (Community - 3y)
You have 2 packages (0.1%) supported until April 2021 (Canonical - 3y)
You have 1 packages (0.0%) supported until Januar 2019 (Community - 9m)

You have 0 packages (0.0%) that can not/no-longer be downloaded
You have 179 packages (8.8%) that are unsupported

[patday8472]

altair4 ubuntu-support-status does not work in Linux Mint 19.1 Yes, I installed and then I removed it. Since, it didn't work. I also used autoremove as well.

His point wasn't that you should run it, but that the 3 years of support are only about the community maintained parts, notably the desktop itself. The core system gets 5 years from Ubuntu regardless. Which was also my point above. Mint doesn't develop Xfce, so despite 5 years of support on the label don't expect actual 5 years for everything inside.

PS: ubuntu-support-status in a Mint 19.1 MATE VM (don't ask me how, it doesn't matter).

Code: Select all

$ ubuntu-support-status
Support status summary of 'vbox':

You have 1588 packages (78.2%) supported until April 2023 (Canonical - 5y)
You have 260 packages (12.8%) supported until April 2021 (Community - 3y)
You have 2 packages (0.1%) supported until April 2021 (Canonical - 3y)
You have 1 packages (0.0%) supported until Januar 2019 (Community - 9m)

You have 0 packages (0.0%) that can not/no-longer be downloaded
You have 179 packages (8.8%) that are unsupported

I didn't remove Linux mint 19.1 I would like to know how you got ubuntu-support-status to work in Linux mint. Like you said you don't know.

[patday8472]

I have decided which to keep. I will still hang around because I still have 18.3 linux mint on my other computer and some tips will still work for Xubuntu 18.04 LTS

Don't get me wrong. I like Linux Xfce 19.x LTS but my computer doesn't. However, this would be a subject for a new thread. I still may re-install 18.3 back on here. Haven't decided.

I will be removing 19.1

[smurphos]

I am currious to know how apt is more versatile in Linux Mint xfce. I thought XUbuntu didn't have the optional telemetry.

Not sure about the flavours and the telemetry to be honest.

Mint has a python apt wrapper which takes precedence over the standard Debian/Ubuntu apt and expands on the functions available - see viewtopic.php?t=269626

[Hoser Rob]

...

You said Mint 19.x, and you'd find that 19.1 and 19.2 ship with different kernels than Ubuntu 18.04.

There are other differences but for me the BIG one is that Xubuntu is only supported ofr 3 years and Mint Xfce gets the full 5 years. That's actually the reason I installed Mint Xfce in the first place. I mostly use KDE now but stay for the update policies.

What I could never figure out since Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. How can Linux Mint have a longer support life?

That's just their choice, Ubuntu (with Unity) and Kubuntu get 5 years, maybe the Mate and Cinnamon versions too, I don't know. Remember, as far as the OS is concerned, the desktop environment is just another bit of application software. It's not nearly as integrated as WIndows.