LMDE Mint

[eipapp]

Is it safe to use linux mint lmde on my daily use computer ?
Thoughts please.....

Kind Regards,
Bruce

[kc1di]

It's absolutely safe to use. But it will take a bit more configuring and knowledge on your part. But once you get it the way you like it , it will remain pretty much stable. It will not however be quite as up to date as the regular release. So if you need newer programs or updated ones you would be better off sticking with the regular releases. Also LMDE only comes in Cinnamon Desktop right now.
Good luck on your choice.

[eipapp]

But it is being maintained ?
What, if you know, is the plan for this distro ?

Thanks much for your reply.

B

[kc1di]

Yes, it's still developed and maintained. The thing is it is developed in case at some point for some reason Mint had to be based on something different from Ubuntu. So it's based on Debian which is more stable with less flux in it's package base than Ubuntu.
This page maybe worth your time. https://linuxinsider.com/story/lmde4-ho ... 86598.html

If you are a person that puts stability and security above new/ updated package then LMDE may be for you.
The developement team desire is that LMDE be a concept of what is possible based on Debian. And it is maintained at a much slower rate than the Ubuntu base systems. In other words it will be around, but not the priority for development.

[ThaCrip]

It's fine, as it's certainly not a bad option, but as a general guideline the common person is best off sticking with the standard Mint (Ubuntu based) release (this seems to be the generally accepted opinion). it's their flagship and more focus goes on it and you got a choice of Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce unlike LDME4 which is Cinnamon only and it's probably going to be easier to get support for the standard Mint to since more people are using it etc.

also, in LMDE series, Firefox is not using the standard release, like is the case on the standard Mint version, but has the Firefox ESR (which is a bit older but supported a bit longer before you upgrade to a newer ESR version etc). LMDE4 is using 4.19 kernel (which is a little newer than the one that comes with Mint v19.0-19.2 by default, which is v4.15 (although if you clean install from v19.3 you will get 5.0 which I would assume upgrades to 5.4 the last I knew)) where as standard Mint v20.x series is using 5.4 kernel (or 5.8 if you upgrade or use 'edge' ISO). also, PPA's are less likely to work on LMDE4 etc. also, from what I heard Debian is supposed to be a little faster than Ubuntu base. but I can't imagine there is any obvious differences here. plus, if you got newer hardware the regular Mint might be needed.

the bottom line is this... Ubuntu base is a safer all-around choice for most people. hence, use regular Mint, not LMDE.

[eipapp]

You sold me, Ubuntu based Mint cinnamon is the obvious choice.
Thanks so much..........

B

[Mike_D]

My 2 cents (and, you can keep the change): I've been using LMDE 4 as my daily driver on a 4 year old HP workstation since it's release last year. Rock solid, no issues. I updated a few apps to the latest editions via the flatpak repository.

[eipapp]

Interesting.
I tried it in virtual box and really liked it hence the reason for my original post.
Maybe it's not so settled after all. Need to give this some more thought.

Thank you for you input.........

Bruce

[Aztaroth]

Hi,
I switched to LMDE4 from Mint 19.3 (Tricia) when Mint 20 came out. I had problems with my network printer under Mint 20, so I decided to give LMDE4 a try. And I'm very glad I did.
LMDE4 is perfect for me, stable and solid in the way I use it :
- only major apps : LibreOffice, Gimp, VLC...
- no proprietary driver (nvidia for example)
- no downloaded flashy themes for desktop, browser, a.s.o.

This may sound reductive or not very funny, but it's the goal : LMDE4 is for a working station, not a hardcoregamer's playground.
Here's an example of the drives connected to one of my machines, running fine with all types of disks you can imagine (SSD, internal, external and random manufacturers) and I skipped the partition's and the external disks only connected for backup purposes :

• Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 15.92 TiB used: 12.60 TiB (79.1%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM001-1CH164 size: 1.82 TiB
  temp: 30 C
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Crucial model: CT500MX500SSD4 size: 465.76 GiB
  temp: 41 C
  ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Western Digital model: WD30EZRX-00DC0B0
  size: 2.73 TiB temp: 28 C
  ID-4: /dev/sdd type: USB vendor: Seagate model: Expansion size: 3.64 TiB
  ID-5: /dev/sde type: USB vendor: Seagate model: Backup+ Hub BK
  size: 7.28 TiB

Up to you now. As a workstation, I'll humbly suggest you give a try to LMDE4. If you're the flashy, blinking type, leave it. You could manage a sparkly design, but it will need much more efforts than the normal version.

[Tenebris_Umbra]

I agree with you Aztaroth, but... Nvidia drivers are available < https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsD ... ary_Driver > and it easy to install and they work great. Also LMDE4 has the same themes, applets, desklets aka 'Cinnamon Spices' as Linux Mint 20.1. Wine also works very well, and there is lots of software from the Debian Repos. FYI to whoever reading this...there is no ppa for LMDE4 and IMHO that's a good thing. Remember Debian is about Stable, Secure, but cutting-edge.....newer sometimes doesn't mean better. Cheers

[Aztaroth]

I agree with you Tenebris_Umbra, but...
- I mentioned it was my "sobre" way to use LMDE4, which is of course not mandatory
- the problem with nvidia drivers is that they can mix with the running kernel (I had a sad experience). If you want to upgrade the kernel manually, lots of problems may happen (Clem has pointed such things in a reply on the Blog and DebianWiki does the same here https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian ... ll_scripts

Section Don't use GPU manufacturer install scripts
Debian includes free and open-source drivers that support most video cards. The free drivers provide the best integration with the rest of the Debian system and work quite well for most users.
If you absolutely must have the proprietary closed-source drivers, do not download them directly from the manufacturer's website! Installing drivers this way only works for the current kernel, and after the next kernel update, your video drivers will not work until they are manually reinstalled again.

Of course, it concerns 'pure' Debian but with LMDE4 we are not very far from it.
I'm more interested in keeping free hands managing kernels than using nvidia drivers, but you're right : https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers points out a way to install them "the Debian Way". Honestly, I didn't try, the default driver working fine enough for me, so I don't 'absolutely need the proprietary closed-source driver'.
And of course, LMDE4 can be customized, but imho if I want sparkles and shines, I'll use normal Mint.

[Tenebris_Umbra]

I will agree with you on gpu install, the Nvidia<whatever-version>.run straight from their site, imho, don't work very well and are more difficult to remove if need too, The Debian way is best

[BrianI]

It's currently Mint 20 Cinnamon edition I'm running, with the proprietory NVidia drivers for my Nvidia GTX1660 GPU. I don't game, but I use the GPU for OpenCL acceleration,

Lately I've been finding Mint 20 a bit sluggish. Perhaps an install of LMDE may be better? Worth a try and some benchmarking I think!

[Aztaroth]

For those who are still in doubt about their Mint flavour, a tour on Pjotr's site may also help :
Linux Mint: how to select the right flavour for you
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... t.html#ID7