Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I would love to hear from the enlightened and experienced, why you prefer Mint over Ubuntu.
My own reason was as simple as seeing a video that said Mint was easier to use, more customisable + looked prettier. Reasons that appealed to me. I may or may not have got that wrong.
My own reason was as simple as seeing a video that said Mint was easier to use, more customisable + looked prettier. Reasons that appealed to me. I may or may not have got that wrong.
- austin.texas
- Level 20
- Posts: 12046
- Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:57 pm
- Location: at /home
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I switched from Ubuntu to Mint a long time ago, because it seemed to me that Ubuntu was following the Microsoft way of doing things, related to makiing decisions about how the OS worked, and locking the user into their way, instead of letting the user decide how things worked.
To be fair, that may have been a decision based more on my inexperience than anything else.
To be fair, that may have been a decision based more on my inexperience than anything else.
Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, Quad core AMD A8-3870 with Radeon HD Graphics 6550D, 8GB DDR3, Ralink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI
Linux Linx 2018
Linux Linx 2018
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I like all of the Mint tools. A customizable and safe Update Manager, Software Sources, the Driver Manager, and Login Window program, are my faves ! 

-
- Level 6
- Posts: 1294
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:17 am
- Location: Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
What prevent you from try Ubuntu, Mint then made decision by your own, not after seen somebody's video?martienne wrote:My own reason was as simple as seeing a video that said Mint was easier to use, more customisable + looked prettier. Reasons that appealed to me. I may or may not have got that wrong.
Windows assumes I'm stupid but Linux demands proof of it
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Time!!!BigEasy wrote:What prevent you from try Ubuntu, Mint then made decision by your own, not after seen somebody's video?martienne wrote:My own reason was as simple as seeing a video that said Mint was easier to use, more customisable + looked prettier. Reasons that appealed to me. I may or may not have got that wrong.
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I haven't used Ubuntu a lot. I did have it installed on my computer so I could support friends who were using it, and I have to use it at church now and then, but I don't like the user interface as well and it doesn't feel as polished. It's certainly quite usable, but I like Mint better.

“If the government were coming for your TVs and cars, then you'd be upset. But, as it is, they're only coming for your sons.” - Daniel Berrigan
-
- Level 6
- Posts: 1294
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:17 am
- Location: Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Ask in native forums the question like "native vs something not native" is not time saving thing. Everything required own experience.martienne wrote:Time!!!
P.S. yes, the best *buntu in the world is Mint. it's my own experience, not your's!

Windows assumes I'm stupid but Linux demands proof of it
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
For me, the green theme was easier to look at than orange.
- Pjotr
- Level 22
- Posts: 16188
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
- Location: The Netherlands (Holland)
- Contact:
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Mint is more to my liking out of the box, so it saves me some tweaking time.... Plus I like the nifty extra Mint tools and especially the sensible improvements in update management.
In my opinion: Ubuntu is good, but Mint is simply somewhat better.
In my opinion: Ubuntu is good, but Mint is simply somewhat better.

Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
- tdockery97
- Level 14
- Posts: 5060
- Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:54 am
- Location: Mt. Angel, Oregon
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
When I was ready to try Linux six years ago, I read all I could find about the different distros and had it narrowed down to Ubuntu or Mint. The reason I tried Mint first was that I liked the way it came with a single panel at the bottom rather than top and bottom panels. But the real deal-maker was the Mint Menu. While I still try a live test of various distros periodically, Mint has remained the one installed on my computers.
Mint MATE 20.1
- Fred Barclay
- Level 12
- Posts: 4222
- Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 11:12 am
- Location: USA primarily
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
My reasons for Mint:
1. More stable thanks to the Update Manager.
2. More customisable. Every time I've installed Ubuntu, I've spent a lot of time trying to configure it the way I want (and usually failing). To me, the Mint defaults are sensible, but I can also change them much more easily than I could in Ubuntu.
3. LMDE! Betsy is the best Mint.
4. Not as much distraction. Ubuntu feels more like an "eye-candy" distro. While I like certain aspects of it (I particularly like the default window theme of deep grey and the circly buttons), using the distro long-term would drive me crazy! Cinnamon on the other hand is nicely polished yet it feels like a "real" DE.
5. More community-oriented. I love being able to launch HexChat and chat with Clem and the other devs whenever I need! These forums are also kind of like family to me.
We're not so big that I feel like "just another user."
martienne: was that video by Nixi Pixel? If so, that's what sold me on Mint too!
1. More stable thanks to the Update Manager.
2. More customisable. Every time I've installed Ubuntu, I've spent a lot of time trying to configure it the way I want (and usually failing). To me, the Mint defaults are sensible, but I can also change them much more easily than I could in Ubuntu.
3. LMDE! Betsy is the best Mint.

4. Not as much distraction. Ubuntu feels more like an "eye-candy" distro. While I like certain aspects of it (I particularly like the default window theme of deep grey and the circly buttons), using the distro long-term would drive me crazy! Cinnamon on the other hand is nicely polished yet it feels like a "real" DE.
5. More community-oriented. I love being able to launch HexChat and chat with Clem and the other devs whenever I need! These forums are also kind of like family to me.

martienne: was that video by Nixi Pixel? If so, that's what sold me on Mint too!
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I tried Ubuntu, but while it can be good and useful for many, for me not because:
1 - I don't like Unity, I prefer a "traditional" DE like Xfce, Mate or Cinnamon. Moreover, I don't like orange or violet as dominant colors. I prefer green and gray.
2 - I prefer to have more choices/options to tweak my system/GUI, instead of just use the "standard"
3 - I'm not interested in the commercial side of the OS (buy apps, services, etc.)
4 - Mint has some useful extra tools (Mintsources, Mintstick, etc.)
5 - The Mint forum is smaller than Ubuntu's but resemble more a community and is very friendly
1 - I don't like Unity, I prefer a "traditional" DE like Xfce, Mate or Cinnamon. Moreover, I don't like orange or violet as dominant colors. I prefer green and gray.

2 - I prefer to have more choices/options to tweak my system/GUI, instead of just use the "standard"

3 - I'm not interested in the commercial side of the OS (buy apps, services, etc.)

4 - Mint has some useful extra tools (Mintsources, Mintstick, etc.)

5 - The Mint forum is smaller than Ubuntu's but resemble more a community and is very friendly

Active Distros in my computers: LM19.3 (Mate,Xfce); MXLinux (Xfce); SparkyLinux (Xfce); Manjaro (Xfce)
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I could not get used to the Unity DE. I put the Cinnamon DE on it, and it looked great. Then I tried Mint, and it just felt smoother. I ditched Ubuntu.I was really only interested in it because it is more multi-media-friendly. But I can just go with a dedicated M/M OS for that. Finally, somehow Mint is more relaxing (possibly related to the colour green).
I have been comparing three Linuxes - Ubuntu, Mint and Zorin. I have eliminated Ubuntu. So now I am down to two: Mint and Zorin. Tough decision, I really like them both. Maybe, Mint on M-W-F, Zorin on T-TH-S, on Sunday flip a coin? (Oh, no gambling on Sunday...).
I have been comparing three Linuxes - Ubuntu, Mint and Zorin. I have eliminated Ubuntu. So now I am down to two: Mint and Zorin. Tough decision, I really like them both. Maybe, Mint on M-W-F, Zorin on T-TH-S, on Sunday flip a coin? (Oh, no gambling on Sunday...).
- z31fanatic
- Level 5
- Posts: 905
- Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 5:25 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
I started with Ubuntu but couldn't stand the UI. Then my brother-in-law told me to try Mint which I didn't know it existed at the time. The single panel and the Mint menu (Cinnamon only as I didn't like the other Mint desktops) did it for me.
-
- Level 5
- Posts: 588
- Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 9:22 am
- Location: Surfing a multidimensional wave of celestial intent
- Contact:
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Started off on Ubuntu 10:10 with gnome desktop as a total newbie to the world of computing, only had about 3 or 4 months experience of xp prior, I quite liked Ubuntu but found following releases started being glitchy and I really didn't like unity, gnome 3 was usable but just didn't feel as nice as gnome 2,and the amazon search lens was a proper deal breaker then I heard the mint team had an edition with the mate desktop, a fork of gnome 2 so tried v13 and have been here ever since, just felt good to use from day one. Banshee always glitched in buntu but in mint works flawlessly (touch wood!) It's easier to customise and use, has a better update system, a lot of 'buntu' bugs have been sorted and green is easier on the eye. 

Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
They're basically the same, you can get the same DE's in either (no, you're not stuck with Unity if you use Ubuntu). The biggest difference is that "Ubuntu" is a silly name.
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
- Pjotr
- Level 22
- Posts: 16188
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
- Location: The Netherlands (Holland)
- Contact:
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
That reminds me of the Ministry of Silly Walks:Flemur wrote:They're basically the same, you can get the same DE's in either (no, you're not stuck with Unity if you use Ubuntu). The biggest difference is that "Ubuntu" is a silly name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w
Still: I don't think you can get Mint's outstanding update management in Ubuntu. Not without some serious hacking, anyway....
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
- austin.texas
- Level 20
- Posts: 12046
- Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:57 pm
- Location: at /home
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Ubuntu: "I am what I am because of who we all are." (From a definition offered by Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee.)Flemur wrote: "Ubuntu" is a silly name.
Open Source: Open-source code is meant to be a collaborative effort, where programmers improve upon the source code and share the changes within the community.
Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, Quad core AMD A8-3870 with Radeon HD Graphics 6550D, 8GB DDR3, Ralink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI
Linux Linx 2018
Linux Linx 2018
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
What do you mean by "they are the same"? (bear in mind, I am a n00b)Flemur wrote:They're basically the same, you can get the same DE's in either (no, you're not stuck with Unity if you use Ubuntu). The biggest difference is that "Ubuntu" is a silly name.
- Pjotr
- Level 22
- Posts: 16188
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
- Location: The Netherlands (Holland)
- Contact:
Re: Mint vs Ubuntu - Why Mint?
Mint 17.x is built on Ubuntu 14.04. They're for more than 90 % identical. Mint even uses Ubuntu's very own software sources....martienne wrote:What do you mean by "they are the same"? (bear in mind, I am a n00b)
Mint stands on Ubuntu's shoulders. Ubuntu stands on Debian's shoulders. Made possible by the concept of free (libre) software, as legally embodied in the GPL:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Gener ... ic_License
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.