Do you see LM as a 'project' or a 'solution'.

[Barbados99]

And I'm okay with Linux being what it is. It doesn't have to be the "popular" thing for me to prefer it.

One random thought. I like how Linux has many distros consequently giving people a wide range of choices. I know many users want to promote their favorite distro as the best. But there is no best distro that meets everyone's expectations. I can understand why others may prefer another distro. And that's okay. I happen to like Mint though.

I tend to agree with all that. I'm also aware however there's a stated position by LM that it seeks to be financially sustainable. It's important for us as users as well that it stays this way. That financial stability comes from popularity. That in turn leads to, or keeps, development resources. More users = more donations, more sponsors, more innovation. And more bug fixes etc. It becomes a cycle that helps ensure long term survival.

Personally I've only ever tried out two distros. Ubuntu for a few days before I found Mint. That was 7-8 years ago (ish). I've worked in IT for many years now and I think it's testimony to LM that I've never felt the need (or desire) to wander away from it.

My main daily-driver is always Mint because it "just works" and I can count on it. I use the XFCE desktop now. It looks pretty plain initially but it lets me tailor it to what I prefer - and the end result is exactly what I want. It's just personal preference. I can definitely understand others preferring Cinnamon which I used for years. LOL, I used XFCE initially for an under-powered laptop I have, and found out I really really liked it so much I loaded it on my best laptop too.

But I love to tinker a bit with other distros. Most recently Arch and Manjaro. I liked both of them.

[Mick-Cork]

I later had and used 1200/2400 external modems, then 14400, which I seem to remember became the standard for FAX and all the way up to the 56K modems which were the end of the line before DSL came along.

I worked for a distributor of this telecomm equipment. It is hard to believe today but several airlines would share a 1200 / 2400 transatlantic link and put multiplexer / demultiplexers at each end to distribute their data. It seemed like a miracle at the time that a customer could buy an air ticket in Europe and within minutes the airline's mainframe computer in America would have a record of it.

We would sell the airline a 1200, soon 2400, modem at an exorbitant price which included installation, maintenance, etc. In a few years they were being sold in computer stores for just a few dollars.

Telecoms was good fun in those days GS3. Some of those modems were the size of a small(ish!) suitcase. From the outside many then viewed networks as a black art but once in it was, for me anyway, very enjoyable. I remember one 1200 box that had handles on the side so you could lift it, and three BIG lights to tell you status. Ah, leased lines and dial back-up

I started out as a comp operator, but went on to manage a WAN for the company I was at and then moved on to the manufacturer/installer side of the networking business. Stat muxes were taking off and you couldn't get them out the door fast enough. They solved a lot of problems for many companies. Memory lane eh!

[GS3]

Telecoms was good fun in those days GS3.

I used to know all the Hayes AT commands and how to configure the modems. I knew all the handshake protocol by heart and could diagnose connection problems quite well and try all sorts of configurations using the AT commands from the terminal. I used to know a lot of things ... until everything changed and now I know close to nothing.

I remember using Crosstalk communications program and I paid good money for it. Today you expect that kind of thing to be free.

In the late 1980s, when I was away, I had it set up with a friend so that Saturday at midnight (for lowest phone rates) I would ring him and his modem would answer and we had a little script where I would send him my communication and he would send me his. I would ask him to take care of my affairs at home and he would let me know about what I had asked him the week before. The whole thing was so slow you could see the characters as they came on the screen. Telephone calls were outrageously expensive but we managed to do the exchange in a minute or two.

Google "PC-Talk iii established a low end standard while crosstalk xvi" and Google Books will show an article by David Stone from the January 1988 issue of PC Magazine which reviews all the communications software available at the time.

[detimo]

The Linux Mint website refers to LM as a project, and the general Linux community seems to refer to other distributions in the same way.

I don't see LM as a project, and I'm curious if any others feel the same. For me a project has a defined start and end, timescales, milestones, a goal, and a sequence of tasks (generally defined at the outset) that encompass the scope. Subliminally, for me, the use of the word project in the Linux context also implies experimental to some degree.

I see LM as a solution. It provides me with an effective Operating System that allows me to perform work tasks and enjoy leisure activities. To refer to it as a project seems to under-sell it? I don't necessarily see it as a Windows or MacOS replacement, just that if I was starting from scratch and doing a comparison it would serve my needs, in my case more efficiently than the two market leaders.

Is it time to drop the word 'project'. Has LM reached that stage where it can be referred to as a legitimate solution. And should someone tell Clem!

A project, because it changes over time. It's a distribution project in my view. A project doesn't need to have an end, most of the open source projects don't have an end, timescale, scope limitation etc. That is true for the business world, but open source is not always a business project.

[Swampthing]

To me its a solution.
A solution to escape M$ and do whatever I need to do, and not worrying about viruses, surveillance and forced updates.
An opportunity to explore anything foss and freedom.
Its not for free though, I donate whenever I feel I have money to spare.