Why so many preinstalled apps?

[riedzig]

I find the Mint Cinnamon concept extremely successful especially now when XP is ending. There is only one thing I can´t understand: why is the user forced to have so many apps preinstalled - even with alternatives (videoplayers, pictureviewers) or the full LibreOffice suite. Can we expect in following Mint versions (17 and later) more space for the user who should decide which apps he needs?

[jefboyardee]

I'm sure that the Mint people researched what programs that users are likely to want in their system and took the effort to include them. Then you come along and complain that they're even there... sheesh . You can always go to Software Manager, view the installed and uninstall them.

[iironjade]

Even with all those things preinstalled, Mint only takes up a very small amout of my hard drive. Long may it continue.

[Distro-Don]

I'm sure that the Mint people researched what programs that users are likely to want in their system and took the effort to include them. Then you come along and complain that they're even there... sheesh ;). You can always go to Software Manager, view the installed and uninstall them.

I would rather have a choice. Eliminating some things with the software manager sometimes borks the system. What's wrong with having a choice? Isn't that what FOSS (GNU/Linux) is all about?

[Neil Edmond]

The pre-installed tools and apps are part of what make Mint, Mint. If you want to choose for yourself what to install, you need look no further than a Debian net-install, then add only what you want.

[wanderer7]

This distribution is ideal for beginners, because it doesn't ask the users everything. An advanced user would be able to modify it anyway, so I can't see a problem here.

[lgt791]

Linux mint is an excellant os fro beginers and folks coming over from windows xp. I don't see that it has all that much xtra installed , typically i always install another 550 tp 650 megs more stuff . I find the installed version has enough to get you going , then you have to get the stuff that you use for example picture viewers . I use 4 different linux ones and photoshop 5.5. Then you got several video editors at least 4 , which under windows would be to costly for the average person to have more than 2.

So all in all linux Mint supplies the user with a very good start up system. You can start using it right after it is installed where as some of the others you have install a bunch of stuff to get going. Just my thoughts..

[wirefox]

Mint is a lightweight OS out of the box, I consider it perfect both Petra and KDE, very stable and fast.

[Eggnog]

I guess, if you want choice, you can always go to some other distro where some desktop just pops up after installation, and the user is left figuring out what to do next, how to do it, and where to do it at.

As someone said up thread, if you don't like an app, just uninstall it. I've installed and uninstalled a number of things and have never had it break anything. Some people just like to complain, I guess. Too much, not enough, the wrong thing, the right thing, want the choice ... yada, yada.

Mint is just fine the way it is.

[DrHu]

My feeling is that the installed set of applications is dependent on the developer's feeling about what is popular + their own preferrences (in commitee mode)

There will be no way to get everyone, even if a survey is done to agree on which applications they want installed or intend to use..
--for example, I preferred the Opera web browser before they swicthed into Google Chrome mode as the basis of future deliveries..

• My guess most people were satisfied to use Firefox or the rebranded Debian name (Seamonkey) or Chromium or Chrome (with wine I guess, didn't use it, but what I would expect to be)

Many surveys have been made on these forums, and I am sure the devlopers have paid attention to them..