Linux Mint is a community-driven Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (which is in turn based on Debian), bundled with a variety of free and open-source applications. It can provide full out-of-the-box multimedia support for those who choose to include proprietary software such as multimedia codecs.
The Linux Mint project was created by Clément Lefèbvre and is actively maintained by the Linux Mint Team and community.
Features of Linux Mint:
- Linux Mint’s core difference is its user interface and ease of interactivity.
- Like typical Linux distributions, Linux Mint includes an integrated and pre-installed application suite and provides the ability to search, download and install additional applications through its application package manager utility.
- The design of Linux Mint is very comfortable and easy to use but at the same time, it is also powerful and configurable.
- Everything is done to make the user experience better. User feedback is very important and it is used to consistently improve the quality of Linux Mint.
- Linux Mint provides Long-Term Support (LTS) releases which are normally supported for a duration of 5 years.
Pros of Linux Mint:
- It works out of the box by providing full multimedia support and is extremely easy to use.
- It’s both free of cost and open source.
- It’s community-driven. Here users are encouraged to send feedback to the project. This is done so that we can make use of their ideas to improve Linux Mint.
- It is based on Debian and Ubuntu and it provides about 30,000 packages and one of the best software managers.
- It’s safe and reliable, Linux Mint requires very little maintenance (no regressions, no antivirus, no anti-spyware…etc) because of a conservative approach to software updates, a unique Update Manager and a robust architecture.
Cons of Linux Mint:
- No Device Manager.
- Mint has a conservative approach to new technologies. So, if you like to keep up with the latest technologies or flashy desktops, then you may be better suited to a distro such as Fedora instead.
- Mint is too large and requires a reasonably capable machine to run effectively. So if your machine is particularly old and you can’t upgrade it then you may be better off with something else instead.
- Although it is based on Ubuntu, Mint differs in many ways from its sibling, so not everything out there for Ubuntu will work with Mint. Also, the latest version of Mint will not be based on the latest version of Ubuntu: it is invariably one or two releases behind.
- No PPA(Personal Package Archive) – adding a PPA to your sources and then installing software from a PPA is a great way to break your install. It is possible that it may not happen with every PPA software initially, but it will happen, eventually.
