Ubuntu is the most widely used Linux distro in the world. However, that does not mean that it is the best, since Canonical, the company behind its development and maintenance, often makes decisions that are against what the community wants. This means that users who already have some knowledge tend to look for alternatives outside this distro, freer alternatives and faithful to the Linux philosophy. And one of the favorites by Ubuntu detractors is Linux Mint .
Linux Mint is a distro based on Ubuntu (or Debian, depending on the edition) that has been running since its initial release on August 27, 2006, so after almost 14 years the project has been growing. In 2010, its developers released a Debian-based version of the testing branch, a version that is now in the stable branch.
Its first version, version 1.0, was released with the code name Ada and it had Kubuntu 6.06 as base distribution and the KDE desktop environment. The first Debian-based version came with the GNOME desktop environment.
What is Linux Mint?
It is a Linux distro whose vision is to offer a modern, elegant operating system that is powerful and easy to use, it has three main desktop environments that are Cinnamon, Mate and Xfce and it has 2 editions, one based on Ubuntu and another based on Debian.
Own software: MintSoftware
Linux Mint has its own package of applications (Mint tools) in order to simplify the user experience:
MintUpdate
It is in charge of installing the updates and giving them a level of security so that the user can configure the security level of updates that they want to install and it is available since version 4.0 Daryna of Linux Mint.
MintDesktop
It is the application that is used for desktop configuration.
MintConfig
It is the control panel that provides the system configuration options
MintAssistant
It is a wizard that appears when a user first logs in as an initial system setup guide.
MintUpload
It is an FTP client that is integrated in the context menu to be able to share files easily and quickly and has a capacity limited to 1 GB per user, expandable by purchasing Mint-space, which is additional space on the FTP server.
MintMenu
It is a menu written in Python to customize the texts, icons and colors.
MintBackup
It is the program to back up and restore copies of both user files and operating system software.
MintNanny
It is a program that works as a parental control that allows the blocking of web pages previously defined by the user.
Editions
There are two versions of Linux Mint, one based on Ubuntu and the other based on Debian.
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is the original version and is based on Ubuntu. It has a monolithic Linux kernel that allows support for x86 (32-bit), x86_64 (64-bit) and Itanium IA-32 platforms. The default graphical interfaces are MATE, Cinnamon and Xfce. The update method is APT and its package management system is dpkg .
Flavors
Cinnamon
It is the most balanced of all available desktop environments, since it offers a very clean appearance and, being maintained by the Linux Mint team, its integration with the operating system is perfect, it is also highly customizable and has a website for it. For all users accustomed to Windows it is very easy and it is also the most modern of the 3.
MATE
It is the perfect desktop environment for those who long for GNOME 2 because the change to GNOME 3 was radical and its performance worsened and MATE was able to bring back the experience that GNOME 2 offered in an updated way. It is quite customizable and we can use the themes that we used in GNOME 2 from gnome-look and install them from the customization screen that also allows us to change the letters, backgrounds, themes, cursors, etc. It is characterized by being the most balanced.
Xfce
It is the most minimal and light environment with less customization capacity and is designed for computers with fewer resources. It is characterized by being the most stable of the 3 available options.
Linux Mint Debian Edition
Linux Mint Debian Edition is a later version released in 2010 for all people who did not want Ubuntu as the base operating system. Like Ubuntu, it uses a monolithic Linux kernel that allows support for x86 (32-bit), x86_64 (64-bit) and Itanium IA-32 platforms. The update method is APT and its package management system is dpkg.
It has no other desktop environment available than Cinnamon’s official Linux Mint and is currently based on Debian’s stable branch of updates.
Requirements and download
For the latest version of Linux Mint (all flavors) and LMDE the minimum requirements are:
- 700 MHz CPU
- 1 GB of RAM
- 15 GB of space
- 1024 x 768 resolution
The recommended requirements are:
- 1 GHz CPU
- 2 GB of RAM
- 20 GB of space
- Resolution greater than 1024 x 768
64-bit ISOs can be installed in both BIOS and UEFI. 32-bit ISOs can only be installed on computers with BIOS. The 64-bit edition is recommended for all computers sold from 2007 onwards and equipped with a 64-bit processor.
All versions are available on the official Linux Mint page .
